Zanzibar Down - Complete

Chapter 4

"As if! I had to stop to let the boys catch up, they should be caught up by dinner time. I'm going to lunch, you coming or what?" Duncan spoke like a real New Zealander, sometimes it was hard to understand what he was saying...especially when he decided to use terms I couldn't understand or spoke in a really thick accent.

"You've got such a fat head." Duncan wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively, I groaned before storming off towards the lunch house. Boys could be so stupid sometimes, Duncan was no exception. Though I guess Duncan and his twin brother weren't boys, they were three years older than I but still with their boyishly good looks.

"Come on Zib, that was funny. You've got to admit it, what had you frowning anyway?" Duncan looped his arm over my shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world. I wouldn't have minded so much if it meant his stink armpit wasn't right next to my face.

Shoving Duncan away from me I was about to answer him when Maggie's voice rang out, "you stay away from that girl Duncan! She's too good for you! What's a pretty girl want with a dumb guy like you anyway?" I think in any other setting people would have gotten upset but Duncan only laughed before jogging off towards Maggie, I still found it weird that she could call him all those names and he still loved her like a son loved his mum.

"I'm just thinking of you aunty Mag, she'd save us all from mum's cooking and she's a hard worker. You should be encouraging me." I don't think I could hide the blush that suddenly crept onto my face at the thought that Duncan had been serious, could he actually be interested in me?

The thought was odd.

Sure, Duncan and Heath were identical but totally different in personality. I had always been drawn to Heath more, maybe it was the fact he didn't talk as much as his brother or maybe it was the fact that he was a little more serious. But whatever the case, I'd always considered Duncan a bit of a class clown and it had made me look in the opposite direction.

"Boy you better stop with that rubbish right now, keep it in your pants. Remember, we're here to do a job...not get you permanently castrated." I laughed, Maggie was probably right though. One wrong step with my dad and Duncan would be limping funny for a while. That thought though wiped the smile from my face, even though it was meant in jest I realized it was also quite true. Say the wrong thing to Garret Wilson and he would make you pay for it.

"Come on anyway! Lunch time!" No one argued with Maggie when she declared lunch to be ready, she wasn't the kind of person to lash out physically at a person but just the look she could give...it could make the most evil person curl up into a ball and cry.

I went to the table while Maggie went to the phone, it was connected to the main house, the shearing sheds, the horse stables, the equipment shed and just about every other building on the property. With each phone call Maggie yelled a single word down the line before hanging up and ringing some other number.

It wasn't her job to cook for everyone on the station but we'd kinda gotten used to it over the years, kinda like when Maggie had lunch ready. Everyone who had been around before knew what time Maggie liked to have lunch and a lot of us were always there on time. But I guess the phone calls were just a force of habit for her as she came back over to the table.

"Go on then Zib, tuck in. We've said grace, so might as well eat now before the good bits are gone." Again, I didn't argue and neither did Duncan as we both began dishing up our own food.

A vegetarian would starve if ever they stayed with Maggie, she knew how to cook hearty meals that could fill a person for the day. The only green thing on the table usually was either a sugary drink or the table cloth...usually there were no salads with lunch.

But when Katherine came walking through the door with a huge bowl of salad I almost choked. She still gave me angry eyes as she set the dish down right next to the meat and gave Maggie a polite smile. Maggie though looked a little murderous as she eyed up the offending platter.

"What's this? No one got time for green's, that's only good enough to go to the cows out in the sheds." Katherine went a little red in the cheeks but stood her ground against Maggie, which I don't think Maggie much enjoyed as she crossed her arms over her chest and eye Katherine and Brin.

"What's wrong with you girl? You blind?" Again I almost choked on my food, Duncan only laughed out loud at the blunt question.

I watched as Brin pulled the wet cloth away from her eye to show Maggie what it looked like, I could feel Duncan nudging me in the ribs. We both knew around about what Maggie would say, this time at least I'd had a fair warning to know that it would be hilarious.

"What? You got a bee sting? Or did a mozzie get ya? Nothing there I can see that would give a teen any problems, you sure you're sixteen?" Duncan howled with laughter, I ducked my head quickly when I saw Katherine turn her attention to the both of us. No way was I going to look at Katherine, the look alone that she was probably giving Duncan would kill.

"Boy, what you laughing for? Hurry up and eat so you can get back to work, this ain't a comedy show you can sit at! Zib, you're on dishes with me after lunch, you too princess." I snapped my head up at the order but knew better than to argue. Brin looked to Katherine, but as Katherine was about to say something to Maggie our cook turned and went to busy herself with other things.

"Better hurry up then, don't want her coming down hard on me." Duncan laughed as he scoffed the rest of his food down.

"Salad?" Duncan stopped mid-scoff as Brin offered him the platter of green.

"No thanks, I'm allergic to green...and stuff." Duncan didn't even break eye contact with his plate as he said this, only stopping mid-chomp to answer Brin and Katherine.

"I'll have some." I said but just as I was going to take a few things off the platter Brin pulled it away with a glare and put the plate down away from me. The movement from Katherine caught my attention and I turned to look at her, she'd grabbed the platter from where Brin had placed it and offered it back to me again.

Maybe she was glad that someone had offered to eat some of what she'd worked to make. I was sure that dad would eat some of her salad and maybe a few other people, but there would still be a lot left over. It just meant that we'd have to eat the whole thing back at the house.

"Thanks Katherine." I said as I grabbed the plate and took some. With a smile I put some on Duncan's plate too before putting the salad down near me.

Duncan gave me a dirty look, I didn't answer him but instead held a carrot up towards him. He grabbed it without second thought and put it in his mouth, followed quickly by a big chunk of steak. "See, not so bad?"

The only answer that Duncan could give was fake choking as he continued with his lunch.