“Nothing—”
“Because you seem to be implying—”
“I don’t want him to take advantage of you.”
I clamp my mouth close.
“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to shout.”
“I can handle myself,” I say after a pause. “I’m not a doormat.”
“I know,” Oliver says, and his eyes close briefly. “I shouldn’t have …”
I gaze at the car park, packed with shiny black and white cars.
Easton Grammar is on the outskirts of town, and so beyond the car park are some farms and old brick factories that are no longer in use. In the distance, there’s the highway and the faint zoom of cars going a hundred kilometres an hour.
My body relaxes. I try to understand why Oliver is annoyed. I suppose if the roles were reversed and a popular girl like Sana was asking Oliver for help with schoolwork, I’d react the same way. Except, the way I … feel … about Oliver is different to the way he feels about me, his sister’s best friend.
I cave in first and turn to look at Oliver. It doesn’t take him long to return my stare. He opens his mouth, about to say something —
My phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket and the screen lights up. There’s a text notification, and the message is hidden until I unlock it, but I can still see the sender: Noah.
I return my phone and look at Oliver, whose eyes flick from the phone to me. He saw it — I know he did. He says nothing for a while. Neither do I.
What he does say nearly makes me fall over. “Do you want to see a movie tomorrow night?”
What the hell?
“What?” I croak.
“The Agatha Christie movie. Do you want to see it together?”
I blink several times. Oliver’s face is serious — dead serious, like he’s asking me about funeral arrangements. I blurt out the first sentence I think of. “Ruby doesn’t like Agatha Christie.”
“Just us.”
My heart pounds.
“I think she’d feel left out,” I say.
Oliver smiles. “We don’t have to tell her.”
I think this is a dream. This doesn’t happen in real life. Soon, I will wake up.
“Sure.” I shrug. “Sounds good. What time?”
“It’s at seven-thirty.”
“Okay,” I say.
Before Oliver can respond, Ruby arrives, squeezing between us and picking up her bag. “Oh, Mum’s not here yet. What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Oliver says.
I make a sound of agreement, looking away from Oliver.
Okay, so maybe this isn’t a dream. Which means … I’m seeing a movie with Oliver. And now it’s a secret from Ruby.
