un-titled

Prologue
Everyone sat around the table, waiting to hear the news so important that they had to miss Blue Danish, their favorite show.  Jackie shushed everyone and Sam began.
“Well, you probably know, but my sister, your Aunty Linda,” he paused.  He was talking about the Aunty Linda who ran away when she was eighteen to marry an older man, and for the last eighteen years had been living in Victoria somewhere, sending Christmas cards occasionally “Well, her and…her husband have separated because finance difficulties,” by finance difficulties probably meant they had gone bankrupt “and they have nowhere to go, so they’re coming here.” There was a stunned silence then Bluey said “They?”
“Well, Linda has two kids.  Melissa and Emma.” Jackie put in enthusiastically “I think Melissa is about your age Tina.”
“Great.” She answered flatly.
“Where are they going to sleep?” Aaron asked suddenly.
“Well…” Sam started “The study can be cleared out, and Aaron, you’ll have to move into Bluey’s room an”
“No way!  He’s not coming in my room!” Bluey wined.  For fifteen, Bluey wasn’t exactly mature.
“There’s no other way, Cooper.” Jackie soothed, “Tina has to share too.”
“There is no way anyone’s coming in my room!” Tina declared, “That Melissa and Emma can share the study!”
“It’s not big enough,” Sam tried to reason “It’ll only be for a while…”
“I don’t want to share with Bluey.” Aaron wailed “His room smells!”
“No it doesn’t!”
“Yes it does!  Like armpits!”
“I’m not sharing!” Tina yelled and ran out of the kitchen. 

Chapter 1
The world seemed to glow orange as the sun set majestically over the hill, and the cockatoos screeched loudly in the gum trees.  A cloud of dust rose into the air by the front gate, and followed a blue Ford Fiesta up the driveway.  Tina Neil stopped swinging on the old tire swing and watched as the car stopped beside the old Ute, and Sam and Jackie rushed out of the front door, Aaron following curiously behind them.  The driver’s door swung open and a woman in her late thirties, wearing a lacey summer dress and heeled thongs stepped out of the car.  She saw Sam and Linda and almost ran to greet them and Aaron began asking a young looking kid about what footy team she liked.  Then a girl of about Tina’s age got out of the car and just stood there, looking around in utter disbelief.  Her Ashy Blonde hair hung around her armpits and her legs looked incredibly long in a pair of black short shorts.  Bill, Bluey’s kelpie, ran toward her and licked her hand affectionately.  The girl pushed the dog away and wiped her hand on her shorts, unpleased. 
“Tina, come meet your Aunty Linda.” Sam called.  Tina, suddenly realizing how stupid she probably looked starring at everyone, jumped off the swing and walked over to the group.
“Hi, Tina.  I’m Linda.”  She said, smiling.  Tina smiled too and shook Linda’s hand.
“Tina, this is Emma and,” Sam gestured towards the girl with long legs “this is Melissa.”
“Milly.” Melissa corrected in an airy voice, joining the group, but still keeping her distance.  “People call me Milly.”
“Well, Milly,” Jackie began carefully “Why don’t you grab some of your bags and Tina will show you around.  Tina raised her eyebrows at Jackie and Sam smiled, caught in the awkward silence. 
“Well, teas’ almost ready, so let’s unload the car and then we’ll eat, eh?”  Then he moved towards the car and heaved a suitcase onto the ground. 

*    *    *    *    *

Dinner that night was roast and Sam, Jackie, Linda, Milly, Emma, Aaron and Tina all sat around the big oak table in the kitchen.  Tina ate quietly while everyone else talked noisily, and Jackie tried to have a conversation with Milly. 
“So, Tina,” Linda started “I hear you have a horse of your own?”  Tina nodded then, catching Sam’s eye, replied “Uh, yer.  Her name’s Sally.”
“I had a horse when I was young too.” Linda smiled.  Tina giggled inwardly at the thought of ‘Aunty Linda’ with her styled hair and spotless dress on a horse. 
“In fact, your Aunty Linda lived in the same room as you and Milly.” Sam said cheerily.  Tina went back to her food then.  It was her room, not Milly’s. 
“Cooper, you’re late!” Jackie scolded as Bluey waltzed into the room.  He smiled, dropping some papers on the kitchen bench and Joining them at the table.  “Sorry, Mum.”
“Linda, Cooper.  Cooper, Linda.” Sam introduced.
“Actually,” Bluey said, taking a mouthful of pork “most people call me Bluey.”
“Why?” Emma asked suddenly.  Tina glanced out the window and pushed back her chair.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Jackie asked.
“To feed Sally,” Tina put her dishes in the sink “Like I do every night.” She laughed.
“Can I come?” Emma asked “Can I, Mum?” she turned to Linda.
“Sure, if that’s ok with you.” She turned to Tina.
“Come on then.” Tina grinned and disappeared out the back door.  She liked Emma.  For an eleven year old she was pretty cool. 

Outside the air was still hot even though the sun was almost disappeared.  Emma watched as Tina measured out the grain and filled the water trough.
“Can you ride it?” she asked, stroking the horse.
“It is a she,” Tina laughed “and of cause I can ride her!”
“That’s so cool! I wish I could ride.”  Emma said dreamily.
Tina thought for a moment “I could teach you…But not tonight.”
“Oh, yes!” Emma hugged Tina so tight she thought she would burst.  Emma was really growing on her.
“C’mon!  Dessert will be ready by now.”  Tina called, racing Emma to the back door, the pair closely followed by Bill.

Chapter 2
You-too, the family’s ginger cat, clawed at Tina’s head, trying to get under the sheets.  Tina lifted her blanket with a tired arm and You-too crawled to the base of the bed and laid down.  Tina glanced at her peeked at the wall then, remembering that her digital clock was on her left now, rolled over to see the time.  6:45.  The sun was beginning to creep through the gap in the curtains, showering Milly’s bed in a thousand beams of light.  Tina watched her cousin for a moment, thinking how Jackie had made her promise to give this thing a shot.  The thing was, Tina didn’t want to give this thing a shot.  She didn’t want her Aunty Linda and cousins, whom she had only ever met once, living in her house just because Linda and Jarred divorced, and she certainly didn’t want Milly sharing her room.  It wasn’t fair that her room was now their room.  Just because Milly was the same age as Tina shouldn’t mean that they have to share a room!  There was nothing good about the situation.  Not one single thing!

Tina sighed and heaved herself out of bed.  It was Sunday, which meant it was Monday tomorrow, and that meant school.  She sighed again and dressed quickly in a pair of old jeans and plain top and tiptoed out of the room, down the hall and out the back door. 
Bill greeted her with a big sloppy lick as she sat down to put o n her socks and boots, and followed her out to Sally’s paddock.  The cockatoos were already awake and screeching loudly like always, and the chooks clucked contentedly, pecking at the ground.  Aaron appeared from behind the chook shed and waved at Tina.  Tina waved back then jumped the gate and whistled twice.  Sally came trotting towards her, and Tina kissed her on the forehead.
“Good morning, my beautiful!” she whispered, stroking Sally’s mane.  Then she climbed back over the gate and retrieved the curry combs from the feed shed.   
As she worked the curry comb in circular patterns on Sally’s flanks and back, Tina thought about what she might do that day.  Hamish was at his sister’s in Sandy Creek this weekend, and Jess was probably with Christian.  Hamish and Jess were Tina’s closest friends, as was Bridie, her next-door neighbor.
“How ‘bout a ride with Giddy and Bridie today Sal?” Tina finished grooming Sally and put the curry combs away. 
Bill was chasing the chickens again, and Aaron was doing his best to catch him, but Bill was faster.  Tina giggled as Aaron tripped on a stick and fell.
“It’s not funny!” he shouted at her, brushing the dirt from his knees “If you’re so good, why don’t you catch him?”
“Ok, I will.” Tina smiled and whistled two short, sharp whistles.  Bill stopped, jogged over to Tina and sat beside her, panting.  Aaron just stuck his tongue out and stalked away.  He still hadn’t learnt how to command the sheep dogs.

*    *    *    *    *

Inside, the wonderful aroma of bacon and eggs filled Tina’s lungs as she followed the sent into the kitchen.  She went to grab a plate that had been filled with bacon already, but Jackie shooed her hand away.
“Wait for everyone, Tina” Jackie flipped another egg, and pointed to a pile of toast.  Tina began buttering each piece, eying the bacon. 
“So…” Jackie dragged out the ‘so’, her way of saying ‘so, how are you feeling about things’, and by things she meant the cousins.
Tina shrugged “I dunno.  Emma’s ok.  And so is Aunty Linda.”
“And Milly?”
“I…” Tina couldn’t think what to say so she shrugged instead.  Sam walked in and pinched a ration of bacon before Jackie could stop him, then Aaron came in to and sat down at the table, ready for breakfast.  Before long everyone except Milly was seated and gorging them selves on bacon and eggs. 
“Where’s Milly?” Jackie asked after a while.
“I think she’s in the shower.” Bluey answered through a mouthful of toast.  The talk continued, and the conversation topic wavered yet again.  Tina stood and sat her plate near the sink. 
“I’m gonna have a shower.” She declared, but no one paid much attention.
As she walked past the bathroom, she heard the shower still running.  ‘She’d better get out soon!’ Tina thought.  Her bedroom was at the end of the hall, in between Aarons, and what used to be the study, but what was now Emma’s room.  At first, Jackie had suggested that she have the study, but Tina would rather share than live in that little room with bad lighting. 
The extra bed and chest of drawers made Tina’s room feel small despite the fact that it was quite large.  Her desk, chest of drawers and bed were now crammed around two walls, while Milly’s bed and the dresser took up one.  The other wall had a window that looked out on Sally’s paddock, and the shared wardrobe sat next to the door.  There were a few boxes of Milly’s in the middle of the room.  She hadn’t unpacked at all last night. Just eaten tea, watched TV and gone to bed.  She hadn’t talked much either. 
Tina grabbed her towel from the back of her desk chair and walked back out to the bathroom.  The shower was still going.  ‘Milly must have been in there for at least half an hour by now!’ Tina thought angrily.
“Milly!” Tina banged on the door “You’ve been in too long!  Get out!”  The shower stopped and a minute later Milly emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and her blonde hair dripping wet. 
Tina stepped aside to let her through then said “We’re in a drought you know.”  Milly just looked at her. 
“You can’t just spend half and hour in the shower, it wastes too much water.”
“What ever.”  Milly replied flatly, walking down the hall to the bedroom.  Tina just shook her head and went to have a shower.

Chapter 3
“Mum!” Tina called from the desk, now in the dining room instead of the study. “Mum!”
“I’m in the bedroom.” Jackie called back.
“Can I go to Bridie’s?” Tina asked, sticking her head into Sam and Jackie’s bedroom.  Jackie was sitting on the bed, folding washing.
“After lunch.  Dads taken Linda and the girls for a tour of Willopina, and he’s bringing chicken and chips home on the way back.”
“Ok, I’ll tell Bridie.” Tina ran back to the phone “Mum said after lunch, ok?”
“Sure.” Bridie said on the other end “And make sure you bring Sal too.”
“Sure will!”
“Ok, bye.”
“Bye.” Tina hang up the phone and wandered into the through the kitchen and out the back door.  It was a scorching day, even though it was only October.  The sun seemed brighter than usual, compared to the huge blue sky.  There hadn’t been rain for a long time, and the ground was hard and burned Tina’s feet as she strode across the driveway to the tire swing hanging flaccidly from a tall gum tree.  She perched on the swing and rocked herself gently with her toe on the ground.  A cloud of dust appeared by the front gate and Tina watched as the station wagon drove up the driveway and parked on the other side of the old Ute.  Tina loved driving the old Ute around the paddocks.  She had learnt to drive when she was Aaron’s age, and now she was almost as good as Bluey. 
Linda and Sam got out the car, and Aaron and Emma dashed through the back door, presumably with lunch.  Milly got out of the car too, though more slowly.  She was wearing short-shorts again, and a pink top that said something about boyfriends making nice pets.  Her hair was pulled back in a pony-tail on the crown of her head, with her fringe and other bits hanging around her face.  She looked just like one of those models out of a teen magazine. 
“Tina!” Sam called from the door “C’mon!”  Tina scurried across the driveway and into the coolness of the house.  Emma and Aaron were arguing over who had more chips and Jackie was putting the chicken on a large plate. 
“Look what you’ve done!” Milly squawked suddenly, jumping from her seat.  Orange Fanta dripped from her top and shorts as she stood awkwardly, scowling.
“I’m sorry.” Emma said quietly, hanging her head.  Milly just snatched the cloth Jackie was holding out for her and wiped her arm and legs. “This stains you know!”
“Now, Milly, it’s not the end of the world.  It’s just a top.  We can get another.” Linda soothed.
“No, Mum!” Milly yelled “It’s my favorite top, and I can’t very well just go and get another one out here can I!”
“Melissa Ann Owen!” Linda said firmly “Get to your room.”  Tina watched as Milly threw the dish cloth on the table and huffed out the room, down the hall and slammed the bedroom door.
“I’m sorry about this,” Linda apologized to Jackie “She’s just so difficult sometimes.”
“It’s ok.”  Jackie went back to the chicken “Tina’s like that sometimes too.”
“I’m not that bad, Mum.”
“Can I have more chips yet?” Aaron piped up.  He had been eating all that time, and had polished off a whole plate of chips. 
“Wait until everyone’s had some!” Emma wined.  Already she was behaving as if she had always lived there.  Aaron and Emma began arguing again.  Jackie put the chicken on the table and Bluey surfaced from his room.  Everyone began eating and laughing and talking.  Tina finished her plate and put it in the sink.
“I’m going to Bridie’s now,” she called as she pulled on her boots “I’ll be home by four”
“Ok,” Jackie called back “You’re taking Sally?”
“Yep!”

*    *    *    *    *

The heavy iron-gate scraped along the ground as Tina pushed it open and walked Sally through.  She closed it again and walked down to the H frame and looped Sally’s reins over one of the poles in the shade.  Bridie waved from the veranda and put down the magazine she had been reading.  Tina had always been jealous of Bridie with her long wavy, auburn hair, fairish skin and green eyes.  So unlike Tina with her shoulder length brown hair, tanned skin and deep brown eyes. 
Tina and Bridie jumped the fence into Giddy’s paddock and walked around the maze of salvation Jane growing by the fence.
“Dad keeps saying he’ll poison the bloody weeds, but is it done? No!” Bride grumbled.
“Mmm, my Dad’s the same.” Tina giggled “Says he’ll do something then takes three months to do it.” Giddy lifted his head saw the girls walking towards him and went back to grazing.
“So,” Bridie kicked a pebble along the dry hard ground.  Rain had to come soon, or everything would dry up and die “What are they like?”
“Aunty Linda is ok.” Tina wiped away the small bead of sweat forming on her forehead “Emma, the nine year old one, is ok too,” Bridie nodded to show she was listening “But Milly, the one our age, is a total snob!  I mean, she threw a total hissy fit earlier because Emma spilt Fanta on her top.”
“Can’t she just get another one?”
“I dunno, don’t really care.” Bridie caught Giddy, a relatively simple task, and led him out to the H frame to saddle.  Tina and Bridie hardly ever actually rode with saddles.  Mostly they just rode bareback with reins.  Today was an exception though, and once Bridie tacked Giddy, they mounted and walked up the driveway toward the sheep paddocks. 

The afternoon was warm and the sun burned Tina’s unprotected arms and neck.  When they reached the sheep paddock, Bridie jumped of Giddy and opened the gate just enough to let the horses through, then put the gate back and mounted again.  Both Sally and Giddy were qui107te tall, so the girl needed a mounting block or a fence to mount.  Sally was eight years old, and a beautiful dapple grey, and Giddy was three and a pretty chestnut that looked gold in the sun. 
“Ok, you go left and I’ll go right.” Bridie commanded “Get them to the old gum.
Tina nodded and the girls trotted the horses toward the sheep, separating just before they reached flock and pulling the sheep into a tight circle, then they moved them to the other end of the paddock by the old gum tree.  They did this three times, moving the flock back and forth across the paddock.
“That was pretty good that time.” Tina puffed when they finished.
“Yer, only five stragglers.” Bridie sighed.  The girls left the sheep and trotted back to the gate.  Tina opened it this time, then re-mounted and trotted next to Bridie toward the dam.  The horses drank deeply while Tina and Bridie puffed.
“Ohh, we have a math test tomorrow.” Bridie’s head hung down and she fiddled with her reins.  Bridie was very funny, a great friend and fantastic at mustering the livestock, but she wasn’t so good at school and often got low grades.  Tina was the opposite, with good grades most of the time.
“Let’s go,” Bridie sat back up in her saddle and moved trotted Giddy in the direction of the house.

*    *    *    *    *

Tina, Bluey, Aaron and Emma, sprawled across the couch and floor, laughed hysterically at the TV.  Blue Danish, Tina, Bluey and Aaron’s favorite sitcom, had turned the lounge room into a room of hysterics.  It happened to be Emma’s favorite too, and she rolled around the floor holding her stomach, trying to inhale through her giggling.
Tina gulped some air and sat up as the add break came on.
“That was so funny!” Aaron managed.  He was a sucker for a good joke, and laughed at almost anything, even when it was hardly funny.  Tina could hear the adults talking in the kitchen and went to get a drink.  As she crossed the hall, she noticed that her some cardboard boxes littering the floor just outside her room.  Milly still hadn’t unpacked and had spent most of the day sulking and texting on her mobile phone.  She had a really good phone though; a flip which made this little noise when you opened it.  Tina didn’t even have a mobile yet, and Bluey’s wasn’t a flip.  A few kids at school had phones too, but nobody really took much notice unless someone got one nobody else had.  Milly’s phone was sure to be a hit.

Rouge Traders blared from the stereo on the chest of drawers, and posters almost entirely covered the wall by Milly’s bed.  Milly was arranging some candles and other things on the window seal and a pile of Tina’s things, previously on the window seal and dresser.  Tina looked around in utter horror.
“Who said you could take my things down?” Tina demanded, still standing by the door.  Milly just went on arranging candles. 
“I said,” Tina shouted “Who said you could move my stuff!” 
“What?” Milly turned around.  Tina stomped across the room and hit stop on the stereo.
“I said, who said you could move my stuff?” she tapped her foot impatiently.
“Hey!” Milly heard this time “Turn my music back on!”
“Put my things back!”
“No, this is my room too!”
“Just because you’re staying here for a while doesn’t mean you can just take over my room!”  Tina raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response.
“Yes, it does actually!”
“Take your stupid posters down!”  Tina lunged for the poster covered wall, and Milly grabbed her arm, pulling her away.
“Get off me!” Tina pulled back on her arm, and Milly tightened her grip.
“This is my room too.” Milly put on a funny expression that read ‘and there’s nothing you can do about it!’ Tina just glared, sending daggers into Milly.  ‘How can she be so horrible?’ she thought. 
Milly let go of Tina and sprinted out of the room, towards the kitchen.  Tina knew if Milly told Jackie and Sam about the situation first, she would be told to ‘just deal with it’, and sprinted down the hall after Milly.  Too late.  Milly was already telling the parents about how Tina wanted her to take down all her things in her victim voice.
“Now, Tina,” Jackie began.
“No, Mum!” she interrupted “She’s taken down almost all my things and put posters all over the wall.”
“Well, let’s sort this out then.” Sam stood and made his way down to the bedroom, Jackie, Linda, Tina, Milly and now Emma, Aaron and Bluey following.  Sam looked around at the posters and at the pile of Tina’s things on her bed.
“She has no right to take down my things!” Tina announced “This is my room!”
“No, she shouldn’t have taken down your things without your permission, but” Tina knew what was coming “this is her room now too.”
“That’s what I tried to tell her.” Milly said, her victim voice turned on again. 
“It doesn’t mean you can take down her things though.” Linda stepped in now.
“Yes, we need to reach a compromise.” Jackie said.  There was a silence while everyone thought, then Jackie said “Milly, you can have a few posters up, not all of them.” Tina saw the look of bitterness cross her cousin’s face before she changed it back to upset. “And, you need to take down some of your things so that Tina can put some of her things up to.” Linda finished. 

Both girls stood silently as everyone left their room.  As soon as the door was closed, Milly sneered “Happy now?” she asked sarcastically.
“I’ll be happy when you move out.” Tina retorted, moving to the window seal and pushing Milly’s things onto one half and putting a few of her things back up.
“Hey!” Milly went to take Tina’s thing down again, then, remembering the ‘compromise’, moved over to the desk.
“No!” Tina took her things off the window seal again “You know what; you have the window seal, and the dresser.  I’ll take the desk and chest of drawers.”
Milly expelled her breath loudly, as she were annoyed, then said “Fine.  But I get most of the wardrobe” And took her stereo off the drawers and walked back across to her side of the room. 
“Alright then.” Tina put her things back on the drawers.  ‘As long as she’s here,’ Tina thought ‘It’s gonna be hell.”

(Diary entry by Milly Owen)
Diary,
        Well, we’re here.  At Aunty Jackie and Uncle Sam’s, and I hate it!  We got here last night and everyone was playing happy families.  I have three cousins here; Bluey (his real name is Cooper I think), Tina and Aaron.  Bluey’s fifteen.  I haven’t seen much of him, but he seems nice.  Aaron is about Emma’s age and Tina is my age, and the one I have to share a room with!  And she is so…country?  She even has a horse for god’s sake! 
Today Uncle Sam showed us around Willopina, and guess what!  Its even more of a hole then what I thought!  There’s only one supermarket, a few clothing shops (No specific brands), a post office, two pubs, a church and a few other things like a chip shop. 
Uncle Sam introduced Mum to a few people that seemed to know her from ages ago, like when she was still going to school. 
We got lunch from the chip shop and OMG, the guy that served us was sooo hot!  He had blondish brown hair and the cutest smile I have ever seen!  His name tag said Christian (not such a great name), but like I said; sooo hot! 
Well I should probably un- pack some stuff.  Bye
Later,
OMG! Tina is such a bitch!  She had a total go at me for taking some of her things down so I could put my stuff up!  Its not like her stuff was cool or anything!  Then she tried to rip down my posters!
Mum made me take some down and ‘compromise’ about who gets to put what where.  I’ve got the dresser and window seal and most of the wardrobe, and she’s got the drawers and the desk. 
It is soo unfair!  I don’t see why me and Emma can’t just swap.  I mean, she gets her own room!  Any way, school tomorrow.  Maybe I’ll see Christian.  I hope so.  Bye