The Kiss Off

The Kiss Off - Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

I waited at the bus stop for Mads on Monday morning, peering up and down the road, inhaling exhaust fumes as rush hour got underway. The bus was supposed to arrive any minute, and it didn’t look like she was coming, which was typical.

But then she came skipping toward me from across the street, wearing pink and white striped pyjama bottoms and a grey sweater.

‘What…’

She had a hand clamped to her chin as she bounced toward me.

‘I’ve been dying to tell you!’

‘What are you wearing?’

‘Pyjamas,’ she said. I waited. ‘Oh, I’m not going to school. I told my mom I was sick.’

‘Why?’

She removed her hand from her chin. There was not one but two great big giant pimples. One of them looked all pussy and the other one was inflamed and red and completely gross.

‘Ew,’ I said. She slapped her hand back over them and punched me in the arm.

‘Where’s Van?’

‘Not here yet.’

She held up her cell phone and frowned at the clock readout. We both looked up and down the street.

‘She better hurry up, it’ll be here any-’

Boots clopped down the sidewalk and I raised myself up on my toes to see past the group of private school boys. Vanya bolted toward the stop with the grace of an elephant, her backpack bouncing around on her shoulders making her wobble a bit and half lose her balance, a hand trying to hold her skirt down as it started riding up with each stride. Really, that girl. She had so many talents, but running gracefully wasn’t one of them. And I loved her for it.

‘I made it,’ she puffed, leaning forward to catch her breath. I smoothed down some flyaway hairs on the top of her head. ‘Okay. So what’s up?’

Mads beamed at us and jumped up and down on the spot with her hand, she looked like she was trying to hold her head on the way she had her hand clamped to her face like that.

‘Dev and I were texting each other all night until like four in the morning after the party and I asked him out!’

‘Finally,’ Van said.

I said ‘It’s about time.’

Mads’ shoulders slumped. We clearly weren’t excited enough. ‘You guys suck.’

‘Is there something wrong with your face?’ Vanya said. ‘And what are you wearing?’

‘You’re seriously not going to school because of a pimple?’ I said.

‘Two pimples,’ Mads said. ‘And yes seriously. Dev can’t see me like this.’

I understood where she was coming from. There was a time with Cam after the “we’ve-known-each-other-forever-and-we’re-just-friends” period, but before the “I’m-never-talking-to-you-again-stop-looking-at-me” period, that I’d have worn a paper bag over my head rather than have let him see me with a couple of planets on my face. Looking at Mads, I really felt sorry for her. No amount of concealer was going to cover that.

‘Anyway,’ she said. ‘There’s more to the story. I asked if he wanted to go to the movies on Saturday, and he texted back asking ‘just us?’ And…’ she bit her lip.