Evergreen

Chapter 17

Give your friendships the magic you would give a romance. Because they're just as important - Alice Oseman, Loveless

*

Riley instantly knew that something was amiss. For once in his life, her brother Marty had tied his tie properly. Then she saw him combing his hair in front of the bathroom mirror, and it all fell into place.

"So, who's the girl?" said Riley, poking her head around the bathroom door.

"That's the exciting part – I don't know who she is yet," replied Marty, trying to tame a sprig of blond hair that kept misbehaving, "but I do know that she is one lucky girl."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Well, good luck, bro."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Marty indignantly. He turned around to look at Riley, but she'd already disappeared. Staring intently into the mirror, he made some finishing touches to his hair and his face, then he flicked on his phone. It was 8:45 – school was starting in 15 minutes, and he wasn't even on his way!

Frantically, he grabbed his Superdry backpack and stuffed it with what he hoped were the correct textbooks, added his lunchbox and water bottle and ran out of the house – and straight into the wind. So much for the time spent perfecting his hair.

*

Marty couldn't believe his luck. He was alone in the science corridor with Tadiwa, the prettiest girl in year 11. Her awesome black braids and smooth brown skin went beautifully with her pin-covered uniform.

"You put the awe in awesome, Tadiwa," he said, giving her his broadest smile.

Tadiwa wrinkled her nose. "That was awful."

"Great awe pun! Maybe we could go to-" but he trailed off as Tadiwa went into the girls' toilets. At the same time, a flood of year 7s came into the corridor, forcing Marty to keep moving along. Luckily, his Biology class was only up the stairs and around a corner. And waiting outside the classroom was Wren, a girl with brown hair and cute round glasses.

"Did you know that your name, Wren, is that of a cute chirpy bird-"

"Not interested," she said flatly, flicking her brown hair and returning to her work. Marty took a peek at her piece of paper – it seemed like she was doing the homework that was due for this very lesson. And he'd thought he was the master of last-minute work!

Marty had plenty of time to prepare for his third attempt. Firstly, it took several minutes for his classmates to arrive, so he had time to choose who to ask. Secondly, the teacher was talking for an extremely long time about the process of eutrophication. As a form of foreplay, he glanced at Ella every once in a while, hoping he'd catch her eye like a kaleidoscope glittering in the sun. Perhaps it was too shady in here to see properly.

The teacher asked her pupils to pair up; in a sudden surge of chutzpah, Marty got out of his seat and sped over to Ella.

"Heya Ella, lookin' for a fella? The search is over, I'm your four-leaf-"

Ella kicked Marty in the balls. "-clover," he finished weakly, subsequently waddling back to his seat like a penguin in pain. A few pupils sniggered at his expense; Jayden, a guy who was sort of friends with Marty, took the opportunity to pair up with him.

"Well done for trying," said Jayden as he flicked through their Biology textbook for the lesson's work. "Not all guys would have the guts to do that."

"Thanks. I don't think I'm going to ask anyone else, though. Three rejections are enough."

"What's the occasion? Got a tournament?"

Marty chuckled. "You're kidding, right? Girls aren't into that kind of thing."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Girls are full of surprises. See Delilah? She practises boxing after school. And Melissa plays football for a local women's team."

Marty smiled, then sighed. "Yeah, but I'm yet to find a girl who cares about badminton beyond playing it with her parents."

"What about the girls at your badminton club?"

"They're... let's just say they're not my type. Why should I worry about finding someone who likes exactly what I like anyway? There's no rule that I can't like a girl with different interests. Then again, Everett is really into Amelia, and both of them love planes."

Jayden finished the last question with a flourish of his fancy ballpoint pen. "Sounds like their friendship is plane sailing."

Marty raised an eyebrow. "Those are two different modes of transport, mate."

Jayden shrugged his shoulders. "Still works."

*

For the rest of the day, Marty abandoned his quest to find a date for the dance. He didn't even like dancing, anyway, so why should he care? He didn't care. He really didn't.

At break time, he was chattering about anything and everything as per usual, a big grin on his face, but his felicitous façade could not fool his best friend. Everett noticed the wistful look in Marty's eyes in the moments he forgot to be happy, and the slight lack of sparkle in his jokes. Wanting to look out for his friend's welfare, he pulled him into a place of privacy – the toilets.

"Dude, why did you drag me here? Do you think you know me so well that you can predict my bowel movements?"

"No, of course not! I just... wanted to talk to you alone. You're not yourself today. What's up?"

Marty sighed. There was no point lying to Everett. "It's stupid, really..."

"Nothing's stupid if it bothers you. Come on, bro."

Marty leant against a toilet stall door, slightly startled when it moved with him. "Damn, I forgot these were push doors." He chuckled. "Anyway, back to me. This morning, I was trying to ask a girl to the barn dance, and I asked three girls... and it didn't go well."

"Oh. That's rough."

Marty ran a hand through his less-than-perfect hair. "Yeah. I figured three rejections is enough for me, so I've stopped asking. I just wonder..." He let out a laugh that had a hint of sadness in it. "... well, my love life doesn't look promising. And I'm not sure what to do with myself without a love story. What if I never get one? How will I be happy?"

"Marty, are you kidding? There are so many fulfilling things you can do without a love story! You can start a business, you can have a career – in your case, you can be a badminton player, which is incredible – you can go on holidays in amazing places where the sun shines more than it does in England!"

"Yeah, that all sounds great. But what if I'm lonely?"

"Well, you'll always have me, Marty – and I'm sure that Jade and Hassan will stay your lifelong friends too. And you'll make friends wherever you go – you'll be the opposite of lonely, I'm sure! Whether you find someone special or not – and I think you will – you will always have friends."

"You're right," said Marty, pulling in his best friend for an unexpected hug. Everett accepted the hug a tad awkwardly.

"I'm sorry; that was all so cheesy."

Marty broke into a broad grin. "Sorry? Are you kidding? I love your cheesiness!"

Everett smiled. When the hug broke apart, Marty made for the exit door while Everett made no effort to move.

"I actually need the toilet now," he explained, disappearing into a stall.

"Have a nice poop!" said Marty loudly as he strode out of the toilets.

"Marty!"