It Takes Two To Tango

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

‘Do I look alright?’ my best friend, Jessie, asks me anxiously.

I half turn from my position, about to get out of her car, to look at her in surprise after her very un-Jessie-ish remark.

Of course she looks alright. Jessie is one of those lucky people who is completely comfortable with her own style, and manages to pull off anything she wears. With her signature red lipstick and her vintage taste in clothes, she always looks stunning in things I’d never dare wear. That’s why I love shopping with her- she finds amazing things from a shelf I’d usually go nowhere near.

‘Jessie, you look gorgeous, as always,’ I tell her, honestly. ‘Why the worry?’

She bites down on her lip nervously. ‘No reason,’ she replies, evasively. When I raise my eyebrow at her, she smiles. ‘Seriously, it’s nothing. Just having a bad… face day.’

Then it clicks. Jessie has recently seemed to feel a lot more conscious about her appearance before we see our friend Josh, something which I haven’t missed at all.

‘Hm, well, I don’t think Josh’ll agree with you, sweetie,’ I tell her, with a smirk, and then laugh when I’m rewarded by her cheeks flushing red.

‘I don’t like him like that!’ she protests, but having been friends with her for so long, I know she’s lying.

‘You keep telling yourself that, babe,’ I tell her.

She shakes her head at me, but I know I’m wearing her down. It’s always like this with her when she gets a crush: for a while she’ll vehemently deny it, but eventually, she’ll cave in and tell me all about how crazy in love she is.

‘Ky, if you keep at me, I’ll start mentioning a certain Daniel Wood,’ she threatens, but that doesn’t faze me. I’ve been discussing my feelings for Dan with Jessie for far too long for that to actually be a threat.

‘Ahh, are you admitting it now?’ I tease her, and her cheeks grow redder. ‘Bless you,’ I say, giving her a one armed hug. ‘You’ll be gushing about him soon, mark my words.’

We get out of her car, which has been neatly parked in her usual spot in the school car park, Jessie’s cheeks still only a few shades paler than her vibrant lips.

Our school is quite big, with a lower school as well as the sixth form, but in some ways that’s not a bad thing. I quite like not knowing everyone in the school; it means that there’s less drama and gossip when something happens.

Jessie’s been my best friend for years- we’ve grown up together, and stayed close all that time, despite my main focus always having to be on my dancing. She’s always there to watch me in various competitions and performances, cheering from the sidelines and being the best supporter ever. I’m very lucky to have her as my best friend.

Before long, I’ve had my first and second lesson, and it’s break time. I make my way through the crowded common room, until I find my group of friends, sat in a circle of chairs and chatting noisily.

As I sit down between Alice and Josh, two of my closest friends, they smile cheerfully at me.

‘How was your lesson?’ Josh asks, as I plop my bag down and settle onto the chair.

‘Not bad,’ I reply. ‘A bit boring, but okay. What about yours?’

Josh shrugs. ‘Fine. I had PE, in this freaking weather, so I was cold.’

Jessie, who’s sat next to him gives him a shove. ‘Man up, boy!’ she tells him, with a grin, earning her a scowl from him.

‘I’d like to see you try!’ he retorts, teasingly.

‘I’d be sensible and wear layers. Anyway, it’s not cold!’ she protests, gesturing at the outside weather.

I hide a smile at their banter, but raise my eyebrows at Jessie, who’s clearly enjoying herself, over Josh’s head.

‘Do we have English next?’ another friend, Oscar, asks me from across the circle, as Jessie and Josh continue to bicker about whether it’s cold outside.

I frown. ‘Hm, I don’t think so.’ Pulling out my timetable, I see that I have History next, and sigh. ‘Nope, I have History,’ I tell him. Despite liking the subject, my lessons are extremely boring- probably because none of my friends do it, so I sit by myself, listening like a good student, and taking studious notes.

‘Oh good, that means I have a free,’ Oscar celebrates, grinning at Alice, his girlfriend.

Alice is busy scribbling some last minute homework, her blonde hair falling over her pad of paper, and looks up to pout at him. ‘Alright for some,’ she complains, but smiles as he leans over to kiss her on the cheek.

Those two have been my friends for quite a while now, and watching them fall for each other was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. They’re adorable together, Oscar just dotes on her, though they’re always teasing each other, which never fails to make me smile.

Break passes far too quickly, and I’m sat by myself in History before I know it. It always seems that I spend most of the lesson in silence, hearing other people chatter around me. Everyone else has their own little cliques and groups, so my attempt to make friends didn’t really work.

I get out my hurriedly finished essay, writing my name at the top, when the door crashes open, and Jude, with his group of similarly annoying and arrogant friends stroll in late, looking as if nothing’s the matter.

I sigh. Jude is late to every History lesson, but manages to weasel out of ever getting told off- he has that charm with the teachers that enables him to get out of almost anything.

Recently, our history teacher has been getting a bit irritated by him- I’ve noticed her glaring at him quite frequently- so maybe he’s losing his charm?
 
I very much hope he is.

However, Jude still seems to be attracting the girls in my class: pretty much all of them look up and follow his path to his chair with their eyes. I swear it’s not good for boys to know how attractive they are, because Jude looks rather pleased at all the attention. Insufferably so.

The teacher begins the lesson, going round to collect our essays. Surprise, surprise, when she reaches Jude, he looks at her with a smile and says smoothly: ‘I’m afraid I accidentally left it at home, miss,’ and though she huffs, he gets away with it.

I snort. He clearly didn’t do it- I doubt he ever does. It’s annoying- I spent the extra time after dancing last night to actually do it, while he gets off with no effort on his part.

‘Alright, everybody turn to page thirty four,’ the teacher instructs. ‘I want Exercises 1 and 4 done by the end of the lesson.’

I start writing almost immediately, keen to get it over and done with. The lesson passes slowly, as I count down the minutes on the clock. There can’t really be half an hour left… can there?

Eventually, the lesson drags to an end, and there’s only five minutes left until the bell.

‘Okay, I’d like to collect in your work as you come past please,’ the teacher tells us, and I notice Jude leaning forward to swipe the work off the girl in front, Lucy, quickly scribbling down the answers.

‘What’re you doing?’ Lucy giggles, twirling a strand of perfectly curled hair around her fingers.

‘Copying,’ he replies, flashing one of his trademark grins. She giggles some more, seemingly unfazed by the fact that Jude‘s stealing all her work.

‘I don’t think you asked,’ she replies, batting her eyelashes. Girls like this just annoy me- not only are they all exactly the same, but they all giggle at every freaking thing Jude says. And he laps up the attention. It’s a wonder he’s still single.

‘Aw, well, I know you love me, Luce,’ he tells her, with a wink. This seems to have made her day judging by the beam on her face.

‘Of course I do,’ she replies.

‘Join the club,’ he answers with a grin, handing back her work. I hope he’s joking, but to be honest, I’m not too sure. That’s the exact sort of thing that Jude would think.

The bell rings, and I get up gratefully, looking forward to my lunch. I’m just thankful that Jude isn’t my dance partner. I seriously don’t know how Molly copes with him.

But then, Molly and I are quite different. Sometimes I wonder if we’re even sisters- maybe one of us is secretly adopted. It’s not that we’re not close, it’s just that we’re such opposites in everything but our love of dance.

While I’m more likely to speak up when something annoys me, Molly’ll just go along with it; I guess I’m the more confident, while she’s happier being quiet. We’re also very different in looks: my hair is long and naturally brown, but Molly’s is always perfectly straightened to just below her shoulders, and about a year ago, she permanently dyed it black.

I don’t think she’s as dedicated to dancing as I am, even. For example, I’m always sticking to the high protein diet with a lot of fruit and vegetables that will enable me to last the sessions and get the most out of them, but Molly is forever sneakily buying cakes and pastries. I only do that when I’m having the most terrible of terrible days, and cannot last without a chocolate fix.

My lunchbox reflects this- it’s all very healthy and while it’s still tasty, I still find myself lusting after Jessie’s Cornish pasty, which smells amazing. I watch as Jessie laughs at something Josh has said, and breaks off a piece of her pasty, feeding it to him.

Those two are adorable. She laughs at him as some pastry tumbles down his front, and he laughs through his mouthful, almost accidentally spitting it all out. I smile to see Jessie so smitten, and Alice catches it too, nudging me.

‘Making a match?’ she asks, with a knowing smile.

I laugh. ‘Looks like they’ve already made it themselves- they’ve done all the work for us!’

Alice and I watch them continue to flirt, Jessie pulling Josh’s beanie off his head and putting it on her own head at a jaunty angle. She poses, pouting her red lips at him, which makes him chuckle.

‘Now we just need to find you a match, Ky,’ Alice tells me, as Jessie finishes off her pasty.

I half smile. ‘I don’t think Dan’s interested,’ I tell her, truthfully. ‘And he’s the only one I like, so, well, I’m screwed.’

‘I’ll see if I can employ Cupid for you,’ Alice tells me, with a wink, as the bell goes, and we all pick up our bags to leave.

‘That’d be very handy,’ I reply, wishing Cupid would shoot Dan straight through the heart with one of his arrows. But for now, looks like I’ll just have to do it myself.