Wedding Belles (7 page)

“No,” I lie. “You’ve still got the moves.” The wooden spoon in his hand is dripping red sauce all over the floor. “What are you cooking? Smells strangely good.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Spaghetti Bolognese. Your mum’s at the cinema with your grandpa. I’m on babysitting duty.”

“Have you lost one already?” I ask, looking around the room for Evie.

“She’s having a nap, smarty-pants.” He puts the spoon back into the frying pan and swipes at the sticky red puddle on the tiles with a piece of paper towel — Dave’s version of cleaning up. Mum would be on the floor with all kinds of sprays and wipes.

“You’re home late,” he says. “Your mum said you’d be back at three. It’s nearly five.”

I roll my eyes. “We were on a school trip, and the bus broke down. There was black smoke coming from the engine and everything. We were stuck in our seats for over an hour while the Crombies sang stupid rugby songs.”

Remembering what happened next, I feel my face go red. Annabelle had this horrible, horrible idea. She decided it was a great opportunity to teach everyone on the bus the All Saints cheers. And she forced me and Nina to join in. Nina didn’t need much encouragement, to be honest — she’s such a show-off — but I was utterly mortified at the mere thought of waving my arms around in the aisle, let alone chanting. I wouldn’t have gone along with it if she hadn’t threatened to be mean to Mills.

Mills’s face flashed in front of my eyes. The scared, bullied face; the face she wears when she talks about cheering.

“I’ll do it, I suppose,” I muttered.

And then the humiliation began. Every second of the experience was sheer torture. The worst thing was having to cheer in front of Seth. SETH! He couldn’t stop laughing. It
was
good to see Seth smile, but I do wish it hadn’t been at my expense.

“Rugby songs?” Dave smiles at me. “Sounds like a nightmare, all right. But at least they didn’t make you cheer, eh?”

“Dave, do you still keep in touch with Polly?” I ask, to change the subject. She used to ring him with any medical questions or worries about her treatment and he’d try to help.

“Yes,” he says slowly. “Why?”

I stare down at the table. I don’t want to break Seth’s confidence, so I can’t say any more. It’s good to know Dave’s still looking out for her, though. “Nothing, I was just wondering.”

Dave is quiet for a long time. Then he sits on the edge of the kitchen table and smiles gently at me. “Polly’s in good hands, trust me. She’s a really strong woman, a fighter. How’s Seth doing? Is he OK?”

“He’s finding things a bit difficult at the moment,” I say.

“That’s understandable. I know it’s all a bit up in the air for them both right now. It must be hard on the lad. But at least he has you to talk to, Amy. I know all this is hard for you too and you’re coping with it so well. I think you’re pretty incredible, in fact. I don’t know many teenagers, but if they’re all like you, this country’s going to be just fine.”

It’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. And for some reason it makes my eyes well up, which is really embarrassing.

“Thanks,” I say, blinking back my tears and getting up quickly. “Just going to do my homework.”

“Dinner will be ready in about half an hour,” Dave says behind me. “I’ll give you a yell.”

I lug my schoolbag upstairs to my room. I don’t actually have all that much homework because of the school trip — just a classics essay on the Parthenon (an ancient Greek temple that is actually a pretty cool building) and a couple of geography questions to answer about urban renewal in Ennis, County Clare (yawn, yawn, and triple yawn). But I’m so not in the mood.

I keep thinking about Seth and Polly and everything. A lump forms in my throat and I gulp it back. I’m not going to cry, I’m not.

I pull my mobile out of my pocket, looking for a distraction. There’s a tiny number 1 hovering over my message box, so I click on it.

YELLO, BEANIE. TELL DAVE TO KEEP ME SOME CHOW. I’M STARVING. GRAMPS IS OUT AND THERE’S NOT A CRUMB IN THE PLACE. I’LL BE OVER ANON FOR MY DIN-DINS. HAVE GOSS WORK FOR YOU TOO. CLOVER XXX

I instantly feel a little better. Clover always cheers me up. I decide then and there that I’ll tell her the Bus Trip from Hell story, but I won’t say anything about Polly and Seth. If I do, I know I’ll only start to feel miserable again, and besides, I don’t want to break Seth’s confidence.

She’ll laugh at the cheerleading story, though. There’s no girl better to keep my mind off things than Clover Wildgust. I can’t believe that she might not be around for much longer. I’ll miss her so much. . . . If she does go to New York, who will cheer me up when I’m feeling blue?

“So how goes it, Bean Machine?” Clover says, coming into my room later. “Dave said you were on a school trip today. You and the lovely Sethness get a chance to slope off for some smooch a-go-go?” She puckers up her lips and makes loud kissing noises.

“It wasn’t that sort of trip, believe me.”

“Everything OK, Beanie Baby? You seem a little out of sorts. Not like you to be so serio-so.”

“I’m just a bit tired.” I say. “I had the bus trip from hell today.” And I tell her all about my cheering experience.

“That sounds grimmer than the Grimm brothers,” she says when I’ve finished. “You poor sausage. No wonder you’re down. But there’s nothing else worrying you, is there? It’s not Seth, is it?”

“No, Seth’s fine. The perfect boyfriend, as always.”

“You’re sure there’s nothing else upsetting you?”

I’m determined not to say anything about Polly, so I shake my head.

“Honestly, just wrecked,” I say firmly.

“Good-o. But remember that I’m always here for you, Beanie, if you want to talk. Day or night, 24/7. No matter where I am.
Comprende
?”

A little voice inside me suddenly says,
Ask her about New York. Ask her if she’s really going. Ask her!
But I don’t want to get Mum in trouble, so I keep quiet and the moment passes because she bursts into the chorus of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” complete with elaborate arm gestures.

“This is the cheer version of the song,” she says, tipping her fingers together over her head to form a mountain and swooping them down into a low
V
to form a valley.

Despite my mood, I manage to smile.

She stops singing and pulls a crumpled sheet of paper out of her bag. “Nearly forgot. Problemo for you to solve, o teen-problem guru.” She hands me the letter and I smile to myself when I see my name at the top of it. First too.

“That’s exactly how I felt, remember, Clover? I asked you how to kiss Seth, and you started demonstrating by pretending to snog the back of your hand.”

“And Sylvie walked in the door and caught me.” Clover chuckles.

“You told her you were testing out a new lipstick.”

“And she believed me. Grown-ups! They’d swallow anything.” She rolls her eyes, then asks, “So what do you think? Now that you’re an experienced girl of the world, care to do a step-by-step guide for Bethan? I think it’d probably work better as an article than a letter. Your very first
Goss
feature, Beanie. Coola boola.”

That would be amazing! “Would Saffy really print an A-to-Z of kissing?”

“Sure, if it’s good enough. It’s exactly the kind of thing
Goss
fans want to read. And Bethan’s letter proves it. Avoid making it too graphic, though. Don’t want to offend any parental types.” She puts on a New York cop accent. “Just the facts, ma’am.”

“I’ll do it!” I say.

“Good woman.” Clover pats me on the back so hard she nearly fires me across the room.

An Ultimate Teen Guide to Kissing? That will mean lots of research. I hope Seth’s up for it!

I didn’t see much of Seth on Thursday, and he wasn’t in school at all today, Friday. He texted me to say he was going to the hospital with Polly for her appointment with Dr. Shine. He also said that Polly isn’t working tomorrow after all and promised he’d hang out with me — result! I’ve just texted to arrange where to meet:
HOW ABOUT MCDONALD’S AT 1 AND THEN A MOVIE? THERE’S A NEW PIRATE ADVENTURE THING THAT LOOKS COOL. AND IT’S PADDY’S DAY ON SUNDAY — ARE YOU UP FOR CHECKING OUT THE FIREWORKS IN TOWN WITH MILLS AND BAILEY? XXX

OK, SURE,
he texted back.
MEET YOU AT MCD’S.

As soon as I spotted the word “meet,” I smiled. He has no idea of my dastardly plans for him. Well, for his lips, to be strictly accurate. We’ll definitely have to sit in the back row of the cinema!

On Saturday morning I get up at eleven and take a shower. In fact, the babies woke me at seven, but I managed to drift off again — Mum knew I didn’t have anything on this morning and she left me to sleep, which rarely happens, so I’m already in a good mood. I dry my hair upside down to give it extra body, then tong a couple of curls into the front with my curling iron. We haven’t been out anywhere, just me and Seth, for ages, and I want to look nice, so I take extra care choosing my clothes. I put on some music and start trying on loads of different outfits before settling for my denim skinny jeans, black top, and a black leather jacket of Clover’s, teamed with silver Converse. I dab some lip gloss on my lips and smack them together with a satisfying
puck
noise. Now I’m ready to rock and roll!

“You look nice,” Mum says as I walk into the kitchen just after twelve. “Where are you off to?”

“Just going to the cinema with Seth.” An image of the two of us smooching in the back row flashes into my mind and my cheeks heat up.

Luckily Mum is too busy chasing Alex around the kitchen with a piece of damp paper towel to notice.

“What time will you be back?” she says, catching Alex. She holds him in a wrestling-style grip while she rubs his chocolate-ringed mouth and he wails in protest.

I calculate in my head. The film starts at two, and we might go for a walk or something afterward.

“Five or six, I guess,” I say.

“Before six, please,” she says. “And have fun.”

I smile at her. “I will.” She has no idea how much fun I intend to have “meeting” Seth.

I get to McDonald’s at five to one and have a quick look around. Seth isn’t here yet, so I sit down at a table just inside the door to wait. There’s a dad with two little kids at the table beside me. They’re playing with their plastic toys as he feeds them fries. Opposite me, there’s a gang of D4s. I don’t know them, thank goodness. They’re studying their hamburger wrappers, reading out the calories and comparing them. If they’re really that bothered about their weight, they should eat in a health-food café, not a burger joint. One notices me watching them and raises her overplucked eyebrows, so I quickly start fiddling with my iPhone.

“Hiya.” I look up, and Seth’s standing in front of me. He’s wearing a creased T-shirt with an old blue zip-up hoodie over it, and his hair is limp and falling over his eyes. I feel a bit disappointed. I spent ages getting dressed, and he looks like he picked yesterday’s clothes off the floor and threw them on. But at least he’s here.

“Hi.” I smile at him.

He smiles back, but the expression doesn’t hit his eyes. My stomach tightens a little. Something’s not quite right. Then I remember what he was up to yesterday — visiting the hospital with Polly. It can’t have been easy. No wonder he looks tired, anxious, and a little crumpled around the edges.

“You stay here and keep the table,” he says. “Big Mac meal with Fanta, yeah?”

“Thanks.” I nod. He knows me so well. I take my wallet out of my pocket, but he waves it away.

“It’s on me. Back in a sec.” As he walks off, I notice some of the D4s’ heads turn to check him out. I allow myself to feel a little smug. I bet none of them has a boyfriend as cute or as kind as Seth, even if he does look a bit of a mess today.

A few minutes later, he plunks a tray on the table and shuffles in beside me. Then he just sits there, staring at the food.

“Is everything all right, Seth?” I ask.