Six Steps Down Read online

  Six Steps Down

  First published in Australia in 2013 by Short Stop Press

  An imprint of A&A Book Publishing Pty Ltd.

  ISBN 978-0-9922985-0-0

  This EPUB edition:

  ISBN 978-0-9922985-1-7

  Copyright © Mandi Greenwood 2013

  This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means or process whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publishers.

  Cover design, e-book format by David Andor / Wave Source Design www.wavesourcedesign.com

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

  Author: Greenwood, Mandi.

  Title: Six steps down / by Mandi Greenwood.

  ISBN: 9780992298517 (ebook)

  Subjects:Bildungsromans.

  Target Audience:For young adults.

  Dewey Number: 823.4

  A&A Book Publishing Pty Ltd

  Leichhardt, NSW 2040

  Email: [email protected]

  Website: www. aampersanda.com

  Visit us on:

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  For David,

  Rachael, and Alex

  My strength and my inspiration,

  The loves of my life.

  Prologue

  Aisley, in January

  Sixteen-year-old Aisley Brannon uttered the three words in disgust when she saw the derelict house they were moving into.

  'You're joking, right?'

  The place was a dump! She wandered through the rundown mansion, feeling utterly miserable. They left Richmond for this? A decrepit old house called Sheldon's Seat, atop a desolate cliff, miles from Melbourne and her old life? Seriously?

  In Aisley's opinion, the place only had two redeeming features. The first was the wooden bridge that ran across the mezzanine landing on the upper floor, dividing her parents' bedroom from the other upstairs rooms. The upright posts of the bridge's handrail were covered with the grime from one hundred plus years of neglect. However, they were also hand carved with figures of elves and faeries clambering up the posts as if they were climbing the trunks of trees. Even in her gloom, Aisley had to admit the bridge was awesome.

  The second of the two things Aisley liked was the enormous window seat in the room she had chosen for her own. It was bow-shaped and very deep and there was more than enough room to climb right in. In an ideal world, she could imagine sitting in there with her iPod, a good book, a friend, or all three.

  A friend? Ha! If she had a friend! All of her friends were back in Richmond, getting ready to start year ten; all happy and together. She was the only one stuck out here in the bush, destined to live in a hovel and be the awkward new kid at school. Life wasn't fair. Aisley really, really wanted to hate living in a small, seaside town. She wanted to be the tragic martyr and spend her days moping about and grieving for her old home and the cosmopolitan lifestyle she'd been forced to leave behind.

  From the large window in her new bedroom, she could see a grassy hill running down to the very brink of the steep cliff on which the house stood. Aisley leaned against the frame and looked at the view, her green eyes sad.

  Beyond the cliff was the ocean going on and on until the horizon. She could see boats out there. Maybe she could swim out and get on board one of them and just let it take her wherever it was headed.

  Hey, why not? She might as well. She'd lost everything else.

  Chandra, in February

  Despite it being summer, the day was a bit cold for board-shorts, so sixteen-year-old Chandra Sarin zipped up his wetsuit. Then he picked up his surfboard and waded into the shallows. Stewart Thomas was waiting for him, and together, they headed for deeper water.

  'Did you check out the new chick yesterday?' Chandra asked nonchalantly.

  Stewart squinted into the rising sun. 'The red head?' he replied. 'That the one you're talking about?'

  'Well duh!' Chandra laughed. 'Exactly how many new girls do you think we have this year?'

  'Just getting my facts right, man,' Stewart replied cheerfully.

  'She's the only one, Einstein!'

  'Yeah, okay,' Stewart shrugged. 'Whatever. The red head. What's her name? Ashley or something?'

  'Aisley,' Chandra said, a bit quickly.

  Stewart glanced at him. They were out beyond the breakers now. Stewart climbed up and sat astride his board. 'Nah, I'm positive it was Ashley,' he teased.

  Chandra took the bait. 'It's Aisley,' he insisted, climbing onto his board. 'And she's not a red head.'

  'No?'

  'No. It's more like … I dunno. Darkish-reddish-brownish, sort of.'

  'Red,' Stewart said, spreading his hands. 'Like me.'

  'Nuh uh!'

  Stewart burst out laughing. He dropped onto his front and used his hands to cut through the deeper water

  'What?' Chandra asked indignantly.

  'You're hooked,' Stewart said.

  'No.'

  'Yes.'

  'I'm just being observant,' Chandra stated, looking straight ahead and avoiding Stewart's scrutiny.

  'Uh huh.'

  'Like, I'm going to fall for any woman that quick?' Chandra snorted. 'I don't think so.'

  'Just saying is all,' Stewart said as he coasted serenely through the water.

  'I haven't even spoken to her!' Chandra paddled ferociously, annoyed at himself for being so obvious. He liked to think he was cooler than that.

  'Ah, but you will,' Stewart nodded. 'Just wait until that addictive Sarin charm works its magic. She won't know what hit her, man.'

  Chandra pulled a face. 'You make me sound like an arsehole,' he complained.

  Stewart laughed. 'Oh well.'

  Chandra flipped his middle finger at Stewart and threw all his effort into moving his surfboard through the water, heading for the waves.

  Stewart watched him go. Amused, he sped after him.

  Aisley, in June

  Six months down the track, Aisley suspected she hadn't been a very convincing martyr, despite her best intentions. It turned out Sheldon's Seat, perched on Loch Hill above the coastal town of Seamere, wasn't such a bad house to live in after all.

  There were lots of things to like about Seamere. As the months passed, they became more apparent to Aisley. Firstly, there was peace and quiet. After spending all of her life in inner city Richmond, with trams rattling past the front door, Aisley soon discovered that Seamere was the complete opposite. The sound of the crashing surf replaced the noise of the trams, and that wasn't a bad thing, right?

  Plus, the city had never seemed truly dark at night. In Seamere, it was pitch black and the sky was full of a thousand stars. Then there was an easy walk to a small, country high school. No car rides or trains were necessary as they had been in Richmond.

  Seamere Secondary College was a world away from the huge suburban school she'd attended before. Aisley had settled in easily over the last two terms and made some good friends. Her naturally warm and friendly nature made her popular straight away.

  Speaking of things to like about Seamere, she couldn't forget the beach. Seamere Surf Beach was a long and perfect stretch of soft, white sand. It was within walking distance of Sheldon's Seat down a narrow track at the bottom of the gravel Loch Hill Road.

  Finally, there was the difference it made to Aisley dad's health. The stress of city living, and a desk job that was making him so unhappy, was gone. It had all been replaced by the freedom and fresh air that his renovation, gardening, and handyman work gave him.

  It hadn't all been easy, of course. After all, what is? Aisley
and her twelve-year-old brother Wade did have to be the awkward new kids. What made it worse was that just about every other kid had known each other since kindergarten, so she and Wade were the outsiders to begin with. To rub salt into the wound, a horrible girl named Bliss Anderson — why does there have to be one at every high school? — and her posse of nasty girls made it their personal mission to make Aisley's first month in year ten at Seamere Secondary College miserable.

  Bliss liked to humiliate Aisley publicly at any opportunity. She'd labelled Aisley to anyone who'd listen as, 'That freaked-out city bitch who lives in the dump on Loch Hill.'

  Aisley couldn't quite work out what it was that made her "freaked-out" or why Bliss hated her with such a passion, but she tried to keep things in perspective. Nevertheless, the bullying took its toll and Aisley suffered. Her parents began to worry and to wonder if they'd made the right move after all.

  Just when it all seemed doomed, happiness prevailed in the forms of Cate Costa, Freya Biddy, and Archie Evans. Those three wonderful people came quickly to Aisley's defence, destroying Bliss Anderson's attempts to crush her spirit. The four of them became instant best friends. It constantly amazed Aisley to think there was a time when they hadn't been a part of her life they were all so close. Having Cate, Freya, and Archie healed the pain of the friends she'd lost when she had to move.

  Another bonus was Sheldon's Seat itself. Under the restoring hands of her parents, the old mansion started to reveal its hidden beauty and former glory. Now six months later, Aisley had fallen in love with the place. She was happy to call it home. She realised it was an intriguing, mysterious, and wonderful house. Personally, she was certain it was haunted as well and that was fine with her. She loved the idea of spirits and the supernatural, of faeries and wizards.

  One of Aisley's favourite things to do was to sit in her window seat and watch a storm rage across the horizon. Sometimes she became so absorbed with the view that her book lay forgotten on her lap. She'd feel the goose bumps rise on her forearms in the most delightful way and knew she was home. More at home than she'd ever been in the ultra-modern townhouse in Richmond.

  Chapter One

  The Humanities Assignment

  June

  It was eight thirty in the morning and an icy wind blew straight in off the ocean and across the tops of the Seamere cliffs. Nevertheless, the sun was trying to shine when Aisley set out on her short walk to school. Cate Costa was waiting at the bottom of Loch Hill when Aisley rounded the corner of the gravel road that swept down from Sheldon's Seat.

  Cate was a tall, appealing girl with glossy, brunette hair cut in an asymmetrical bob so it fell pertly across one dark blue eye. She threw herself tragically into Aisley's arms as if they hadn't seen each other for a year instead of just a week.

  'How was your trip?' Aisley asked, gently detaching Cate and hitching her school bag higher on her shoulder.

  Cate and her family had just spent the last eight days at her grandparent's fruit orchard in the Mallee, in outback Victoria. The two girls started to walk along the verge of the road. There was no proper footpath until closer to the village.

  'Oh you know!' Cate waggled her hands dramatically. 'Nonna got all cranky because my pop picked all the peaches too soon. She wasn't ready to make jam yet so the peaches went bad, so she spent the whole time yelling at him …'

  'Yelling at him?'

  'Yes! I mean, like, really screaming at him.'

  Aisley snorted disbelievingly and tossed her long, chestnut hair back over her shoulder.

  'We're Italian Ais,' Cate explained, 'That's what we do. We're passionate. Mum says the more nonna and pop yell at each other, the more they fall in love.'

  Aisley laughed again. 'Aw, your grandparents are extremely cute.' Her hair fell back over her face again as was its way. Damn, it was going to drive her nuts by the end of the day! She felt about in her pockets. Great, she'd forgotten to grab a hair tie.

  'Y'think?' Cate sniffed. 'Try living with it for a week. And Felix was impossible. He got so bored he actually forced me to play Twister. I mean, can you imagine?' Felix was Cate's eighteen-year-old brother, currently slogging his way through year twelve.

  Aisley frowned. 'No,' she said. 'Actually I can't imagine that at all.' She searched her bag for a hair tie.

  'It was painful,' Cate moaned. 'So embarrassing.'

  'Oh poor you,' Aisley said distractedly. Then changing the subject, 'Do you have a spare hair tie?'

  Cate rummaged in her bag as they walked along and produced a long piece of black, velvet ribbon. 'Will this do?' She handed it over.

  'Oh, thank you darl-leenk, it most certainly weeell!' Aisley sang in a high-pitched voice that made both girls fall about laughing.

  'You're such a wally, Ais!' Cate cackled.

  Aisley tied her hair back with the ribbon and let it fall down her back in fiery waves. A few curls around her hairline escaped, as always, and fell across her face, but those she could put up with. 'That's better,' she sighed with relief. 'Now I can see.'

  'Honestly, what would you do without me?' Cate asked primly.

  Aisley hugged her arm. 'Ah, I really have missed you Cate.'

  'Well? Spill,' said Cate as they turned the corner and strolled slowly up Seamere's main street, past the botanical gardens. Now they'd reached civilization they had a footpath to walk on as well.

  'What?' Aisley asked.

  'Tell me everything that's happened since I've been gone,' Cate insisted.

  Aisley shrugged. 'There's really not much to tell. It's been boring without you.'

  'Come on,' begged Cate, walking sideways and grasping Aisley's hands. 'I've been stuck miles from any kind of Wi-Fi. No Skype, no Internet …'

  'Well duh,' said Aisley, rolling her green eyes. 'No Internet means no Skype.'

  'You know what I mean Ais!' Cate turned face forwards again. 'It's been utterly dull. Right now you could tell me Archie hooked up with Aasha Sarin and I'd believe you.'

  Aisley gawked at Cate and they both sniggered. 'Not likely!' Aisley joked.

  Aasha Sarin was also in year twelve, like Felix, and she was undisputedly the hottest girl in the entire school. If it weren't for the fact that Archie was a friend of her brother Chandra, Aasha probably wouldn't even know he existed. Archie was … well, Archie was … a funny, loyal, wonderful boy, but the chances of him making even the smallest blip on Aasha Sarin's radar were a million to one.

  'That definitely did not happen,' said Aisley. 'I assure you.' She tapped her finger on her lips and thought hard. 'Let's see … Freya thinks Willa still likes Stewart, but Willa won't admit it of course.'

  'Willa Fry?'

  'How many other Willa's do you know?'

  'Good point. But I thought she was the one who dumped him?'

  'She was. Again!'

  'Well, then … oh, whatever! That girl has serious relationship issues, honestly!'

  Aisley nodded with sympathy. 'Willa is very … needy,' she agreed.

  Cate rolled her eyes. 'She's very something,' she commented dryly. 'Anything else?'

  'Mr Jones got so mad at Chandra in maths the other day that I swear he looked like he wanted to hit him.'

  'Really?'

  'Really.' Aisley watched her feet as she walked. 'Chandra was mucking around with Drew King and, you know, just being Chandra really. He comes out with these sarcastic comments and he never knows when to stop. Mr Jones must have given him ten warnings, but Chandra just didn't listen.'

  'He's his own worst enemy,' agreed Cate solemnly. 'He's always been like that. Even at kinder he used to spend half his time in the naughty corner.'

  They crossed Peach Drive and left the botanical gardens behind. Now shops, cafés, and restaurants flanked both sides of Main Street.

  Aisley nodded. 'Well in the end, Mr Jones just lost it. He screamed at Chandra and sent him to the principal. He said this time they would suspend him for sure. And you know Mr Jones, he never gets angry.'

  'He's the calme
st teacher at school,' Cate agreed.

  'Well, after Mr Briskett anyway,' Aisley said, putting her hand on Cate's arm. 'You've got to admit, he's pretty calm.'

  'Mr Briskett is different though,' Cate said, pushing her hair behind her ears. 'He's more like a cool uncle than a teacher.'

  'True,' Aisley replied. 'But like I said, Mr Jones never, ever gets pissed off.'

  'Except with Chandra,' Cate held up her index finger.

  'Except with Chandra,' echoed Aisley. 'Then of course, in typical fashion, Chandra went on to ditch school for the next two days.' Aisley chewed her lip. 'I know where he was,' she said. 'I saw him on the beach with his surfboard under his arm both mornings when I was walking to school.' She stared into the dark shop windows, seeing her and Cate's reflections as they passed by. 'I wish he'd just not act like a total idiot all the time,' she said softly.

  Cate didn't say anything. She knew exactly how Aisley felt about Chandra Sarin, no matter how often Aisley might deny it.

  First session after lunch break that day was Humanities with Gerry Briskett. Aisley liked Mr Briskett for all sorts of reasons. He was like a cool uncle. He was also funny, and smart, and his lessons were never boring. And, he had the best collection of t-shirts, including an awesome one of Bender from Futurama saying, "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass". For some reason, known only to him, he always wore that one on school excursions. It was sort of like a tradition for him. Maybe it was a good luck charm or something. So long as he wore his Bender shirt, no student would ever get left behind.

  Aisley entered his classroom in a good mood that even the pouting face of Bliss Anderson glaring her way failed to spoil. In Aisley's opinion, Bliss Anderson was a strange, complex creature. Bliss had passed Aisley in the hallway at school one afternoon the week before and bumped into her hard enough to knock Aisley against the wall. When Aisley turned to protest, Bliss just gave her a poisonous glare and kept walking, her posse following in her wake. Aisley sincerely hoped all that bullying crap wasn't going to start again. She honestly didn't understand from where the animosity came, but she wouldn't be putting up with it this time. She was stronger now.