Ben? That’s Ben? Curly Hair from Youth Orchestra is Ben? OMG.
‘Oh,’ I say, my mind too confused to come out with anything more intelligent.
Amira rolls her eyes. ‘I point out the guy I’m officially in love with and all you can say is “Oh”?’
‘Sorry,’ I say. ‘I meant, wow. Yep, that’s definitely what I meant. Wow.’
‘Keep your voice down,’ Amira orders me. ‘So you think he’s cute?’
‘Oh yeah,’ I say. ‘Definitely. Great hair.’
‘It is, isn’t it,’ Amira says proudly, like she created it herself. ‘I wasn’t sure about the hair to begin with. I mean, I’ve never really been into guys with curly hair before. But now … ’ She stops to sneak another look, gives a big sigh, then continues on with her Ben rave. ‘ … now, I just think it’s, like, really cool.’
‘Right,’ I say, sneaking my own look. Ben’s talking animatedly to the guy behind him, his back to us. Probably doesn’t even know we’re in the queue ahead of him.
Amira’s in my ear again. ‘Talk to me, quick. No, wait. Laugh, as though I’ve just said the funniest thing you’ve ever heard.’
‘Why?’
‘Duh, Michi. Don’t you know anything? Cos he’s looking this way. I want him to think I’m a really fun person to be with.’
‘But you are a really fun person to be with,’ I tell her. ‘Why do you need to put on an act?’
Amira and Jess laugh. ‘You’re burning my brain here, Michi,’ says Jess. ‘Isn’t it obvious?’
Obviously not. I’m clearly struggling with this.
‘So, are we still on for the sleepover on Friday night?’ I say, in an attempt to change the subject.
‘Sure are,’ says Amira. ‘Jess is coming, aren’t you, Jess? And Jane. And I might invite Tara as well … Oh. Poop.’
‘What?’ Jess and I both say.
‘It’s Ben,’ she says, pointing out a group of guys heading off over to the soccer field, tossing the ball between each other as they go. ‘He’s gone off to play with his mates.’
‘Guess he got sick of waiting in the queue,’ I tell her. I don’t really blame him. This must be the slowest moving queue I’ve ever been in.
‘Don’t worry,’ Jess consoles her. ‘I’m sure you’ll bump into him again soon.’
Or I will, I think, now that I know Ben and Curly Hair are the same person. I’m bound to see him again next time we have orchestra practice. But so what? He never talks to me there, anyway. Why would things suddenly change? Obviously Mia was pulling my leg about him staring at me yesterday. I am going to kill her when I get back with Lexi’s chocolate.
Chapter 6
friday night
‘Pass me some corn chips, please, Jess.’
‘Only if you pass me the popcorn chicken.’
I hand her the tub of chicken, trying not to breathe in the smell as I pick it up. So gross. I don’t understand how anyone could want to eat a dead animal. Jess hands me the bowl of chips and I take a handful, then relax back on Amira’s giant bed. It’s big enough to fit all five of us. Her room’s not as funky as Pink HQ, but it’s heaps more comfortable. And perfect for watching the movie Amira made, on her big screen. It was a really awesome movie. Clever and arty. I wouldn’t be surprised if she becomes some major movie director one day.
‘So, Ami,’ Tara says, sucking up the last of the Diet Coke. ‘Has Ben asked you out yet?’
Amira grins. ‘Not yet. But I’m working on it. Any day now.’
‘Oooooh,’ smirks Jess.
‘Kissy kissy,’ says Jane.
‘Shut up, you two,’ Amira snaps. ‘You’re just jealous.’
‘Yeah,’ admits Jess. ‘I wish someone would ask me out.’
‘Like that’s ever going to happen,’ Tara says, then ducks as Jess takes a swipe at her with the chicken bucket.
‘So, where are you going to go on your big date?’ Jane asks, twirling one of Amira’s ringlets round her finger.
‘Don’t know yet,’ says Amira, cuddling her pillow. ‘The movies, maybe. Or Bowl-arama. Or maybe we can just go out and get some burgers.’
‘Or the beach,’ sighs Jess. ‘You could snuggle up in the dunes together and watch the sun setting across the water.’
Amira rolls her eyes. ‘That sounds like something out of a really bad soapie.’
‘It is,’ Tara tells her. ‘There was a scene just like that on Bailey’s Beach last night.’
‘So?’ Jess is pouting now. ‘What’s wrong with Bailey’s Beach?’
‘Nothing,’ says Tara. ‘It’s my favourite show. Hey, isn’t it awesome what’s happening with Eddie and Angel at the moment?’
‘I know,’ says Jess. ‘I thought for sure they were going to get together, and then when Davina turned up like that …’ ‘That girl is such a cow,’ adds Jane.
‘Absolutely,’ agrees Tara.
I’ve got no idea who they’re talking about. Sure, I’ve heard Alysha and Lexi talking about Bailey’s Beach – they watch it all the time. But I’ve never seen it myself. We don’t even have a TV at home. Mum reckons TV rots your brain, and Sam just downloads anything he wants to see on his computer. And I’d rather just play or listen to music.
I look around for the Diet Coke but it’s all gone. So I extricate myself from the tangle of arms and legs on the bed and head for the kitchen to get some more. I’m head down, bum up, poking round in the bottom of Amira’s fridge, when two guys come crashing into the room.
‘Hang here a sec,’ one of them says to the other. ‘I’ll just grab us some drinks, then we can go out to the games room.’
It sounds like Joe, Amira’s brother. I slowly straighten up. Just my luck he has to catch me when I’ve got my bum waving round in the air. How embarrassing is that?
‘Hey, Michi,’ Joe says. ‘Can you grab us some Cokes while you’re in there, mate?’
‘Sure,’ I say. Looks like there’s no diet stuff left. I grab three cans of straight Coke and turn around. Yep, it’s Joe all right, all sweaty and muddy from soccer training. And standing right next to him is Curly Hair. Ben.
‘Hey,’ I say shyly, handing two of the cans to Joe. I try to flip the top off my own can, but for some stupid reason, it sticks.
‘Here,’ says Ben, holding out his hand. ‘Give it to me. I’ll do it for you.’
‘Ummm … thanks,’ I say, passing him the can. His fingers brush against mine as he takes it from me, sending a little jolt of electricity up my arm. I take a step back, then wait quietly while Ben expertly pops the ring top and hands the can back to me.
Joe glances over at the door to the hallway for a moment, a puzzled expression on his face, like he’s just seen or heard something strange. I take my mind off the tingling sensation in my arm just long enough to follow his gaze but the doorway is empty. Weird. Joe shrugs, then tips his head back and takes a long chug of his drink.
‘Mmmff, that’s better,’ he says, wiping bubbles away from his chin with the back of his hand. ‘Thanks, Michi, I needed that. Hey, tell Amira to try and keep the noise down back there, okay?’ He grins at Ben. ‘Last thing we need is a roomful of little girls disturbing our evening, hey, mate?’
‘Yeah,’ says Ben, but he looks a bit embarrassed as he says it. ‘See you around.’
Little girls? Gee, thanks, Joe, I think. Like you’re such a big deal.
Joe and Ben disappear off to the games room upstairs. I figure I might as well make a trip to the loo while I’m here, so I do that. Then I grab another couple of packets of corn chips from the pile of goodies on the kitchen bench and head back down the hallway to Amira’s room. There’s a DVD playing on the computer screen when I come back in, and everyone’s lying stretched out across the bed, watching it.
‘Shove over,’ I say to Jess, trying to find an empty place to sit.
Without taking her eyes off the screen, Jess moves a couple of centimetres to the right and I squeeze in between her and Tara. I open one of the packets of chips
and offer it around but no-one takes any.
Guess they’re all too engrossed in the movie. Or maybe everyone’s already full. We have been pigging out pretty heavily tonight.
The rest of the night goes by pretty quietly. Some sleepover. The ones at Pink HQ are much more fun. When the movie finishes, Amira tidies away all the empty food and drink containers, then we all clean our teeth and stuff and get ready to go to bed. Looks like Joe didn’t need to worry about us behaving like noisy ‘little girls’. What did he think we were going to do? Jump up and down on the bed, giggling and squealing? Or have pillow fights or something?
Jess and Jane are in the big bed with Amira so it’s just Tara and me down on the carpet in our sleeping bags. Tara rolls over and goes off to sleep almost immediately. How boring is that? I can hear muffled whispers coming from the bed but I can’t really hear what anyone’s saying. And when I try to join in they all pretend to be asleep. Then a few minutes later, the whispering starts up again, punctuated by shooshing sounds when they think I might be able to hear them.
What are they talking about? Why won’t they let me join in? Have I said something to upset one of them? I think back over all the conversations we had during the evening, but can’t remember saying anything nasty or critical. If anything, that was Jane, when she told Amira she thought her bum looked big in the pants she was wearing. Definitely not appreciated.
More whispering. I’m starting to feel really paranoid when I remember something else. It’s my birthday soon. They’re probably planning a big surprise party for me, or something. I’m the first of our gang to be turning thirteen. Finally getting out of your tweens is a pretty big deal – well, so my mum keeps telling me anyway. Amira always has awesome parties, so they’re probably going to have it here or something.
Yep, that’ll be it. That’s why they keep pretending to be asleep when I talk to them, so I can’t make them give the game away. Jane is hopeless at keeping secrets.
Hee hee. A surprise birthday party for little old me.
I settle down in my sleeping bag with a big smile on my face. I’m so lucky. I bet other people would kill to have friends like mine.
Chapter 7
sunday night
Chapter 8
monday morning
Mia’s waiting for me at the lockers when I arrive at school. ‘Did you get on to Amira last night?’ she asks.
‘Nuh,’ I say. ‘I tried a couple more times, but —’ I break off as I see Amira and the Js coming down the corridor towards us in a little huddle.
‘Hey, Ami,’ I say. I wait for her to come over to her locker, which is the other side of mine, but she just sweeps past, her head held high. Maybe she didn’t hear me?
‘Weird,’ says Mia, when it becomes obvious Jess and Jane aren’t stopping either. ‘Maybe they got here early and have already collected their stuff for first class.’
‘Maybe,’ I say. ‘But then why would they be walking back past the lockers? First class is English, over in the portables.’
This little thought niggles in my brain all the way over to the portable area. What’s going on, exactly?
It doesn’t take long to find out. I stand in the doorway of our English portable, scanning the room for somewhere to sit. There’s a couple of empty seats next to Amira and I head over to them, with Mia in tow. But before we can reach them, she’s waved over Tara.
‘Hi, Tar,’ Amira says loudly, all bouncy and smiley. ‘How was your weekend?’
‘Awesome,’ says Tara, sliding into the seat beside Amira. ‘You?’
‘Pretty quiet, actually,’ yawns Amira. ‘Stayed home watching DVDs, mainly.’
So she was home! So why didn’t she … ? I try to make eye contact with her but she’s too deep in conversation.
Mia pulls on my arm. ‘Come on, Mich. Let’s go and sit over there.’
We find another couple of seats near the front of the room and take out our books, ready for class. I try to put Amira and her weird behaviour out of my mind, but it’s hard. Every now and then I sneak a look behind me, to see what she’s doing. But each time she’s just staring straight ahead, listening to Ms Hayes as she tells us about the oral unit we’re doing for English this term.
I tune back in to what Ms Hayes is telling us. We all have to pick a topic that really interests us, then give a five-minute speech on it. She gets the usual comments – from the boys mostly – about how they don’t want to do it, or how they don’t know any interesting topics, or how they’ll get stage fright standing up in front of everyone – but she insists we all have to do it. Then we get into pairs and interview each other about what our hobbies and interests are, so we can brainstorm ideas for our topic.
That’s easy. Mia and I form a pair, of course. We already know what each other’s hobbies and interests are, so we quickly jot down a few random things like ‘music’ and ‘vintage clothes’ and spend the rest of the time talking about other stuff instead.
When the bell goes, I pack my things into my bag slowly, to give Amira a chance to catch up to me on her way out of the room. Fat chance. She goes round the long way instead, round the side of the tables next to the windows and then across the front of the room. All so she doesn’t have to walk past me.
Something is up. I’m sure of it. But what exactly?
At recess time, I follow Amira and the Js out to the north quad. Amira’s behaviour in English was nothing compared to the hostile looks and sneers she sent my way in humanities. Something tells me I need to clear up whatever’s going on now, before things go completely ballistic. Hey, I’ll even apologise to her if that’s what it takes, though I know I haven’t said or done anything wrong. Maybe that’s what she’s waiting for.
But I don’t even get the chance.
Jess half-turns her head to confirm that I’m following along behind them, then starts sniffing the air like a dog. ‘Can you smell something?’ she asks Jane.
‘Like crushed dog-poo, do you mean?’ says Jane. Jess shakes her head. ‘Worse,’ she says. ‘You know those Cape hunting dogs we saw at the zoo that time? Remember how bad their breath was?’
‘You’re right,’ says Jane. ‘It was disgusting. That’s dog breath I can smell all right.’ She stops dead so that I almost crash into her.
Amira sniggers. ‘Good one, Jane.’
My hand jumps to cover my mouth. I can’t help myself. I dash it away again before they turn around and see me do
ing it.
My guts twist and burn. Dog breath? They think I have dog breath? Why would they think that?
Slowly, sadly, I slink away again. I don’t think I can bear to hear anything else.
It only takes me a minute or so to find the safe harbour of Mia and Lexi among the spinning figures in the school ground, but it seems like light years. Mia is shocked when I tell her what just happened.
‘Jess said that?’ she says, shoving herself along the bench to make room for me. ‘About you?
I nod, eyes downcast.
‘But why? I thought they were your friends.’
‘Some friends,’ sniffs Lexi.
‘Well, did you ask them what was wrong?’ Mia presses me. ‘Try and find out what’s going on? I mean, it was pretty obvious this morning that Amira’s got her knickers in a twist about something. And what you told me about her not returning your calls on the weekend. That’s just weird.’
I try to agree with her, but the lump that’s been slowly forming in my throat all morning finally gets too big to let any words out. I just nod miserably again.
Mia scratches at her elbow, something she always does when she’s thinking about something. ‘Do you want me to talk to her? Find out what’s going on? I mean, it’s pretty obvious she’s not going to tell you.’ Yes,’ I blurt out. ‘I mean, no. I mean …’ I throw my arms out in despair. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.’
‘Maybe you should just leave it,’ Lexi says. ‘Hang out for a few days till it all blows over.’
‘Yeah,’ I say, the lump in my throat starting to diminish a bit, now I’ve got Mia and Lexi here to help calm me down. I shoot them a teary smile. ‘You’re probably right.’
‘That’s my girl,’ says Mia. ‘Come on, let’s go and get our stuff for music. You love music! And then make sure you sit with us at lunchtime. And I’ll get Leesh to come – if I can tear her away from Paige and Jayde for five minutes. Let Amira and the Js stew on their own for a bit.’
‘’Kay,’ I say, slowly pulling myself to my feet and smoothing down my uniform. Good old Mia. She always knows the right things to say and do in a crisis. And she and Lexi are probably right – Amira and co. will eventually come round. Maybe not today, or even tomorrow. But soon.
A Year in Girl Hell Page 10