by Rachael Wing
I opened the door, and there – sat comfortably at the bar – was Wes. He was chatting to Ozzie across the counter, and when Ozzie waved me over from the door and he turned to see who it was, he looked equally surprised, smiled, but didn’t do his usual wave. He didn’t know how to act around me. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Who cared if his monster mother didn’t think that I was good enough? He didn’t even like her! He chose me to be his friend, and why should it matter if she didn’t approve? And as for Emily – hmm. I still didn’t like her. Well, I wasn’t going to think about Emily just yet.
I made my way over to the bar and sat down next to Wes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, smiling.
“I was about to ask you the same thing!” Wes declared, and smiled wider, as I wasn’t scowling or shouting or being, y’know, my nasty self.
“I’m supposed to be covering a shift for Ozzie.” I turned to Ozzie and smiled.
Wes paused suspiciously. “Me too.”
We both looked at Ozzie for an explanation, and to our surprise he burst out laughing.
“Kids!” he cried, laughing. “Ah-ha, crazy kids, Ozzie fools you!”
When he had calmed down, he made things clear.
“I want to surprise you, see?”
We looked at each other, confused. We did not see.
“You know that the Midsummer Rave you are going to this weekend, for it you must have, to get right close to the bands, a ticket?”
“What?!” Wes and I shouted at the same time.
“I didn’t know that!” I turned to Wes. “Oh my God, I don’t believe it! Did you know?”
Wes shook his head. “No, I didn’t, I just presumed you showed up and saw everything. Damn!”
I was so angry that I hadn’t checked if you needed a pass for the pit. Now we wouldn’t get to the bar and we wouldn’t be able to be right up close, all in the action; we’d have to sit with all the lame people who didn’t want to dance or, y’know, have fun.
We sat in a shocked silence for a few seconds, as Ozzie pulled out an envelope from under the counter. We both looked up at his happy, chuckling face.
“I did not think that you were, how you say, ‘in the know’, so I thought Uncle Ozzie would help…”
He said it with a shrug, pulling two tickets out of the envelope.
He handed us one each.
“For you, the superheroes, yes?”
We both squealed like girls and jumped on Ozzie, saying thank you about a million times until we both went hoarse with the happiness.
The happiness spilled into Friday. My mojo was back and working, so I could even manage to smile to Emily and hold back the instinct to bite and scratch her (funnily enough, very much like the kamikaze cat next door) which I thought was a bonus. And Jonah had texted me early Friday morning:
MESSAGE RECEIVED!
Time Sent: 7.17am
SENDER: The Fittest One
Mornin hockerz – 2nites the
nite! Call u l8r, hv a gr8
dy:) XX
I was really happy about it, but the thing was … I had this feeling. A nag at the back of my mind. Jonah was gorgeous, no doubt, and I’d wanted him for ages. But now he was there, it was kind of … all right. He was texting me, I wasn’t texting him. He was chasing me a bit, not the other way around. I didn’t know! It was just kind of weird. I thought it would be great to have someone texting me – and he had been texting me all week – but it wasn’t all that amazing. And his texts weren’t all that interesting: “Wt r u up 2?” or “Im bord, wt u up 2?” or “Maths sux. Thinkin of u. Wt r u up 2?” But still, Jonah Jones, gorgeous, godly boy – texting me? It could only be epic times!
School ended with a huge buzz. All the kids flew out in a dizzy mess about the music over the weekend, and who was going with who, and who would get with who, and what would generally happen. The buzz was infectious and lifted my mood that extra notch, which helped me to tolerate Wes on the phone on the way home; I assured him for the third time that I would be wearing my superhero top to the gig too, so that he wouldn’t look stupid on his own. I got in and decided to have a bath and have a bit of a girly beauty sesh, so I cranked up the volume and locked myself in the bathroom for about two and a half hours of me-time. I came out at about quarter past six, ready to get ready, strutting into my room and singing along to my iPod.
I suppose you’re just a bit fit, really…
My mum would say that you’re, lovely…
That makes me just a bit, lucky…
’Cause I’m the one who takes you out,
’Cause I’m the boy you care about
’Cause I’m the guy who’s your cup of tea
And you’re the only girl who’s right for me!
Well, it’s less of a singing-song, and more of a shouty, jumpy-up-and-downy, wake-up-your-baby-sister-if-she’s-sleeping song, if I’m honest.
“Holly, will you shut off that racket!” Mum cried as she rushed into my room, all dressed up except for her make-up. “You’ll wake up Lizzy!”
Just as she barged in, the phone rang. I turned down my music so it was just a low blip of guitar and drums, and picked it up. I’d put it next to my bed just in case Jonah rang the home phone, so he wouldn’t have to talk to my crazy sister if she managed to pick up the phone somehow (happens more often than you would think) or worse, my crazy mum. I took a deep breath.
“Hello?” I asked, dropping my voice so it sounded a bit sexy. Ish.
“Hi, it’s Emma Bradbury, the babysitter?” she declared in peachy tones that were laced with confusion. “Who’s that?”
“Oh, erm, hi Emma!” I said, my voice at my normal register. “Sorry, it’s Holly! I was just, er, coughing! Anyway, here’s Mum!”
I passed on the phone to her.
“Oh, hi Emma! How are you? … Good, good, so what time will you… Oh – right.”
I looked up at her tone. It wasn’t good. Mum frowned.
“Well, I suppose broken arms heal! All gymnasts have accidents! … Well, get better soon!”
She put down the phone, and I knew what she was going to ask me before she even opened her mouth. Dad had the weekend off (Friday to Sunday) so they had decided to go out into the city to see a show, and then have a lazy start to the morning and a quiet weekend with me gone. It had been planned for ages because Dad doesn’t get much time off, and I knew they had been really looking forward to it.
Mum gave me That Look. The look parents give you when they want you to do something for them. She opened her mouth but I cut her off desperately.
“Can’t you ask anyone else?” I pleaded. “Is there no one else who will babysit?!”
Mum shook her head. “Next door won’t take her from when she tried to strangle their cat, and Rosie Roberts is away in Cornwall.” She pouted. “Please, Hols? I’ll pay you. You said that you needed a bit of extra cash!”
“Mum, you know I’ve had this planned for ages. It’s been booked for months!”
“So had this!” she cried, sitting on the edge of my bed.
“But The Faeries are playing! Everyone is going to be there!”
“I thought these fairy people were playing tomorrow, and that everyone is going to be there then? Hols, this is the only time I get to see your father. I don’t get to see him much as it is! We never go out! We never get to do anything fun! We never have anywhere to go to, except PTA meetings or to the pub quiz every once in a blue moon…”
She’d gone off into a little world of her own, thinking about stuff. The look on her face was pitiful. I thought she was going to cry.
I took a deep breath.
“Twenty quid,” I muttered.
“What?” she exclaimed. “You’ve got to be—”
“Twenty quid,” I stated solemnly. “Or no deal.”
Mum sat there for a second, then answered.
“Fine, twenty quid, you extortionate little minx. I’ll leave it on the counter… Thank you.”
She kissed my forehead and ran out of the room to get on her make-up like an excited school girl, and I set about texting people.
Recipient: The Fittest One
Mum jst said that I’ve
got to babysit, no way
I can get out of it. Argh! I’m
so sorry! Wel just have 2 have
our dance tmz :P Oh yeh, do
u want to stay in our tent? :)
Sorry again! X
Send?
MESSAGE SENT.
Recipient: The Best Friend
Mum jst said that I’ve
got to look after demon sis,
no way I can get out of it!
Argh! I’m so annoyed! >:|
Send?
MESSAGE SENT.
A few minutes later:
MESSAGE RECEIVED!
Time Sent: 6.29pm
SENDER: The Fittest One
Bbe tht sux! ): Bt we cn
dance 2mz, nw. Yh share
tent! Ta gorjuss. C u then XX
But nothing back from Wes. Mum and Dad left, both gushing with thanks. I dried my hair and put on my pyjamas sadly, trying not to think about all the fun that everyone would be having, and all the music, and Matt with his guitar, and Vikki with her bass, and—
The doorbell.
I opened the door and there stood Wes. Smiling. With ice cream.
I thought I was going to cry!
“Wes!” I exclaimed, hugging him. “Oh my God, that’s so sweet, I can’t believe you’re blowing off the gig to keep me company! You’re just the best—”
Wes prised me away gently.
“Actually,” he said, “I’ve just come to give you this.” He gestured to the ice cream and then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Emily’s waiting round the corner for me…”
I took the ice cream, punched him in the arm and shut the door in his face.
Men, huh?
Who’d have ’em!
I woke up after having an awesome dream, where the sun was shining and the music was raving and everyone was having a really awesome time, so I jumped out of bed, threw open my curtains and saw—
Rain?
I couldn’t believe it! I’d been so focused on everything else that I just presumed our gorgeous weather would be continuing, but no! Rain! OK, so it wasn’t full on chucking-it-down rain, but it was still a drizzle, and even though I could see the bright blue sky underneath the cloud, my spirits were dampened. Of course, they had already been dampened by the fact that The Faeries had played last night at The Venue and I had missed it. I sighed as I heaved myself out of bed. I bet they’d had an awesome time, and I’d missed it all.
I’d packed my bag at the end of my non-eventful evening (after the Friends reruns were finished) and Wes was bringing the tent, so I didn’t really have anything to worry about. I jogged out of my room and hit the showers, wishing that the rain would stop by the time I’d got out. When I got into the bathroom I couldn’t stop myself from breaking into a huge grin: it was Saturday, the Saturday I had been waiting for for weeks – I was going to see The Faeries at midnight tonight! And it was nine a.m. – I would be watching my most favourite band in the world perform live in less than twenty-four hours! The thought made me light up inside, though I still wished I’d been there last night. Wes had rung me during some of our songs, but all I could really hear was the band in the background and Wes’s voice going hoarse as he sang along with the rest of the heaving crowd. I wanted more than anything to be there and all I could think about was how they would be having a fantastic time without me and I bet they didn’t even miss me, but the thought that had kept me going was MSR and how amazing it was going to be, and now the day was here! The day we’d been talking about for months, the huge gig that we had been preparing for – all those hours learning the new album, and listening to the old album, and repairing our T-shirts…
When I got out of the shower, I pulled my H’y Girl T-shirt out of the wardrobe. It’s my favourite item of clothing by far – Wes and I made them ages ago just before our first Faeries gig, and we’ve tried to wear them to every gig since. They were blue, like the Superman T-shirts, but instead of the big “S” in the middle, mine had “H’y Girl” and his had “Lameboy” squished into the triangle. They’re pretty cool! And then on the back is all of the gigs we’ve been to: date, place and tour. It smelt like summer – freshly cut grass and sunshine. I’m not quite sure how it could smell like sunshine, but it just did! I put it on with some white shorts and instantly felt good, and when I looked outside, the sky had started to clear up! Result!
The bands were starting at midday and gates opened at ten, and considering the site is only ten minutes away, Wes said he’d come and get me at about quarter past ten so that we could put up the tent. Jonah was getting a lift with some kids he knew who were setting up and working at the rave for the weekend, and I had no idea how Emily was getting there. She’d probably sprout wings and fly, the perfect little—
“Are you off, Berry?” a croaky voice asked from my parents’ bedroom.
They’d got in late last night, but it had been worth it because they were both so happy and giggling like kids that they had forgotten that they had already paid me, so paid me again! I took one ten just in case I desperately needed it, and left the other ten on the counter. I’d tell them later. Just … not right then.
I knocked first and then pushed their door open slowly. They both looked shattered. I smiled.
“Yes,” I whispered. “My phone’s charged, I’ve got a spare pair of pants, and I’ve got my rape alarm, blah blah blah. I’ll be fine, so don’t worry about me. Have a great weekend, guys, I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Have a great time, beautiful girl,” Dad smiled. Mum grumbled something.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“Your mother says that she loves you, to be careful, and that she hopes you and Wes have a great time. Speaking of Wes, I haven’t seen much of him lately. Are you two OK?”
“Yeah, he’s fine,” I said, slightly annoyed. “But why does everyone say that, ‘Are you two OK?’, like we’re a couple? Y’know, we don’t go around joined at the hip! He’s gone off and got his girl now, so we’re just not all that chummy. So what? I can do stuff without him,” I stammered thinking about last night and how I was really alone. “I don’t need him.” I thought about how he brought me ice cream and how happy I had been to see him. “I’m just fine without him…” I trailed off. I wasn’t fine without him, I missed him being close and at my beck and call.
Damn.
“Holly?”
I snapped out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, Dad?”
“Shut up and go. We love you. Call us when you want picking up.”
I shut the door, smiling, just in time for the doorbell to ring! I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, and straight into Wes’s chauffeured car.
“Morning, sailor!” I cried as I jumped into the back. “How are we – oh, erm, feeling?”
I turned around to see that I had just plonked myself down next to Margo. Who was dressed to kill. Big shades, cute black spangly top, chinos, designer sandals – this girl had it all. I’d forgotten the minor detail that Wes was her twin so they would more than likely be coming in the same car. Damn.
She didn’t smile, but I didn’t expect her to.
“Hello Margo, Finn.”
“Yah, safe, mate.”
Ooh, a new word!
“Good morning, Holly dearest. Such a shame you didn’t make it last night, it was quite the set. We all had a fab time – mostly Jonah, I daresay! He had to prise the girls off himself, it was quite the specta
cle—”
“How are you, Hols?” Wes said loudly and pointedly from the front seat with a huge grin on his face. He was also wearing his superhero T-shirt.
I grinned back. I couldn’t help myself! The overwhelming sense of joy even overtook the urge to biff Margo over the head with my sleeping bag and break her stupid designer glasses in half!
“I’m great, ta, babe. Ready to get that tent up and start raving!”
When we pulled up outside the field, you couldn’t see much because it was obscured by bush, fence and a ticket port-a-cabin. Margo suddenly lowered her glasses.
“And this is it, is it?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly.
“Yarh, darrhling!” I mimicked as I stepped out of the car and swung my back pack on to my back. “Welcome to your room! It’s not quite five star, but you get what you pay for!”
Margo and Finn decided that they would share a different tent to us, which was fair enough. I was sharing a compartment with Emily (oh, what fun times! Not) and Wes was sharing with Jonah. Not the best matched in the world, but it meant I was close to Jonah and Wes was close to Emily. However, I was looking forward to seeing Margo try to put up her tent, and took great delight in her stepping out of the car and straightening herself up, and then looking around with distaste.
There was a queue to get into the site; the whole thing was barred off with makeshift metal fences, and to get in you had to go through the gates. Excitement bubbled all around me in the many faces I didn’t know – some kids who had obviously come for the heavier tunes (all dressed in black with big fringes); the kids who had come for the Disco Shed (rave tunes all night in the biggest shed you’ve ever seen – the rave kids come in neon, so you always know which are which); and all the folk in between. I saw a few faces I knew from previous shows, and a few acquaintances that I waved to, but I couldn’t stop to talk because I was too anxious to get inside. However, we did see the Mortimer brothers at the front of the queue with the Lady-Killer Squad; Matt saw us and hit James, who hit Chris, who was inhaling a hot dog. When they had all seen us, they waved and shouted madly for us to come and join them, but we had to pass and head on to the back because the glares from the die-hard fans were a bit too much.