For the rest of the day, I sneak looks at Ethan during class, but every time, he seems to be totally focused on his work. Not once do I catch him taking a peek at me. And during the breaks he disappears completely. It’s so frustrating! How am I supposed to ignore someone who is avoiding me? Leni and Soph keep saying it’s better this way, but I don’t see why. The more time goes by, the more confused I feel about what went wrong between us. I just can’t work out why he’d choose Hannah over me.

I admit that the way we got together was a bit unusual. I had this idea for a kissing competition, which I basically came up with as a way of helping my friends. They are both such awesome people but they’re completely hopeless when it comes to guys. Leni just turns every boy she knows into a friend, even when it’s obvious (to me at least) that they have a thing for her. And Soph is too focused on all her campaigns and issues to bother with guys. I mean, that’s not right, is it? I love imagining us all going out together with our boyfriends – to the movies or to the Royal Show or whatever. But I realised that this was never going to happen unless I helped them out.

So to give them a push-start, I decided that we all had two weeks to kiss someone – and this is how I ended up kissing Ethan. His mum is friends with my mum so I’ve known him since primary school. I always thought he was a total dork, but that changed after we kissed. I guess I started seeing beyond the geeky exterior and realised that with a bit of work, Ethan had the potential to be really hot. And the thing is, the more time I spent with him the more I liked him. He’s funny, you know, in a quiet kind of way.

And he sometimes came out with stuff that really surprised me. Like one day last week, after I’d had a massive fight with Carolyn, he said to me, ‘You know she deliberately stirs you up because she’s jealous of you.’

Interesting, huh? I mean, obviously it isn’t true. Why would Carolyn be jealous of me, for god’s sake? But I was still pretty blown away. I’ve known him for ages but I never realised he thought about things like that. So you can see why I was upset about being dumped – especially with no explanation.

Anyway, the whole day goes past and it’s like I no longer exist for Ethan. It’s awful, and by the time I walk out of the gates to meet Dad after school, I’m feeling kind of low.

Dad’s already there, waiting in his van – I can see him through the window looking at something on his phone.

The van has Mick’s Insulation written across the side in big red letters, even though my dad isn’t called Mick. In fact, there is no Mick at the insulation company he works for at all. Dad says it’s just a name the owner came up with because Mick sounds like the sort of person you’d trust to go in your roof. The owner’s name is Cyril and he definitely doesn’t look like a guy you want anywhere near your roof. Whenever I’ve met him at the main office he’s been running around, looking worried. Dad calls him Cyril the Squirrel, but not to his face.

When Dad sees me, he leans over and opens the front passenger door. This is usually Carolyn’s seat and if she catches me in it, I’m dead meat. Dad sees me hesitate and smiles. ‘Don’t worry, kiddo,’ he says. ‘She’s working this afternoon.’

I’m surprised to hear this after what Mum said at breakfast. But I can already guess what’s happened. Carolyn rang Dad to ask if it was okay just this once, and Dad gave in. Not that I mind. An afternoon without Carolyn sounds fine to me.

I slip into the seat beside Dad, glad that for once I don’t have to sit on the fold-down seat in the back with all of Dad’s tools sliding around at my feet.

‘How about we catch a film?’ says Dad. ‘I just checked the listings – there’s a new Princess Paula movie at fourthirty. You like those Princess Paula movies, don’t you?’

Okay, so maybe I used to like Princess Paula movies – when I was seven. But I can’t point this out to Dad because he seems genuinely excited about going. ‘Well, that sounds great,’ I say, ‘but I’ve got a whole heap of homework …’

Dad swats my excuse away with one hand. ‘Don’t worry about that,’ he says. ‘How often do we get a chance to go to a film together, just you and me?’ I give up thinking of excuses after that.

We round a corner and all Dad’s work stuff slides back to the other side of the van. ‘Hey, kiddo, here’s a problem for you,’ says Dad. ‘I have a big job on tomorrow – the roof is fifteen metres by eighteen metres. How many square metres of insulation do you reckon I’ll need?’

I groan. ‘Dad! I’ve already had a maths lesson today. I don’t need another one.’

‘You used to think that working stuff out for me was fun,’ Dad says, and I can tell from his voice he’s a little offended. It’s true that I used to like helping Dad with his calculations. He’d pretend that he wasn’t working for Cyril the Squirrel anymore and had started his own business with me as his assistant. I loved spending the day driving around with my dad, helping him work stuff out. But that was when I was just a kid.

‘Sorry, Dad – I guess I just don’t find it interesting anymore,’ I say.

At the cinema, Dad goes down into the underground parking. Mum never does that. She always parks miles away where she doesn’t have to pay for a ticket and makes us walk. And she always brings snacks from home too, instead of letting us buy things at the cinema snack bar.

When we get to the cinema, I’m surprised by how many people are queuing up for tickets. They don’t look like the typical Princess Paula crowd either. But then I look at the board and realise that there’s another movie screening at the same time. It’s called Creature from the Black Lagoon and suddenly I remember that the one time Ethan and I went to see a movie together, he got all excited when he saw the poster for it.

‘That’s a classic sci-fi film!’ he said. ‘I can’t believe they’re showing it here. I’d love to see it.’ It didn’t look like my sort of thing at all, so I told Ethan there was no way I was going. He looked kind of disappointed, but didn’t mention it again. The funny thing is that just as I’m remembering this, I spot a familiar sandy-coloured head of hair in the ticket queue and sure enough, it’s Ethan. Standing beside him is Hannah Darcy.

My heart slides down my body and down into my toes. It’s obvious that something is going on between them. It’s not that they’re kissing or even touching or anything. But they just look comfortable together. Hannah is talking and Ethan is smiling and really paying attention to everything she says. I don’t remember Ethan ever looking at me the way he’s looking at Hannah.

‘Dad, I have to go to the toilet,’ I mutter. Because I need to get away from this. Need a moment alone to get a grip. What I really want is to run from the cinema as fast as I can but I can’t, of course.

‘Are you okay, kiddo?’ Dad asks. ‘You look a bit pale.’

‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ I mutter and then rush to the loo before Ethan sees me. Looks like I’m doing the avoiding now.

The toilets are like a dimly lit time machine, piping in hit songs from the eighties. I catch a glimpse of my reflection in one of the mirrors. My hair has started to frizz and my make-up-free face looks completely washed-out.

No wonder Ethan dumped me. I’d dump me too.

I lock myself in one of the cubicles and sit on the toilet with the lid down. There’s a sign stuck to the wall with a picture of a shadowy hand reaching under a door and grabbing a bag. Thieves use the toilet too! it says. The walls of the cubicle are covered with grafitti. The usual stuff – HR + NF and I Archie de Souza. And there, just above the toilet roll, is Anya 4 Ethan. I’d forgotten I’d done that. I stare at it for a long time, remembering how good I’d felt writing it, putting my name up there with all those other names. Then I take my keys from my pocket and use them to scratch the letters off again. All that’s left when I’m done is a big horrible mess.

Someone raps loudly on the door. ‘Is anyone even in there? There’s a big queue of people waiting out here.’

‘Hang on!’ I yell back. ‘I’m almost done.’ I jump up hurriedly and flush the toilet, so no-one will guess I was just sitting here scratching paint. I flick my hair behind my shoulders as I undo the lock. There’s a woman waiting on the other side, arms folded impatiently. ‘Sorry,’ I say apologetically. ‘I don’t feel very well.’ Maybe that will make her feel guilty for hassling me.

When I get back to the cinema foyer I see that Dad is still halfway along the queue, checking his phone. I know I should go and stand with him, but Ethan could be anywhere and I’m totally not in the mood for running into him and Hannah together. Not yet.

Then I realise I’m standing right in front of Cargo – the shop where Edi’s pretty bracelet came from.

I find the bracelet lying on top of a display case at the back of the shop. Someone must have been trying it on and the shop assistant forgot to lock it back in the case. I look over to the desk, wondering if it’s okay if I try it on. The shop assistant is busy with a customer. There are a heap of brightly coloured scarves lying in a heap on the counter like a melted rainbow. The customer has a bright pink one wrapped around her neck, and she’s looking at herself this way and that in the mirror.

‘These scarves are so beautiful,’ the shop assistant is saying. ‘They’re from the Annoushka collection. Absolutely superb quality.’ She says Annoushka like it’s something magical.

‘I love the pink …’ the woman says. ‘But let me try the green one.’

I figure it’s all right if I just try the bracelet on. It’s a little tricky to do up the clasp on my own but once it’s on, I can’t stop staring at my wrist. The bracelet is so beautiful. I twist my arm back and forth, watching the silver strands sparkle and gleam as they catch the light. I imagine myself showing it to Edi. ‘I had to get one too!’

The customer has the green scarf on now. ‘Gorgeous!’ the shop assistant says. ‘Perfect for your colouring.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ says the customer. ‘Where’s that blue one I tried on before?’

I lower my arm for a moment and my blazer sleeve slips down, covering the bracelet completely. You wouldn’t even know I had it on. Suddenly I’m standing very still, holding my breath. Because a thought has just popped into my head. What would happen if I walked out of the shop now? The shop assistant has barely even noticed I’m here. I’m pretty sure she didn’t see me try on the bracelet.

I’m going to do it. Not because I want to steal the bracelet – it’s more like an experiment to see what happens. If the shop assistant stops me I’ll tell her that I forgot I had the bracelet on – just like I forgot about the mascara.

Taking the first step is hard, but each step after that is easier. Soon I’m level with the front counter. I feel my heart jump a little. Blood pumps loudly in my ears. ‘Maybe the yellow?’ the shop assistant is saying to the scarf lady. ‘It’s such a now colour.’

‘It’s too hard to choose!’ sighs the customer. ‘Maybe I should buy them all!’ She and the shop assistant both laugh.

It’s not until I step outside of the shop that I realise my hands are so tightly clenched they ache. I keep walking – fighting the urge to break into a run – and try to keep my breath as steady as I can. No-one stops me. The shop assistant doesn’t even say goodbye. It’s almost like I’m invisible. My legs are shaking like I’ve just run a marathon but I feel amazing. All tingly and super alive or something. I keep walking, away from the shop and towards the queue where I can see Dad waving to me like crazy from the front.

I run over to him and give him a bear hug. I can tell he’s surprised, but also pleased. ‘Feeling better?’ he says, hugging me back.

‘So much better,’ I say. ‘Oh, and Dad? You’ll need 270 square metres of insulation for that job tomorrow.’

Dad grins and pulls some money out of his pocket. ‘Go and get us some popcorn from the snack bar, kiddo,’ he says. ‘And some drinks.’

The movie is the most boring thing I’ve seen in my life, but it doesn’t matter. I spend most of the time running my finger along the bracelet hidden under my sleeve. I can’t believe how easy it was to make it mine.