Bad Influence, page 10
“My house is over there, on the Turnstone Estate,” Evan said, wheeling his bike with one hand and pointing towards town with the other.
“Oh, that’s the opposite direction to mine. So, you really don’t have to walk with me…” I hoped Evan couldn’t tell how badly I wanted him to say he would. Being with Evan was like climbing into a different world. Kind of how I felt when I played cello. Or read a really good book. Only now that world was colliding with my real one. It felt wrong, like two magnets repelling each other. Only somehow I had to make them fit.
“That’s okay,” he said, gesturing at the blue sky. “The day’s pretty glorious, isn’t it!” He followed me as I started walking down the hill. “I can’t believe we go to the same school!”
“I know!” I smiled. I wondered if it would be possible for him to hold my hand and balance his bike at the same time. He didn’t reach his hand out to mine so I guessed not. But as I reached for my water bottle, my arm brushed against his. People talk about chemistry – well, this was pure nuclear fission! I needed a radiation suit! I don’t know how I managed to remain upright for the entire walk home. It felt like there was popping candy under my skin.
Just before we reached my cottage I stopped. I wanted to make sure we weren’t too close in case he kissed me. Mum would be at the shop, but Gramps sometimes sat in the living room in the afternoon.
“So, this is where I live,” I said. “You’ve officially walked me home!” And I wanted to slap myself in the face.
Evan squinted, the sunlight catching his eyes so they looked electric blue. We were standing far enough away from my cottage so no one would see if he kissed me. But there were still a few people from school walking past. Evan looked at me for a few moments and I hardly dared breathe. It was like waiting to see if you’ve got rid of the hiccups. Then he turned his bike around and said, “See you tomorrow?” and I watched as he rode off.
I spent most of that evening coming up with a variety of best- and worst-case scenarios about Evan being at my school. Worst-case scenario was he started hanging around with Jayden permanently, who informed him I was Maggot – a revolting school species that was certifiably sub-human – and Evan never spoke to me again. He’d ignore me at baseball, maybe even quit the team so he didn’t have the humiliation of standing within ten metres of me. And every day he’d wonder how he ever touched lips with such a disgusting freckled maggot. I spent quite a long time thinking about this one.
But the best-case scenario – that was the one I pinned my hopes on. I’d be walking past the basketball courts where all the cool people hang out and Evan would call my name. Our eyes would lock over the crowd, and he’d smile like he did the first time I saw him. He’d take my hand and pull me towards him in front of everyone in the entire school. Everyone who matters anyway. Then he would kiss me. The name Maggot would instantly vanish from everyone’s vocabulary. Like it never existed. And I’d be Amelia Bright, Evan’s girlfriend. Obviously, I’d still hang out with Nisha and go to Orchestra and everything. But I could hang out with the popular people too. And no one would look at me weird or call me names or think I was in the Extreme Fug Zone. Or think that I ever belonged there in the first place.
I had to make this one happen before Evan figured out how grossly unpopular I was.
My daydream was interrupted by Mum calling, “Amelia! Could you come down here a second and help me with the shopping, please,” as soon as she got home. “And I want to hear how your speech went!”
I dragged myself downstairs and I guess she saw the disappointment on my face because she said, “What happened?”
I heaved a shopping bag up onto the worktop and began loading stuff into the fridge. “I messed up my speech. But it wasn’t my fault.”
“I’m sure you didn’t mess it up,” Mum said. I couldn’t see if she was smiling or not. “What did Miles say?”
I sighed. “He said I got distracted, but…”
“Ah, well that explains it.” Mum thumped a shopping bag on the kitchen table and flicked the kettle on, giving me one of her looks. “I’ve been wondering if making these TikTok things would be a distraction.”
“They’re not!” I insisted. “It was just…it wasn’t my fault, Mum. Seriously. I was just getting started with my speech and these Year Nines burst through the door. It could have happened to anyone! But I’m finding Miles tomorrow and trying again. I really think he’ll put me on the team if he hears my speech.” I closed the fridge and leaned against the door. “You won’t tell Dad, will you?”
Mum gave me a look. “Is that what you care about? What Dad will say?”
“No,” I lied.
“Well, you can relax. I won’t say anything.” I sighed with relief and Mum flashed me a smile. “I know your dad can be a little hard on you, Amelia. But really – you should want to succeed for yourself, not anyone else.” She cupped my chin in her hands. “Not even Dad. Although don’t ever tell him I said that.” I sighed with relief. Then Mum added, “Besides, Hannah’s got her Head Girl interview with Mrs Weaver tomorrow, so I expect your dad’s mind is filled with that.” She kissed my forehead, only somehow it felt like a consolation prize.
The next morning, Hannah forced me to listen to the things she’d prepared to say to impress Mrs Weaver in her interview. Annoyingly, they were all true. I mumbled, “Good luck!” and headed to form time.
Mr Malcolmson called, “Go on in, girls!” as he saw Nisha and me walking down the corridor. “I’ve got word searches!” He waved the stack of papers he had in his hand and held the door open for us. Then, as we walked in, he announced to the entire class, “Let’s see if anyone can complete this word search faster than Amelia!” A few people laughed, but definitely not everyone. Still, Mr Malcolmson chuckled to himself like he’d just made the Joke of the Year. Schools really ought to have some kind of complaints desk.
At breaktime, I tracked down Miles in the canteen and delivered my speech about plastics in the ocean. Word-perfect. I could tell he was impressed because his nostrils flared. I was kind of impressed with myself too. Miles slowly finished chewing on a Jaffa cake and looked at me.
“Not bad, Bright.” It was the only compliment I’d ever received from Miles. “But let’s see how you do on the theme of Minecraft.”
“Minecraft?” I repeated, thinking I’d misheard. “That’s not the theme, Miles. It’s a game. You know the theme for the final is the environment.”
Miles shrugged. “If it’s too much of a challenge for you…”
“No, it’s fine,” I said. Even though I’d never even played Minecraft before. “Okay, I’ll write a speech on Minecraft. You want to hear it on Monday?”
“No, not on Monday,” Miles said, smirking. “The competition’s on Tuesday. I have to decide on the team today so I need to hear it now. If you want to be in the final, Amelia, you have to be ready for anything. So, let’s hear what you have to say about Minecraft.” He folded his arms, leaned back and grinned. There were blobs of Jaffa cake stuck in his braces. His friends all gawped at me, sniggering, waiting for me to admit defeat.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But I need a minute to think.” You’re allowed up to a minute to think in competitions, so I knew even Miles couldn’t disagree. He nodded and I took a deep breath. I knew practically nothing about Minecraft. Only that it…hold on. When I’d gone to Ju-Long’s house last summer, hadn’t he played it? And didn’t he have that Minecraft poster in his bedroom that turned 3D when you put those special glasses on? I remembered now…wasn’t it all about world-building? I nodded to Miles that I was ready. He tapped the timer on his phone and I began.
“In many ways, the Minecraft world mirrors our own. It works on a building system, allowing players to create their own fantasy world based on the raw materials they find. This echoes the accomplishments of our ancestors – scavengers, problem-solvers, innovators, surviving on whichever terrain they found themselves, be it mountains, forests, caves. We remain a species of hunter-gatherers, creator-survivors, conquering the planet to make it our own…”
By the time his phone beeped, Miles’s jaw was hanging open. His friends even gave a cheer. “Respect-a-mondo!” Miles said. “You know, Bright, you’re a bit of a marvellosaurus. You’re on the team.”
“Thanks,” I said, making no attempt to hide the smug smile on my face. “Oh and Miles?” I said as I was about to leave. “I want vice-captain.”
Miles looked at me for a second, then did one slow nod.
I left feeling like wherever Amelia Earhart was in the skies, I was with her. I couldn’t wait to tell Nisha. I pulled my phone out of my blazer pocket and messaged her. She replied, saying, OMG I TOLD YOU!!! Awesome!! Then I tapped out a message to my dad. Vice-captain wasn’t the top position, but I still hoped he’d be impressed.
That lunchtime at Orchestra, Mr Giuliani asked me to bring my cello to the front. “We’re going to play something a little special.” He pointed to the music on the stand next to his piano and smiled. “As soon as you’re ready, Miss Bright.”
I let my eyes scan the music. I hadn’t ever played it before, but I recognized it. “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Usually I hated playing pieces I hadn’t practised in front of anyone. But Mr Giuliani gave me this look. Like he knew I could do it. That we could play it together. I picked up my bow, let my eyes study the first few bars again, then nodded. With my eyes closed, I brought my bow slowly over the strings.
I didn’t play it perfectly. But it didn’t matter. By the end, the entire orchestra was on their feet. I could hear Ju-Long calling, “Bravo! Bravo!” above the applause.
“Well, Miss Bright,” said Mr Giuliani, “I think we’ve found your opening song for the production evening, don’t you?”
Later, on the way out of school, Nisha was talking about how her dance was going. But her voice seemed to fade into the background as soon as I spotted Evan approaching on his bike. He was standing up on the pedals talking to someone in his year I didn’t recognize.
“Amelia,” Nisha said, nudging my arm. “Are you even listening?”
“What? Sorry,” I said, trying to tune back into what she’d been saying.
“So that’s him,” Nisha said, following my gaze. “The famous Evan Palmer.”
“Nisha!” I hissed. “He’ll hear you!” But it was too late. Evan’s brakes squeaked as he stopped just in front of us.
“Famous?” Evan grinned. “I’m not sure about that.”
I glared at Nisha so she added, “I mean…Amelia said you’re pretty good at baseball, that’s all.”
Evan smiled at me. “You’re not so bad yourself!”
“Thanks…” I said, wracking my brain for something else to say and failing dramatically.
Evan let off his brakes and his bike drifted forward a little bit. “I was wondering if you fancied heading to the park. Some of my friends hang out there after school.”
“Um, okay,” I said – then instantly wished I could take those words back.
Nisha looked at me nervously. There was no way I could go to the park. It was where all the popular people from school hung out. I could just imagine what would happen if I showed up. It would be like a fawn walking into a nest of pythons. Unless…
“Great!” Evan said. “Meet you there in about half an hour?”
I swallowed. “Sure.” I could see Nisha’s eyes practically bulging out of her head as she tried to communicate telepathically NO NO NO! “Oh, actually,” I said. “I just remembered, I’m hanging out with Nisha tonight.”
Evan shrugged. “That’s okay, you come too, Nisha.”
Nisha and I exchanged a look. I begged with my eyes for her not to say anything.
“Okay, see you later!” I called, grabbing Nisha’s arm and leading her through the gates before she had a chance to protest.
“Amelia, what were you thinking?” Nisha said. “Madison and her friends go to the park on Fridays! Not to mention DJ and Lachlan! There’s no way we can turn up there.”
I squeezed her arm in reassurance. “It’ll be fine!” I crossed all of my fingers and prayed it would be fine. Better than fine. “Evan’s invited us! How many times have we been invited to the park since we started at St Clement’s?”
Nisha rolled her eyes. “Exactly zero. Because they hate us.”
“But this could change everything!” I said. “I’ve got a good feeling about this, Nisha. Listen, I got vice-captain today, didn’t I? I got a standing ovation at Orchestra. I’m getting loads of likes on my TikToks. Look –” I took out my phone and showed her – “157 likes!” Nisha blinked at me like it made no difference. “Evan likes me, Nisha! This could be my chance. If he makes it obvious that he likes me at the park then…they’ll see me differently.”
Nisha sighed and looked at me. Her silence spoke a thousand words. But I wasn’t giving up.
“I know how it sounds, Nisha. But they all like Evan. He’s popular. And he’s my friend. This could be the moment I finally get accepted by all of them!”
Only, what happened was pretty much the exact opposite.
Nisha and I were running late for the park, since it had taken me so long to persuade her to come. And for me to decide what to wear. In the end I’d put on one of Hannah’s hand-me-down denim skirts and a T-shirt Dad had got me for my birthday saying Have a ball. It has a picture of a baseball on it, which I thought might be lucky.
When I called for Nisha, she had the same troubled look on her face as she did when I left her earlier. “Are you sure you want to go?” she said. “Because you could message Evan and say something came up.”
“Nisha!” I said confidently. “It will be okay. It’s just the park! They are only human people!”
But when we got there, it didn’t feel that straightforward. For a start, hovering over the crowd of people from our school was a gigantic cloud of smoke.
“Are they…vaping?” Nisha said, stopping dead in her tracks.
“Maybe there are some older people there,” I said in my brightest voice. I carried on walking, but Nisha stayed where she was. “Come on, Nisha! It’s fine. Evan’s probably wondering where we are.”
We looked over at the crowd again. It was hard to make anyone out, as they were all engulfed in a murky haze of vapour. “I can’t even see Evan,” Nisha said. “I think we should go home.”
“But we only just got here!” I said. “Let’s find Evan and if it’s too smoky we can stand over there by the swings.”
Nisha eyed the swings. Two of them were empty, but there were four people crammed onto the third, its chains heaving under their weight. Nisha looked at me.
“Okay, by the trees then,” I said, pointing at a spot that was reasonably vacant. “But I’m sure it will be fine once we get there.”
“Okay,” Nisha said eventually. “But I want it noted that I think this is a really bad idea.”
“Noted,” I said and laughed as she took my hand. “But at least try and enjoy yourself. We’re hanging out at the park!” She gave me an unimpressed look but stayed close to my side as we walked into the crowd.
“Oh my God, what are they doing here?” The voice was unmistakable. Madison Hart. I tried to ignore the icy feeling in my stomach, desperately searching for Evan’s face. But Nisha stopped and faced me.
“I really think we should just go,” she whispered.
“We can’t go now,” I whispered back. “What will they think?”
“I don’t care,” Nisha replied. “It’s obvious we’re not welcome.”
Then, behind Madison, I spotted Evan’s curls. He had his back to us. I was just about to call his name when the word “Maggot” was hurled at me like a slingshot. A boy who looked like he was in Year Ten or Eleven stepped forward and blew a stream of vanilla smoke in our faces. The people around us started laughing. I swallowed, closing my eyes to stop them stinging. But also to stop myself from seeing Evan’s face.
A car horn sounded from the nearby road and when I opened my eyes, Nisha was half-waving at someone driving past. “Great. That’s my next-door neighbour! She’s the biggest gossip ever. She’ll probably go straight round to tell my mum,” she said, then tugged on my arm. “Please, Amelia, let’s get out of here.”
I was torn. I could see how desperate Nisha was to leave, but at the same time I didn’t want to give up so easily. We’d only been there for two minutes. I hadn’t even spoken to Evan. How could I ever fit in with these people if I didn’t give it a proper try?
I turned to the boy who had blown smoke at us and smiled. “Hi, I’m Amelia and this is Nisha. Do you go to St Clement’s?” I said in my cheeriest voice, like I genuinely didn’t mind he just deliberately blew smoke in our faces. Even though the taste was stuck in the back of my throat and was probably already causing me lung damage. I can only assume the boy had never heard of charisma. Because he took a gigantic gulp of the can he was holding, leaned towards me and burped. The people around us burst out laughing. Behind him, Evan was about to turn around. I couldn’t bear for him to see me being laughed at.
I turned to Nisha. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Someone yelled, “MAGGOT!” at my back as we walked away. But I didn’t turn around. I kept Nisha’s hand gripped in mine, feeling ridiculous for even considering coming here in the first place. Part of me hoped Evan might call my name. Run after us. Explain to everyone that he wanted us here. That I was his friend. But I didn’t hear anything apart from laughter, and Madison’s voice shouting something I can’t even repeat. All I could hope was that by some kind of magic, Evan hadn’t noticed us. I hardly got any sleep that night. Mainly because Nisha insisted on me staying over at hers, and was intent on making me try the moves from her new dance. Nisha did a backwards handspring over her beanbag. Then she made me have a go, creasing up with laughter as I landed on my backside. “I don’t understand why your musical rhythm doesn’t translate to your body.”
