Ocean Pearl Read Online Free PDF

me one,' answered Kia. 'You're
fifteen and you've had how many boyfriends?'
    'Ha ha,' Georgie replied, squeezing into the sofa bed
next to Kia and starting back on the Vitamin C 'Friends
Forever' song that she'd been singing all night. It was
to annoy Ace 'cause Ace'd said she'd been singing it all
week and had only just got it out of her head. 'All those
times –'
    'Shut up!' Kia was trying to stuff the pillow over
Georgie's face. 'Now I'm going to have that song stuck
in my head.'
    'It's our song!' Georgie mumbled against the pillow.
'Friends for–'
    'Oh, shut up, you two! You're making my tummy
ache worse,' Ace moaned. 'Bedtime at the Starfish
Bungalow with Kia and Georgie. I'd forgotten about
that.'
    Maybe Ace could forget about those times but I
couldn't afford to. I'd worked so hard on keeping that
stuff alive in my mind. But there were some nights
when I was so tired I struggled to see the little details of
our bungalow – the mound of dirty clothes next to
Ace's bed, the starfish tiles on the bathroom wall or our
three toothbrushes, plus Ace's electric one, sitting on
the left-hand side of the basin.
    Not being able to picture those things brought back
that feeling like I couldn't breathe or swallow. Just
when I'd feel like I was about to suffocate and black
out, those little details would appear in my head. All of
a sudden I could see them so clearly, as if I was actually
there, and gradually my throat would uncurl and I'd
start to breathe.
    Now, in Kia's bedroom, I didn't have to struggle to
see or hear that stuff 'cause it was all here, in real life. I
snuggled inside the sleeping bag and their chatting and
giggling was like a lullaby. My body felt deliciously
heavy like I was sinking further and further into the
blow-up mattress.
    I was sooo tired but I didn't want to let myself fall
sleep. No way. What a waste of time. I wanted to join in
'cause that's what I'd do if we were in the Starfish
Bungalow. Then after they crashed, I'd get out my
diary and record every fantastic minute of this day. All
those blank pages that I hadn't been able to put a pen
to didn't seem to matter now. When I was away from
home and with the girls I could almost convince myself
that my real life never existed. Almost.
    My head was chock-a-block with stuff to remember
about today. Just describing our afternoon would take a
few pages.
    We were hanging out at a juice bar when the
reporter from the local paper called Kia to say he had to
put us off until tomorrow morning 'cause his camera
was busted.
    'Yes!' Ace cheered. But Kia looked disappointed.
    'Hey, come on, Kia,' Ace said, wrapping one arm
around her and the other around me. 'The surf 's crap.
The photographer's camera's broken. I think there's
only one thing to do.'
    'What?' Kia grunted.
    'Go shopping!' Ace gave Kia a wink and then it was
like Kia suddenly snapped out of it and started furiously
nodding at Georgie and Ace. That was one thing
I hadn't thought of, how living with Kia could be
like being on a roller-coaster and seesaw all at the
one time.
    At first, I just assumed it was Ace being girly and
shopping crazy. You know, any excuse to shop. So I just
followed. I didn't think any more about it until one
minute I'm checking out the coolest pair of skinny-leg
jeans I had no hope of ever owning, then the next
minute the girls are crowding around me squealing
and waving an envelope in my face.
    'Huh?' I mumbled.
    'Open it, Micki!' Kia was jumping up and down.
'Open it!'
    I turned the envelope over to see 'Miss Micki'
written on it. The air caught in my throat.
    'Come on!' Ace laughed.
    I went to say something but I couldn't get the sound
to come out of my mouth.
    'Just open it.' Kia was almost wrestling it out of my
hands. 'Open it and you'll see! Come on, hurry up.'
    Inside was a voucher, and the most awesome card. If
someone asked me to describe the best card ever, then
this was it, sitting in my hands right now. Hundreds of
tiny photos, not much bigger than stamps,