She heard Cat’s footsteps stop behind her, the sounds of draw-cords being slackened, Velcro unstuck. She turned around to find her sister brandishing a bruised banana in one hand and a bag of sugary sweets in the other. ‘Will these do you?’
Ginny took the sweets. ‘Don’t suppose you’ve got anything nice to drink other than water in there.’ She nodded her head towards Cat’s rucksack.
Cat laughed. ‘Ginny, you’re carrying the drinks. Have you forgotten you’ve got a bag?’
Ginny frowned. She actually had forgotten. Tristan had handed it to her and slid the straps over her shoulders and she hadn’t even thought to ask what was in it. She hadn’t considered that they would actually need much for a few hours up a mountain. Just as well she had others here who were better at organising things than she was.
She shoved some chewy sweets in her mouth and undid her own rucksack, taking out a can of Coke. She flipped the ring-pull and drank greedily, before carrying on walking. She heard Cat muttering something behind her. Then Paul stopped, cupping an ear with a hand. He had a huge grin on his face.
‘Do you hear that?’
They all stopped and listened. It sounded like . . . bells. Tinkling gently in the breeze.
‘What the . . . ?’ Ginny started.
Paul walked quickly up a short incline and disappeared around a bend. ‘Oh wow,’ he shouted. ‘Hurry up, you guys – this is so cool!’
They all picked up the pace and hurried after him. Ginny got there first, energised from the sugar, and burst into laughter as soon as she saw the source of Paul’s wonder.
A herd of creamy-brown and white-patched cows were ambling close to the wire fencing. They were bedecked with horns and cowbells hanging from their necks, jangling as they walked, making that glorious sound.
‘Oh my god,’ Ginny said, clapping her hands with glee. ‘Cat – what was it you said in the bar last night about Heidi? This is amazing. I didn’t think cowbells were an actual thing.’
Tristan laughed, squeezing her shoulder. ‘How else do you think the herders can keep track of them all, Gins?’ He waved an arm, indicating the expanse of the meadow. ‘Look how far they’ve got to roam.’
Ginny shrugged. ‘How am I supposed to know things like that? Anyway. This is so cool. Wait a sec until I take a photo . . .’ She pulled her rucksack off her back and starting rummaging in the pockets. ‘Where’s my phone, I . . . Oh.’ Her face fell as she remembered. ‘You didn’t think of that when you took away our tech, did you, Catatonia?’
Her sister looked annoyed for a second. Ginny knew how much she hated that nickname. She’d started calling her it in primary school – suggesting that Cat was so boring that she sent people into a stupor – and it had stuck, despite all Cat’s attempts to change it. She’d even gone through a phase of demanding that people call her by her full name – Catherine – to try and shake off the annoying moniker, but that just made Ginny more insistent on using it at every opportunity. She wasn’t even sure why she was using it today, but Cat’s smugness had been pissing her off since they got off the plane.
Cat gave her a sarcastic, tight-lipped smile, then pulled a small box out of her pocket. She held it up and directed it at Ginny, then clicked a button on the top. ‘Perfect picture of all the cows, Ginny. I’ll make sure to send you a copy.’
Ginny started laughing. ‘Is that an instant camera? I haven’t seen one of those in years. Didn’t even know there were still places to get photos developed.’
Cat put a hand on a hip, then snapped another photo. ‘Like I said, Sweet Virginial. I’ve planned everything out. You don’t need to worry your pretty little head. Just keep putting one foot in front of another and we’ll make it to the end.’ Cat spun around and started walking again. Paul shrugged at Ginny, then followed after his wife.
Ginny watched Cat as she walked away. God, she was so pathetic. The Sweet Virginial nickname had never stuck, even at school. So like her to dredge it up now to try and make it work.
Tristan was waiting for Ginny, an amused half-smile on his face. ‘You two,’ he said, pulling her by the straps of her rucksack and leaning in to kiss her on the forehead. ‘Give it a rest, eh?’ He pulled back. Smirked. ‘Sweet Virginial, though. I do like that.’
Ginny glared at him, then kicked a stone and it shot across the path and into the grass. Bloody Perfect Cat and her stupid plans. She decided to keep away from her sister for a while, before she said something she might regret.