Strictly Friends?

by Jo Cotterill

  ‘You never know until you try them,’ Megan said defensively. ‘I just never had the chance to try them before. And I like them – it. Go-karting, I mean. It’s brilliant fun. And I’d definitely go again.’

  Suki shrugged. ‘Cool. Whatever suits you.’

  Megan attacked the rest of her jacket potato with some force.

  Mari’s response couldn’t have been more different. ‘Go-karting, wow! I went once. I was really, really awful at it. I just froze up, couldn’t do anything. In the end they had to get me out again because I was causing an obstruction.’ She laughed. ‘I’d go again but I think I might have been banned.’

  Megan grinned. ‘Maybe you just didn’t go with the right people.’

  ‘You’re offering to take me, are you?’

  Megan raised her eyebrows. ‘If you want to, yeah. It’d be cool!’

  The two of them were practising in Megan’s front room. Megan’s mum was feeding Owen his tea in the kitchen but every now and then he escaped to come and see what the two girls were doing. This was one of those moments, and Megan and Mari looked up to see a little face peering round the door.

  ‘Can I have a go?’ asked Owen.

  ‘Course you can,’ said Mari, just as Megan opened her mouth to refuse. ‘Bet you’ll be way better than me though.’

  Owen nodded. ‘It’s only because I’ve got more rhythm than you.’

  ‘Owen!’ Megan spluttered. ‘You can’t say things like that!’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ said Mari. ‘He’s right, anyway. I can’t even clap in time.’

  Owen came to join them in the middle of the floor. Megan switched on the music again and she and Mari started to practise. Owen joined in, although his dancing consisted mostly of twirling round and round in circles until he got dizzy and fell over.

  ‘Owen!’ Megan’s mum came to the doorway. ‘I thought you were going to finish the rest of your banana and ice cream?’

  Owen shook his head. ‘I’m too busy dancing, Mummy.’

  ‘Ooh, bananas and ice cream,’ said Mari. ‘One of my favourites.’

  ‘You can have it then,’ offered Owen generously. ‘I haven’t spitted in it much.’

  Mari burst out laughing. ‘That’s very kind of you, Owen, but I think maybe I’ll pass.’

  ‘Would you girls like banana and ice cream too?’ Nicola asked. She winked. ‘You can have your own bowls and spoons. You’ve been practising for half an hour now. It looks like hard work.’

  Mari grinned. ‘Dancing and dessert. Music to my ears.’

  Jake seemed pleased, though Megan thought she detected something restrained in his voice.‘I think it’s great,’ he said over the phone. ‘Great that you had such a good time, I mean.’

  Megan waited. Wasn’t he going to say anything else? ‘I was really surprised,’ she said, when Jake didn’t continue. ‘I mean, not just about the go-karting, but about Danny. We have quite a lot in common, though you wouldn’t have thought it.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ said Jake.

  ‘He’s really into this racing stuff. And you know that buzz we get from dancing? He gets the same thing from racing, or skateboarding, stuff like that.’

  Jake laughed, though it didn’t sound quite natural. ‘At least dancing isn’t dangerous.’

  ‘No . . .’ A thought suddenly struck Megan. ‘You know it’s all quite safe though, don’t you? I mean, I was wearing a helmet and everything. And I had to sign a form to say I didn’t have any injuries. You don’t have to worry about me.’

  ‘That’s not quite what I meant,’ said Jake, but he wouldn’t say any more.

  ‘So,’ said Megan, sitting cross-legged on her bed, ‘have you talked to your mum again about coming down for half-term? Because my mum said it would be a great idea. We could meet you at the train station, and you can stay in the spare room. It’s not actually painted yet – well, it is, but it’s this horrible yellow colour at the moment – and I can take you round Parchester and show you the Alexander Arts Centre where I go for the salsa, and we can go to the cinema . . .’ Megan trailed off, suddenly aware that Jake wasn’t saying anything. ‘And it’ll be just like old times,’ she finished lamely.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Jake, though he wasn’t exactly jumping with excitement. ‘Well, maybe.’

  ‘You are coming, aren’t you?’ Megan felt a sharp pang. She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she was looking forward to seeing Jake again.

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said hastily. ‘Of course I’m coming. Yeah. Can’t wait.’

  But when Megan hung up, she had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong.

  ‘Have you heard from him?’ Mari asked.

  Corinne was running late, so the girls were sitting along the wall of the studio and chatting. Megan flushed. ‘Not exactly. I saw him yesterday at the skate park but we didn’t have time to talk.’

  A girl with cropped blonde hair sitting nearby turned curiously. ‘You’re all red, Megan. Who are you talking about?’

  ‘Ooh, Jackie, you have no idea of the excitement,’ Mari said mischievously. ‘Megan had a date on Saturday.’

  Jackie gaped. ‘No! Really?’ The two girls next to her turned to listen.

  ‘Gather round, gather round,’ said Mari, with a grin. ‘Megan is about to reveal all.’

  Megan wanted to fall through the floor. ‘Mari, what are you doing?’

  ‘Megan, don’t you realize you’ve got the most exciting news of all of us?’ said Mari. She addressed the other girls. ‘How many of you had a date over the weekend?’

  The girls looked at each other. Nobody raised a hand.

  ‘There, see?’ said Mari. ‘We’re desperate for gossip!’

  ‘But I already told you yesterday . . .’

  ‘Yes, but your little brother kept interrupting,’ Mari pointed out. ‘And I never got to hear the juicy bits.’

  ‘There aren’t any juicy bits!’ cried Megan.

  ‘Hey,’ said Jackie, ‘this is no good. You have to start at the beginning. Tell us everything.’

  Megan was agonized. She looked around at the rest of the girls, who were all gazing at her expectantly. Alys was chewing the end of her brown plait, she was so fascinated. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

  ‘I’ll start off for you,’ said Mari comfortably. ‘Megan has been learning to skateboard. No, don’t laugh, she really has! And her teacher is the very good-looking Danny Brooks.’

  Jackie whispered something to Alys.

  ‘What was that?’ asked Mari.

  ‘Oh, nothing,’ said Jackie hastily. ‘I was just saying . . . he’s kind of obsessed with bikes and things. But he is very good-looking.’

  ‘Who is he?’ asked a girl called Naomi, baffled. ‘I’ve never heard of him.’

  Jackie turned to her. ‘He’s always at the skate park. He’s the tall one with the black hair. You know. Kind of gothic-looking.’

  ‘Oh!’ Naomi’s expression cleared. ‘I think I’ve seen him around.’ She stared at Megan. ‘And he asked you out? Wow.’

  ‘Well,’ said Megan, uncomfortable, ‘I sort of asked him out.’

  There was a collective gasp of admiration. ‘That’s amazing,’ breathed someone. ‘I would never dare . . .’ muttered someone else. Megan felt a little twinge of pride. It hadn’t really occurred to her that she’d done something no one else would have had the courage to do.

  ‘He’s done some modelling, you know,’ Jackie offered. ‘In a magazine. I saw it once.’

  ‘So has his sister,’ said Alys.

  Mari’s face darkened. ‘We don’t talk about her. She’s top of my Never Speak To List. But she’s got nothing to do with this. Megan went out with Danny at the weekend.’

  ‘It’s not quite how it sounds,’ Megan tried to explain. ‘It was only that I’ve been hanging out with him and the others, and I said it would be nice to go somewhere just the two of us . . .’ She tailed off.

  ‘So,’ said Mari meaningf
ully, ‘tell us everything. And don’t leave anything out this time.’

  ‘Oh, all right.’ Megan was embarrassed but there was something exciting about having everyone sitting round and hanging on her every word. It was nice to be the centre of attention for once. And some of the girls looked quite envious. Presumably she wasn’t the only one who had noticed how good-looking Danny was. ‘Well, he took me go-karting.’

  Alys looked blank. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s like cars,’ Megan explained. ‘I mean, they’ve got engines. Like mini-cars, I suppose.’

  ‘Like dodgems?’

  ‘Not exactly. You drive them round a track. In a race.’

  Alys looked impressed. ‘Wow. Like Formula One.’

  Jackie rolled her eyes in amusement. ‘You know nothing! Haven’t you ever seen go-karting?’

  Alys blushed. ‘My parents are kind of strict.’

  ‘Was Danny any good?’ asked Naomi.

  Megan nodded, her face lighting up. ‘He was amazing! So fast round the track! I hardly saw him, except when he was lapping – er, overtaking – me. But I didn’t do too badly in the end.’ She glanced around. ‘It was kind of fun.’

  ‘What was Danny like?’ asked Alys shyly. ‘I mean, did he . . . you know.’

  Megan pretended she didn’t know what Alys was talking about. ‘He was so nice. He said I was a really good driver.’ Which wasn’t quite true, but it might have been.

  ‘And?’ said Mari meaningfully.

  ‘And what?’

  ‘Did he . . .?’

  ‘Did he what?’

  Mari rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t play dumb. Did he kiss you?’

  The other girls fell completely silent, gazing at Megan. Megan felt hot and cold all over. ‘No,’ she admitted reluctantly.

  There was a sigh of disappointment from her audience. ‘Oh well,’ said Mari, trying to sound positive, ‘there’s always next time.’

  ‘He did ask me to go out with him again next weekend,’ Megan said.

  ‘Well, that’s good.’ Mari patted her on the back.

  ‘He is kind of dreamy,’ said Alys, a wistful look in her eyes.

  ‘You’re not the only one to think that,’ said Jackie, with a curious edge to her tone.

  Mari was amused. ‘Maybe you should bring him along to salsa, Megan. We need some boys in this class.’

  ‘Ooh, yes!’ said Alys, a little too enthusiastically. Some of the other girls were raising their eyebrows too.

  Megan shook her head. ‘I don’t think he’d come,’ she said regretfully. ‘He’s not really into dancing. I think – compared to what he likes – it’s a bit boring for him.’

  ‘Boring?’ cried Mari. ‘Didn’t you show him what you can do?’

  ‘Mari, there wasn’t exactly an opportunity.’ Megan laughed. ‘I couldn’t get up on the karting track and start waltzing, could I?’

  ‘Well, you should have,’ Mari told her. ‘He would be well impressed! You’re brilliant!’ The other girls nodded in agreement.

  Megan felt embarrassed. ‘Oh, I’m not really. It’s only because I’ve been doing it for years.’

  ‘You are totally amazing at it,’ Jackie put in. ‘Whenever I go wrong, I just look over at you to pick it up again.’

  ‘You should be a teacher,’ Mari went on. ‘You’re so patient with everyone.’

  Alys looked around to make sure Corinne was nowhere in sight. ‘And you know way more about ballroom than Corinne,’ she whispered.

  Mari exclaimed, ‘You should teach us! Right now!’ She jumped up. ‘Come on! Before Corinne comes – you teach us something.’

  ‘Ooh, yes!’ Alys’s eyes gleamed. ‘Can you teach us a different dance? Like the foxtrot or the waltz or something?’

  ‘No, no,’ Jackie disagreed. ‘I want to do Latin dances. They always look more fun on the telly. Can we do a rumba or a cha-cha?’

  Megan laughed. ‘You are all so funny. I can teach you some bits if you like, but you really need a partner to do them properly.’

  ‘Who was your partner back home?’ asked one of the other girls. ‘Did you have to dance with girls, like here?’

  ‘No,’ said Megan, feeling proud. ‘I had a boy partner. Jake.’

  ‘Ooh!’ The other girls goggled at her. ‘Wasn’t it weird dancing with a boy?’ asked one.

  Megan laughed. ‘It’s not that weird. We’d been dancing together since we were really young.’

  ‘You never told me you had a boyfriend back home!’ Mari sounded injured.

  ‘He wasn’t my boyfriend,’ Megan replied, getting to her feet. ‘He was my dancing partner. And my friend. You know, like boy-next-door friend. I mean, he really lived next door too.’

  Mari looked sceptical. ‘If you say so. Guess this class must be a bit of a come-down after your old lessons then.’

  Megan felt a little uncomfortable because Mari was right. ‘Well, not exactly. It’s just not what I’m used to, that’s all.’

  ‘OK then,’ said Jackie, planting her feet firmly apart, ‘I’m ready. What are you going to teach us?’

  When Corinne hurried in, half an hour late, she was astonished to find the class under way, with Megan calling out the steps from the front. Corinne stopped in the doorway and watched, smiling, as the girls tried to copy Megan’s kicks and flicks. But it was only a moment or two before Megan spotted Corinne and stopped, red with embarrassment. ‘No, no,’ said Corinne, ‘don’t stop. That looked great! What was it – the jive?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Megan. ‘The others wanted me to show them some steps. I thought the jive would be a good one to start with.’

  Mari was puffing with the exertion. ‘It certainly keeps you fit! Can we do some more jive, Corinne?’

  Corinne smiled and put her bags down at the front of the class. ‘I’m afraid I don’t know any. You’ll have to be taught by Megan.’

  ‘That’s all right,’ said Mari, a little too eagerly.

  Corinne laughed. ‘I’m being paid to teach you, Mari. I can’t just sit by and let someone else take my class.’

  Mari bit her lip and flushed.

  ‘But I can see you’re all really getting into this,’ Corinne went on, ‘so maybe we could think about putting together a routine. You could practise in the last few minutes of each lesson.’

  Mari brightened up. ‘That sounds fab! Could we do a performance somewhere?’ This announcement was met by noises of horror from the other girls. Mari looked crestfallen. ‘Only a suggestion.’

  ‘I don’t think you’re quite there yet.’ Corinne smiled at her. ‘But you never know, if you work hard. Right, back to the new steps we were practising last week.’

  Megan meekly took her place in the class again, but inside she was buzzing. She’d never tried to teach a whole class before. She couldn’t believe how much she’d enjoyed it! And the girls were so enthusiastic and supportive!

  She looked around warmly at the other girls. She was starting to feel as though she had real friends again. Especially Mari – she was such fun to be around.

  And then there was always Danny . . . her heart skipped a beat as she thought of him.

  Maybe moving to Parchester had been a good idea after all?

  Chapter 9

  I think you’re really cool

  SAMANTHA EXAMINED A nail. ‘You wouldn’t catch me wearing that,’ she commented, nodding towards the start line, where Danny and Paul were lined up with a crowd of others on BMX bikes. Both of them were fully kitted out with knee and elbow pads, plus helmets with visors.

  ‘Me neither,’ echoed Jasmine.

  Megan wondered what on earth the two of them were doing here. When Danny had invited her along, she had thought it would be some kind of friends get-together thing, where everyone had a bit of a go on the bikes and they had some silly races. But this was serious. There were marshals organizing the groups on their bikes, and even a St John’s Ambulance crew on standby in case of accidents. The three girls were standing on the edge of a m
uddy track, and while Megan had dressed in an unattractive yet warm anorak, Jasmine and Samantha were attired in matching denim jackets. Both of them were shivering and they’d only arrived half an hour ago.

  Megan wasn’t sure whether to feel amused or exasperated. ‘I didn’t realize it would be quite like this,’ she muttered.

  Samantha gave a snort. ‘Thought you’d be having a nice cosy one-to-one on a bike?’

  ‘No, of course not. But I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.’ She looked curiously at Samantha. ‘Do you like coming to these things?’

  Jasmine laughed and then tried to turn it into a cough. Samantha glared at her. ‘Not much else to do, is there?’ she said carelessly. ‘Saturday afternoons are so boring in Parchester.’

  ‘You could go – I don’t know – shopping, or something,’ suggested Megan.

  ‘Got no money,’ said Samantha flatly.

  Megan was surprised. Samantha always looked so neatly turned out, with her polished nails and her sleek hair. ‘Oh. I thought . . . well, never mind.’

  ‘She had her allowance docked,’ Jasmine whispered when Samantha was looking the other way. ‘After what happened in the summer.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘There was this thing she did when she was in a play . . .’

  ‘Yes.’ Megan was uncomfortable. ‘Yes, I heard.’

  ‘Most people stopped talking to her after that,’ Jasmine went on confidentially. ‘She used to be really popular. She had a friend called Eloise but she went off with someone else.’

  ‘She didn’t go off with someone else,’ said Samantha coldly. Jasmine gulped. ‘I told her she was a useless piece of debris and I didn’t want to see her again.’

  ‘Right.’ Megan shook her head in disbelief. The way Samantha behaved – it was so rude. How could she treat people like that? ‘Are you – were you sorry? About what happened, I mean?’ The moment the words were out of her mouth, she knew it was completely the wrong thing to say.

  Samantha’s gaze turned as icy as the wind. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ She turned her back on Megan.

  Megan glanced at Jasmine, who shrugged. Megan wanted to say, ‘But if you know she’s so awful, why do you hang out with her?’ And then Jasmine glanced over at the boys waiting to start the race, and Megan knew the answer. Danny. As if he knew Megan was looking at him he lifted his visor and waved, grinning. She waved back, and then he snapped his visor down again and the gun went to start the race.