The Pros And Cons Of Being In Love With The Lead Singer Of A Rock And Roll Band

Chapter Seven

“You OK?” Emily asked the next day in Maths.

I nodded and smiled and pretended, because that’s what I do.

“You sure you’re OK?” she asked, during English.

“Yep,” I beamed, brightly.

“It’s Alex, isn’t it?” she whispered in Science.

“No!” I replied, in Art.

“It is so,” she said, during the lunch break.

“OK, it is,” I admitted during History.

“What happened?”

I told her the full story during Geography. Her little mouth fell open and she listened breathlessly.

“I don’t believe he’s using you,” she said, when I’d finished.

I shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does!” Emily’s eyes were as round as saucers. She is inclined to be overly-dramatic.

“No, it doesn’t!”

“You should have been nicer to him, Morg…”

“What? He…”

“He gave you his jacket! That’s the nicest thing a guy can do for a girl!”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“Morgan!”

I shook my head. “No, Emily. You can’t wave your magic wand and make everything wonderful. It doesn’t work in the real world. I’m not Cinderella and he’s not Prince Charming, and I’m not going to the ball.”

“Actually… You kind of are Cinderella,” Emily said, thoughtfully. “Only instead of a glass slipper it’s his leather jacket.”

“Actually, it wasn’t a glass slipper,” I said. “The word for glass in French is very similar to the word for fur. It was just an ordinary fur slipper. No magic.”

“You’re so unimaginative,” huffed Emily. “Do you even have a heart, Morgan?”

I grinned. “Nah. Not anymore.”

“Give him a chance! You’ve liked him for… how long now?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“So come on, Morgan! Take a risk for a chance. Stop being Miss Perfect. It doesn’t get you anywhere!”

I shrugged. “It’s too late, Em. I’ve been Miss Perfect for so long now, I’ve forgotten who I really am. Forget it. I’ll be fine.”

“Morgan!” I spin round. It’s Mrs Hathaway, the head teacher.

“Yes, Mrs Hathaway?”

“Is everything in order for the competition on Saturday night?”

“Yes, Mrs Hathaway, the last entries are in and the competition is now closed.”

“Good job. Is your brother entering?”

“I believe so,” I said, briefly.

“Fine. Well done, Morgan.” She clicked away in her high heels.

“Morgan…” began Emily, but I pushed through the crowd and walked out the door. I went outside into the school grounds and sat on the bowl of the fountain.

I buried my face in my hands. I couldn’t take it anymore. “Morgan, do this, Morgan, do that, Morgan, come to the dance with me, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan.” My own name was echoing through my ears, and it was all getting too much.

A foot kicked mine gently. “You OK?”

I glanced up. Alex. His sunshine-coloured eyes were staring concernedly into mine.

“You can shout at me again, if you want,” he told me. “I won’t be going anywhere. I’m staying right here until you tell me what’s wrong.”

He sat down next to me.

I deliberately moved away from him, and he followed me, going round and round, until we both burst out laughing.

“So, what do you want?” I asked.

“I just wanted to see if you were OK,” he said, quietly. “Because the last thing you’d ever do is run out of school.”

“Yeah, well. I did, didn’t I?”

He put his arm round my shoulders. “Look, Morgan…” He paused. “The last thing I’d ever do is cheat.”

“It’s your word against Orlando’s,” I remind him.

“And who are you going to believe?” he asked, challengingly.

I smiled. “You.”

“Finally!” He suddenly, unexpectedly leaned in and kissed me. Electric shocks seemed to go through my heart and my pulse was suddenly racing. I leaned back, and he followed me. Suddenly, I could feel myself falling, and Alex was falling on top of me. I was hit by icy cold water and I was gasping for breath.

And when I surfaced, we were both laughing.

“We fell in the fountain bowl!” I chuckled.

Alex just laughed and went on kissing me.