The Sound Read Online Free PDF Page B

her head, hair whipping from side to side. She’s wearing a bikini top and shorts and sweat is coating her arms and making her body glisten in the firelight. She holds her
hair over her shoulder and starts gyrating her hips and butt against a guy who has stepped into the ring of light. He’s tall and dark-haired, with a broad chest which I can just see peeking
through his half-undone shirt. When he looks up the expression on his face makes me lean forward – unlike all the other guys whose tongues are hanging out and who are glassy-eyed from all the
beer and chasers, this guy looks sober, his expression halfway towards intelligent. He’s regarding the scene almost like an outsider, even though he’s taking part in it. He’s
dancing but there’s a slight ironic smile on his face as he scans the crowd. His hands, feeling their way along Eliza’s sides, are moving fluidly but he isn’t groping at her.
    He looks over then, straight across the flames towards me, and his eyes narrow slightly as he tries to place me but then he’s back in the moment as Eliza spins to face him and starts
wriggling her way down him as though he’s a greased pole.
    He catches her around the waist with one arm and bends her backwards, taking a sip of beer with his free hand. Eliza then wraps her arms around his neck and leans pouting towards him but the
bottle is in the way and she clashes her nose against it. Classy move, I think to myself, smirking, and turn back towards Jeremy.
    Parker has wandered off and Jeremy is staring across the fire at the dancers with what I can only describe as a dark expression on his face. I track his gaze and see that he’s been
watching the same scene as me. He’s glaring at his sister, a frown line deepening between his eyebrows.
    And then without warning he’s on his feet. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he says to me, forcing a smile. ‘Don’t go anywhere.’
    ‘Um, OK,’ I say, casting a glance around. I’m not about to join the sweating fray of half-naked dancers or start writhing in the sand solo so it’s a safe bet I’m
not going to go anywhere.
    And then he jogs off. I watch him as he circles the fire but then he disappears into the crowd and as I try to peer through the crackling flames to see where he’s gone, someone drops down
onto the sand next to me. It’s Matt. He too is out of uniform – wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He and Jeremy are so similar they’re almost identical but not quite.
Matt’s hair is slightly longer and fairer. And where Jeremy seems more gentle and sweet, Matt seems to be permanently viewing the world through an expression of stoner cynicism, his lip
always curled in a smirk, just like his sister’s.
    ‘Hey,’ he says to me now.
    ‘Hi,’ I say back.
    ‘Whassup?’ he asks.
    ‘Nothing,’ I say and he laughs under his breath and turns his head towards the fire. God, I think to myself, I have to find out the right answer to that question.
    ‘You having a good time?’ Matt asks after a few seconds.
    ‘Yeah,’ I say, taking a swig of my beer which is now warm and tastes of pee. Or what I imagine pee tastes like.
    Before I can add to this scintillating conversation, a girl appears out of nowhere and collapses straight into Matt’s lap. She giggles as he swipes her blonde hair out of his mouth and
pulls her into a more comfortable position, still on his lap. I notice that he keeps one arm around her waist too.
    ‘How much have you had to drink?’ he asks the girl.
    ‘Not much,’ the girl answers. She sees me then and, hiccupping, falls backwards off his lap. Matt grabs her before she topples completely into the sand and rights her.
‘Hi,’ she says, handing out a wobbly hand to me. ‘I’m Sophie.’ Hiccup.
    She is small and bouncy and almost fully clothed – though in a sundress that reveals a generous amount of cleavage.
    I shake her hand. ‘Hi – I’m Ren,’ I say.
    ‘Awesome,’ she grins. ‘Like, who are you here