cover of ‘The Passenger’. Here, come and dance.”
She held out her hands towards me.
Somehow I managed to cross the room without falling over. Eve grinned at me as I arrived at the big teacher’s desk. “You might want to put those down,” she said.
I looked down. The pile of magazines was still in my arms. I laid them carefully on the desk, hoping Eve couldn’t see my hands shaking. For a second I stood awkwardly in front of her.
What did she want me to do exactly? Normally I quite like dancing, and I think I’m OK at it too – not brilliant, but not one of those dorks who thinks it’s cool to flail around all over the place either. But right now I was lost. My legs felt like jelly. Eve was twisting and turning in the sunlight in front of me, like some kind of sexy angel. And I was trying to work out whether I should just shuffle about a bit where I was or go right up to her and . . .
She made the decision for me, by reaching out for my hand and pulling me closer, into the circle of sunlight on the floor. As I started moving in time with the music she dropped my hand. But we were still moving together, only half a metre apart, staring into each other’s eyes.
I bet that sounds really hot.
In fact it was quite possibly the most terrifying experience of my life. I was nearly sick. All I could think about the whole time was when the music was going to finish and whether I could avoid collapsing before it did. The more I tried to move smoothly, the more I felt I was jerking about like a robot on speed.
At last the song was over and the DJ’s rapid chatter filled the air.
We stood still for a second, staring at each other, then Eve stepped backwards, looking slightly embarrassed. “That was great, I loved the way they sampled the original ‘Passenger’,” she said breathlessly.
The song title connected with something in my head. “Hey,” I grinned. “I think I’ve got the original. Was it Iggy Pop?”
Eve nodded.
“It’s one of the records my dad left me.”
Eve’s eyes widened. “Your dad left you vintage records?”
Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Dad.
“Yeah, from the late Seventies and early Eighties. Would you like to come back to my house and hear them?”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.
Eve visibly shrank away from me. “Er, no, I’m meeting Ben later.” She glanced at her watch. “In fact I’ve gotta go now. Crap. And I hardly got any work done either.”
She bustled back to her table and cleared away her stuff. She didn’t even look at me as she said goodbye.
I walked around for about half an hour. What had I done wrong? One minute she was asking me to dance with her – the next she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
I ended up outside Ryan’s house. I’d only been there once before and didn’t know the street number, but I recognised the iron gate, hanging off its hinges, at the end of the tiny front path.
Ryan’s mum, a tall, smiley woman with the same wide mouth as Ryan, opened the door.
“Ry – aaan,” she yelled up the stairs. “Friend for you.”
Ryan appeared on his landing a few seconds later. He looked surprised when he saw me and not, I have to say, in a good way. He trotted down the stairs towards me, clearly annoyed.
“What is it, man?” he hissed, dragging me off into a small living room where an enormous TV was blaring into empty space.
I told him.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “How did I blow it?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “You haven’t blown it,” he said. “Though you didn’t stick to the Steps I told you to. What happened to your ‘being cool’ Angle? And why did you get so heavy? You were supposed to make her laugh, man, not terrify her into running away.”
I groaned. It was true. Practically begging Eve to come home with me was hardly acting humorous and aloof.
“It’s like I sent her into Ben’s arms.”
Ryan sighed. “It’s always so all or nothing with you. I
She held out her hands towards me.
Somehow I managed to cross the room without falling over. Eve grinned at me as I arrived at the big teacher’s desk. “You might want to put those down,” she said.
I looked down. The pile of magazines was still in my arms. I laid them carefully on the desk, hoping Eve couldn’t see my hands shaking. For a second I stood awkwardly in front of her.
What did she want me to do exactly? Normally I quite like dancing, and I think I’m OK at it too – not brilliant, but not one of those dorks who thinks it’s cool to flail around all over the place either. But right now I was lost. My legs felt like jelly. Eve was twisting and turning in the sunlight in front of me, like some kind of sexy angel. And I was trying to work out whether I should just shuffle about a bit where I was or go right up to her and . . .
She made the decision for me, by reaching out for my hand and pulling me closer, into the circle of sunlight on the floor. As I started moving in time with the music she dropped my hand. But we were still moving together, only half a metre apart, staring into each other’s eyes.
I bet that sounds really hot.
In fact it was quite possibly the most terrifying experience of my life. I was nearly sick. All I could think about the whole time was when the music was going to finish and whether I could avoid collapsing before it did. The more I tried to move smoothly, the more I felt I was jerking about like a robot on speed.
At last the song was over and the DJ’s rapid chatter filled the air.
We stood still for a second, staring at each other, then Eve stepped backwards, looking slightly embarrassed. “That was great, I loved the way they sampled the original ‘Passenger’,” she said breathlessly.
The song title connected with something in my head. “Hey,” I grinned. “I think I’ve got the original. Was it Iggy Pop?”
Eve nodded.
“It’s one of the records my dad left me.”
Eve’s eyes widened. “Your dad left you vintage records?”
Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Dad.
“Yeah, from the late Seventies and early Eighties. Would you like to come back to my house and hear them?”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.
Eve visibly shrank away from me. “Er, no, I’m meeting Ben later.” She glanced at her watch. “In fact I’ve gotta go now. Crap. And I hardly got any work done either.”
She bustled back to her table and cleared away her stuff. She didn’t even look at me as she said goodbye.
I walked around for about half an hour. What had I done wrong? One minute she was asking me to dance with her – the next she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
I ended up outside Ryan’s house. I’d only been there once before and didn’t know the street number, but I recognised the iron gate, hanging off its hinges, at the end of the tiny front path.
Ryan’s mum, a tall, smiley woman with the same wide mouth as Ryan, opened the door.
“Ry – aaan,” she yelled up the stairs. “Friend for you.”
Ryan appeared on his landing a few seconds later. He looked surprised when he saw me and not, I have to say, in a good way. He trotted down the stairs towards me, clearly annoyed.
“What is it, man?” he hissed, dragging me off into a small living room where an enormous TV was blaring into empty space.
I told him.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “How did I blow it?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “You haven’t blown it,” he said. “Though you didn’t stick to the Steps I told you to. What happened to your ‘being cool’ Angle? And why did you get so heavy? You were supposed to make her laugh, man, not terrify her into running away.”
I groaned. It was true. Practically begging Eve to come home with me was hardly acting humorous and aloof.
“It’s like I sent her into Ben’s arms.”
Ryan sighed. “It’s always so all or nothing with you. I
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