When I wake, Pie’s side of the bed is empty and I can hear the shower running faintly from the next room. Not wanting to see Pie, to have to return to the world where she hates me and what I am, I move quickly downstairs to prepare breakfast - just a simple meal, easy, familiar. I’m too caught up in the cooking to realize that Pie is standing behind me until I turn around and see her there. I jump backwards.

‘Ah! You scared me!’

‘Sorry, sorry,’ she says, and she smiles.

Really smiles. With no one else to see it. A smile just for me.

‘Kim?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re staring.’

‘Yeah,’ I repeat. My heart is thumping almost as fast as it did last night. It feels hot in my throat, my temperature rising with each beat. I swallow. ‘Um, I made breakfast.’

Pie sets the table and I finish the cooking. There’s silence in the kitchen but it’s so much… lighter than any other silence between us has been so far. I sneak a glance over my shoulder, Pie is humming quietly to herself as she lays out the cutlery.

‘Hey,’ I say, unable to stop myself, ‘are we friends now?’

Pie points at me with one of the knives. ‘Maybe. I’m very picky about my friends, you see.’

‘I made the cut?’

‘Only because of your cooking.’

I stick my tongue out at her and she laughs and my heart feels like it’s opening up, she’s teasing me like a proper friend and I –

have to quickly turn away and stare at the rice so Pie doesn’t see I’m smiling so hard. The hope that pressed on my chest is almost choking. Soon the breakfast is sitting on the table, steaming gently. The morning is quiet; I can hear the distant sounds of a van rumbling down the street. Pie’s phone buzzes on the table.

‘Aunt In says they’re getting Intel from the house, and she’ll text us if anything important comes up,’ Pie says, picking it up and glancing at the screen. She holds out her phone for me to read the message, and sighs, blowing air out of her cheeks. ‘I hope they don’t send anything today. I’m so tired. I feel like after last night all my energy has just – vanished.’

‘Me too,’ I admit. ‘I think we deserve a quiet day.’

‘Quiet how? What can we do?’

‘Well…’ I gaze out the window, frowning. Whenever I have a day off myself, I just watch ridiculous drama shows on TV for hours. And nap. I’m about to suggest we do that, when I notice the soft light dappling the window shutter. ‘Hey!’

‘Hey what?’

I grin over at Pie. ‘I know what we can do.’

‘Tell me!’

‘It must have slipped my mind – so much has happened – but, guess what?’

‘What?’

‘We have a swimming pool.’

+

It’s a warm day, but not the hot sticky kind of warmth that lies heavily on you. It’s the kind of warmth that skims over your skin, gentle. There’s a breeze. The pool is bluer than the sky.

‘Kim!’

I only have a brief view of Pie running towards me, iridescent in a white swim suit, before she’s crashing into me, sending both of us off the side and into the water. I surface, pushing my hair out of my face. Pie is laughing.

‘That was mean!’

‘Aw,’ says Pie, pouting, ‘was it?’

‘It was.’ I reach out and splash her.

‘Hmm.’ She crouches low and propels herself out of the water, landing on her back and sinking down to the bottom of the pool. When she comes back up again, she wipes her eyes and says, ‘Maybe we should invite Jane over. And Puey and Top.’

I stare at her. ‘Why?’

‘To be good neighbors! Jane’s had us over twice already. And Puey was funny.’

‘But I thought you didn’t like Jane.’

Pie blushes slightly. ‘Well. Still.’

‘If they come over, we’ll have to be undercover.’

‘Yeah, so?’

‘Well, it’s not a problem. I just thought you wanted a day off. Like, none of the other stuff, just time to relax.’

‘Oh.’ Pie shrugs. ‘That’s ok. Besides, one of them might own a bunch of pool toys we can use.’

‘That’s true. Should I go ask Jane?’

‘Yeah! And tell her to ask Puey and Top, I don’t know where they live.’

‘’Kay.’ I pull myself out of the pool and grab a towel from the side gate, where we’d hung several. I’m just wearing in a t-shirt and board shorts, so it doesn’t require much drying, but I sling it around my shoulders anyway as I walk next door and knock. It only takes a few moments for Jane to open the door.

‘Kim!’ she says, beaming. ‘Why are you all wet?’

‘Pie and I were wondering if you would like to come and swim in our pool. Also, Pie wanted to know if you had any pool toys, because we don’t.’

Jane almost physically jumps for joy; I can see her restraining herself. ‘I’d love to.’

‘Can you invite Puey and Top too? We don’t have their number.’

‘Oh. Um, sure!’

‘Thank you.’

‘I’ll be over soon; I just have to get ready.’

‘I’ll leave the side gate unlocked for you guys.’

When I get back to the pool, Pie is floating near the shallow end with her eyes closed. I slide back into the water and she rights herself.

‘What’d she say?’

‘She said yes, and she’ll be over soon. And I told her to call Puey.’

‘I hope they all remember to put on sunscreen. The sun is strong today.’ Pie looks over at me. ‘You put sunscreen on, right?’

‘Ah.’ Busted.

Pie’s glare is hotter than anything the sun could hope produce. I can feel my skin being scorched by it. ‘Kim! You need to look after yourself better!’

‘I don’t like how it feels,’ I grumble, knowing full well I sound like a child. Pie shakes her head.

‘You silly. Get out of the pool.’

‘Why?’

‘So you can put some on.’

‘But I don’t want to,’ I say, squinting at Pie. ‘It’s gross and oily.’

‘Pssh. You’re like a little kid.’

‘I don’t like it.’

Pie sighs, and then pulls herself out. She leans over the water, offering me her hand. ‘Come on.’

I let her help me up onto the concrete, frowning. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m going to put the sunscreen on you myself, you big baby.’

I stick my tongue out at her; she returns the favor and slathers a large amount of the lotion onto her hands.

‘Ugh.’

‘Sit down.’ She points to one of the large beach chairs. I slide onto it, draping my legs either side of the chair. Pie sits down behind me. I close my eyes, waiting for the slimy stuff to touch my skin. It does, almost instantly; I can feel Pie lathering it onto my arm. But under the sunscreen I can feel Pie’s hands. Her skin is cool, gliding up and down my forearm. Her fingers knead into my wrist, my bicep, one arm then the other.

‘That’s done,’ she murmurs a few minutes later, pulling away. And then her hands are back, coated in more sunscreen – only this time she’s touching the back of my neck. I grit my teeth, trying not to shiver as she rubs slow circles onto my skin. I can feel something warm and electric in the pit of my stomach. ‘Turn around.’

Pie’s voice interrupts my thoughts; I shake my head and twist to look at her over my shoulder. ‘Hmm?’

‘Turn around,’ she says again, gesturing. ‘I need to do your front.’

‘…Oh.’

Obediently I move until I’m sitting facing Pie. Our knees are touching. Pie’s hair, still wet from the pool, is clinging to her shoulders. She leans forward, running her hand across my throat. I swallow.

‘Hey,’ I say, suddenly noticing the pink flush of Pie’s face, ‘you didn’t put sunscreen on your face.’

‘Huh?’ Pie pauses, raising an eyebrow. I reach over. I originally meant to touch her cheek but I lose my nerve at the last minute and simply point.

‘Your cheeks are all pink.’

‘Ah.’ Pie wipes at her face with the back of her hand, looking suddenly self-conscious. ‘Silly me.’

‘And you were getting mad at me,’ I say. She scowls.

‘At least I only forgot, I didn’t decide not to put it on because I’m a big baby.’

‘I think a lot of people agree that it feels bad to put on.’

‘Well.’ Pie leaves a dollop of sunscreen on my nose and moves back. ‘There. Rub that in yourself.’

‘Do I have to?’

‘Yes! Dummy.’

At that moment, the gate opens. Jane, Puey and Top file into the backyard, all clad in swim wear and holding an array of colorful blow-up toys. Pie clambers to her feet, beaming and I quickly massage the remaining sunscreen over my face.

‘Hi! Thank you for coming!’

‘Thank you for having us,’ says Jane. She gestures to the abundance of plastic behind her. ‘We brought these.’

‘Will they all fit in your pool?’ asks Top, looking down at it.

‘I don’t think so.’ Puey throws a beach-ball into the water and it bounces, staining the surface purple with its shadow. Then he grins. ‘First one in is the winner!’

+

‘– And the aim is to see who can push the other two down first.’

I can feel Pie nod, the movement passing through her body and registering in mine. Jane, perched on Puey’s shoulders, rounds on us. I try not to be too distracted by the warm weight of Pie above me, instead focusing on the pair in front of us.

‘Okay!’ Top calls, standing at the side of the pool. ‘Three, two, one, go!’

I surge forward, Pie gripping me securely with her legs. Puey and I meet in the middle, over my head Jane and Pie push at each other, trying to get the other to fall backwards. Water is splashing everywhere, I can hear Pie laughing and Jane shrieking.

‘Go Jane!’ Puey yells, ‘push her off!’

Jane gives a huge shove, and Pie wobbles. Her weight shifts, suddenly she’s falling backwards off my shoulders and I’m following suit. We both end up in the water in seconds. I surface, grinning, Pie is shouting at Jane, Top is cheering. I lie on my back and stare up at the sky.

A perfect day.

‘Kim!’ says Pie, appearing in my line of vision. ‘Get up, we need to beat them!’

‘In your dreams,’ says Puey.

+

We stay in the water until the sun starts to shift out of the sky and the moon takes her place, shining soft light onto the surface of the pool. In the dark night sky, the water is black and delicious. Jane and Puey and Top leave with promises to be back the next day to retrieve their pool toys. As the day comes to a close, Pie looks up from where she’s lying on a floating pink chair in the middle of the pool.

‘Kim?’

‘Mm?’

‘This was a good day.’

‘I think so, too.