Strictly Friends? Read online

  ‘Oh. What about school?’

  ‘School’s OK.’

  Megan closed her eyes. Talking to Jake on the phone was nothing like as good as talking to him face-to-face. There was something about the phone that made people go all non-committal and Megan found she’d run out of things to say. And yet she knew that if Jake was actually sitting in her room they’d hardly be able to stop talking! There was a long pause. ‘So . . .’ she said, hoping to find something to fill it.

  ‘Yeah . . .’ said Jake.

  ‘Mum and Dad say hi,’ said Megan desperately.

  ‘Yeah, mine too.’

  ‘I better go. Got stuff to do.’

  ‘Yeah, me too.’

  ‘OK. Well, talk to you soon.’

  ‘Yeah, sure. And listen, don’t give your mum too much of a hard time. If she’s being this mad then there must be something wrong.’

  ‘Yeah, you’re probably right.’

  ‘See you, then.’

  ‘Bye.’

  Megan hung up and stared at the ceiling for a while longer. Talking to Jake on the phone was good and bad – good because it was just so brilliant to hear his voice. Bad because it wasn’t the same as being properly together and also because it made her feel even more homesick.

  ‘Megan! You got a minute to help me unpack this?’ her mother called up to her.

  Megan sighed and rolled off the bed. ‘Yeah, down in a sec!’ She grabbed a brush and pulled it through her hair, thinking about what Jake had said. It made a lot of sense. Maybe her mum was more stressed by the house move than Megan had thought. Maybe if she was extra-nice and helpful for a bit, Nicola would change her mind about letting Megan out on her own.

  That way, Megan had a chance of seeing the boy in the skate park again. She stared at her reflection in sudden realization.

  She had completely forgotten to tell Jake about him!

  The bell rang and students poured out of the double doors at the front of the school. Megan found herself jostled and shoved along with the crowd. She wished she’d hung back at the lockers in order to miss the rush, but it was too late now. ‘What did you say?’ she called to Suki.

  Suki turned to shout in annoyance at a boy who had just knocked her bag off her shoulder. She deftly side-stepped another boy and beckoned Megan away from the main doors. ‘Giant clods,’ she said irritably. ‘The boys at my last school were so much more mature.’

  ‘What were you saying as we came out?’

  Suki smoothed her hair back into her ponytail. ‘I said there’s a ballet workshop coming up after Christmas. With the Ballet Formidable.’

  ‘Oh yes?’

  Suki’s jaw dropped. ‘Don’t you know who they are?’

  ‘Umm . . .’

  ‘They did that new interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. The one with two women playing the leads? People are saying they’re the new Adventures in Motion Pictures.’

  ‘Oh right.’ Megan pretended she knew what Suki was talking about. ‘Yeah, of course – I’d forgotten.’

  ‘They’re holding a dance workshop. It’s not for months yet, but places are already getting booked up. My ballet teacher’s getting a place for me, do you want me to ask for one for you too?’

  Megan flushed. ‘Oh, that’s very kind of you, but ballet’s not really my thing.’

  Suki looked puzzled. ‘But you’ve had ballet lessons as well as ballroom, haven’t you?’

  ‘N-no.’

  ‘Oh!’ Suki was taken aback. ‘Oh, I see. Sorry,’ she added hastily. ‘I thought you were serious about a career in dance, that’s all.’

  Megan felt annoyed. ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

  ‘It’s just that my teacher says anyone who dances, whatever the dance style, should have a strong grounding in ballet. It helps with practically every other style there is. Strength and grace and all that.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know if I’m actually going to dance professionally,’ said Megan, uncomfortable. ‘I just like doing it at the moment.’

  Briefly, Suki’s chin tilted up and she seemed to be regarding Megan down the length of her slightly pointed nose. Then she smiled in a patronizing way. ‘Of course. Sorry. I forget that not everyone is as ambitious as me. It’s lovely that you enjoy dancing as a hobby.’

  Megan tried to ignore the feeling that she was being patronized. ‘So you’re going to this workshop then?’

  Suki nodded. ‘I can’t wait. They sometimes look out for potential members of the company too!’

  ‘Wow. That would be brilliant.’ A thought struck Megan. ‘How come you didn’t go to a ballet school, Suki? I mean, if you’re that good, shouldn’t you be somewhere they do dance in school? Parchester Grammar isn’t exactly . . .’ She stopped. Suki’s face had flamed red. ‘Sorry. Did I say something wrong?’

  Suki shook her head violently. ‘No, no, it’s fine. I did try to get into the Royal Ballet School, if you must know. But they said my feet were the wrong shape.’

  Megan stared. ‘Your feet?’

  ‘It’s very important,’ said Suki, her voice high and strained, ‘to have the right shaped feet for pointe work.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’

  ‘Of course, ballroom isn’t so strict,’ said Suki. ‘You can be practically any shape to do that.’

  Megan opened her mouth to reply, but Suki had pulled out her mobile and was punching buttons. ‘See you tomorrow, Megan. I’ve got to get something sorted out.’ She put the phone to her ear, flicked a quick smile at Megan and then walked away.

  Megan stared after her. Suki had this way of saying things that really got up her nose. And the funny thing was, Suki didn’t have a clue she was doing it. She probably thought she was being really nice to Megan!

  A tall boy with spots bumped hard into Megan, nearly knocking her over. ‘Hey!’ she said, but he just glanced back at her and grunted. What was wrong with everyone here? Didn’t anyone have manners?

  Megan stomped out of the school gates, scrabbling for her own mobile. She would text Jake. He would know what to say to cheer her up. She started typing:

  Having day from HELL here evry1 so rude and boring. Miss u!

  ‘Megan!’ It was her mum, holding firmly onto Owen’s hand and waving at her. ‘Over here.’

  Megan took a deep breath. She was trying to be extra nice to Nicola at the moment, after the conversation with Jake. Stapling a smile to her face, she headed over. ‘Hi! You OK?’

  ‘We’re fine.’ Nicola smiled. ‘Owen made you some fairy cakes.’ She looked pointedly at Megan, as if to say, Be very grateful.

  Owen thrust out a bag of unidentifiable mush. ‘They’re special.’

  Megan looked down. ‘They certainly are. Uh – thank you.’

  ‘I made them all myself,’ Owen told her proudly.

  Behind him, Nicola mouthed, ‘Don’t eat them’, and Megan nodded in understanding.

  ‘Have you got a boyfriend yet?’

  ‘What?’ asked Megan, startled.

  ‘Have you got a boyfriend?’ persisted Owen. ‘Jessica at playgroup asked me if I could be her boyfriend. She said everyone has one. Have you?’

  ‘Um . . . not exactly.’

  ‘Why not? Doesn’t anyone want to be yours?’

  ‘Owen,’ Nicola interrupted, ‘have you seen that big blue car over there? I think it’s a Jaguar.’

  Owen’s gaze swivelled in excitement. Then he drooped. ‘You are so silly, Mummy. That’s not a Jaguar. Don’t you know anything about cars?’

  ‘No,’ said Nicola humbly. ‘Not really, Owen. I have to rely on you to tell me.’ She and Megan exchanged looks.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Megan.

  ‘No problem.’ They started off down the road.

  ‘Jaguars,’ Owen went on, ‘have a jaguar on the front of the bonnet. Like a little statue. Unless it’s been nicked.’

  ‘Nicked?’ Nicola raised her eyebrows. ‘Where did you hear that word?’

  ‘Daddy,’ responded Owen cheerfully. ‘He said
sometimes cars get nicked. And phones. And – other stuff.’

  ‘Mum,’ said Megan, wondering if now was a good time, ‘do you think sometimes I could walk home from school on my own? It’s not far, after all.’

  Nicola looked around with a worried expression. ‘There are so many kids at this school. I’m concerned that we don’t really know anyone yet.’

  ‘I know. But this isn’t Milton, Mum. I’m not going to get to know everyone here. That’s just how it is.’ Megan composed herself again. ‘Mum, I’m not a child any more. And I had loads more freedom in Milton. I know this isn’t the same, but I’m old enough to be trusted, aren’t I?’

  ‘Well . . .’

  ‘And I’ve got my phone with me all the time.’ Megan waved it at her just as it beeped to say there was a text.

  ‘I suppose so,’ said Nicola, momentarily distracted by Owen stopping to pick up an empty sweet wrapper. ‘Put that back, Owen, it’s dirty.’

  ‘But if I throw it on the pavement now, Mummy, isn’t that being naughty? I mean, I should put it in the bin, shouldn’t I?’

  Megan pressed home her advantage. ‘Other kids my age don’t get picked up by their parents at the school gate. It’d be easier for me to fit in at my new school if I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.’

  ‘What have you done to your thumb?’ asked Owen, interested.

  ‘Nothing. It’s just a saying.’

  ‘Oh.’ Owen ran to the nearest bin and carefully deposited his sweet wrapper.

  ‘Mum?’

  ‘All right.’ Nicola caved in. ‘Tomorrow you can walk back on your own, OK?’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘I do appreciate this is difficult for you, Megan. I just don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks while we don’t really know the area.’

  ‘I know, Mum. And I won’t do anything stupid.’ Megan took a quick glance at her phone. The text was from Jake:

  UR in hell? Saw Laney in town and she said I have 2 dance with COLLEEN 2nite! AAARGH!

  Megan smiled in spite of herself. Colleen Quirk was a very enthusiastic member of their dance class – almost too enthusiastic. Give her a twirl to do and she would practically fling herself into outer space. She had no control at all, though she was always saying, ‘Tell me how to get better. I want to be good!’ Jake had always been quite rude about Colleen behind her back. Megan giggled to herself as she imagined Jake’s expression when he heard he would have to dance with her. Then she felt another wave of homesickness – it should be her dancing with Jake, not Colleen!

  Megan sighed and pocketed her mobile again. Her mother and Owen had already disappeared round the corner, so she hurried to catch up. It was no good getting all sad about Milton. This was her home now and she was just going to have to get used to it. No matter how much she hated the idea.

  Chapter 4

  Nurse Megan

  AFTER THE FIRST few days, Nicola agreed that Megan could walk to and from school on her own permanently, and even let her go by herself to the salsa class the following week. Megan spent an extra ten minutes getting ready before setting off, but to her disappointment, the good-looking boy wasn’t in the skate park.

  ‘You lost something?’ asked Mari, coming up just as Megan reached the arts centre. ‘You keep looking around.’

  ‘What? Oh – no. No, nothing.’ Megan smiled at Mari. Her hair was escaping from her ponytail again, and she looked as though she’d put her clothes on in the dark. ‘You came again then.’

  Mari smirked. ‘So did you.’

  Megan laughed. ‘I guess I did.’

  ‘You realize,’ said Mari, taking her arm as they went into the building, ‘you’re my personal salsa coach now, don’t you? I can’t get through this class without you.’

  ‘Well, then I guess I’d better let you know my hourly rates,’ said Megan mock-seriously. ‘Hang on, I’ve got a price list here somewhere.’ She rummaged in her bag.

  Mari stopped short, staring at her in horror. ‘Rates?’

  Megan burst out laughing. ‘Your face, Mari! I’m kidding!’

  Mari clutched her chest dramatically. ‘Don’t do that to me! I nearly had a heart attack!’

  Much to her surprise, Megan enjoyed her second class even more than the first. The other girls in the class had quickly found out about her background in ballroom, and Mari wasn’t the only one to ask for help whilst Corinne was going over steps and routines. Even Corinne turned to her at one point and said, ‘Did I do a right turn here, Megan, or was it back into open position?’

  Megan enjoyed helping out. Back in Laney’s class, she and Jake had never stood out particularly because all the others were so good too. But here, people were impressed by her knowledge and technique. ‘I don’t know how you can remember all those steps,’ puffed Mari, her face pink from the exertion. ‘And how come you’re not even breaking a sweat?’

  ‘Practice,’ said Megan, grinning. ‘Come on, let’s do that bit again.’

  By the end of the lesson, Corinne had asked Megan if she would take a couple of the girls to practise at one end of the studio whilst Corinne worked with the others. Megan felt a surge of pride that Corinne wanted her to take on such responsibilities.

  As they packed up, Mari looked enviously at Megan’s shoes. ‘I wish I had shoes like those,’ she said. ‘I’m not a big shoe fan, but those are so pretty. I love the strap over the top and the cute heels. And they’re silver too – they look so professional.’

  ‘What size are your feet?’ Megan handed them over. ‘Try them on – sorry, they’re hot, I’ve been wearing them all through class.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Mari slipped a shoe onto her left foot. ‘Perfect fit!’

  Megan grinned. ‘Tell you what then – why don’t you borrow them for a while? I’ve got about six different pairs of ballroom shoes – I don’t know where they all are at the moment because everything’s still in boxes – but you’re welcome to those until you get some of your own.’

  ‘Wow – really?’ Mari stared at her for a second and then suddenly gave her a hug. ‘That’s so kind, you are sweet. Thank you so much. You know, you remind me of my friend Fliss.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘She’s really sweet and helpful too. A good friend.’

  ‘You should bring her along to salsa,’ Megan told her.

  ‘I so would,’ replied Mari as they headed out of the studio, ‘but she’s on location at the moment.’

  Megan stared. ‘She’s what?’

  ‘On location. You know – filming. She’s in a TV series.’

  Megan stared. ‘Wow! That’s amazing. How did that happen?’

  ‘Well . . .’ Mari took a breath. ‘We did this play over the summer. Romeo and Juliet. And Fliss was playing Juliet and she was just totally brilliant. And this TV producer came along to watch and he really liked her, and so he asked her along to an audition for his new show.’

  ‘It sounds like something out of a dream,’ said Megan.

  ‘It was! And she got the part and she started filming about a week ago and she’s having to miss school and everything!’

  Corinne came out of the main building to find them still standing chatting. ‘Haven’t you got homes to go to?’ she asked, amused.

  ‘Mari was just telling me about her friend who’s on TV,’ said Megan.

  ‘Ah yes,’ said Corinne. ‘Fliss. A very talented girl.’ She pulled the main doors shut behind her. ‘A classic case of being in the right place at the right time. Even though it almost didn’t happen.’ She nodded to the girls. ‘See you next week. And thanks for all your help, Megan.’

  ‘What did she mean?’ asked Megan, as Corinne headed off, her bracelets jangling loudly.

  ‘Fliss got injured,’ said Mari. Her face darkened. ‘Just before the dress rehearsal. She fell off the balcony ladder.’

  ‘That’s terrible.’

  ‘And it wasn’t an accident. This evil girl put oil on the ladder deliberately so that Fliss would fall off.’


  Megan’s jaw dropped. ‘But that’s—Why?’

  ‘She wanted Fliss’s part,’ said Mari, shrugging. ‘But she was rubbish. Completely over the top. She did the dress rehearsal and it was like the worst acting you’d ever seen. Victoria and I nearly walked out.’

  ‘Victoria?’

  ‘My other friend.’

  ‘Oh, right. So what happened?’ Megan knew she should be getting home, but this story was the most exciting thing she’d heard since arriving in Parchester. And it was so easy to talk to Mari! She felt like she’d known her for ages, even though this was only the second time they’d met.

  ‘Fliss came back and confronted her,’ said Mari with something like pride in her voice. ‘And Fliss had oil marks on her shoes, so there was nothing this girl could do. She was completely – what’s the word? Convicted? Anyway, we all knew it was her, and she sort of incriminated herself too. So she got thrown out of the show. And good riddance too.’

  ‘But wasn’t Fliss injured?’

  ‘She was, but her wrist was only sprained, not broken. And she bumped her head. But she was OK to come back and do the performance. And was totally brilliant, I might add.’ Mari beamed. ‘I always told her she was talented, but she never believed me. And then this TV guy came and put her in his show!’

  Megan shook her head in awe. ‘That’s an amazing story. Like something out of a book.’

  ‘I know. Maybe one day I’ll write the story of Fliss’s life.’ Mari grinned. ‘It’d be more interesting than mine.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, I’d better go.’

  ‘Me too. You coming next week?’

  Mari grinned. ‘Are you kidding? This is way better than hockey.’

  ‘She sounds like a laugh,’ Jake commented that evening over the phone. ‘I can’t talk long, Stephen will be back with fish and chips any minute.’

  ‘She is. I really like her. I wish she went to my school.’

  ‘Suki still being annoying?’

  Megan screwed up her nose. ‘I don’t think she means to be. She just has this habit of saying things the wrong way. Even when she’s trying to be nice. She basically told me the other day that I couldn’t be any good at ballroom if I’d never done ballet.’