Charlie.’
He went on ahead regardless and made a big fuss of opening the doors for me.
‘Cleo is famous for her sharp tongue,’ he told me. ‘You get used to it after a while.’
I didn’t bother to reply. Mia would’ve dealt with Cleo with a put-down or a look. My tactic was not to be impressed by any of them. Apart from Charlie, they didn’t show any
interest in me so why should I care about them and their poxy band? It wasn’t as if they were friends of mine. And boys were off my radar at the moment.
I bought myself a packet of slightly out-of-date crisps from the vicar and sat down at the back of the hall as far away from where the band was setting up as I could get.
After a lot of faffing around with cables and endless sound checks they began to play. Charlie was the lead singer. Charlie and Freddie both played guitars whilst Gabe played drums. Cleo joined
in with the others with the singing.
A gaggle of kids formed round the front. I stayed obstinately at the back and listened. Freddie had problems keeping time, but there was something edgy about them. The lyrics weren’t bad
either. They all took turns singing. Charlie had a soft, soulful singing voice.
I tried not to look at Gabe too much, but when I did he was playing with a frantic nervous energy. His chest tightened as he punched the beat with strained arms that seemed to move randomly.
Sweat made his hair curl round his neck. His eyes were closed and he was totally absorbed in making music.
It took a couple of songs for my ears to adjust to their sound, but my body moved to the rhythm and my heart responded to the lyrics. Goats in a Spin were good. Part of me wanted to rush over
and cheer, but another part felt awkward and shy and held me back.
At the end, Charlie came over and handed me a plastic cup of orange squash. I hate orange squash, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I took a sip and tried not to screw my face
up.
‘You don’t like it? Shall I get you a can of Coke?’ Charlie said, looking a little hurt by my reaction.
I took a deep breath and was about to say ‘You were good’ when Freddie came over.
‘No, I bet the lady prefers Cristal.’
‘And what is Cristal?’ I asked him. My voice sounded harsher than I’d meant it to.
‘Er . . . er, a very expensive drink,’ Freddie floundered.
I floundered too as I started to say ‘You were good’ again, but before I could get the words out, another voice cut in.
‘It’s champagne,’ Gabe explained. They probably drink it every day at his house!
Charlie turned to me and said, ‘If you wait till we’ve packed up we can give you a lift home. We’re getting some chips on the way back too.’ I nodded gratefully at
Charlie.
‘We could pick up some doughnuts for you,’ Gabe said and everybody laughed.
Cleo imitated Aurora’s plummy voice, ‘Go Jenna, go Jenna!’
Everybody laughed. My face felt scorched with embarrassment.
‘No thanks. I’ve got to go home and do something . . . I’ve got to change the cat litter tray.’
I marched straight out of the door. I wasn’t going to be laughed at for a moment longer.
Chapter Twelve
I t was like that old horror story about a man with two personalities, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . One of them is
nice and the other is a murderous monster. That how I felt at that moment. Only I didn’t need to swallow any potion to change. All it took for my personality to wobble was to see Gabe.
What I really wanted now was a good chat with Mum. We used to talk for hours on end about anything and everything. I imagined her and Marcus screaming with joy on a roller-coaster. All Mum and I
seemed to do now was have rows or not speak to each other at all. I was getting really good at that; keeping my feelings all bottled up until they exploded into tears.
I went straight upstairs, hurled myself on my pillow and sobbed my heart out. If you asked me to explain why, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. It had something to
He went on ahead regardless and made a big fuss of opening the doors for me.
‘Cleo is famous for her sharp tongue,’ he told me. ‘You get used to it after a while.’
I didn’t bother to reply. Mia would’ve dealt with Cleo with a put-down or a look. My tactic was not to be impressed by any of them. Apart from Charlie, they didn’t show any
interest in me so why should I care about them and their poxy band? It wasn’t as if they were friends of mine. And boys were off my radar at the moment.
I bought myself a packet of slightly out-of-date crisps from the vicar and sat down at the back of the hall as far away from where the band was setting up as I could get.
After a lot of faffing around with cables and endless sound checks they began to play. Charlie was the lead singer. Charlie and Freddie both played guitars whilst Gabe played drums. Cleo joined
in with the others with the singing.
A gaggle of kids formed round the front. I stayed obstinately at the back and listened. Freddie had problems keeping time, but there was something edgy about them. The lyrics weren’t bad
either. They all took turns singing. Charlie had a soft, soulful singing voice.
I tried not to look at Gabe too much, but when I did he was playing with a frantic nervous energy. His chest tightened as he punched the beat with strained arms that seemed to move randomly.
Sweat made his hair curl round his neck. His eyes were closed and he was totally absorbed in making music.
It took a couple of songs for my ears to adjust to their sound, but my body moved to the rhythm and my heart responded to the lyrics. Goats in a Spin were good. Part of me wanted to rush over
and cheer, but another part felt awkward and shy and held me back.
At the end, Charlie came over and handed me a plastic cup of orange squash. I hate orange squash, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings so I took a sip and tried not to screw my face
up.
‘You don’t like it? Shall I get you a can of Coke?’ Charlie said, looking a little hurt by my reaction.
I took a deep breath and was about to say ‘You were good’ when Freddie came over.
‘No, I bet the lady prefers Cristal.’
‘And what is Cristal?’ I asked him. My voice sounded harsher than I’d meant it to.
‘Er . . . er, a very expensive drink,’ Freddie floundered.
I floundered too as I started to say ‘You were good’ again, but before I could get the words out, another voice cut in.
‘It’s champagne,’ Gabe explained. They probably drink it every day at his house!
Charlie turned to me and said, ‘If you wait till we’ve packed up we can give you a lift home. We’re getting some chips on the way back too.’ I nodded gratefully at
Charlie.
‘We could pick up some doughnuts for you,’ Gabe said and everybody laughed.
Cleo imitated Aurora’s plummy voice, ‘Go Jenna, go Jenna!’
Everybody laughed. My face felt scorched with embarrassment.
‘No thanks. I’ve got to go home and do something . . . I’ve got to change the cat litter tray.’
I marched straight out of the door. I wasn’t going to be laughed at for a moment longer.
Chapter Twelve
I t was like that old horror story about a man with two personalities, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . One of them is
nice and the other is a murderous monster. That how I felt at that moment. Only I didn’t need to swallow any potion to change. All it took for my personality to wobble was to see Gabe.
What I really wanted now was a good chat with Mum. We used to talk for hours on end about anything and everything. I imagined her and Marcus screaming with joy on a roller-coaster. All Mum and I
seemed to do now was have rows or not speak to each other at all. I was getting really good at that; keeping my feelings all bottled up until they exploded into tears.
I went straight upstairs, hurled myself on my pillow and sobbed my heart out. If you asked me to explain why, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. It had something to
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