Page 26 of The Summer Island Swap
‘I’ve got some cream to help with the itching,’ said Helga. ‘That will ease them. We’ll be too busy this morning for you to notice the discomfort.’
I slathered on the cream, got changed and applied insect repellent to any exposed areas. I checked Amy had done the same and she rolled her eyes as a reply. I didn’t have time to clean my teeth or wash. I quickly applied deodorant and scraped my hair back into a scrunchie. I pulled on my Audrey Hepburn hat, ignoring the practical cap Amy had secretly packed for me. This, at least, would give me a degree of style. Yawning, I followed the others along the path to the canteen, Amy singing songs fromTheJungle Book.
‘Sleep okay?’ I asked Jonas as we lagged behind the others. He tied back his dreadlocks.
‘Nein. I was hungry and lay awake thinking about strudel and sausage.’
‘What I wouldn’t do for a pizza takeaway…’
‘Apparently they sometimes serve fish soup for breakfast.’ He pretended to vomit.
I opened my mouth to join in but his shoulders drooped, his feet dragged. The face that had been laughing under the spotlight of a torch yesterday now had dark shadows and had lost its sparkle.
‘I know, it sucks, but honestly, I’m sure we’ll soon laugh about this. Remember, it’s Thursday – in two days we go shopping and can treat ourselves to a beer and ice cream. And just think of all the inspiration this holiday will give you for songwriting. This initial misery will help you create heartbreaking ballads.’
‘What? Call a tune “Miss Apple Cake, oh how I’m missing you”?’
Trying to ignore the waves of itching across my legs, I smiled.
‘The prospect of four weeks here wouldn’t seem nearly so bad if I had my guitar. Benedikt plays the piano, you know. His dad’s a piano tuner.’ Momentarily his face brightened.
I kept him talking about music. Jonas didn’t have ten years of adult experience on his side to let him realise that lifewasa series of ups and downs and that somehow people got through the troughs. It was human nature to grit your teeth and soldier on.
Rick was waiting at the canteen. As we filled our water bottles and ate aromatic starfruit and passionfruit, he discussed afternoon rotas with Jackie. Chatty stood perched on her shoulder. Rick kept teasingly holding the end of his tail.
I whistled ‘Daydream Believer’ and went over to join them. The monkey stopped moving, just like yesterday. With a nod from Jackie and still whistling, I tickled his head. He didn’t jump this time. Perhaps he remembered the song.
Amy came up behind me. ‘I can’t believe he likes that,’ she said and pulled a pained expression, cupping her hands over her ears.
‘Clearly he’s got great taste,’ I said airily, momentarily forgetting the tough morning ahead.
‘Right, let’s go. Everyone stay together,’ said Rick. ‘We don’t want any of you getting lost on your first proper day.’ He glanced my way and handed us each a machete and pair of gloves and demonstrated the best way to swing it from side to side and hack up and down.
‘The rainforest grows back incredibly quickly,’ he said, ‘so trail clearing is an on-going challenge. The bits you cut off, just throw them into nearby undergrowth. You’ll need to wear the gloves for handling the foliage as some is prickly or can sting. There are considerable distances between the different areas of Seagrass Island such as the animal enclosures and beach, so it saves time if we are able to walk as quickly as possible, along the manmade pathways.’
‘We must be careful, in case we risk cutting each other?’ said Benedikt in his crisp High German accent. Like everyone else, he was dressed in long trousers and a long-sleeve top. I stood out having quickly thrown on my three-quarter-length floral crop pants and flamingo-print T-shirt.
‘Yes,’ said Rick. ‘Although none of you should be in danger. This morning we’ll work on a fifty-metre strip and you’ll be spaced out so that you have about five metres each to work on.’
‘That doesn’t seem like much,’ said Jonas in a hopeful tone.
‘It’s not a ready established path,’ said Rick. ‘This is a new trail I want to create access to a marshy area near the top where we can observe a whole new range of amphibians and reptiles.’ He adjusted his Indiana Jones hat. ‘Right. Are we ready? Be careful and gentle with any wildlife you need to clear, such as beetles, spiders, frogs or grass snakes…’
Everyone apart from Jonas and me looked excited. I already felt tired by the time we’d hiked up to the marshy area and my feet were hurting. Not even Benedikt and Amy’s rhythmic rendition of ‘The Bare Necessities’ could distract me. My fashionable trainers were far from supportive for uneven terrain but there was no way I was going to wear those clunky walking boots Amy had secretly packed.
I was usually the queen of practicality but this would be my only holiday for months. I’d carefully chosen gorgeous new pieces for my summer wardrobe and couldn’t bear to leave them unworn.
Also… it sounded ridiculous but I thought I’d look stupid in such cumbersome boots. They suited Amy and her more unisex dress sense. She could carry anything off – frills or straight lines, dresses or jump suits. But me? I needed clothes that were tailored to suit my figure.
Memories flashed into my head of Dad criticising the appearance of a female weather forecaster or actress on the telly.
Rick allotted us each a strip. I was the furthest away from the top with Amy in front of me. Slash. Swipe. Hack. Brush to one side. Throw. Scrape. This was a full workout. I went to swig from my water bottle. It was empty. Of course. I’d downed it all after that fruit and forgotten to refill. My mouth felt dry. I wanted to ask Amy for a swig of hers but didn’t want to draw attention to my mistake. It would only confirm what Rick already thought of me. I grabbed a handful of leaves and squealed as they revealed one of those big shiny millipedes. Feeling shaky, I dropped it to one side. A wave of dizziness washed over me as I cleared the ground of stones. Something felt strange inside my left glove. I took it off. Great. Two of my long nails had broken. I jumped as I noticed Rick by my side, looking at my hands.
‘How’s it going?’ he asked. ‘You aren’t quite keeping up with everyone else. In fact, your sister’s made fantastic headway. Perhaps it might be easier if you took off that unwieldy hat.’
It wasn’t much bigger than his. Well, only a bit. The rim was really wide and it did keep slipping forward. I swayed, for some reason finding it hard to stand.
‘There’s something you should know. My sister, Amy, she booked this trip without—’
