Never a Perfect Moment

by Cathy Cole

  “I love it,” Polly gasped as they went inside with their rucksacks. She’d almost forgotten her nerves in the wonder of putting up such a brilliant tent.

  “It’s very cosy, Rhi,” said Eve in approval. She laid out her bedroll and sleeping bag and checked her watch. “Now, there’s no time to waste. We have an appointment.”

  “Too right,” Lila said, slinging her rucksack down. “We have an appointment with fun. And I don’t want to be late. Who’s with me?”

  Eve raised a finger. “We’ll have the fun after the appointment.”

  “What are you talking about, Eve?” asked Polly in confusion.

  Eve’s eyes gleamed. “I have a surprise for Rhi,” she said. “An audition in one of the tents.”

  Lila shrieked, putting her hands to her mouth. Polly watched as Rhi turned a delicate shade of green.

  “What?” Rhi squeaked.

  “It’s an X Factor-style competition they’re holding near the main stage,” Eve explained happily. “I called them and booked you in. Come on, we’ve only got fifteen minutes to get there.”

  EIGHTEEN

  “I don’t want to audition,” Rhi bleated.

  They stood outside the tent in a pool of sunshine beside the main stage, alongside a group of other singers all trilling and practising their moves. AUDITIONS was written in thick, slanting chalk pen on a blackboard outside the tent flaps. YOU THINK YOU CAN SING? PROVE IT AND WIN THE CHANCE TO SING LIVE TO THE CROWDS ON THE FUNKY FOX MAIN STAGE SATURDAY 4 P.M.

  Rhi was holding so tightly to Polly’s hand, Polly was losing all circulation in her fingers. “Don’t make me do this,” Rhi moaned. “I can’t believe you set this up without telling me!”

  “Maybe it’s not such a good idea, Eve,” said Lila. She caught the eye of a tall boy with long blond dreads behind them in the queue, and gave him a flirty little wave. “Remember what happened last time you tried to steer Rhi’s music career.”

  “Exactly!” said Rhi.

  “That was different,” Eve said. “I was a different person then. And anyway, Rhi, you said you appreciated the experience. These people want original songs. Not covers, or dance tracks that don’t suit your voice. That means you can sing one of your own songs.”

  The queue shuffled forward.

  “Maybe you should give it a go,” Polly said, keen to encourage Rhi. She did have the most wonderful voice. “You said you’d been working on some new material with Brody?”

  “They won’t want to hear that,” said Rhi in a small voice. “Besides, I need Brody with me to sing it.”

  “Rhi, I thought you were serious about your music career,” Eve said impatiently. “You have to take opportunities like this whenever they come along.”

  They were inside the tent now. The girl on the stage was singing badly, Polly realized – flat and hopelessly out of time. The three judges at the back of the tent were conferring and shaking their heads.

  “If that’s the competition,” she coaxed, “you could really ace this.”

  Rhi was weakening. “I don’t have my guitar!” she said in a last-minute bid to avoid the inevitable.

  “That’s OK,” said Lila. She flashed a sideways look at the guy with dreads. “This little hottie behind us is going to lend us his. Aren’t you?”

  Dreads looked a little dazed by the full force of Lila’s attention. “I am?”

  Lila pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Of course you are,” she said, squeezing his arm and laughing up at him. “And maybe we could meet up later? As a thank-you.”

  Polly yanked Lila away. “Eve organized this weekend especially for us to have some proper girl time,” she said in a low voice. “Can you please stop thinking about boys for just two days?”

  “You’re such a spoilsport, Polly,” Lila grumbled.

  Dreads lent Rhi his guitar.

  Rhi looked more composed now she had a guitar in her hands, and climbed on the stage without too much prodding from the others. She played hesitantly at first, unfamiliar with the instrument around her neck. Polly leaned her head on Lila’s shoulder and listened as Rhi built her way into one of Polly’s favourite songs: “Way Down Low”.

  “Way down low, deep in our canyon of gold,” Rhi sang. “Way to go, let all your stories unfold… ”

  Polly eyed the judges. She wasn’t even sure they were listening. It was such a great song. Rhi had true talent.

  “Way to go,” Rhi sang, strumming the guitar one last time. “Way … down … low.”

  Polly, Eve and Lila clapped hard. Behind them, Dreads and a few others were clapping too.

  “Thanks,” said the head judge in a bored voice.

  “Yeah, cheers,” said the second judge, picking his fingernails.

  “Thanks for coming,” said the third judge. “Next!”

  Rhi climbed off the stage and handed Dreads his guitar. Polly felt gutted for her. It looked like the judges hated her music.

  “Is that all you can say?” Eve said indignantly to the judges. “Don’t you even have an opinion? Clearly you weren’t even listening. My friend has the best voice I’ve ever heard.”

  “We don’t give feedback,” said the head judge. “If we gave feedback to everyone we heard, we’d be here until Wednesday.”

  “Can we go?” Rhi muttered.

  “Come on, Eve,” said Polly, taking Eve’s arm. “They aren’t interested.”

  Eve shook Polly off. “Seriously,” she said to the judges, “you all need your hearing tested. You wouldn’t know talent if it kicked you up the—”

  “We’re going now,” Lila interrupted loudly. “Rhi wants to get out of here and I don’t blame her. Polarize are on the main stage at any minute.”

  Grumbling, Eve let the others pull her out of the auditions tent to take up decent positions near the main stage. “What a bunch of amateurs,” she complained. “I’m sorry we even bothered.”

  “I’m not,” said Rhi unexpectedly. “It was good for me to get up there and sing. I enjoyed it.”

  “Never mind,” Polly said, giving Rhi an encouraging cuddle. “There’ll be other chances.”

  There was a wail of feedback. Lila let out a massive scream that almost ruptured Polly’s eardrums as Harry Lawson moved across the stage like a lazy panther, followed by his bandmates: three skinny guys in even skinnier jeans. Polarize, live and in the flesh, for the first of two sets they were doing over the Funky Fox weekend. Right under their noses.

  The band kicked off with their hit “Awake and Aware”. As the familiar opening riff kicked in, Polly forgot all her worries and anxieties. The press of the crowd, the flashing lights, the ringing in her head – none of it mattered. It was just her and her friends and the music, all mashed up together. Nothing else.

  Three bands and four orders of chips later, they headed back to their campsite, happy and exhausted.

  “Polarize smashed it,” said Lila. She was still pumped from the music and jumping from side to side. “Best set of the night, don’t you think? We have to see them tomorrow too if we can.”

  “Mental Element were good too,” said Eve. “I didn’t rate that rapper guy though.”

  “DJ Tux is a legend,” protested Lila. “But he wasn’t on best form tonight, I have to agree. I think the amps were playing up.”

  It was hard to see where they were going in the dark. A few campfires flickered, showing them the way towards the place where they’d last seen their tent.

  “Are we sure this is the right campsite?” said Lila, looking around the sea of canvas and campfires.

  “I can’t see the tent anywhere,” Eve said. She sounded worried. “You’d think it was too distinctive to lose, wouldn’t you?”

  Polly’s gaze settled on a strange, empty-looking pitch. She recognized the red tent on the left, and the pennants that fluttered from a tent a little further down t
he field. Her heart sank.

  “It was there,” she said, pointing. “Wasn’t it?”

  The others gaped. Rhi let out a wail of misery.

  The camper-van tent and all their belongings had apparently vanished off the face of the earth, without leaving a trace.

  NINETEEN

  Polly opened her eyes. She was lying face down on a patch of damp moss with blades of grass sticking to her cheek. Was someone calling her name?

  She sat up blearily, dislodging a shower of dew from the blanket over her legs. Every part of her ached.

  Eve, Rhi and Lila were still asleep beside her, curled up together like puppies in a basket beneath the blankets they had bummed from a couple of other festival-goers. This top part of the field was the driest, most sheltered part they had been able to find that wasn’t covered in tents. It had a gorgeous view right down the valley but it was miles from anywhere. Who could be calling her way out here?

  Polly rubbed her eyes, dislodging mud and grit. What a night. An hour at festival security, reporting the theft, had got them nowhere. No one seemed to care. They hadn’t even been given a cup of tea to keep them warm. It had been way too late to go home by the time they admitted defeat. So here they were. Sleeping in the middle of a field, like damp cows.

  Rhi had slept particularly badly, dissolving into tears over the loss of her tent every few minutes. It had been rough, losing something she was so proud of the very first time it had been used. And their rucksacks. Polly groaned at the memory. Clothes, make-up, fresh underwear. Toothpaste.

  Running her tongue tentatively over her furry-feeling teeth, she cupped her hands and blew into them.

  Urgh, she thought, wrinkling her nose. Dog breath on top of everything else.

  She checked her watch. It was nearly noon, she realized with some horror. She was desperate for a shower, but there was no chance of that.

  “RHI? LILA? EVE? POLLY?”

  Polly’s heart lurched. She recognized that voice. But it couldn’t be.

  Could it?

  Squinting into the sun, she stood up and gazed down the field in disbelief. Three familiar figures were jogging towards them, dodging guy ropes and sleeping bags. The blond guy in the middle was raising his hand and waving.

  “POLLY!” Ollie shouted again, waving hard.

  Polly shook Lila. “Wake up!” she said frantically. “It’s Ollie, Max and Josh!”

  Lila’s hair was a mess, wild and tangled and sweaty from all the moshing around the main stage the night before. “What?” she squeaked, sitting bolt upright. Mascara streaked down her face like wet spiders’ legs. “Josh is here? Like, here?”

  Polly pointed wordlessly down the field. Her brain was whizzing at a hundred miles an hour. I look like a nightmare, she thought in despair. Her hair, her clothes … her breath! Of all the times to see Ollie…

  Rhi and Eve sat up, yawning.

  “What’s going on?” Eve mumbled.

  “Ollie, Max and Josh are coming towards us,” Polly repeated. This couldn’t be happening. “How did they find us?”

  Rhi raised her hand. “That was me,” she confessed. “I hit a really low patch at about four when you guys were asleep. So I climbed one of the trees over there to get reception and called Max.”

  Eve clapped her hands to her face. “I look like a scarecrow,” she gasped.

  “We all do,” said Polly. What had Rhi been thinking of? Didn’t she realize how embarrassing this would be?

  “Look on the bright side, guys,” said Lila. “They’ve got stuff with them.”

  “Found you!” Ollie exclaimed, reaching them at last. He looked around at the group, but avoided glancing directly at Polly. “We’ve been searching all over this place.” He dumped his rucksack on the grass and looked at their makeshift campsite. “You slept out here all night?”

  “‘Slept’ is overstating things.” Eve yawned, covering her hand with her mouth. “Do you have any food?”

  Josh opened the flap on his rucksack and pulled out four fresh baguettes. Apples came next, followed by a pot of jam and a large Thermos of coffee.

  “Call the Three Amigos,” he said, spreading out the food on the damp grass with a flourish. “We deliver anywhere. Even to the top of a field.”

  Polly couldn’t bring herself to look at Ollie. What was he doing here? She’d thought he had given up on her. But if he had come all this way, surely it meant he wanted to try again. But he wouldn’t even look directly at her. She was so confused. She sank her teeth into a baguette, hoping the bread might absorb some of her bad breath. Eve grabbed an apple. Rhi and Lila both lunged for the Thermos.

  “You guys are angels,” said Lila, her hands wrapped possessively around a plastic mug of hot black coffee. “I can’t believe you brought all this. This coffee’s like nectar – last night was the worst.”

  “We’ve come for the girls’ weekend.” Looking pleased with himself, Max sat beside Rhi and planted a loud kiss on her muddy cheek. He managed to spill her coffee down her front, making her yelp. “I know we’re not girls, but I’m guessing that’s OK. Right, Rhi?”

  Polly allowed herself an inward sigh. Max may have been good-looking, but he really was the most annoying guy at Heartside High.

  “Thanks, Max,” said Rhi, mopping at her top.

  “It was nothing,” said Max with a wink. “But don’t forget to thank me every day for the next six months. Can I have half your baguette?”

  Polly hunched over her baguette and watched out of the corner of her eye as Ollie and Josh put up the tents. She admired the way Ollie’s muscular arms flexed as he yanked on the tent ropes and joked around with Josh. Josh was looking as cute as ever, a trendy hat perched on his head and his long legs encased in slim-fitting green jeans. Glancing across, Polly noted how thoughtfully Lila was looking at Josh. There was hope for those two yet, she decided.

  “Whew,” said Ollie, wiping his forehead. “Tents are done. Thanks for your help, Max.”

  Lying prone on the rug next to Rhi with his mouth full of baguette crumbs, Max raised a lazy hand in acknowledgement.

  Ollie and Josh had arranged the tents in such a way that they formed a cosy semi-circle around everyone. Polly sat curled up on her damp rug in the middle, her belly full of bread and apples and her spirit calm and contented. She would have kissed Ollie in gratitude if her breath hadn’t been so bad.

  “This is for you.” It was the first time Ollie had spoken to her directly since the disastrous end to their date at the gallery.

  Polly looked up. Ollie was waving a little bag at her.

  “Oh my gosh,” she gasped, grabbing it and looking inside. Deodorant. Toothbrushes. And toothpaste. “Ollie, you’re a genius!”

  Ollie smiled. “I figured girls need stuff like this. Right?”

  “You don’t know how right,” said Polly, clutching the little bag to her chest.

  She smiled a little nervously back at him. Was he still mad at her for cancelling their date? She wished she hadn’t shouted at him the way she did.

  Ollie leaned in closer. Polly squeaked and put her hands over her mouth. Her breath still reeked. If he came any nearer, he’d probably faint with disgust.

  “You still owe me that kiss,” he said.

  Polly felt a little surge of hope.

  “But we need to talk, Polly,” he added quietly. “You have to make up your mind. Do you want to make room in your life for me, or not? I can’t wait for ever.”

  TWENTY

  After asking the nearest group to watch their tents, the whole group headed into the heart of the festival, in full swing now it was mid-afternoon. They took in some stilt walkers in crazy metal headpieces, and tried the bungee run. Ollie wound up in the thick of a scratch football match among cheering festival-goers near the main stage. Eve had her hands hennaed; Max dragged an unimpressed Rhi over to check
out the vintage motorbikes parked in gleaming black and chrome rows by the festival gates.

  Polly browsed among the vintage stalls, finding old pieces of lace and gorgeous antique ribbons among the cluttered tables and wondering what she was going to do about Ollie. He’d made it clear something had to change.

  Lila and Josh disappeared for an hour, returning triumphantly with two sketches: one Josh had drawn of the view looking down on the Funky Fox main stage, the other a portrait of Lila clenching a daisy between her teeth. Music was everywhere – on the main stage, in several smaller tents ranged around the edge of the farm, drumming groups gathered around the central tent pole with its flapping Funky Fox flag, guitar players by the big lake that gleamed at the bottom of the valley.

  Polly soaked up the sounds, the sights and the smells. Most of all, she soaked up the sight of Ollie, joking and laughing with the others. He really did like her. He had proven it over and over. Despite all the mistakes she had made, he kept coming back and trying again. But he had made clear he wouldn’t do it for ever. She just had to make a leap and make herself vulnerable. True, she wasn’t like all the other girls at school, but Ollie liked her for who she was. She had to believe that. It was when she had been herself– when she had showed Ollie the artwork that had meant so much to her, when they had danced together at the wedding, that she and Ollie really connected. It was only when she tried to dress like the other girls or follow Eve’s advice that things went wrong. She had to trust herself. And trust Ollie.

  “You guys should have been here last night,” said Lila, resting her head on Josh’s tummy as they sat companionably around a fire that Ollie had built back at their tents. “We should have invited them to begin with, Eve.”

  “Excuse me for planning a girls-only weekend,” said Eve waspishly.

  Max smirked. “Your kind of weekend, hey Eve?”

  Polly winced at the grin Max shot in Ollie’s direction.

  “Shut up, Max,” said Rhi.

  “It was a joke!” Max protested. “Just because Eve’s a lesbian now, doesn’t mean she can’t take a joke. Does it?”