Maz and Simon were waiting for me outside the hall. The atmosphere among the three of us was strained. I’d forbidden Maz from talking about the whole Larrie thing around Simon, and she’d forbidden me from talking about Josh in front of him. Plus, Simon hadn’t been his usual cheerfully oblivious self since my outburst in the library.
“I don’t know why we had to get here so early,” he complained.
“To see what the other groups are planning,” said Maz. “If Vertigo Pony’s going to stand out on the big night, we need stage presence.”
“Isn’t that what the music’s for?” asked Simon.
I swallowed my smile, knowing how stressed Maz was about this rehearsal. Each of the groups in the SkoolDaze final had half an hour on stage to run through their full set and work out their staging details. For Vertigo Pony’s slot, I was on banner duty; Maz was in charge of everything else. She would’ve tried to play the guys’ instruments for them if she was able to sprout six extra arms, just to make sure nothing could go wrong.
The hall was buzzing with a crowd of nervous band members and their supporters. While Maz scoped the competition, I kept my eyes peeled for Josh. When I spotted him, I waved both hands above my head to get his attention.
“Hi there, Larrie’s-much-more-talented-and-gorgeous-sister,” he said when he reached us, giving me a hug so tight it almost lifted me off the ground.
In an instant the knot that had been twisting in my stomach all week disappeared. What was it about Josh that made me feel so good? And how could I get more of it?
I pretended not to see Maz and Simon roll their eyes at each other when Josh offered me a bite of his Power Kick bar. “Dinner on the run,” he explained.
“You know, those so-called energy bars are mainly simple sugars,” said Simon. “Some of them have less nutritional value than lollies.”
Josh took a deliberate bite and eyed Simon up and down as if he was sizing up which of them would win in a fight. Simon didn’t react, possibly because – being a head taller than Josh – he didn’t notice. Whatever his reason, I could see Josh getting more tense by the second, and I didn’t want Maz to blame me when he smeared Simon all over the floor. I thrust my watch in Josh’s face. “Look at the time! We’d better find somewhere to sit before the show starts.”
“You’re right. Come and meet the guys.” Josh nodded towards where a group of Year Elevens was standing.
“Nicko and Prad are saving us seats up the back,” said Maz in a tone that made it clear she expected me to sit with them.
“I’ll see you before you go on.” I shot her a look that I hoped said I’m-sorry-but-I-can’t-miss-this-opportunity-please-don’t-be-angry-with-me. I wasn’t sure it had conveyed its full meaning since Maz responded with a scowl.
I hung behind Josh while he and his mates performed their bonding ritual (back slaps and noogies on the head, calling each other “fag” like it was a compliment). When they finished, Josh introduced me with a, “You all know Al Miller, right?” From their smirks, I was fairly sure they all knew of me, or at least of my (in)famous sister. Only one of them bothered to say “hi”.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more awkward, Rochelle Sullivan and two other girls I recognised from the soccer game came up to Josh to gush about his winning goal. I was beginning to think maybe I should go and find Maz after all when Josh pulled me towards him.
“It was nice chatting with you, girls, but I don’t want my date to think I’m neglecting her,” he said, squeezing my waist. “Excuse us.”
His date! So what if it was cheesy and Maz would have retched if she’d heard him; Rochelle’s glare told me she’d kill to be Josh’s date. The girls promised to see Josh at the next match and headed towards the stage, but not before Rochelle said in a mock whisper, “You’d think he’d be more picky about who he hangs out with. Doesn’t he know shit sticks?”
“Everything okay?” asked Josh when he saw my shocked expression.
I nodded and forced a smile. “It’s kind of stuffy in here. I think I need some fresh air.”
“I like your thinking,” he said with a wink.
I didn’t correct Josh’s interpretation; better he thought I was angling to get him alone than knew I’d been wounded by the barbs of a Year Nine. The metal bench that ran the length of the outside of the hall was cold against the bare backs of my legs, but my knee felt like it was on fire in the spot where it brushed against Josh’s.
“I’m really glad you came tonight, Al. I know you must have a lot on your mind right now. I mean, I hope it’s okay for me to talk about the stuff with your sister.”
It wasn’t, but I couldn’t think of a way to tell Josh that. He took my hands between both of his. If we’d been standing up, I would’ve had a bad case of jelly knees. Fiery jelly knees.
“It’s okay.” I tried to keep my voice at an even pitch. “It’s not been my best week, but this is good.”
Josh grasped my hands more tightly. “I want you to know that if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better, all you have to do is ask.”
“I feel a bit better already, getting away from all that stuff for a while,” I said, hoping he’d take the hint that I didn’t want to talk about it.
He leaned towards me. “If that helps, how about I try a little harder?”
His lips brushed against mine, once, twice, and before I had a chance to think about it I was kissing him back. He tasted like energy bars – sweet and a bit sticky, but not in a bad way. I was relieved I’d thought to give my teeth an extra-thorough brushing before I left home. Just in case.
“Ahem,” coughed a voice in the darkness. “Maz said to tell you we’re on in five minutes.” Simon stood directly in front of us.
“I’ll be there in a sec,” I said, giving Simon the stink eye and unentwining Josh’s hands from my midsection.
Josh watched Simon skulk back to the hall. “I hope I haven’t got you into trouble with your friend.”
“He’ll be fine,” I assured him. “And I feel much, much better now, thank you.”
“My pleasure. If you ask me, there’s only one Miller sister worth knowing.”
I gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’d better go before Maz hunts me down.”
When I got to the hall, Maz was struggling with the banner while the others finished the sound check. I grabbed the other end of the sheet and hooked it onto the rod that ran behind the stage.
“Sorry, Mazzle, I lost track of the time.”
Maz’s disappointed frown rivalled one of Jay’s. “Don’t forget Mum’s picking us up at 9.30,” was all she said before taking her place behind the keyboard.
I positioned myself right in front of the stage, determined to give the best performance ever by a fan club president to make up for my earlier negligence. I started cheering when Prad counted in the first song and kept it up till they wound down to their final number, the love song. I probably would’ve cheered through that one too, if I hadn’t been caught off guard by a pair of strong arms wrapping around my waist. A waft of sweet breath near my ear told me who it was, but I turned as if I didn’t know, for the sake of seeing Josh’s smile. As I turned back to face the stage, he hugged me closer and we swayed together. I’d never been so disappointed to hear a song end.
As soon as the applause (led by me, even though it meant Josh had to let me go) was over, the band began packing up their gear to clear the stage for the next group. Josh pulled me back outside. I thought we were going back to the bench, but he kept walking until we were in the shadows of the building. He leaned against the trunk of a tree and pulled me to him.
“We’re less likely to be interrupted here,” he said with a sexy grin, making my knees do the jelly thing again.
As if on cue my phone buzzed. Maz’s message was short and to the point:
Car. Now.
Maz and Simon were too busy dissecting the other groups’ performances to talk about anything else on the drive home. I took it as a sign that Maz was letting me off without a lecture, but she phoned the moment she got home. I apologised again for messing up with the banner.
“That’s not what I’m calling about. Al … are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into with Josh? Because from what I’ve heard, he’s not the Prince Charming he makes himself out to be.”
I remembered how sweet Josh had been when we’d talked earlier in the night, and how good it felt when he held me during the love song. “I don’t know who your sources are, but I’d have thought that if this week had taught you anything, it’s that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.”
“Maybe, but Simon and I don’t think Josh is right for you.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “I think it’s fair to say that as far as Simon’s concerned the only guy in the entire universe who’s right for me is Simon.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to rub his nose in it,” Maz reminded me before hanging up.
Al Miller is in too good a mood to care.