by Jo Cotterill
Megan had never realized before just how much skill was needed to navigate a BMX track. Her jaw dropped as she saw the group charge towards the first set of small hillocks and almost bounce from one to the next. Several fell, but Danny flew over them as if they were merely bumps in the road. As the group rounded the first corner, Danny was already pulling away from the majority. Megan clenched her fists without even noticing. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Every hole in the track; every hump – Megan felt her heart thud in case he fell off. Beside her, Jasmine too was standing riveted to the spot, her gaze never leaving Danny’s figure.
When he crossed the finishing line first, Megan burst out cheering. ‘That was amazing!’
Jasmine was nodding as though her head would fall off, but she hadn’t uttered a sound. Her almond-shaped eyes blazed with intensity.
Danny punched the air, and then pulled off his helmet. His dark spiky hair was a mess of tangles, and his cheeks were flushed. He slapped hands with Paul, who had come in an unimpressive seventh, and then glanced over towards the girls. Megan caught her breath. He radiated energy. You could almost feel it pouring out of him, even at this distance. And now he was coming over . . .
‘What did you think?’
Megan threw her arms around him, heedless of the mud spatters. Behind her, Samantha made a noise of disgust. ‘You were brilliant!’
Danny hugged her back. ‘Thanks! It was a great race. I didn’t think I was going to take that guy in front of me to start with.’
‘But you did!’ Megan pulled back, suddenly embarrassed. She had hugged him in front of everyone! But he didn’t seem to mind . . . She started talking again to hide her confusion. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t fall off. How do you even cycle on ground like that?’
‘Do you want a go?’ asked Danny. ‘I can show you.’
Megan hesitated. She did want a go. It looked mad and crazy, and a bit dangerous – and she really wanted to try it. She opened her mouth to say, ‘YES’, but all of a sudden she was very aware of Jasmine standing next to her. Jasmine seemed to have shrunk in some way. Her dark curtain of hair had fallen back across her face, and she was examining the ground. Megan felt a wave of something like pity. Why was Jasmine so shy all the time? If she hung out with Samantha so often, surely she wanted to be part of things? On an impulse, she said, ‘Why don’t you show both of us? Jasmine and me. I bet she’d like a go too.’
Jasmine’s head snapped up in alarm. ‘Oh no,’ she said, stuttering a little. ‘I don’t think . . . I mean, I wouldn’t be any good . . .’
Megan grabbed her hand. Jasmine’s fingers were freezing. ‘You’ll be fine,’ she said firmly. ‘What do you think, Danny?’
Danny looked taken aback. ‘Uh . . . yeah, I guess. If you say so.’
‘Cool,’ Megan said.
Danny grinned. ‘You want a go too, Sam?’
Samantha made a noise that sounded like, ‘Tchuh!’ Paul, who had been bringing up the rear as usual, looked disappointed. ‘Come on, Sam,’ he said encouragingly. ‘If the others are having a go, you might find you like it.’
Samantha gave him a withering look. ‘As if,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t get on that thing for a million pounds.’
‘I thought you had no money?’ Megan said before she could stop herself.
Danny shouted with laughter. ‘Gotcha there, sis. Come on, don’t be a spoilsport.’
Samantha, two pink spots glowing on her cheeks, glared at him. ‘I am not,’ she said clearly, ‘getting on a bike.’ She cast a look at Paul. ‘I’m hungry.’
He jumped into action. ‘I’ll get you something to eat. You want a burger?’
‘Come on,’ Danny said to Megan. ‘We’ll go find somewhere quieter.’
Megan dragged Jasmine along beside her. Danny led them to a section of field that was less crowded than the rest. It was still very muddy though, and Megan wished she’d worn wellies instead of trainers. ‘Hold this,’ Danny jerked the bike towards Megan and started to take off his elbow and knee pads.
‘I think Jasmine should go first,’ said Megan.
Danny threw her an odd look. ‘If you say so.’
Jasmine was still protesting. ‘I don’t think this is really . . . oh, do you think they’ll fit? My head is kind of small, you know . . . I don’t think this helmet is . . . how do you see out of it?’
Megan felt mildly irritated. Couldn’t Jasmine just get on with it?
Danny snapped the visor shut and Jasmine squeaked. He glanced at Megan. ‘Why did you want her to have a go? She’s going to be useless.’
‘She hasn’t even tried yet,’ Megan pointed out.
‘I can still hear you, you know,’ said Jasmine in a small voice.
Danny sighed. ‘All right. Get on the bike.’ He started to show her the gears and the brakes, and how to balance on the pedals. Megan could tell Jasmine was hanging on his every word, but she was so nervous she kept forgetting what he told her. ‘No!’ Danny snapped in exasperation. ‘Push back on the right foot, and forward on the left foot. Are you deaf or something?’
‘Sorry,’ said Jasmine miserably, wobbling so hard she nearly fell off. She sounded close to tears. ‘I’m trying.’
Megan knew she should feel sorry for Jasmine, but it was exasperating how wet the girl was being! Didn’t she have any backbone at all? Watching her wobble around was so frustrating! Megan was becoming impatient to try it out herself. ‘Shall I have a go now?’ she offered. ‘Then maybe Jasmine could have another try later.’ She wished she hadn’t bothered involving Jasmine.
Jasmine got off the bike. ‘Yeah, maybe,’ she said in a muffled voice.
‘No way,’ said Danny decidedly. ‘She’ll break my bike if she’s not careful. And I’m signed up for another race later.’
Jasmine held out the helmet to Megan, shaking her hair into her face as usual. ‘There you go.’
‘I thought you did really well,’ Megan lied, but she was taken aback by the venomous look Jasmine gave her.
‘No you didn’t,’ Jasmine muttered. ‘You just wanted me to go first so I’d make you look good.’
Megan’s mouth fell open. ‘What?’ She couldn’t believe what she was hearing! And after she had made an extra effort to involve Jasmine, too!
‘Come on, come on,’ said Danny impatiently.
Megan hastily pulled on the helmet, remembering to pull her hairband out this time. She didn’t want another headache from her ponytail. Jasmine turned away. Megan ignored her. If Jasmine wanted to sulk, she could do it on her own.
‘You have ridden a bike before, right?’
‘Of course I have,’ said Megan, offended.
‘Well, this isn’t like riding any ordinary bike,’ said Danny. ‘I’ll talk you through it.’ He was soon lost in explaining the balance and steering. Megan listened closely and tried to follow his instructions. ‘That’s good,’ he told her. ‘Keep your knees flexible.’
‘Can I try going over some of those hump things?’
Danny grinned. ‘You’re keen. I think there’s a practice track round the other side of the field. You want to go over and see it?’
‘Yeah!’ Megan said enthusiastically. ‘Oh. Hang on.’ She looked around. ‘Where’s Jasmine?’
Danny shrugged. ‘Dunno. Why?’
Megan hesitated. She knew that she ought to go after Jasmine; make sure she was all right. Jasmine had no one else to hang around with, and Samantha and Paul had disappeared off to the burger vans. But something in Megan rebelled. Why should she be the one to look after Jasmine? Especially as Jasmine had just been rude to her. If Jasmine didn’t like it here, she could just go home, couldn’t she?
Megan made up her mind. ‘Oh, no reason. Come on then, let’s go to the practice track.’
As they walked over, Danny commented, ‘You should be wearing proper kit if you’re going to ride, but I guess it’ll be OK.’
‘Proper kit?’
‘Yeah. Protection. Leathers.’ He glanced sideways. ‘If
you’re going to come regularly we should get you some. Jeans won’t last long if you fall.’
‘Oh, right.’ Megan felt a sudden qualm. For a moment she had completely forgotten about the risk of injury. Maybe I’m becoming more of a daredevil? she wondered to herself. For some reason, the thought made her feel quite excited.
Danny was holding out a hand. ‘You see these gloves? They’re extra tough. You have to practically stab them with a carving knife to make a dent.’
‘Wow. They look kind of expensive.’
He nodded. ‘They are. And the trousers are about a million times more expensive. I only got them because they were second hand. Even then I had to use my modelling money.’ He glanced sideways at Megan. ‘I do modelling for catalogues.’ His voice sounded both proud and slightly self-conscious.
‘Yeah, someone at dance told me,’ Megan replied.
Danny looked a bit put out that this news wasn’t a surprise.
She went on hastily. ‘It sounds really cool.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s all right. A lot of standing around most of the time. But the money is good, and it means I can buy stuff for my skateboard.’
Megan looked down at the handlebars. ‘What about this bike?’
Danny shrugged. ‘Oh, that’s one of Paul’s old bikes. He gave it to me.’
‘He gave it to you?’ Megan stared. ‘Aren’t they expensive too?’
‘Yeah, but Paul’s rolling in it.’ Danny grinned suddenly. ‘It’s probably why Samantha’s going out with him.’
Megan wrinkled her nose. ‘For his money?’
‘Yeah.’ Danny laughed. ‘Well, she hasn’t got any of her own, has she? Not since she lost dear Daddy’s approval.’ He laughed again.
Megan felt a bit surprised that Danny didn’t seem to feel sorry for Samantha at all. But then Samantha had got into a lot of trouble, hadn’t she? Maybe Danny was still angry with her about that. It made her curious to know more about him. He didn’t really act like a supportive big brother to her. Megan couldn’t imagine being that mean about Owen, no matter how annoying he was being.
The practice track was swarming with eager youngsters trying their skills. ‘It looks a bit crowded,’ said Megan doubtfully.
‘There’s always space for one more,’ Danny said. ‘You just have to act confident.’
Megan got on the bike and took a breath.
‘Now, remember what I told you.’
She nodded. ‘I got it.’ And then she was off! This was crazier than driving a go-kart! Every bump, every jolt sent shudders through her. The saddle was no protection, but Danny kept yelling, ‘Stay up on the pedals!’ and then suddenly she hit her stride and flew over a hump, landing with a thump but managing to stay upright. Megan grinned and gripped the handlebars even tighter. This was mad! Crazy! Wild! She loved it!
It wasn’t until she heard Danny yelling that Megan realized she’d been round the practice track five times already. Suddenly embarrassed, she pulled off the track and rode over. ‘Sorry!’ she said breathlessly. ‘I forgot what I was doing.’
Danny grinned. ‘Looks to me like you had it figured out just fine. You’re a natural.’
‘Really?’ Megan pulled off her helmet and scraped her hair back from her flushed cheeks. ‘It does seem to come quite easily. I mean, nothing like you. But I thought I was better than some of the other people practising.’
‘Way better,’ said Danny appreciatively. ‘But I had to call you over because I need the bike back. My next race is coming up.’
‘Oh no, I’m so sorry!’
He laughed. ‘It’s fine. I’m not late or anything.’ His expression suddenly sobered. ‘You look amazing.’
Megan didn’t know what to say. ‘Oh. Thanks.’
‘I liked it earlier,’ he said suddenly, ‘when you ran over to me. After the race.’
‘Oh.’ Megan blushed.
‘I think you’re really cool,’ said Danny.
‘Really?’ Megan felt hot and cold all over.
He nodded. ‘Really.’ And then he leaned forward and kissed her. Right on the lips. Right in front of everyone. It wasn’t a long kiss, but Megan felt for a moment as though her feet had lost their grip on the ground.
The loudhailer blared, and Danny’s head jerked back. ‘That’s my race.’ He grabbed his helmet and turned his bike round. ‘See you in a bit.’
Megan didn’t even have a chance to call ‘Good luck!’ after him. She stood, slightly dazed, wondering if anyone had noticed what had just happened. The nearest people seemed totally uninterested in Megan. She couldn’t see Samantha or Paul. She breathed out. Nobody had noticed. She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or disappointed. The most momentous event in her life so far – her first kiss! – and no one had seen it!
No, that wasn’t quite true. There was one person looking, though she was at a distance, and Megan only recognized her from the dark curtain of hair that fell across the blazing stare. If Jasmine had disliked Megan before, she certainly hated her now.
Chapter 10
how do you know you fancy him?
‘HE KISSED YOU!’ Mari cried, bouncing up and down on Megan’s bed. ‘I can’t believe it! That is so cool!’
‘Now you see why I couldn’t tell you over the phone?’ asked Megan.
‘Of course! Anyway, I was running out of credit so we couldn’t have talked about it properly,’ said Mari. ‘Though I can’t stay long today. Victoria’s going to this posh do and she’s asked me to go with her.’
‘What kind of posh do?’ asked Megan, interested. Mari mentioned Victoria and Fliss quite a lot but she never seemed to go into very much detail about them.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Mari in a dismissive tone. ‘Some opening of an art gallery or something. Her parents have put up the money, I think.’ She saw Megan’s face. ‘I know. Victoria’s got oodles of money. Her parents are always out working. She’s got an au pair too.’
‘A what?’
‘You know, a sort of live-in home-help babysitter.’ Mari flapped her hand helplessly. ‘It’s kind of weird that Victoria and I are friends because our families are sooo different. My mother would kill for an au pair, but we’d only be able to pay her about twenty pence a week. I hate having no money. It’s a good thing the salsa class is cheap.’
Megan felt even more glad that she had lent Mari her silver shoes.
‘Anyway, anyway,’ Mari went on, ‘tell me everything. What was it like? Kissing Danny, I mean?’
‘Well,’ said Megan, feeling a smile spread across her face, ‘it was . . . it was really nice.’
Mari stared at her. ‘Nice? Just nice?’
‘Um . . .’ Megan’s smile faltered. Now that she came to think about it again, she wasn’t sure she could remember exactly how it had felt. She closed her eyes for a moment. There he was, leaning towards her . . . and she leaned towards him . . . and . . . Megan’s eyes opened. ‘I can’t really remember.’
Mari looked disappointed. ‘Oh.’
‘Do you think that’s bad?’ Megan was worried. ‘I mean, I should be able to, shouldn’t I?’
Mari shrugged. ‘I dunno. I’m not an expert. I’ve only kissed Sean a couple of times and they were both kind of by accident.’
‘It’s just that . . .’ Megan began, before Mari’s words filtered through her brain. ‘You what? Mari – have you got a boyfriend?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Mari carelessly. ‘Didn’t I mention him?’
‘You certainly did not!’ Megan spluttered. She couldn’t believe she’d known Mari for weeks and Mari had never even spoken about it before! ‘But . . . what . . . who . . . what’s he like?’
Mari leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling light. ‘His name’s Sean. He’s tall and he’s got red hair.’
Megan waited expectantly. ‘And?’
Mari shrugged. ‘And what? He’s all right. Not particularly good-looking.’
Megan felt baffled. ‘You sound as though you don’t like him mu
ch.’
‘I do,’ said Mari instantly. ‘Well – I think I do.’ She sighed. ‘Oh, what’s the big deal anyway? He’s nice. He’s funny. We have a laugh. Why does it have to be this massive BOYFRIEND thing?’
Megan stared. ‘I don’t know. But I sort of thought you’d fancy him if you were going out with him.’ Mari wrinkled her nose. ‘Do you fancy him?’
For the first time, Mari looked embarrassed. ‘I don’t know. Sometimes I think I do, sometimes I don’t.’
Megan didn’t know what to say. ‘How does he feel about you?’
‘Oh, he fancies me,’ said Mari airily. ‘He tells me all the time.’
‘Maybe he’s hoping you’ll say it back.’
‘But I’m not sure,’ said Mari, chewing her lip. ‘How can I say it if I’m not sure?’
There was silence for a few minutes. ‘Maybe you’ll sort of come to fancy him over time,’ said Megan lamely.
‘We’ve been going out since the end of August,’ said Mari. ‘Wouldn’t I know by now?’
Megan bit her lip. ‘I don’t know.’
‘You fancy Danny, don’t you?’
‘Well – yes.’
‘So how does it feel?’ Mari leaned forward. ‘I mean, when you see him, how do you feel? How do you know you fancy him?’
Now it was Megan’s turn to feel embarrassed. ‘Well, I – er . . . I sort of get this funny feeling in my stomach. Like it’s buzzing or wriggling or something. It makes me feel a little bit sick.’
Mari screwed up her nose. ‘Sounds horrible.’
‘Not exactly – it’s kind of weird and exciting at the same time. Like – um – like when you have to stand up in Assembly and say something, or when you’re in a play. Like nerves, I guess.’
‘Oh!’ Mari’s expression cleared. ‘I get you. Like stage fright.’
‘Yes, sort of. And then when he smiles at me . . .’ Megan thought for a moment. ‘It’s sort of like I keep noticing how good-looking he is. And it makes me feel warm because he’s smiling at me, not at anyone else. And so that makes me more nervous to do everything right, because I want him to keep smiling at me. So I’m always really aware of everything I do.’