“Grow up, Megan. It’s just a dress—not a brain transplant to make you a nicer person,” snaps Elliot.
Kira is sitting at the table behind Megan. She gives me an apologetic smile and a shrug. A sharp pain jabs my heart as I wonder if Kira told Megan about the dress I ordered. But then I tell myself not to be so paranoid.
“Glad you could make it, Penny!” says Kira. “Is Noah going to join us?”
I can sense everyone turn to look at me, even from the other tables. I laugh nervously. “Oh, I don’t think so. Noah is too busy prepping for the show. I’ll meet him after.”
Elliot pulls me through the restaurant and into a booth as far away from them as we can be without seeming rude. It feels like my entire school and half of Elliot’s is coming to watch the concert. Of course they are all excited to see Noah Flynn, but the main band, The Sketch, are massive at the moment. They’re a group of four boys from the US who exploded onto the scene last year with their song “There’s Only One.” They’ve already done gigs in Manchester and Birmingham, but this is the first one that Noah is joining. He’s then heading off with The Sketch to Europe, and I get to go with him.
My stomach flutters with nervous but excited butterflies.
I slide into the booth and Elliot sits down opposite me. “Ugh, I can’t believe we have to be in the same room as Mega-Nasty,” says Elliot. “Why did you agree to meet everyone here again?”
“Kira invited me and I couldn’t think of a way out of it. They’re all coming to the concert so it made sense for us to go together. Besides, it’s the Brighton Centre. It’s so big that hopefully we won’t even see them,” I say.
“Did you know the Brighton Centre can seat four and a half thousand people, and was the last venue Bing Crosby performed in before he died?”
“Is that the guy who sang ‘White Christmas’? How do you know all this stuff, Wiki?” I say with a laugh.
“I know everything, Miss Penny P. You know that. At least we’ll be sitting in the VIP box,” says Elliot, flashing his ticket and grinning. “First class, here we come!” He bum-dances on the bench. “Wow, if we’re this excited, how is Noah feeling?”
“Oh, Noah never gets nervous!” Though, as I’m saying it, I don’t know if it’s true. I’ve never seen him perform properly before—not in front of an audience this big. “I know he’s super excited. This is his chance to really make it big in Europe.”
“Yeah, there’s no way people won’t know his name after he’s played with The Sketch. Even someone like you would know who he was!”
I smile, but Elliot’s words have disconcerted me. It’s strange to think that only six months ago I had no idea who Noah Flynn was, and now everyone is about to know him. I almost lost myself to the media storm before. Will I be able to hold on to Noah throughout the whirlwind that’s to come?
“Have you met the rest of his band?” Elliot asks.
I shake my head. “Not yet, but I know he’s got some of his best friends with him.”
“I really wish I could come with you,” says Elliot, his eyes downcast.
“I wish you could come too! But you’re going to have an amazing time at CHIC,” I remind him. Elliot’s been looking forward to his internship since he found out at the start of the year that he got it.
“Did you know CHIC was started in 1895?”
I reach over the table and put my hand over Elliot’s. I know when he’s spouting facts out of nerves rather than for fun. “You’re going to be brilliant,” I say, reassuring him.
The waitress comes by and asks for our order, but I feel so nervous I can’t bear to eat. I bury my face in my menu and we ask for a few more minutes, but almost instantly I wish that she’d stayed. Behind her is the person I dread.
“Hey, Penny.”
I lower my menu slowly. “Uh, hi, Megan.”
Elliot is throwing daggers at her with his eyes, but Megan ignores him. Instead, she focuses on me. “I’m sorry we’re wearing the same dress—do you want me to change? I can run home before the concert.”
Now this is a side of Megan that I’m not expecting: the sweet, friendly side. For a moment I get a glimpse of the girl I used to know. But I find it hard to separate that girl from the one who tried to destroy my life earlier this year—like two photographs overlaid on top of each other, a real-life double exposure. I still don’t know which one is the real Megan.
“No, it’s OK. It’s kind of funny, actually,” I say.
She smiles at me, and it seems genuine. “So, I was wondering . . .” she says, and suddenly her smile has become sharklike—all teeth—and it’s clear she’s got an ulterior motive for coming over. “Do you think you could get me, Kira, and Amara backstage later? I would absolutely die if I got to meet The Sketch.”
I frown. Elliot tuts out loud and rolls his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know . . . I’d have to ask Noah,” I say.
“Well, why don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
She raises an eyebrow. “Why don’t you text him and ask? You do have your boyfriend’s number, don’t you?”
“Penny doesn’t have to do any favours for you,” says Elliot.
“I wasn’t asking you, Elliot,” she snaps back. “I’m asking my friend.”