Over the Moon (19 page)

I said I couldn’t make any promises. “To be honest, I’m kinda going off the idea.”

“Oh, Scarlett,
please
!” said Hattie. “Don’t make me feel guilty!”

Serve her right if she did. Fancy going and asking Simon off her own bat, without even bothering to tell me! I felt like pointing out that
I
was the one who was supposed to be finding a partner for her. I was working on it! I’d got someone in mind!

Only I hadn’t, so I shut up.

I decided that after all I had better stick with Matt. At least he was a status symbol, and at least it meant Tanya wouldn’t be able to get her thieving hands on him.

Next morning, on the way in to school, I told Simon how glad I was that he was going to partner Hattie. I meant it. I really did! I
was
glad. It would have been mean not to be, for Hattie’s sake. I just had this feeling that if I’d only got in first …

“It’s so lovely for Hattie,” I said. “I’d promised to find someone for her, and it just went right out of my head!”

Simon said, “That’s OK. It’s only thanks to you that I’m going.”

I said, “
Really
?” What had I done???

“That day you forced me into swimming?”

“Oh,” I said, “yes!” And I gave a little laugh, to show that I was cool with it. “You made me show my face and I made you take your trousers off!”

“We made each other brave,” said Simon. “If Hattie had asked me the day before I’d have said no, I don’t go to dances. So it was entirely thanks to you.”

Oh, dear! It was very hard to bear. But there are times you just have to put a brave face on things.

I wasn’t very brave when Mum finally packed her bags and left. Mum wasn’t too brave, either: anyone would have thought she didn’t want to go. At the last minute we clung to each other and she kissed me, and I swear she had tears in her eyes, though I couldn’t be certain cos I’d got this kind of mist thing going on and couldn’t see properly.

“Mum,” I whispered, “do you have to go?”

“I think I do,” she said. “I think I really need to …
just to give myself a bit of space. But Scarlett, I’m only half an hour away! We’ll see each other all the time. Why don’t you come over on Saturday evening, and I’ll make us something special, just the two of us, and you can tell me all about the Dinner and Dance … what d’you say? Shall we make a date?”

I said that I would like that.

“So would I,” said Mum. She hugged me to her, very hard. “It’s time you and I got to know each other!”

Dad and I stood watching as Mum’s car turned out of the drive.

“She’ll be back,” said Dad. “All this nonsense!”

I said, “Dad, I don’t think it is nonsense. I think Mum does honestly need to work out where she’s going.”

To which Dad merely said, “Huh!” and went stomping off into the house. I did feel sorry for him, cos I knew he really couldn’t work out why Mum was doing this terrible thing, but I also knew that that was part of the problem. Until Dad understood, Mum couldn’t come home. I was only just beginning to understand myself; it was going to be a lot harder for Dad. Simon had been right; it was up to me to help him. I wasn’t quite sure how, except I had this feeling that me and Dad needed to do a lot more serious talking in the future. It wouldn’t be easy, cos Dad really doesn’t like serious talking, but you have to fight for the things that matter to you. And having Mum and Dad back together again mattered to me more than anything else in the whole world.

I didn’t write in my diary about Mum leaving. I didn’t even write about Founder’s Day. I’d been looking forward to it for so long, up and down and over-the-moon so many times, but then in the end it came and went without so much as a mention. In fact it was months before I really started writing again and then
only tiny snippets. I don’t quite know why; it’s not like I was specially unhappy or specially busy or specially anything. I guess it had just served its purpose and I didn’t feel the need of it any more.

Founder’s Day was fun, just not quite the earth-shattering event I’d built it up to be. I went with Matt and I suppose I might as well admit that it gave me a buzz, knowing he was way the most gorgeous guy there and that everyone was looking at us.
Well, OK, not everyone, that’s a bit of a stupid exaggeration. But certainly lots of people. It was what I’d always wanted and I couldn’t help basking, just a little. I think
anyone
would bask, in that situation. It’s only human nature!

Loads of photos were taken, including one of me and Matt that appeared in the local newspaper. Dad was so proud! He ordered lots of big glossy prints and sent copies to all of our relatives. He also had one framed and put on the wall.
In his office,
thankfully, where I didn’t have to cringe and listen to Dad telling everyone that came in, “This is my daughter Scarlett and her young man.” I
mean, it was a nice photo, someone even said that me and Matt were like the latest Hollywood golden couple and ought to be on the cover of
Hello!
magazine (which sent Dad into ecstasies) but Matt isn’t “my young man”, he never really was, and I’m long past the stage of wanting to be told all the time how beautiful I am. There are more important things in life! Besides, it’s really immature.

Tanya was at the Dinner and Dance, of course. She came with a boy that everyone knew was her cousin. I did gloat a tiny bit, cos we’d been, like, rivals for so
long, and anyway she deserved it. Trying to poach Matt! But somehow it didn’t make me feel as blissfully triumphant as I’d have thought it would. Just a little victory roll and then it was gone.

The big thing was Hattie and Simon. They were so sweet! It was like they were made for each other. They didn’t do much in the way of dancing, but every time I looked in their direction they had their heads close, engaged in these really deep discussions. Well, I’m guessing they were deep! Knowing Hattie – knowing Simon. You can just bet they weren’t involved in the silly sort of mindless frivolity me and Matt were. It was Hattie’s turn to be over-the-moon and I was genuinely pleased for her. She’s my friend and I couldn’t be jealous. She deserved to be happy!

The next day, which was a Saturday, Matt rang. He wanted us to meet up that evening. Even after the way he’d treated me, my heart still leapt. I was still flattered that he wanted me. But I’d made a promise and I wasn’t going to break it. Not even for the most gorgeous thing on two legs.

“Matt, I’m really sorry,” I said, “I can’t! I’m having dinner with my mum.”

“On a Saturday?” said Matt. “Saturdays are for going out!”

I said, “I am going out … I’m going over to my mum’s place.”

“Yeah?” I could almost
see
his lip curling. I just knew that he was sneering. He said, “That sounds like a bundle of laughs!”

“She’s my mum,” I said.

“OK, OK, so enjoy yourself. Have a ball!”

“Matt, I promised her,” I said. “I can’t not go!”

“Like I said, have a ball.”

He was making it very obvious he wasn’t pleased with me. Boys like Matt, they’re not used to girls taking a stand. They’re more used to them dropping everything on command. Jumping through hoops, to keep them happy. But suddenly, something had snapped and I just didn’t care.

“Too bad if you don’t like it,” I said. “Why not try Tanya? She’s desperate.”