Falling for you.

5

Rehearsals began the following Monday.

I got ready for school every morning very carefully, then examined myself in the long bathroom mirror. My grey school sweater didn’t cling snugly like El’s always managed to. It bulged out unattractively over my boobs, the settled into stiff ugly folds just below my waist.

There was no getting away from it. I looked fat.

God, I really was the perfect choice to play the nurse.

I sighed and stroke mascara up my eyelashes. I’d spent a lot of the weekend thinking about Harry. Wondering about him. He intrigued me – the way he’d made everyone in the room aware of him just by walking across it. The weird contrast between how bored he looked most of the time and then the intense interest in his green eyes when he’d looked at me, like he really wanted to know who I was.

That look on its own made him different from any other boy I had ever met.  

I was determined to talk to him later. To find out more about him. He must be really into the play to speak his lines as well as he did. I could imagine him sitting in his bedroom, hunched up against his pillows reading his way through Romeo and Juliet’s love scenes. Just like I had done.

He probably read all sorts of books, maybe even poetry. A shiver slithered down my spine. I knew it wasn’t love that I was feeling. I didn’t even really fancy him. I was just… interested.

Then Eleanor’s pretty, flirtatious face flashed into my head. Harry wasn’t going to notice me when she was around. I out my mascara down and leaned against the long mirror. There was nothing good about my face. My nose was too blobby, my eyes were too close together and my mouth was too small.

My mum was waiting for me at the front door. She was all dressed up for work in a navy suit, her hair carefully done in a consciously messy bun. You’d never guess that she used to wear long hippy skirts and smoke joints with Dad after me and my little brother had gone to bed. It was Wednesday today, and she always dropped me to school on Wednesdays.

I got more nervous as the day went on. By the time Danielle, Eleanor, Blair and I got on the bus to go to St Patricks that afternoon, my stomach was in a big knot. For some reason, El was pretend the whole thing was a massive drag. She even said she’d considered turning down the part of Juliet. “All those lines,” She groaned. “and I didn’t even fancy any of the boys we saw the other day.”

My heart leaped at this. If El didn’t intend to get her claws into Harry, I’d have more of a chance to talk to him. I was trying to think how to encourage her to pull out of the play altogether when Dani peered round at us.

“There’ll be other boys El,” She smiled. “Loads in the rest of the cast, then all the ones who help backstage.

Eleanor’s eyes brightened. “True, and what with Blair looking like she’s totally up her own backside, there’ll be loads for us to choose from” She grinned. “Hope we don’t go for the same guy.”

I gritted my teeth.

We’d been given permission to skip the last period of school in order to get to St Patricks in time for the end of their school day. The bell was ringing as we walked into the big entry hall and found the secretary’s office. She told us to wait outside while she buzzed the staffroom for Mr Claud.

We lolled self-consciously against the office door as streams of boys of various ages and sizes stumbled past, wide-eyed and gawping. There was a lot of pushing and shoving and pointing, though none of them actually came over to talk to us.

“God, you’d think they’d seen a girl before.” El whispered to me. None of these boys were Harry.

After a few minutes the entry hall started to clear. Liam Payne came bouncing over, a big grin on his red face.

“Hi,” He said, to El’s left arm. “I’m supposed to take you to the rehearsal room.”

I rolled my eyes at Dani. She smiled back. That was the good thing about the way me, Danielle and Eleanor were friends. Whenever something was happening the other two were always there to share it.

My heart was pounding by the time we reached the rehearsal room. It was another classroom. Bigger than the one we had used before, with all the desks pushed back against the walls. The few posters on the walls were peeling and the large white board next to the door was cracked.

I looked swiftly around the room. My heart beat fast. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I knew I was looking Harry.

There were at least ten boys leaning against the desks by the walls. Most of them had their eyes on Eleanor – who had dragged a blushing Dani into the middle of the room and was chatting to her casually, putting her lips and raking her hair back as she talked.

I looked at the row of boys. Harry wasn’t here. How could he not be here he had the main part. I had a sudden terrifying thought. What if he had dropped out of the play?

“You okay?” Liam had slid up to me.

“yeah” I said. “I’m fine”

“Er, your names Olivia, isn’t it.” He asked.

I stared at him. “Yes, why?”

“Nothing” Liam stammered. “I just wondered. You said you were Eleanor’s best friend and.. well, I was just thinking. I was just curious, well, umm everyone is…”

He stuttered to a stop.

I frowned. “Curious about what?” I said.

“One of the other guys wanted to know . . . er.. if she, if you know… there was.. it’s just um”

I remembered something Liam had said the first time we’d met.

“You’re Harry’s best friend, aren’t you?” I said.

Liam shrugged. “I guess.”

“Where is he?” I ask nonchalantly. “Shouldn’t he be here for the rehearsal?”

Liam nodded. “He should be. But he told Mr Claud he has a family emergency. Had to go home straight after school.”

“Oh” I was bitterly disappointed. But at least Harry was still doing the play. There would be other rehearsals after all. I glanced sideways at Liam, hoping he hadn’t noticed how deflated I sounded. He was still staring at El.

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend.” I said.

Liam looked at me, startled.

“Well, that’s what you wanted to know, wasn’t it?”