Spot the Difference

by Juno Dawson

  ‘Hi, Seth.’ I’m suddenly awkward, no idea how to follow up from our MOMENT.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Scarlett asks. ‘Did I just see you applying for head girl?’

  She looks perplexed rather than angry. I’m going to have to tell the truth – it’d only come out next Monday anyway.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You’re running?’ Lucy asks. ‘Good for you!’

  We all await Scarlett’s verdict.

  ‘What?’ she snaps. ‘I’m not cross, Avery. I just don’t know why you’d apply.’

  I think on my feet. ‘Because … I’ve done nothing so far at school. What am I going to put on my university applications? “Was a medical marvel” won’t take up much room.’

  Scarlett smiles, appeased. ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘“Fair enough”?’ Lucy was evidently expecting a bigger reaction.

  ‘Yeah. Good luck,’ Scarlett adds with a smile. ‘You’ll need it. May the best girl win.’ She offers a hand and I shake it. ‘See you at lunch, yeah?’

  ‘OK,’ I say.

  Scarlett drags Lucy off and I’m left with Seth.

  ‘Oh, thank god you did that, she thought she had it in the bag!’

  ‘She probably does. I won’t win.’

  ‘You might. What people say to Scarlett’s face and what they say behind her back are two very different things.’

  I shrug. ‘It’s a democracy, we’ll find out what people think in a few weeks.’

  Seth reaches over and takes my hand. ‘How cool would it be,’ he says, although I can hardly hear him over the blood pumping in my ears, ‘if you were head girl and I was head boy?’

  I don’t tell him it would be the fairytale ending I’d always envisaged. Instead, I say, ‘Yeah. It’d be cool.’

  ‘What are you doing tonight?’

  ‘I dunno … homework, I guess.’

  ‘Do you wanna hang out when you’re done?’

  Do you ever get those moments where it feels like the world is turning just a little too fast? The possibilities of what he’s suggesting whirl around and around in my head. Me and Seth Curran on a date. Dreaming about it for years hasn’t sufficiently prepared me for this moment.

  ‘Erm … where?’

  ‘Prince of Wales park? Walk the dog with me?’

  I wrack my brains to check ‘walk the dog’ isn’t a euphemism I’ve seen on Urban Dictionary.

  ‘Yeah. Sure.’

  ‘Cool! Have you got your phone? Let me give you my number so we can arrange times and stuff.’

  Almost dumbstruck, I hand over my phone and he adds himself to my contacts. I’m giddy and nervous and almost a little guilty, like I don’t deserve this much good in my life.

  Lois and I buy paninis in the canteen; hers pepperoni, mine tuna melt.

  ‘I can’t believe you have a date with Seth!’

  I told her a version of the truth, leaving out our previous MOMENT at Scarlett’s but including his invitation at break.

  ‘I know! It’s so random! It’s only a walk through the park though, which is good. I wouldn’t want anything weird and formal.’

  ‘God, I’m so jealous!’ she says, although she’s clearly chuffed for me. ‘He’s gorgeous. You have to tell me absolutely everything when you get home.’

  ‘I promise I will!’

  We’re carrying our trays through the rows of tables, looking for space to sit. It’s peak canteen time.

  ‘Avery!’ I stop and look around to see who’s calling my name. I see that it’s Scarlett. She beckons us over. ‘Come and join us!’

  As we get closer, I see the table is already packed. Scarlett, Lucy, Naima, Seth, Tyler and Rufus. CJ, as he is most days, will be in lunchtime detention.

  I shake my head. ‘Oh, it’s OK, there’s more room by the doors.’

  Lois hovers uncertainly at my shoulder.

  Scarlett scoots over, making just enough room for one. ‘Plenty of room. Lois, you wouldn’t mind sitting with your other friends, would you? Avery and I need to chat about head girl stuff.’

  Is she doing this on purpose? Is this some sort of test?

  ‘No, I should …’

  ‘Avery, it’s fine,’ Lois says beside me, cheeks pink. ‘I’ll go and sit with Jessica and the others.’

  ‘No, but …’

  ‘Avery, sit your ass down! Lois said it’s fine! Look, we’ve started thinking about posters and we need to make sure we don’t go for the same concept.’

  I look back apologetically at Lois. Her eyes are wide, her lips tight. I know I should go with her, but the table is covered in prototype posters, all with Scarlett’s face on. If I’m going to beat her, it’ll have be from the inside.

  ‘I’m sorry, Lois … I should …’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Lois says, hurrying away with her tray. I watch her settle next to Viola, not once looking my way. Oh, I’m sure she’ll understand. It’ll all be worth it when I beat Scarlett.

  I take my seat at the A-List table.

  Chapter Eleven

  It’s almost time for my date with Seth, and I’ve tried on half the contents of my wardrobe. I don’t want to look like I’ve made an effort, but I also want to look effortlessly flawless. And none of my old clothes go with my new face. I try to recreate Scarlett’s make up magic, but I somehow paint one eye bigger than the other so I end up looking like a Picasso drag queen. I scrub it all off and settle for a little mascara and lip gloss.

  Seth is already waiting at the north gate to the Prince of Wales park. It’s seven-thirty and it’ll be light for a couple of hours yet. Even so, I’m aware we’re heading into the woods.

  ‘Have you brought me here to murder me?’ I say, hoping he doesn’t think I’m a psycho.

  ‘No. I take all my victims to the quarry, obviously.’

  ‘Ah, of course.’

  And just like that, it isn’t awkward. His dog is a sage-looking Jack Russell-cross with a loyal, slightly heroic face. I make a fuss of him, but he seems focused on getting into the park and off the lead. Seth and I trail behind him as we follow one of the dirt tracks.

  ‘So, what do you do when you’re not at school?’ he asks.

  ‘Normal stuff. I see my dad at weekends, hang out with Lois. Read books and stuff. I don’t think I have, like, an actual “hobby”.’

  ‘Who does? Oh, well, my mum has a horse. I ride him sometimes.’

  ‘You can ride horses? No way! I always wanted to do that, but my mum said we couldn’t afford the lessons. I think she was worried I’d start down the “I want a pony” route too, though.’

  ‘Well, you can always come and ride Hitch.’

  Is that an offer for a second date?

  ‘Oh, I dunno … I haven’t been on a horse in … well, ever … although I did once have a donkey ride on the beach.’

  ‘I’ll ride with you.’ His eyes widen. ‘Oh, like, I mean …’

  ‘I got it!’ I smile. ‘What about you? You’re a bit of a mystery. How did you wind up hanging out with Scarlett?’

  ‘My mum and Rufus’s mum are best friends, so we’ve always been tight. I know he can be a bit of a div, but he’s cool really. And he’s been through a lot. His dad used to hit his mum … though don’t tell him I told you that.’

  I’m not sure what to say. ‘Oh, wow. I had no idea.’ I take a deep breath. ‘This is going to make me sound like the most self-involved person in the world, but I was having such an awful time at school I guess I thought everyone else was having a crazy-neon-rave-party every day.’

  The trees thicken and green leaf-light glitters overhead.

  ‘Understandable. I’m sorry if I made your life difficult.’

  I look into his eyes and see he means it.

  ‘You didn’t. You never did.’ At least, not on purpose.

  Seth stops as if to get his bearings. ‘I think it’s this way.’ He turns down an overgrown side-path.

  ‘What is?’ I ask.

  He smiles and he’s so delicious I alm
ost gasp.

  ‘It’s a surprise. Come with me.’

  Seth takes my hand and I willingly follow, reminding myself to breathe. He leads me down a narrow, winding path. The air is rich with wild garlic and damp earth. The trees shuffle closer together, blocking out the light. I’d be scared, but there’s something about his smile and the Cub Scout bounce in his step that makes me feel safe.

  ‘Where are we going?’

  ‘Almost there, I think.’

  We reach some worn-stone stairs, almost covered by weeds, moss and brambles. Seth stamps them down and welcomes me into a clearing. At the centre of the glade, almost entirely reclaimed by nature, is a stout little well.

  ‘Oh, wow!’

  ‘I know, right?’

  ‘How did I not know this was here?’

  Once upon a time, this must have been a proper wishing well. Under the vines and nettles, I can feel cracked flagstones beneath my feet.

  Seth clears a route to the well.

  ‘Come here. Listen.’ The stones of the well are covered in graffiti. I lean over the rim and see that about a metre and a half down there’s a rusted metal grate to stop people falling in. ‘Can you hear it?’

  I strain my ears, trying to block out the wood pigeons cooing noisily overhead. Far, far below I can just make out the roar of fast-flowing water.

  ‘I hear water!’

  ‘Yeah, there’s an underground stream. There must be, like, a whole cave thing down there. How cool is that?’

  ‘It is cool.’

  He digs into his pocket and brings out some coins. ‘You wanna make a wish?’

  ‘Yeah!’ I say, probably too enthusiastically. He gives me ten pence. ‘Wishes used to be a penny back when I was little,’ I say.

  ‘Inflation.’

  I laugh and close my eyes for a moment. I make my wish and toss the coin into the well. It pings off the metal grate before slipping down through the gaps. I wait to hear the plop as it lands.

  ‘Hello!’ I shout down, the word echoing off the walls. ‘If there’s a troll down there, did you get my coin?’

  Seth laughs and throws his own coin. It ricochets off the sides.

  He raises an eyebrow. ‘What did you wish for?’

  ‘Oh, come on, you know that’s not how it works,’ I say with a half smile.

  The way little sunny searchlights are filtering through the leaf canopy, golden midges are swirling over the well, the wet, earthy smell … it’s all … well, enchanting.

  Seth reaches over and tucks my hair behind my ears. His thumb grazes my cheek and I feel the urge to recoil, as if to hide my blemished face. Only now it’s smooth, and he traces the line of my jaw down to my chin.

  This time, he seizes the moment.

  He leans in, and his lips find mine. It feels so right, so meant to be, the knot in my stomach unravels at once. Everything feels exactly right.

  Wow.

  That wishing well came through for me in a massive way.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next few days are soft-focus bliss. Seth and I are, I guess, like, together now. I never thought I’d be here, but here I am.

  He texts me before bed, he asks to meet me before first period, he wrote a letter ‘A’ in a heart on his thumbnail. He waits outside my lessons at break time. Lucy nicknames us ‘Savery’, and I groan but quite like it.

  I try to play it down around Lois. I don’t want to make her feel like a third wheel.

  ‘I’m just going to meet Seth in the canteen,’ I tell Lois, after an inspector has called in English. ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘Nope. Go nuts. I’ll see you later.’

  She’s being chilly with me, I can tell. But what am I supposed to do? Sorry, but one of us was bound to get a boyfriend sooner or later. She’ll just have to adjust. We both will – this is just as novel a situation for me. I go to the canteen and find Seth is already there with the A-List. I join them, Naima moving her bag off the bench to make room for me. Seth sits next to me and puts an arm around my shoulder.

  I see Lois gazing over at us from the queue. I smile at her, but she flicks her eyes away.

  ‘Avery! Where are your posters?’ Scarlett asks me.

  ‘Oh, I haven’t even thought about them. I don’t know where to start.’

  ‘I’ll help you with them,’ Seth offers.

  ‘Don’t you have your own head boy ones to do?’ Scarlett asks.

  ‘I could help.’ Lucy, following Scarlett’s no-food rule, is sipping from a bottle of mineral water. ‘I could knock something up in graphic design lessons.’

  ‘I thought you were helping me with mine?’ For the first time, annoyance flashes in Scarlett’s eyes.

  Lucy withers in her seat. ‘Well, I will, but I can help Avery out too.’

  There’s an invisible question mark at the end of that sentence.

  But Scarlett just shrugs.

  Lucy looks relieved. ‘Why don’t you come over to mine tonight, Avery, and we’ll knock something up?’

  ‘Can I come too?’ Seth asks.

  ‘Sure!’ Lucy smiles. ‘You two are so cute together!’

  ‘Oh, gross!’ I say, but let my head rest on Seth’s shoulder all the same.

  That evening, I try to rush Mum through dinner so I can get over to Lucy’s faster. Mum has made spag bol from scratch, so I suppose I should at least sit down and put in some mother-daughter time.

  ‘You’re going out again? Don’t you have homework?’

  ‘All finished. Promise.’

  ‘Do we need to talk about this Seth boy?’ she asks with an arched eyebrow.

  ‘No. No, we really don’t.’

  Mum reaches over the kitchen table and gives my hand a squeeze. ‘It’s a good thing, Avery. It’s lovely to see you enjoying life. It’s all I ever wanted.’

  ‘Cringe, Mum,’ I say with a big smile. ‘I think I might actually be happy. It’s pretty weird.’

  ‘It’s a good thing! Where are you off to tonight?’

  ‘To Lucy Manning’s. She’s helping me with my campaign poster.’

  Mum rests her fork on the side of her dish. ‘Lucy Manning? You haven’t mentioned her in years. How’s her mum?’

  ‘I dunno. OK, I guess.’

  ‘Avery … just don’t forget who your real friends are, OK?’

  ‘Mum! I’m not an idiot!’

  ‘I know, I know. Just remember that Lois has been with you through thick and thin. I’m not saying Lucy is a fair-weather friend, but …’

  This conversation is putting me right off my pasta.

  ‘Did you prefer it when I was hiding in my room and everyone called me Pizzaface?’

  ‘Avery …’

  ‘Mum, please.’

  The rest of dinner is so deathly quiet I can hear what the next-door neighbours are watching on TV.

  On the Friday morning, I am summoned to Mrs Collins’s office and told I need to prepare a short speech about why I want to be head girl for a whole-school assembly on Monday. Ordinarily this would have filled me with mortal terror, but I figure if I can’t stand up in assembly like Dylan and Suriya, then I shouldn’t have put myself forward. What’s more, the posters I made at Lucy’s look amazing, and I truly think being head girl is something I could do well.

  I use the weekend to prepare my inspirational speech, practising in front of a mirror, and with Seth. His speech is wry, understated and funny. I think he could win it unless Rufus’s speech is so hilarious he picks up every immature-boy vote in the school.

  Monday morning comes around frighteningly fast. I text Lois and explain that I’m going in early so Lucy can make me look presentable. I meet her in the girls’ changing room where she applies a little make up, and makes my hair look effortlessly tousled.

  ‘You look amazing,’ Lucy says when she’s done. ‘Do you want to go over your speech?’

  ‘No. If I don’t know it now, I’ll never know it.’

  Once we’re in the hall, the candidates are asked to sit on an a
isle seat for easy access to the stage. Mrs Collins introduces us one at a time. Predictably for our patriarchy of a school, the boys go first: Tyler, then catty Stewart Parris (who has come up with an excruciating rap), then Rufus, and then Seth.

  Tyler gets loud, gorilla-like support from the rugby team, but Rufus’s speech falls oddly flat – he’s clearly nervous, rubbing clammy palms on his trousers. Seth storms it. His relaxed, matey manner on the podium seems to say, ‘Trust me, I’m a safe pair of hands.’ He’s going to win. I just know it.

  Next up are the girls. Maddy goes first, nervously giggling through her speech. Then The Beaver delivers a tedious ‘ten point plan’ that has most people sleeping with their eyes open by point three. I can only hope that Scarlett’s message falls on deaf ears. She takes to the podium, looking flawless as ever.

  ‘Good morning, Brecken Heath. If you don’t know me –’

  (As if we don’t all know her)

  ‘– my name is Scarlett Drake. I’m not going to make a long list of promises I can’t keep; that’s not my style. At the end of the day, what this school needs is a leader. I am a straight-A student, teachers like and respect me, and I get along with everyone in the school.’

  There’s an almost audible gasp. Does she really believe that?

  ‘I have strong competition, but I think it’s plain to see that I am the obvious choice for head girl. Let me be the first to invite you all to my fabulous pool party to celebrate my campaign, next Saturday at Brecken Heath lido. It’s going to be major!’

  People start applauding. A pool party for the whole school? How much is that costing? Clever, clever Scarlett. She’s just invited the whole school to join The A-List. Popularity – the most powerful weapon at her disposal. The excited chatter is so loud, I almost miss Mrs Collins calling me up to the podium.

  My relative calm is gone in a heartbeat, replaced by a painful cramp in my stomach. I drag myself up the stairs and take my place at the lectern.

  ‘Hi. I’m Avery Morgan. Until recently, you knew me as “Pizzaface”.’

  There’s a polite, if nervous, chuckle from the audience.

  ‘I know, believe me, that school can be pretty tough, and I would like the chance to try to make it better. Not just for some of you, but for all of you. Things have changed so much for me over the last few weeks, it’s been crazy. I’ve spoken to so many of you and I feel I can relate to every last person in this room. I know what this school is like. I really do. If you give me a chance, I’d love to represent you next year.’