Never a Perfect Moment
Read Never a Perfect Moment Online
Authors: Cathy Cole
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1. The New Girl
2. The Trouble With Love
3. More Than a Love Song
4. A Date With Fate
5. Never a Perfect Moment
6. Kiss at Midnight
7. Back to You
8. Summer of Secrets
9. Playing the Game
10. Flirting With Danger
11. Lovers and Losers
12. Winter Wonderland
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Hugs and kisses to Lucy Courtenay and Sara Grant
Contents
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ONE
The noise in the school canteen dimmed to nothing as Polly Nelson stared at the text. Her palms felt clammy, like the phone was about to slip from her hands. She couldn't quite believe what her eyes were telling her. But there it was, as plain as day.
Dinner Fri?
The text blurred. Now all she could see was the name that went with it, highlighted across the top of her phone screen.
Ollie Wright.
Ollie Wright was asking her out on a date!
OK, so the text wasn't exactly romantic. In fact, it was pretty basic. The sentimental side of Polly was a little disappointed. Who asked a girl out with just two words? There weren't even any kisses at the bottom.
She scolded herself almost immediately. Why exactly did that matter? This was
Ollie
they were talking about. The school's best-looking football star and most popular boy at Heartside High. Asking her, quirky, shy Polly Nelson, out on a date.
You're allowed to be excited
, she thought. She'd wanted this for so long. She'd been in love with Ollie for years. A lifetime. In some ways it didn't make sense â they were so different. But she couldn't help it.
She glanced up from her phone, to see if she could spot Ollie in the crowded canteen. Everyone was wearing black armbands and matching sombre expressions. The hall was full of the usual clattering of crockery and cutlery, but the lunchtime chatter was missing. Hardly anyone was talking, and if they were, they were almost whispering, glancing around as if they were breaking some unspoken rule.
Oh Ollie
, Polly thought unhappily.
Your timing sucks.
Ryan Jameson's fatal cliff jump hung over them all like a heavy shroud. It had been less than a week since his funeral, and his death had changed the whole atmosphere at Heartside High. The corridors had been quiet for days, and the usual press around the lockers between classes was silent and awkward, just like here in the canteen. Feeling excited about anything just felt â wrong. What gave Polly the right to feel something that Ryan would never feel again?
Polly studied Ollie's text again as she let her hair swing around her face. She had dyed it black to match her mood, and the dark strands contrasted sharply with her pale, clear skin and light hazel eyes. She wasn't sure the colour suited her, but she couldn't muster the energy to care.
Was it wrong to think about going on a date? She felt sad and guilty and giddy, all at the same time.
Ollie was totally wrong for her. She'd always known that. Apart from being way out of her league looks-wise, Ollie shared none of Polly's interests. Art meant nothing to him. Literature, fashion, animal rights â nothing. All he cared about was playing football and having fun. He was extremely good at both. Polly couldn't stand most of the boys on the football team. She didn't understand how they could care so much about football, which was so boring and meaningless to her.
Opposites attracted, Polly had heard that before. But did they last? Would she and Ollie ever really work together? How could they when they had precisely nothing in common?
And
Ollie had just broken up with Polly's best friend, Lila. This would have normally broken the number-one rule of friendship, but Lila had given Polly and Ollie her blessing to go out with each other.
“You and Ollie must grab all the happiness you can,” Lila had said after Ryan's death. It still felt wrong, though.
Polly looked across the table to where Lila was staring silently out of the window. Lila had been particularly affected by Ryan's death, and had said very little for days. Everyone knew Ryan had jumped off that cliff to impress her. It was a heavy burden to bear and Polly knew that Lila felt it intensely.
It was a relief to think about someone else's problems, Polly realized. It was much easier wondering how to cheer Lila up than how to bridge the obvious gap between her and Ollie.
Lila needs someone to take her mind off Ryan
, she thought. Plus, if Lila was interested in someone else, it would make Polly feel less guilty about Ollie. Lila's eyes had a particular sparkle about them when she was interested in a boy. It was a sparkle Polly hadn't seen very often in the last week. The only time she had noticed it, Polly realized, was when Lila was talking to Josh Taylor.
Anyone with half a brain could see that Josh was crazy about Lila. There was a kind of electricity in the air when they were together. Lila may not have been able to see it, but they were meant for each other. All it would take to get them together was a little nudge.
“Lila?”
Lila looked at Polly with faraway eyes. “What?”
Polly realized how crass it would sound to voice her thoughts out loud.
Why don't you go out with Josh and forget about Ryan? He may be dead, but you're still alive!
“I ⦠forgot what I was going to say,” she said. “It was nothing important. Sorry.”
Lila stood up and shouldered her bag. “See you in class,” she said, and trudged away.
Polly watched her friend until she had left the dinner hall. Absently, she looked back at her text. Ollie would be waiting for a reply. What should she say?
She glanced around again, wondering if Ollie was somewhere in the crowd. It felt like there were more people in here than usual.
Like a wave retreating from the beach, the crowd seemed to part. Several girls nudged each other. Ollie was striding towards Polly, blond hair tousled, a smile on his face. That old familiar feeling zipped through Polly's body at the sight of him: his happy face, his blue eyes. It happened every time she saw him. She couldn't help it. It was chemistry, pure and simple.
Ollie reached Polly's table. He smiled down at her. “Hey,” he said. “You ever going to answer my text?”
Polly felt herself melting.
Be cool
, she thought, struggling not to fall straight into his arms.
“I'm ⦠thinking about it,” she said.
Ollie pulled a mock-sad face. Digging around in his pocket, he produced a little dark-red box which he held out to her.
Polly stared at the box. “What's that?”
“A little something,” he said. “In case you need persuading.”
He placed the little box in her palm. Polly's skin fizzed at the touch of his hand. She opened the box slowly.
Nestled in the creamy satin lining was a gorgeous vintage locket on a slim silver chain. Engraved in the middle of the locket were the initials “PN”.
“They're my initials,” Polly said, staring at the locket in wonder.
“I got one thing right then,” Ollie said. He sounded nervous. “Aren't you going to open it?”
Polly's heart was thumping so loudly she couldn't hear herself think. She slid her thumbnail between the two halves of the locket and gave a gentle flick. It opened like a clamshell, revealing a tiny photograph pressed inside. A photo of her and Ollie, together.
“I've wanted to go out with you for ages, Polly,” said Ollie quietly. “Say yes.”
He touched her cheek with one finger and walked away, disappearing into the crowd again.
Polly gazed at the locket. Her heart felt full to overflowing. Now
that
was the perfect way to ask for a first date.
Her fingers felt clumsy as she fastened the locket around her neck, tucking the silver case down inside her shirt. She took out her phone, stared one more time at the little two-word message.
There was only one possible answer.
TWO
The locket felt cool and heavy against Polly's skin. Ollie really liked her. He'd liked her for as long as she'd liked him. Her heart swelled to bursting. Three little letters and one big exclamation mark was all that stood between her and the thing she had wanted for so long. She knew exactly what she was going to reply.
Yes!
She hit send.
There was a whoop from somewhere down the dining hall. Ollie was on his feet, holding his arms in the air.
“I'm going out with a beautiful girl on Friday!” he cried.
His joy clashed horribly with the atmosphere in the dining hall. Polly blushed furiously but giggled at the disapproving faces turned in Ollie's direction. She couldn't help the way she felt.
Ryan would understand
, she thought.
She hugged her phone to her chest. It had been so long since she had last smiled. It was a good feeling.
The sound system crackled over the dining-hall speakers.
“Would Lila Murray, Josh Taylor and Polly Nelson please go the office?”
Polly felt the smile drop off her face like a stone. She was wanted in the office? That was only ever bad news. What had she done?
She looked around for Lila, before remembering her friend had already left the dining hall. Josh was nowhere to be seen. She hoped he wasn't down by the beach, sketching, the way he often did during lunch break.
Polly quickly left the dining hall and headed towards the head teacher's office. Why were she, Lila and Josh being summoned like this? She hoped they weren't in trouble. There had been so much trouble lately, she wasn't sure she could take much more.
Josh's familiar loping stride was some way ahead of her along the corridor. Polly broke into a nervous run.
“Hey, Josh,” she panted, catching him up. “What do you think this is about?”
Josh glanced at her over the top of his glasses. “We haven't broken into any shopping centres in the middle of the night recently, have we?”
Polly gulped as she remembered their unauthorized trip to Eve's dad's half-built shopping centre. They had just managed to avoid getting caught by some security guards.
Lila was waiting by the head teacher's office already, her face tight with strain. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Josh and Polly.
“What's going on?” she said at once. “What have we done?”
“I've done nothing, I swear,” said Josh. “Apart from draw a very unflattering picture of Mr Cartwright which made him look like a stoat. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about that.”
Lila laughed, her eyes sparkling like in the old days. Polly wondered when her friend would wake up to the fact that Josh was the perfect boy for her.
Mr Cartwright's secretary, Miss Oliphant, opened the door. “In here,” she said briskly. “Chief Murray is waiting.”
Polly's heart sped up. Josh looked pale.
“What's my
dad
doing here?” Lila said with an audible gasp.
“His job, I imagine,” said Miss Oliphant, pursing her lips. “Come along.”
Chief Murray looked a lot like Lila, Polly thought. Same brown hair, same bright blue eyes. He beckoned them into the small meeting room beside Miss Oliphant's desk. Mr Cartwright stood by the door with his hands behind his back.
Lila slumped warily in the chair furthest away from her dad. Josh sat beside Polly.
“What's that?” said Polly nervously, pointing at the small black device in the middle of the table.
“We're recording this interview,” said Chief Murray. “There's nothing to worry about. It's not official. Just pretend it isn't there.”
Polly felt panicky. The room felt small and airless. The recording device crouched on the table like a black toad.
“I have a few more questions about Ryan Jameson's death,” said Chief Murray, flicking through a brown folder on the table.
“We have classes this afternoon,” Lila said sullenly, shifting in her chair.
“I have assured Mr Cartwright that this won't take long,” said Chief Murray. “I would like you to go over something one more time. Where were you all when Ryan jumped from the cliff?”
“We've answered that already,” said Lila. Her voice was trembling. “On the night it happened. At the police station. How many more times do we have to answer stupid questions like this?”
“There is nothing stupid about a boy's death, Lila,” said Chief Murray sharply.
Lila bit her lip and fell silent.
Polly was taking deep breaths. Her heart rate was all over the place, and she could feel her vision narrowing and tightening.
“I was on the beach.” Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. “I wasn't on the clifftop when Ryan jumped.”
Chief Murray checked his notes and added a scribble in the margin of a page headed POLLY NELSON. Polly squeezed her fists together tightly.
Breathe
, she told herself.
In and out. In and out. Easy.
“Josh?” asked Chief Murray, glancing up.
Josh looked paler than ever. “I was on the cliff. I jumped into the water after Ryan when he didn't come up. But I was⦠”
Josh trailed off. He didn't need to say it.
Too late.
“And can you remember any of the conversation leading up to Ryan making that fatal jump?” said Chief Murray.
“We've said all this, over and over,” Lila hissed. “Ryan was boasting that he could make the jump. We tried to stop him. He didn't listen.”
Chief Murray looked at another sheet of paper. Polly could see that it had Lila's name on it. “And you were with Ryan on the cliff as well, Lila?”
Lila was growing paler and more agitated by the minute. “You
know
I was. Why do we have to keep going over this? You know I don't like thinking about that night, Dad. Why are you doing this to me?”
Polly reached for Lila's hand, sensing her friend's fear and regret. “It wasn't your fault, you know,” she said. “There was nothing any of us could do to stop Ryan.”
Lila pulled her hand away. She folded her arms tightly across her body. “Ryan's parents don't see it that way,” she said bitterly.
“Are there many more questions, Chief Murray?” asked Josh.
Chief Murray steepled his fingers. “I wanted to ask about Eve Somerstown.”
Polly blinked. “What do you want to know?” she asked in surprise.
“Anything you can tell me.” Chief Murray's expression was intent, his eyes trained on them like blue searchlights. “Her family life. Her father and his finances.”
“What's that got to do with Ryan's death? Why do you have to know everyone's business?” Lila spat.
“I'll ask the questions,” Chief Murray responded sternly.
Polly tried to claw the conversation back to a less aggressive level. “Eve's rich and ⦠can be difficult,” she said, carefully. She didn't particularly trust Eve, but she didn't want to gossip about her either. She was going through a tough time at the moment. “Her dad's the mayor. He has lots of successful businesses. But you know that right?”
“That party must have cost a fortune,” Chief Murray commented. “Did her father pay for it? Your trip to the shopping centre â what did you see there?”
Polly blanched. He knew about their midnight adventure in Mr Somerstown's half-built shopping complex?
“There's no point denying that you were there the other night,” said Chief Murray, catching Polly's expression and reading it correctly. “You're lucky you haven't been charged for trespassing. What do you think's going on there?”
Josh spread his hands. “It's a shopping centre,” he said. “One day, it'll be full of shops.”
“Hmm,” said Chief Murray.
Lila pushed her chair back violently. “I'm sick of these questions. I want to go to class.”
Mr Cartwright started forward with his hands raised. “Lila, I'm sure your father has nearlyâ”
“Your questions are embarrassing and pointless,” Lila snarled at her dad. Tears glinted on her cheeks. “Eve's business is her own. I'm out of here.”
She stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that it juddered on its hinges.
Chief Murray rubbed his hands through his hair. Polly thought he looked tired. “Thank you for your time, Polly, Josh. Mr Cartwright,” he said. “I'll see myself out.”
It was a relief to be out of that little room with its whirring tape recorder. Polly felt lighter the moment they shut the office door behind them.
“She's not handing this well, is she?” Josh remarked.
There was no need to ask who he meant.
Polly felt herself relaxing again in the role of helping her friends. “You know, Josh,” she said as they headed to their classes, “you should ask Lila out.”
Josh stopped dead. “What?”
“You should,” Polly insisted.
Josh pushed his glasses up his nose. “I tried once,” he admitted. “It didn't work out quite the way I intended. She obviously doesn't like me in that way.”
Boys knew nothing, Polly thought.
“Maybe she didn't once,” she said. “But she does now. Believe me, Josh. Girls know this stuff.”
Colour was stealing across Josh's pale cheeks. “You think?”
Polly thought of Lila's miserable face. Of Ryan, lying face down in the water on that terrible night.
“What have you got to lose?” she said. “Life is meant to be lived, right?”
Josh stopped by the staffroom. “I'm going this way,” he said, thumbing over his shoulder. “See you later, OK?”
“Are you going to ask her?” Polly pressed.
“I'll think about it,” he said with a little smile.
Polly smiled back, feeling pleased. “Don't leave it too long, will you? We all need to start having a little more fun around here,” she said, thinking of Ollie.
