by Jo Cotterill
‘What!’ Jake exploded. ‘That’s ridiculous! The two are completely different!’
‘I know. And I tried to say that, but she’s got this ballet teacher who tells her all this stuff and she believes it.’
‘I’d have punched her on the nose,’ said Jake firmly.
‘No you wouldn’t,’ said Megan. ‘You’ve never punched anyone.’
‘All right,’ Jake admitted, ‘but I’d have wanted to.’
‘Well, it doesn’t matter. She wasn’t trying to be rude. I think she just doesn’t think about things before she says them.’
‘Really?’ Jake’s voice took on a quizzical tone. ‘That reminds me of someone I know . . . now who could it be?’
Megan laughed. ‘I am nowhere near as bad as Suki.’
‘Hang on a minute . . .’ Jake’s voice went quiet for a moment and then he came back on the line. ‘Stephen’s just come in and Mum says we have to eat now.’
‘Oh, OK.’ Megan felt disappointed. She felt like there was so much more she needed to tell Jake. ‘Talk tomorrow then?’
‘Uh, not sure. Think we might be going round to the neighbours’. They’ve got a welcome drinks thing.’
‘What, the ones in my old house?’
‘Yeah. I’ve got to be on my best behaviour.’ Jake sounded as though he was grinning. ‘Maybe the day after. See you, Meg.’
‘Bye.’
Megan hung up and sat back on her bed. She hadn’t had a chance to tell Jake about the boy again – the one in the skate park. Even as his face swam into her mind, she felt a sharp twinge of excitement. His eyes – that startling grey – and the strange way he’d looked at her. She felt dizzy just thinking about him. And it wasn’t the first time she’d thought about him since the previous week, either . . .
She wondered why he hadn’t been there this evening. Where did he live? Which school did he go to? There had been two girls with him, hadn’t there? Was one of them his girlfriend?
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ said Megan out loud. ‘You don’t even know him!’
But when she went to bed, she was already figuring out when she could walk past the skate park again.
Now that her mum had said it was all right to go out on her own, Megan found all the excuses she could to walk past the skate park. Fortunately, the post office and the small supermarket were near the arts centre, so there was often a letter to post or a pint of milk to pick up . . .
Much to her excitement, the boy was there most days after school, and Megan began to recognize the people he was with too. There was another boy, shorter and less good-looking. He liked to whoop with excitement as he raced up a ramp on his skateboard. He was kind of stocky, with close-cropped brown hair and slightly sticky-out ears. There was a girl with the sort of long blonde hair Megan had only seen in shampoo adverts before. She seemed to laugh a lot, though Megan was never sure if she was actually amused or laughing for the sake of it. The other girl was very slim with almond-shaped eyes and long dark hair that often fell in her face. She reminded Megan of a girl she had known at Milton Park who was from Thailand. This girl sat and watched the others a lot, especially the tall dark boy.
Megan was fairly sure none of them went to her school. The boys sometimes wore a school tie that she didn’t recognize, and she never saw any of them in the corridors at her own school. She was beginning to come to the conclusion that she would never actually get to speak to the tall boy again. She was destined to watch from a distance for ever.
And then one day, all that changed. Megan was walking back from the shops with a packet of raisins and a TV guide. She rounded the corner of the skate park as usual and immediately looked for the tall boy. He wasn’t hard to spot. He was lining up his skateboard on what looked like a makeshift ramp, made out of planks of wood, corrugated iron and bricks. It didn’t look at all safe, but the boy was cheerfully calling to his friends, ‘Three-sixty off the end, right? Get your fiver ready, Paul, you’ll have to pay up in a minute!’
The stocky boy called back, ‘No way! You can’t pull that off. Get your money ready.’
The thin dark-eyed girl was anxious. ‘Please be careful, Danny,’ she begged, whilst the blonde girl just laughed.
‘Don’t blame me if you break both your legs.’
Megan stopped still, her eyes fixed on Danny. At last she knew his name! He was lining up his board when he glanced over and saw her watching him. There was a flash in his eyes, and then he grinned. Automatically, Megan felt herself smile back. He had such confidence! She had no doubt that whatever he was planning, he could surely do.
Danny paused for a moment, gathering his concentration. Then he kicked off the ground. His board slid down towards the ramp, gaining speed by the inch. By the time it hit the beginning of the ramp, the wind was blowing Danny’s hair flat against his head. His face was focused, and his feet shifted tiny amounts to allow for the uneven surface. Megan held her breath. He was going to do it! It just needed a smooth take-off from the end of the ramp, and then he would be flying high with the force of the jump . . .
But just as Danny reached the edge of the ramp, it buckled under his weight, and Megan gasped as the whole piece of corrugated iron slid off the bricks and crashed to the ground, taking Danny and his skateboard with it. There was an almighty crash as boy, board and bricks exploded in a shower of dust and debris.
‘Oh my God!’ Megan was already rushing down the slope towards him. ‘Are you all right?’
Danny was lying on his back amongst a heap of rubbish, groaning.
‘Don’t try to move,’ said Megan breathlessly. ‘You might have broken something.’
There was a peculiar noise, and at first Megan thought, to her horror, that Danny was crying. Then she realized he was laughing. Danny sat up and looked at her, his shoulders shaking. ‘What a rush!’ he said, his eyes flashing. ‘Woo-hoo!’ He glanced down at his knees and grinned at the scuffing on his trousers. ‘There’ll be some good grazes under there,’ he said confidently.
Megan sat back on her heels and glared at him. ‘Aren’t you hurt?’
‘Nah, not really. I’ve had worse.’
Megan glanced up. Danny’s friends were heading over, exchanging amused looks and trying not to laugh. ‘I suppose that explains why your friends don’t seem too worried. More fool me. I thought you’d fallen really badly.’
‘So you came rushing over to do your nurse bit,’ said Danny, grinning. ‘That’s so cute.’
Megan scowled. ‘Well, if you’re fine . . .’ She started to get up, but Danny grabbed her arm.
‘You’ve been hanging around for the last week,’ he said. ‘Who are you?’
Megan’s jaw dropped. He had noticed her! ‘I – uh – I’m Megan.’
‘Megan what?’
Megan felt dizzy under his intense stare. His eyes were like the sky on a freezing day. ‘Megan Hirst. I’m new here, remember? We met once before.’ She nearly bit her tongue – trust her to remind him of the time she’d knocked him down!
He stared at her for a moment, and then his expression relaxed and he let go of her arm. ‘Megan Hirst,’ he said, as if trying out her name on his tongue. ‘Nurse Megan.’
Megan gave a shaky laugh. ‘Oh, no. I couldn’t be a nurse. Can’t stand blood.’
‘Really?’ His head tilted to one side. ‘Then why did you rush over?’
‘Oh.’ Megan was stumped. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks. ‘I don’t know. I just – well, I thought you might be hurt.’
‘Danny!’ The blonde girl had reached them first. ‘You absolute doughnut, what did you think you were doing?’
The boy called Paul was sniggering loudly. ‘You owe me a fiver.’
Danny scowled. ‘The ramp collapsed. I never got a chance to try it.’
‘You still owe me.’
The dark-eyed girl was shifting nervously from foot to foot. ‘Are you OK? That looked like a really bad one.’ Her voice was so soft Megan hardly caught the words, and she pulle
d at her long black hair anxiously.
‘I’m fine,’ said Danny.
The blonde girl looked pointedly at Megan. ‘Who’s this?’
‘This is Megan Hirst,’ said Danny, with a smirk. ‘She’s not a nurse.’
Megan felt embarrassed. She didn’t belong in this group, and the blonde girl was wearing an expression of disgust. She got to her feet. ‘I just came to see if he was all right.’ She glanced down at Danny. ‘I should be going now.’
‘Been doing the shopping?’ asked the blonde girl in a sneery voice.
Megan realized she was still clutching the raisins and TV guide. But the girl’s tone annoyed her. ‘How did you guess?’ she retorted.
Danny snorted with laughter. The blonde girl glared. The other girl retreated behind her curtain of hair. Megan thought to herself, These people are really weird. ‘Well,’ she said politely, ‘it was nice to meet you.’
‘You want a go?’ asked Danny, as she turned away.
Megan felt baffled. Who was this boy anyway? ‘A go?’ she repeated.
Danny got to his feet with a grimace. ‘On my board. You want a go?’
Megan glanced at the blonde girl. She didn’t look very friendly. Neither did the dark-eyed girl. ‘Oh, I don’t think so . . .’
‘Ever been on a skateboard?’ asked Danny.
‘Er – no, but . . .’
‘Right. Here’s your chance.’ Without waiting for her to reply, Danny fished out his skateboard from the pile of debris, brushed off the gravel and brick dust, and tucked it under his arm. Then he held out his hand. ‘Come on. We’ll start on the flat.’
Almost hypnotized, Megan took his hand. It was cool and rough in places – from all the grazes, she supposed. I should be getting home, said a little voice inside her head. Why am I still standing here?
Now Danny was putting the board on the concrete and showing her how to place her feet. ‘Put down your stuff,’ he said. ‘You need both hands free to help you balance.’
Megan did as she was told. The board wobbled under her feet. ‘I thought it was fixed,’ she said in some surprise. ‘I mean, I thought the top bit stayed flat.’
Danny shook his head. ‘It’s called a deck. It needs to be able to tilt in all directions. It’s got suspension, like a car. Try rocking it from side to side.’ He watched her critically. ‘You’ve got good balance.’
‘I’m a dancer,’ said Megan, hoping this would sound impressive, but Danny seemed barely to hear her. His whole attention was focused on her feet.
‘Now try pushing it along a bit.’
He was a good teacher. It was only when Megan heard a snort that she looked up and realized the other three had been watching all along. The blonde girl had flung one arm casually over Paul’s shoulders and was busy whispering in his ear. The dark-eyed girl perched on the edge of a ramp and glared at Megan through her hair. The heat suddenly rose in Megan’s face and she stepped off the board. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘I don’t think I’m really wanted here.’
Danny looked around in astonishment. ‘What are you talking about?’ His expression cleared. ‘Oh, you mean the girls? Don’t take any notice of them.’ Megan thought this was a bit unkind, seeing as they were both within earshot. The Thai-looking girl’s lips tightened. Danny laughed. ‘They’re just jealous because I won’t let them have a go on my board.’
‘Who’d want to?’ the blonde girl flashed back.
Danny grinned. ‘That’s Samantha. She’s my sister, so she has to hate everything I do.’
His sister! Megan automatically felt relieved. Samantha was far more glamorous than she was. But if she was Danny’s sister, then at least she wasn’t his girlfriend . . . Her gaze swept over to the dark-eyed girl.
‘That’s Jasmine,’ said Danny dismissively. ‘She hangs around with us.’
Jasmine drooped slightly at Danny’s words, as though disappointed by what he’d said.
‘Go on.’ Danny’s pale gaze fastened on Megan again. ‘Have another go. Really.’
Why is he being so nice to me when the others don’t want me around? Megan wondered. She felt strangely flattered. Danny had actually noticed her over the past week! And he’d obviously forgiven her for knocking into him. ‘How long have you been skateboarding?’ she asked, as she stepped back onto the board.
Danny shrugged and looked at Paul. ‘Years,’ he said.
Paul nodded in agreement. ‘I’ve had six boards altogether.’
‘Six!’ Megan stared at him. ‘Why?’
‘Some got broken,’ said Danny, with a grin. Paul grinned too, as though it were all a big joke. ‘But it’s like buying anything. The more you spend, the better the deck. I’m saving up for new Alien Workshop wheels.’
This went completely over Megan’s head. ‘Just the wheels?’
‘Sure,’ said Danny. ‘You buy everything separately and then build it yourself.’
‘You mean it doesn’t come like this?’ asked Megan, staring down at the black and white graphic design under her feet. ‘You have to put it together yourself? Like a – a bookshelf?’
Paul frowned, but Danny laughed. ‘Yeah, like a bookshelf.’ He seemed to find this very funny. ‘A bookshelf! You can’t skate on a bookshelf.’
‘Bet you could,’ Paul broke in. ‘You could slide along the spine.’
Danny swung round, his eyes alight. ‘We haven’t done a bookshelf before. There’s a house down my road that’s got a skip outside. Bet they’re throwing out a bookshelf.’
Megan looked from one to the other, bewildered. These boys were on another planet! Samantha yawned loudly. ‘Are you going to do any more tricks, or are you just going to stand around and chat?’ she asked in a bored voice. ‘Because we need to go to the club and get it sorted.’
‘Yeah,’ said Jasmine, who was biting her nails. ‘Me too.’
Samantha rolled her eyes. She turned to Megan. ‘You going tonight?’
‘Going to what?’ asked Megan.
‘The youth club thing, of course,’ said Samantha. ‘Didn’t you know about it?’
Megan tried to think. ‘A poster at the arts centre?’ she hazarded. ‘Something for charity?’
Samantha nodded and flicked her shiny hair over her shoulder. ‘I’m on the committee.’
Megan was surprised. Samantha didn’t look like the sort of girl who’d want to bother herself with committees. ‘Oh, right. Sorry, no, don’t think I can make it.’ If it had been Mari asking, Megan would have been there like a shot. But something about Samantha made her feel uncomfortable. And a whole youth club of people she didn’t know . . . Megan wasn’t sure she was ready for that!
Samantha shrugged. ‘Oh well.’
Megan felt she should try to continue the conversation so that she didn’t seem too rude. ‘Which charity is it?’
‘Childline,’ said Samantha.
‘Oh, right. That’s a good one. I knew a girl who rang Childline once. She said they were really nice.’
‘I didn’t pick it,’ said Samantha.
‘Oh.’ Megan ran out of things to say. It was funny, she thought briefly, how you just clicked with some people, like Mari, whereas with others . . . it was so much harder.
Danny finished his discussion about the bookshelf with Paul and turned back to Megan. ‘You haven’t got very far,’ he said. ‘Just go up and down a bit.’
Megan wobbled from one end of the park to the other and then back again. She wasn’t sure she liked the feeling of the board beneath her. It made her slightly sea-sick. But Danny’s expression was approving. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘You’re doing really well for a beginner.’
Despite herself, Megan flushed. ‘Do you think so?’ What was it about Danny? Why was she so anxious to have his approval?
Danny looked her up and down. Megan felt an absurd desire to cover herself up with something, even though she was fully clothed. ‘You’ve got the right build for boarding,’ he said. ‘Or BMXing.’
‘Huh?’
‘Danny is o
bsessed with wheels,’ said Samantha, but she spoke with a kind of pride. ‘He can drive anything – go-karts, bikes, cars.’
‘Cars?’ Megan was astonished.
Danny smiled, and his eyes lit up with silver. ‘They’re the best,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘Our uncle has a Jeep he lets me drive on his farm. It’s awesome.’
Megan’s jaw dropped. ‘A real Jeep?’
‘Yeah, a real one.’
Megan stared at him. Danny was full of surprises, she thought. She’d never met anyone like him before. He drove a Jeep? Wasn’t that illegal? And dangerous?
‘I could take you for a drive sometime,’ offered Danny.
‘No you couldn’t,’ said Samantha. ‘Uncle Ed would kill you. He won’t let me come in the car with you.’
‘Uncle Ed wouldn’t have to know,’ said Danny carelessly.
Megan was fascinated. ‘You’d take the car without asking him?’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
Megan knew she should be appalled by this, but somehow it just added to her awe. Samantha spoiled the moment by commenting acidly, ‘He’d beat you to dust if you did.’
Jasmine gave a high giggle and then fell silent in embarrassment.
There was a pause. ‘So are you finished then?’ asked Samantha.
Danny frowned. ‘What?’
Samantha leaned forward to enunciate her words very clearly. ‘Have – you – finished – teaching – your – new – pupil? Because you promised you’d help me put up the decorations at the youth club for tonight.’
Danny rolled his eyes. ‘We’ve got all day. There’s no hurry, is there?’ Jasmine giggled again and Danny shot her an exasperated look. ‘Yeah, all right, I’m finished.’ He turned to Megan. ‘See you tomorrow,’ he told her. ‘Same time.’
Megan’s breath caught in her throat. ‘Uh – tomorrow?’
He nodded, and his eyes seemed to glitter in the light. ‘Yeah – don’t you want another go on the board? I can teach you some tricks.’
‘Yeah, if you’re sure. Thanks!’ Megan was sure her face had flamed bright red, and she knew Jasmine was glaring at her.
Danny nodded, and he and Samantha set off across the park, arguing about something. Paul trailed after them, not even bothering to say goodbye. Jasmine looked uncertainly from the disappearing group to Megan, and then suddenly pulled her hair back from her face. ‘He’s not what you think,’ she said to Megan, and her voice sounded brittle.
