Kiss (5 page)

‘How much is that?’ said Carl. I knew he was thinking of the Glass Hut.

‘Thousands,’ said Miranda.

‘Oh,’ said Carl.

‘When we get the film deal for the book,’ I said softly.

‘The book?’ said Miranda.

‘Yes. Well. We’re writing this book together,’ I said.

I looked at Carl, wondering if he was cross with me. The book wasn’t exactly a secret but it wasn’t the sort of thing we talked about to other people.

‘What’s it about?’ said Miranda curiously.

‘It’s just kind of fantasy,’ I said vaguely.

‘Can I read it?’

‘Well—’

‘Certainly not,’ said Carl.

‘Why, are you worried it’s silly baby stuff?’ said Miranda. ‘Dragons and princesses and precious rings?’

‘On the contrary,’ said Carl. ‘It’s highly original and we’re not letting anyone read it in case they steal our ideas.’

Miranda sighed. I was so impressed by the way Carl talked back at her. She made me feel incredibly tongue-tied, whereas Carl didn’t seem remotely in awe of her.

‘So where’s this party then?’ he said. He looked round. ‘Are we it?’

‘Wait and see,’ said Miranda. ‘Come along.’

She beckoned with her finger, her black nail
polish gleaming. We followed her back through the kitchen to the hall. Someone switched on some music in one of the front rooms so I walked towards it.

‘No, no,’ said Miranda. ‘That’s Parentland. We’re downstairs.’ She opened another door with steps leading downwards.

‘You’re having a party in your cellar?’ said Carl.

‘Such larks,’ said Miranda. ‘We’ll take turns to lock each other up in the dark. My pet rats like to play this game too.’

I blinked. She had to be joking, although with Miranda you could never quite tell.

It wasn’t a cellar at all, thank goodness. It had been converted into a comfortable den with a large television set, two sofas and several huge cushions, and books spilling off the shelves and crowding every corner of the carpet.

‘Here’s our party,’ said Miranda. ‘Small but ultra-select.’

There were three people sitting in a neat row on one of the sofas. They weren’t from our school. The girl was very fair, very thin, very white. Her long waist-length hair was white-blonde, the colour of cream, and her skin was eerily pale. The boy on her left was Asian, very good looking, with beautiful big brown eyes and long eyelashes. The boy on her right was black, very tall and fit looking, with a cool hairstyle and a nose stud. It was as if Miranda had
chosen her friends like ornaments, to look as decorative as possible.

‘Alice, Raj and Andy,’ said Miranda, gesturing to them. ‘This is Sylvie and Carl.’

I was so glad she didn’t call me the Titch.

‘What would you like to drink?’ said Miranda, going to a fridge in the corner.

I glanced quickly at the three on the sofa. I was enormously relieved. Alice had a bottle of fizzy water and Raj and Andy had Coca-Cola.

‘Coke, please,’ said Carl.

‘Me too,’ I said.

Raj was looking Carl up and down. ‘You go to Kingsmere Grammar, don’t you?’ he said. ‘I’m in Year Ten.’

‘Oh. Right. Cool,’ said Carl. He seemed flustered.

‘You’re friends with the football guy, Paul the Ball,’ said Raj.

‘Well. Kind of,’ said Carl.

I stared at him. He hadn’t told me he was friends with anyone at Kingsmere, especially not some footballer. Carl hated sports.

‘Who’s this Paul?’ I asked.

Carl ignored me. He was looking at Andy. ‘Are you at Kingsmere too?’

‘No, Alice and I go to Southfield,’ he said. ‘Miranda’s old school. Until they chucked her out.’

‘Did you really get expelled, Miranda? What did you do?’

‘It was mostly what I
didn’t
do, like go to
lessons, do my homework, wear my school uniform, all that dull dreary stuff,’ said Miranda, giving us our drinks.

Carl sat on the empty sofa. Miranda sat beside him. I lowered myself cautiously onto one of the squashy cushions, very glad I hadn’t decided to wear the short skirt.

‘I don’t call running right round the gym stark naked dull and dreary,’ said Alice.

‘If only I’d been there,’ said Andy, sighing.

Miranda took a crisp from a bowl and flicked it at him. ‘It was just a silly dare,’ she said. ‘No big deal. I don’t know why it caused such a fuss.’

‘Let’s play Dares now,’ said Andy.

‘Boring,’ said Miranda. ‘And infantile. We’ll watch a movie instead.’

I liked this idea. It was a lot less stressful than trying to think of things to say. I wondered what sort of film Miranda might choose. I thought it might be a grossly explicit sex film. It was a relief when it turned out to be a horror movie about a gang of teenagers at someone’s party. They’re all lolling around drinking and nibbling stuff and teasing each other, just like us. They think their parents are upstairs, but when the main girl goes to ask her dad for some more beer she can’t find him. She can’t find her mum either. Then she hears this awful heavy breathing right behind her and she charges back to her room and slams the door shut, and there she is, stuck with her friends, with this Thing thumping against the door, trying to get in.

I’d have been scared to watch it on my own, or even snuggled up with Carl, but it was different watching with Miranda. She held the remote on her lap and kept rewinding the good parts so that we could all chant along with the cast, and then sometimes we fast-forwarded so we had to gabble like mad, and then we all had to do the sound effects in unison. It was especially good fun doing the heavy breathing.

‘Your parents will wonder what in the world’s going on, Miranda,’ said Raj.

‘Oh, my parents are too involved in getting stoned with their boring buddies upstairs,’ said Miranda.

I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. She pretended to be scared when the Thing started walking right through the door, and clutched hold of Carl. She’d turned the light off but the television screen gave a little glow. I could see she was gripping Carl’s elbow. Her shoulder was nudging against his armpit, as if she was hoping he’d put his arm round her.

I WATCHED MIRANDA,
my heart hammering under the hot black sweater. What was she playing at? She knew Carl was my boyfriend.

I couldn’t make out if Raj or Andy was Miranda’s boyfriend or whether they were all simply friends. Maybe in their circles friends casually cuddled up together without it meaning anything? She couldn’t be deliberately making a play for my boyfriend right in front of all of us.

I waited to see what Carl would do. He didn’t push her away but he didn’t put his arm round her either. He stayed very still, as if he was part of the sofa, while Miranda fidgeted around beside him.

‘I’m going for a real drink,’ she said. ‘It must be all this talk of beer. Anyone fancy a can?’

‘Do you need to ask, babe?’ said Andy.

‘Don’t
babe
me!’ said Miranda, pretending to punch his nose.

He played at punching her back, and then he started tickling her, while she squealed and doubled up. They ended up wrestling on the carpet, Miranda showing a lot of her shapely plump legs. She was being very physical with Andy, boyfriend or not. This was obviously the way they carried on.

I thought about Carl and me. We had wrestling matches too, but it was different. Childish and silly, not a bit sexual. Perhaps it was because we’d known each other so long. Jules used to tuck us into the same bed together when I was staying over at their house. When we got covered in mud or paint she’d pop us both in the same bath.

I imagined sharing a bed or a bath with Carl now.

‘You look like you need a beer, Sylvie – you’re bright red in the face,’ said Miranda, peering up at me from the floor. ‘Hey, you’re
blushing
!’

‘No wonder! Look at you, sprawling all over the floor with your skirt rucked up,’ said Raj, pulling Miranda’s skirt straight, tutting at her like an old grandma. ‘Go on, girl, get me a beer too.’

‘Who else wants beer?’ said Miranda.

I glanced at Carl. I’d never drunk beer in my life and I was pretty sure he hadn’t either. We’d always agreed it smelled pretty revolting.

‘Carl?’ said Miranda, leaning up on one elbow. ‘Would you like a beer?’

‘Sure,’ said Carl, like it was no big deal at all.

So of course I said sure too.

‘Alice?’ Miranda asked.

‘Beer? Too many calories,’ said Alice. ‘Just water for me.’

‘You’ll be on a drip-feed down Anorexic Alley if you don’t watch out, girl,’ said Miranda. ‘Come on, Sylvie, come and help me carry all the stuff.’

I felt absurdly proud that she’d singled me out to help. I followed her up the stairs.

‘You’re right about Carl,’ Miranda said. ‘He’s seriously cute. I’d like him for
my
boyfriend.’

‘But … he’s
mine
,’ I said.

‘I know, I know, only kidding,’ said Miranda, linking arms with me.

‘What about Andy and Raj? Are either of them your boyfriend?’

‘They’re just mates,’ said Miranda. ‘Well, I’m sure they’d
like
to be more, seeing as I’m so drop-dead gorgeous.’ She fluttered her eyelashes and posed with one hand on her hip. I
think
she was joking.

‘So who
is
your boyfriend then?’ I asked as we went into the kitchen.

‘I haven’t got one at this current moment in time.’

‘Yes you have! You were telling Patty and the others about him in the toilets today!’

‘Oh, I was just winding them up,’ said Miranda, laughing.

She opened the fridge and took out four cans of beer and a large bottle of fizzy water. She threw all four of the cans at me, as if we were part of a complicated juggling act. I dropped one and it thumped on the quarry tiles with a tremendous clatter, but thank goodness didn’t explode. Miranda delved further into the fridge and found cheese and grapes and pâté, and then foraged in a cupboard for salty biscuits and crisps and a huge slab of Swiss chocolate. She reached into another cupboard and found a nearly full bottle of single malt whisky. She shoved them all carelessly in a shopping bag, threw the fizzy water way up in the air, caught it expertly as it spiralled down again, and grinned at me.

‘Feast time,’ she said.

The living-room door opened as we walked towards the cellar steps. Miranda grabbed my cans of beer and chucked them quickly into the carrier out of sight. A bearded man put his head round the door.

‘That wasn’t beer, was it?’ he said.

‘Blame Sylvie, Dad. She’s an eight-pints-a-night girl,’ said Miranda.

I gave a little squeak. Miranda’s dad smiled at me.

‘Don’t let my daughter lead you astray,’ he said. ‘So you’re Sylvie. Do you go to Miranda’s school? No, hang on, you’re not old enough.’

I took a deep breath. I so hated it when people thought I was a baby.

‘Honestly, Dad!’ said Miranda, rolling her eyes. ‘She’s in Year Nine like me. Take no notice, Sylvie. Come on, let’s get back to the others.’

‘Sorry, sorry! I’m blind as a bat without my glasses, Sylvie,’ said Mr Holbein. ‘I’m glad Miranda’s making friends at her new school. Come back again soon!’ He gave me a little wave and went back into the living room.

‘Doesn’t your dad realize that everyone’s desperate to be your friend, Miranda!’ I said.

‘Are they?’ said Miranda. ‘You didn’t seem at
all
desperate to be friends, Sylvie. You looked appalled when I asked you round. I never thought you’d turn up.’

‘What about Patty and all the rest of your gang? Why didn’t you ask them too?’

‘They’re OK, but only for school. They’re all a bit samey and boring. You’re different.’

‘Yeah, I look about six years old.’

‘My dad is so silly. And anyway, what does it matter if you look a bit young for your age? You don’t
act
young. I really really envy your relationship with Carl – the way you guys have been friends for so long and do seriously cool things like writing books together. He’s so good looking too, it’s not fair! Tell you what, I’ll swap you Carl for Raj
and
Andy, how about that?’

‘No thanks.’

‘Meanie. Hey, let’s get back. Carl could be making out with Alice – I’m sure she fancies him too.’

‘Was Alice your best friend from your old school?’

‘Yep. Hey, you can be my best friend from my
new
school.’

‘Cool,’ I said, trying to sound casual.

I was immensely flattered but also worried. I wasn’t sure I could handle being Miranda’s friend. And what was I going to do about Lucy? I almost started wishing I was
with
Lucy. When we were together I could just relax and feel cosy and say the first thing I thought of. Lucy liked Carl but she didn’t try to cuddle up to him and entice him away from me.

I wondered what might happen when we’d all drunk our beers. Alice didn’t seem particularly interested in Carl, thank goodness. When we got back she was chatting to Andy about some school thing. Raj and Carl were talking school stuff too. I went and sat next to Carl quickly, before Miranda could get there.

‘Who’s this Paul?’ I said again.

‘He’s just this guy in my class,’ said Carl.

‘And he’s really into football?’