Antipodes by Michele Bacon

Author:Michele Bacon
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2018-03-02T05:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-EIGHT

Erin congratulated herself for making it to lunch without vomiting. She took a few nibbles at the picnic table on the side of the road—next to a lake, naturally—before returning to the van.

Four hours later, they rounded a mountain to find another great lake.

“Hello, Wakatipu!” Marama’s mom said.

Lake Wakatipu didn’t rival Lake Michigan’s size, but nestled among ragged mountains, it was awesome, in the truest sense of the word. Slanted rows of houses, each with a birds-eye view of the lake, covered the mountains.

Queenstown was a quaint mountain village on an almost-great lake. Erin’s heart was full to bursting.

Just as the sun was setting, Percy steered away from Lake Wakatipu. Off the major thoroughfare, they began a steep ascent to Summer’s aunt’s house. Summer’s aunt had refused to rent out the house during national championships for three years, just in case Summer needed it.

This year, Summer wasn’t with them, but her aunt’s offer stood, of course.

Percy missed the turnoff by a few meters and reversed down the hill to try again. After the turnoff, they faced a steep descent and three switchbacks, one of which required a five-point turn. Erin thought they were lost until, two minutes later, Percy stopped in front of a plain wooden house.

In the fresh air at last, Erin walked around the house to investigate. Motorboats zipped through the water and around a lush green park jutting into the lake. Shops and restaurants lined much of the shore, beckoning visitors.

The house was propped up on stilts. Erin gazed uphill to see the entire neighborhood was perched on similar four-by-fours.

Only a few wooden posts prevented them from sliding down the side of this rather substantial mountain.

Holy cow.

North Carolina propped houses to keep them safer in hurricanes, but North Carolina wasn’t in the Ring of Fire. In the last two weeks, Erin had watched too many YouTube videos and seen too many photos of houses sliding into the sea.

Everyone else piled into the house.

From the door, Marama said, “All right then, Erin?”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“I promise you it’s safe.” Marama reached for Erin’s hand.

Reluctant, Erin took it and tiptoed through the front door.

Inside, she could almost forget they were on stilts. The entire western wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, featuring a dazzling scene of water and boats and houses all turning on their lights. The sun had disappeared beyond the mountains, leaving a soft pink sky with streaks of blues and purples and whites.

There’s a reason they’re called picture windows, Erin realized.

“Check out the fittings!” Ruby flung herself on the smaller of two white leather sofas.

The furniture and upscale decor put this house on a different level than anything Erin had seen in Christchurch.

“What say we stay in for the weekend?” Ruby’s outstretched arms claimed the sofa and she propped her feet on the table. “Order in some fish and chippies. Live the life!”

Jade sat on the adjacent sofa. “Can you imagine? Some people live like this all the time.”

Erin said nothing about her own furniture, nor her mother’s decorator.

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