'How could I possibly fix it?' said Miranda. 'I gave t h e bottle a tremendous twirl. Shut up, you lot. Right, Carl. You and me. Snog time.'
'In front of everyone?' said Carl.
'What's your problem?' said Miranda.
Carl swallowed again. 'It's a little . . .
childish,' he said cleverly. He stood up and held out his h a n d to Miranda. 'We'll step outside a moment.'
Miranda stood up, grinning. She took his hand. I hiccupped and she looked at me. 'You're cool with this, aren't you, Sylvie? It's j u s t a bit of silly fun,' she said.
'Yeah, yeah, fine,' I said.
What else could I say in front of t h e m all! I watched Carl and Miranda walk h a n d in h a n d out of t h e door and into the darkness outside.
'She m u s t have cheated,' said Andy, spinning the bottle experimentally.
'Ssh!' said Raj. 'Let's listen.'
We sat still, not moving. We h e a r d n o t h i n g I hiccupped miserably.
'For God's sake, you sound like a chicken,' said Andy, imitating me.
'I wonder w h a t they're up to?' said Raj He started kissing his own h a n d , m a k i n g gross slurping noises. 'Oh, Carl, you're dead sexy; he said in a silly girly voice.
'Shut up,' I said. My h e a r t w a s banging as if it might b u r s t s t r a i g h t t h r o u g h m y chest a n d spatter Mum's black s w e a t e r scarlet. I'd never kissed Carl.
I didn't know w h a t to do. Should I storm outside a n d t e a r Carl a n d M i r a n d a a p a r t ? Andy 56
was right. I didn't j u s t sound like a chicken. I was behaving like one, too scared to stop my boyfriend kissing my best friend. But no one was acting as if it was a big deal. Maybe this was a silly game played by cool kids everywhere? Lucy hadn't tried to kiss Carl but maybe she'd have liked to? M i r a n d a was certainly liking it. She'd made it obvious she fancied Carl from the moment she set eyes on him.
How did Carl feel? I couldn't stop imagining him kissing Miranda, his soft lips on h e r lipsticked pout, his h a n d s playing w i t h h e r intricate plaits. I suddenly stood up. The room swayed so I swayed with it, feeling as if I was on a boat in a storm. I put one foot doggedly in front of t h e other towards the door.
'Where are you going, Sylvie?' said Alice.
'She's going to play I Spy,' said Raj. 'Come on, let's all peek.'
But j u s t then the door opened and Carl and Miranda walked back into t h e room. Andy and Raj applauded and wolf-whistled. Miranda was pink and beaming, tossing h e r head, h a n d s on her hips. Carl strolled in with his t h u m b s in his front jeans pockets in a determined effort to look casual. He saw me staring and gave me a little smile. If it was meant to be reassuring, it didn't work.
'Sit down, Sylvie! Come on, maybe it's your t u r n next,' said Miranda, bending down to spin the bottle.
57
'How come you do all the spinning, Miranda?
Let me have a go,' said Raj.
'It's my house, Raj. This is my den. This game is totally my invention. So guess what, i get to spin the bottle,' said Miranda.
'You're too skilled with t h a t bottle! Let's use my bottle now,' said Alice, draining it of the last drop of fizzy water.
'What are you, a camel?' said Miranda. 'No, we don't want any of your plastic rubbish, we need a proper glass bottle. Right!' She set it spinning again.
The bottle moved slowly this time, round once, round twice, slowing down already, looking as if it might be stopping at me, but it edged past, crept past Raj too and pointed at Alice.
'There you are, darling!' said Miranda. 'Soooo, who are you going to snog, mmm?'
She spun the bottle again. Alice sighed and rolled h e r eyes, pretending not to care. I could see a little pulse beating in h e r pale forehead.
Maybe she was hoping for Carl too?
'Raj!' said Miranda as the bottle stopped.
Raj smacked his lips and made silly kissy noises, lunging at her.
'Give over!' said Alice. 'Not here. Outside.'
She stalked off, with Raj trotting eagerly behind her. They were only outside the door two seconds and t h e n Alice marched back in.
Their applause was paltry.
'Hey, call t h a t a kiss? I've h a d better kisses from my great-aunties,' Raj complained.
58
'You should smarten up your sweet-talk then, little boy,' said Alice.
'Give me another go, Miranda,' said Raj as she set it spinning.
'I don't choose. I have no control over this bottle whatsoever,' said Miranda. 'It's psychic force, darling. Fate. Whatever. Isn't t h a t right, Sylvie?'
She smiled at me. I couldn't help smiling back. She set the bottle off again. I knew w h a t was coming next. The bottle spun. I felt I was spinning with it, whirled round and round so fast I grew giddy and could barely breathe. The bottle slowed and we all watched it edge towards me.
'Aha!' said Miranda. 'Sylvie's turn!'
I swallowed. 'I'm not sure I want a turn,' I said.
'What sort of total wimpy response is that?'
said Miranda, snorting. 'Of course you w a n t a turn!'
'No I don't. I'll give my t u r n to Raj as he w a n t s another go.'
'You can't do that! Now, stop pontificating and we'll play. We have to see who your snog p a r t n e r is.' She looked at me. 'Who do you want it to be, Sylvie? Use your psychic power to influence the bottle.'
I knew I didn't have much chance. Miranda h a d mastered the spinning so t h a t with the right twist of her fingers and flick of h e r wrist she could make the bottle point wherever she 59
wanted. Still, I stared at the bottle and tried willing it where I wanted. I wanted it to point to Carl, of course. I didn't w a n t to kiss anyone else but him. I was scared though. I loved Carl. I h a t e d it t h a t he'd kissed Miranda. I wanted him to kiss me. I'd dreamed about it often enough.
But we didn't do stuff like kissing. It would be so weird now, when we'd grown up together.
We'd have to get around to kissing some time, obviously. We were going to get married, for God's sake. Carl had given me a glass 'diamond'
out of a Christmas cracker when we were seven years old. When we used to play weddings he'd fashion me a gold wedding band out of a yellow Quality Street toffee wrapper.
It seemed I couldn't concentrate hard enough on Carl, try as I might. The bottle slid past him, past Miranda, and stopped at Andy.
'Interesting choice, Sylvie,' said Miranda, eyebrows raised.
I couldn't say anything. I didn't w a n t to h u r t Andy's feelings. I didn't know w h a t to do now.
I felt Carl's h a n d squeezing mine, encouraging me. I squeezed back gratefully and then stood up, trying to look Andy in the eye.
'OK?' I said.
'Sure,' said Andy, getting to his feet too.
We walked to the door, opened it and then walked into darkness. I blundered forward and bumped into a cupboard.
'Hey, careful. Come here,' said Andy. 'Where are you? You're such a little titch.'
60
'That's w h a t they call me at school,' I said.
'I've always been small for my age and everyone says I'll suddenly s p u r t upwards a n d catch up with everyone else, but it hasn't happened yet, still, here's hoping, because it's horrible being so small a n d looking so stupid and babyish,' I burbled.
'Ssh,' Andy said gently. 'We're m e a n t to be kissing.'
He reached out for me in the darkness, ducking his h e a d down. Our noses bumped together in comical fashion. I giggled hysterically.
'Was t h a t a hiccup?' said Andy. 'Hey, wait a second. You've stopped!'
He p u t his h a n d s carefully on my cheeks, tilt-ing my head, and then he kissed me on the corner of my mouth, so lightly I wasn't totally sure it h a d actually happened.
I felt w e a k with relief t h a t it was such a sweet and simple kiss. We walked back into t h e den and sat down again. Carl was looking at me anxiously.
'Are you OK?' he whispered.
&nb
sp; 'Of course she's OK,' said Miranda.
I thought the Snog Spin would be over now we'd all h a d a t u r n , b u t M i r a n d a s t a r t e d spinning the bottle again. Miranda and Raj.
Alice a n d Andy. Then Miranda again. The bottle slowed a n d stopped at Alice.
Raj whistled. Andy grinned. I blinked at t h e m both.
'Spin it again,' said Alice.
61
'No way!' said Raj. 'You've got to go with the bottle, that's the whole point.'
'But it's meant to be a girl-boy,' said Alice.
'Well, it's girl-girl this time,' said Raj. 'Go on, Alice, don't be a spoilsport.'
Alice sighed but stood up, tucking her white h a i r behind her pearly ears. She stuck her tongue out at Raj. It was surprisingly pink in h e r pale face.
'Come on, Alice,' said Miranda, holding out h e r h a n d .
'Don't go outside. Stay in here, girls, and give us guys a treat,' Raj begged.
'Calm down, silly boy,' said Miranda.
They disappeared outside.
'Oh, man!' said Andy.
Carl raised his eyebrows at me.
We all waited. We h e a r d a lot of giggling going on, t h e n slurpy sounds a n d moaning.
'Listen!' said Raj.
'They're j u s t winding you up,' said Carl.
'And succeeding,' said Raj.
Miranda and Alice came back into the den a r m in arm, still giggling.
Miranda knelt to spin t h e bottle again. 'Now whose t u r n will it be?' she said.
'Can't we move on to some other game?' said Carl. 'Isn't this getting a bit boring?'
'I t h i n k it's j u s t starting to get really interesting,' said Miranda, spinning away. The bottle stopped, pointing at Carl.
'Aha! Your go again, Carl. So let's see . . .'
62
She spun it again. Carl sighed, leaning back, hands behind his head, as if he couldn't care less. I stared at the bottle for him, wondering if it would be me this time.
It wasn't me. It wasn't Miranda. It wasn't Alice.
It was Raj.
'Oh, no!' said Raj.
'Oh yes,' said Miranda.
'You're cheating, Miranda. You're doing it deliberately,' said Raj.
'Now who's being a spoilsport?' said Alice.
'I am,' said Carl, getting up. He held out his hand to me. 'Come on, Sylvie. I think it's time we went home.'
'Oh don't be so stuffy, Carl,' said Miranda.
'Loosen up, boys, it's only a bit of fun. We did it,' said Alice.
'Well, j u s t a quick peck, darling,' said Raj in a silly camp voice, waving a limp wrist around.
'It's not fun, it's childish,' said Carl. He looked at me. 'Are you coming, Sylvie?'
'Yes,' I said, knowing it was no use arguing with h i m once his mind was made up.
Miranda didn't give up easily. She stood beside Carl, gazing up at him with h e r big brown eyes.
'Don't go, Carl. OK, you don't have to kiss Raj.
I agree, he's not the most inviting prospect.'
' T h a n k s a bunch!' said Raj. 'I h a v e my followers, you know. Maybe I'm j u s t not Carl's type.'
63
'We'll play something else,' said Miranda.
'I'm tired of playing games,' said Carl.
'Night, M i r a n d a . T h a n k you for inviting us. Night, everyone.'
He gave a quick wave and went out of the door. I shrugged helplessly and followed him.
M i r a n d a didn't come to see us out. We stumbled around in the dark, having to feel our way up the stairs because we couldn't find the light switch. We emerged blinking in the brightly lit hall. The s t a r b u r s t clock hanging on the wall said it was only twenty to eleven.
'Jules is not coming till eleven, Carl.'
'Well, we'll wait outside,' said Carl. He fingered the stained glass on the front door one more time and then opened it.
It was cold outside and neither of us h a d jackets. I started shivering.
' J u m p up and down a bit,' said Carl.
'I can't jump, I feel too dizzy. Do you think I'm drunk?'
'I shouldn't think so.'
'Carl, what's the matter?' I said, tucking my h a n d into his arm.
'Nothing. I'm fine.'
'Why did you walk out like that?'
'You know why. It was getting boring.'
'You didn't seem to mind w h e n you kissed M i r a n d a . Carl . . . did you kiss h e r properly?'
'As opposed to improperly?'
'I mean, did you give h e r a proper kiss on the 64
lips? You know, a real smoochy film-star-type kiss.'
'Wasn't t h a t w h a t we were supposed to do?
Didn't Andy kiss you then?'
'Well, sort of. But no one was expecting you and Raj to have a proper snog!
'Look, he goes to my school. I'm not having him saying stuff. Do you u n d e r s t a n d now?'
'Well. Not really,' I said. 'Hey, who's this new friend of yours?'
'What friend?' said Carl.
'Raj said you h a d this friend who plays football. You never told me about him.'
'There's nothing to tell,' said Carl, and stalked off down the road.
I went running after him. 'Don't walk off and leave me!'
'I'm not. I'm j u s t stamping around a bit to get warm,' said Carl. He reached out and took my hand. 'God, your h a n d feels like ice. I'm sorry.
Here, let me try and warm you up.' He p u t my h a n d s between his and rubbed them up and down.
'Why are you so cross, Carl?'
'I'm not cross with you, j u s t your silly friends.'
'You like Miranda.'
'No, I don't. She's so needy, desperate to be the centre of attention all the time. She thinks she's so outrageous when really she's j u s t p a t h e t i c '
'Is she pathetic at kissing?'
'I don't know. I h a v e n ' t h a d t h a t m u c h experience of kissing.'
65
'Yes, but did you like kissing her?'
'It was OK. Ish. It didn't really do much for me if I'm honest.'
'Well, maybe you should try kissing someone else as a comparison,' I mumbled.
'What? Someone like Raj?
'No!' I took a deep breath. I didn't feel quite d r u n k enough but I decided to go for it anyway.
'Someone like me.'
Carl relaxed. He held onto my hands, leaned forward – and kissed my nose. 'There! Happy now?'
'Not my nose!'
'You've got a nice nose, little and snubby and cute.'
'Kiss me on my lips.'
'Can't risk it, Syl. We might get all inflamed and risk our beautiful friendship,' Carl said, messing about.
I wriggled away from him, my feelings hurt. I didn't want to joke about it. I couldn't understand why he didn't w a n t to kiss me properly.
'Sylvie? Don't look such a saddo. Listen, I'm sorry I broke up t h e party. They were all j u s t getting on my nerves. I don't w a n t to h a n g out with them. I want to be with you. Tell you what, let's play Glassworld tomorrow.'
'Really?' I said. 'You haven't wanted to play for ages.'
'Tomorrow afternoon, in the Glass Hut. Is it a date?'
'You bet,' I said.
Jules was surprised to find us s t a n d i n g h a n d in h a n d by the kerb, ready a n d waiting for h e r at eleven.
'I was r a t h e r hoping I could knock at t h e door and get asked in,' she said. 'What's it like inside?'
'Fabulous stained glass, an Eileen Gray red lacquer table in t h e hall, Clarice Cliff china in the c a b i n e t . . . You'd love it, Mum,' said Carl.
'So w h a t about this M i r a n d a a n d h e r friends?'
Jules asked.
'They don't live up to t h e decor,' said Carl.
'What are they like?' J u l e s asked anxiously.
'Oh, Mum. You know. Spoiled. Silly. Rich.'
'Sylvie, you tell me,' said Jules.
I did my best. I described M
i r a n d a a n d Alice and Raj and Andy in detail. I gave J u l e s a 67
censored account of our evening, leaving out the beer and the whisky drinking and the Snog Spin session.
I h a d to recite it all over again when I got home to my mum. She was in her nightie sitting at h e r computer in t h e living room, sipping a glass of supermarket wine. She was playing one of h e r old eighties compilations, Blondie and Yazz and Annie Lennox – all the girls she used to dance to in the long-ago days when she went clubbing.
I approached her warily, because she sometimes got all tearful. She gave me a surprisingly cheerful smile and asked me all about my night out. She switched off h e r computer but kept the CD spinning, her toes tapping.
'You sound as if you h a d a great time, Syl. I'm so pleased,' she said, getting up and giving me a hug.
Perhaps she'd h a d more t h a n one glass of wine because she h u n g onto me, swaying a little, and then she started spinning me round, dancing with me. We pranced around foolishly, a n d t h e n s t a r t e d up our own little dance routine, forwards, back, hip twitch, twirl, faster and faster till we lost our balance and fell about laughing. We were mucking around j u s t like sisters. I felt like confiding in her.
'I wish I was more like Miranda,' I said.
'Is she very pretty?'
'No, not really, b u t she acts like she is,' I said.
'Ah,' said Mum.
68
'And she's very keen on Carl,' I said.
'Uh-oh!' said Mum. 'What about Carl? What does he t h i n k of her?'
Well, he says he's not very keen. In fact he said she irritated him. He called h e r a poor little rich girl.'
'Then you've not got anything to worry about, silly'
W e l l . . .' I couldn't tell Mum t h a t Carl h a d kissed Miranda when he still wouldn't kiss me.
'Never mind Carl,' said Mum. 'What about the other boys? Did you fancy any of them?'
I stared at her. 'Mum! I j u s t w a n t Carl, you know that.'
'I know you two have been joined at the hip since you were tiny but you're both growing up now. It might be time to move on to other friendships.'
'Carl's my best friend and my boyfriend and we're going to get married – you know t h a t , Mum.'
'That was j u s t a baby game. You don't w a n t to think about marrying Carl. You don't w a n t to think about marrying anyone. Where does marriage get you?' said Mum, rubbing her bare finger where she used to wear h e r wedding ring.