Never a Perfect Moment

by Cathy Cole

  “And we’re pleased to announce that first prize goes to … Rhiannon Wills.”

  Rhi let out such a loud scream that people nearby turned and looked at her, pointing and smiling, guessing her identity.

  “Rhi!” Polly gasped, as what she’d just heard kicked in.

  “I didn’t think they liked it,” Rhi whispered hoarsely with her hands pressed to her face.

  Ollie was on his feet, pounding Rhi on the shoulders. “That’s fantastic, Rhi. Well done! You won!”

  “Oh my gosh!” Polly squealed. Her head felt completely scrambled. “That’s amazing! You’re amazing! I knew you’d smashed it in there, I knew it!”

  “What’s the prize?” Ollie asked.

  Polly tried to think but she couldn’t remember.

  “Singing on the main stage,” Rhi whispered. “Today. Four o’clock.”

  Ollie checked his watch. “Damn, the lake stopped it,” he said. “What time is it now?”

  “Would Rhiannon Wills make her way to the main stage, please,” said the loudspeaker. “Rhiannon Wills, main stage.”

  “I guess it’s four o’clock,” Polly said.

  Rhi sat down abruptly on the grass. “I can’t do it.”

  “Of course you can,” Polly coaxed. She pulled Rhi back on to her feet. “You’ve got loads more experience singing in front of crowds now you’ve been doing all that wedding singing.”

  “And your and Brody’s gigs at the Heartbeat, don’t forget them,” Ollie put in.

  “I can’t do it!” Rhi wailed.

  Polly went into action mode. “We need to find that dreadlocked guy with the guitar. Ollie, I think I saw his tent not far from ours. You go and fetch the guitar, OK? Rhi, you and I are going over to the main stage right now.”

  Ollie hurried away, heading back to their tents again.

  “OK,” Rhi said, quivering gently. “Polly, you’ll stay with me, won’t you? I can’t do it without you.”

  Polly pushed Rhi gently towards the stage. “I’m right here,” she said. “I’m always here for you, Rhi.”

  The judges were waiting in the cordoned-off backstage area, walkie-talkies in their hands.

  “Rhi, right?” said the head judge. “Good to see you again. Well done for yesterday. Are you ready to go?”

  “We’re waiting for a guitar,” Polly said quickly.

  The judge nodded. “Fine. Five minutes. In you go.” And he ushered Rhi and Polly into the backstage area.

  “Stay calm, Rhi,” Polly instructed, guiding Rhi towards the stage steps. “We’ll just hang out here until Ollie gets back with that guitar, OK?”

  “Which one of you guys won the prize?” said a familiar voice.

  Polly’s mouth went completely dry. Harry Lawson, lead singer of Polarize, was looking quizzically at her and Rhi through his thick blond fringe. For a horrible moment, Polly didn’t think her voice was going to work.

  “Her,” she managed, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Rhi, who was looking at stunned as Polly was.

  “Awesome,” said Harry, grinning appreciatively at Rhi. “We’ll be listening, yeah?”

  Ollie arrived, panting, holding the guitar. He did a double-take.

  “You’re Harry Lawson,” he said stupidly.

  “Last time I checked,” said Harry. He looked at Rhi again. “Good luck. You’re on.”

  One of the stage managers clipped a mic to Rhi’s top. Polly gave Rhi a gentle push between the shoulder blades. “We’ll be right here!” she said encouragingly. “Go for it!”

  Rhi climbed the steps on to the stage with a tentative glance over her shoulder. Backstage, Ollie pulled Polly into his arms.

  “I can’t believe I just told Harry Lawson his own name,” he mumbled as he hugged Polly and rested his head on the top of hers. Polly laughed softly and hugged him back.

  “You weirdo,” she said softly, relishing how easy it felt being with Ollie when she stopped overthinking.

  They had a good view from where they were standing. Through the wings, Polly could see tens of thousands of people lining the field around the main stage, pennants waving, inflatable toys being thrown in the air. The noise was tremendous. Rhi looked very small, out there on her own. Polly grabbed Ollie’s hand and squeezed, hard. She hoped Rhi would be OK.

  “Give it up for our prize winner,” cried the loudspeaker. “RHI WILLS!”

  TWENTY-THREE

  Everyone went nuts as Rhi’s name boomed out across the field. The pennants flapped hard. The inflatables were thrown a little bit higher.

  Rhi cleared her throat. “Thanks,” she said shyly. “I’d like to sing you a song I wrote recently. And I’d like to dedicate it to my friends Lila, Polly and Eve. Particularly Eve. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for Eve. She made me audition. I don’t know where she is right now, but if there’s a red-haired girl standing next to you screaming, that’s probably her.”

  The crowd laughed. There was a lump of emotion in Polly’s throat as big as a rock.

  Rhi strummed the guitar lightly. The sound travelled out into the crowd. “It’s about having the strength to be who you really are,” she said. “And it’s called ‘Being Me’.”

  It was a song Polly had never heard before. She wondered if Rhi had written it after Eve’s shock announcement about her sexuality. The words seemed to fit, perfectly.

  “Being me,” Rhi sang, “is harder than I want it to be, being me is riding out the waves in the sea, being me is harder than a diamond in the ground, but being you doesn’t work, I’ve found.”

  The crowd was swaying already, waving like seaweed in a wide and brightly coloured ocean.

  “Being me,” they sang back as Rhi played, “is harder than I want it to be.”

  Polly felt her eyes filling with tears. The words were so true.

  “It’s all about yourself, ain’t nobody else, there’s only one of you before they broke the mould,” Rhi sang. “Don’t be afraid to fail the grade, you gotta cry before you fly, it’s the golden reason why … you are you and I am me… And that’s the truth of it you see… ”

  “Being me,” sang the crowd.

  “That’s the truth of all we see,” Rhi sang, putting in a final flourish on the strings, “being me.”

  And it was over. The crowd went nuts. Whistles and klaxons ripped the air. Arms waved more madly than ever.

  “And that was Rhi Wills, a new star in the making!” called the loudspeaker, and the crowd cheered louder than ever.

  Polly found that she was jumping around in circles, wrapped tightly in Ollie’s arms. The sound of the crowd filled the whole backstage area. They were still cheering.

  Rhi appeared at the top of the steps that led down from the stage, breathless, eyes shining.

  “You were brilliant!” Polly squealed, pulling her friend into a hug. “Completely wonderful!”

  Rhi’s eyes looked a little teary as she accepted a hug from Ollie as well. “Thanks, Polly. I couldn’t have done it without you. And you know the weirdest thing? Singing that particular song just clarified something really important in my head.”

  “What? That you’re born to be a star?” Ollie enquired. “We could have told you that!”

  “That Max isn’t the right guy for me,” Rhi explained. She still looked a little stunned. “I can see it so clearly now. Singing out there was like hearing my own words for the first time. I’m not being me when I’m with him. I just have to find the strength to break up with him.” Him … him … him…

  Rhi’s last words had a strange, echoing quality that made Polly frown in confusion. As if…

  Rhi swung round at the telltale sound of feedback. The blood rushed from her face.

  “My mic!” she gasped. “It’s still on!”

  The crowd outside cheered. There were boos too, and catcalls. Rhi ripped
the mic from where it was clipped to her top and threw it to the ground like it was a spider.

  “Oops,” said Ollie, pulling a face.

  “Polly, what have I done?” Rhi moaned in horror, staring at the mic on the ground. “The whole of the festival just heard that. Which means … which means… ”

  “I just heard it too,” said Max in a hard voice.

  Polly, Rhi and Ollie whirled round. Max was standing in the stage wings, flanked by Eve, Lila and Josh.

  “Oh my gosh!” Rhi croaked. Her hands were on her burning cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Max … I didn’t want—”

  “Didn’t want the whole festival to know what a loser you think I am?” Max snarled. “Looks like that backfired on you.”

  “Max!” Rhi cried as he stormed away.

  She burst into tears. Lila and Eve rushed to put their arms around her.

  “You did the right thing, Rhi,” soothed Eve. “Maybe not in the right way, but… ”

  “But you can’t back down now,” added Lila, rubbing Rhi’s back.

  Rhi turned haunted eyes towards Ollie. “Poor Max! Do you think he’ll be OK? I never meant him to find out this way.”

  “It was an accident,” Ollie said, steering Polly away. “Max will be fine.”

  Polly tried to pull away, back towards Rhi. Ollie grabbed her. Was Ollie mad at her for encouraging Rhi to break up with his friend?

  “Ollie,” she pleaded, unable to meet his gaze. “Rhi needs me. I—”

  “I need you too,” said Ollie softly. “Why don’t you just worry about yourself for a change?”

  Polly stared at him for a long, heartfelt moment. Rhi would be fine. She had Eve and Lila. She was going to be happier without Max, everyone knew that. She didn’t need to take care of everyone all of the time.

  “You’re right,” she said at last. “I never do what I want to do.”

  “So no more meddling?” Ollie enquired.

  Polly shook her head.

  “Finally,” he said. “Now all you have to worry about is me.”

  Polly frowned. “What?”

  “Sorry,” Ollie laughed, “that didn’t come out right. I meant to say, you have nothing to worry about. Let me take care of you sometimes. Deal?”

  Polly gazed into his blue eyes. “Deal,” she said a little faintly.

  She slid her hands around his neck and drew him down to her for a passionate kiss. Ollie returned it with so much enthusiasm, Polly found that he had lifted her off the floor.

  As she kissed the boy she had dreamed about for so many years, Polly was dimly aware of Josh and Lila, heads together, talking quietly by the stage wings as Eve held Rhi and let her cry. Josh and Lila were clearly attracted to each other. It was so obvious. If they couldn’t see it, well … she might have to help them along.

  Maybe her meddling days weren’t quite over yet…

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  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2014

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2014

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  eISBN 978 1407 14050 6

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