‘Sorry?’
‘Stand up!’ Seth repeats, taking my arm and pulling me up from mybench.Argh!
He points into thedistance.
‘Look!’hesays.
Ohwow.
Wow.
It’s Manhattan. Looking like a postcard. An eerie postcard with dark skies and ominous clouds, but a postcardnonetheless.
It’s prettyspectacular.
‘Woah,’Isay.
It almost doesn’tlookreal.
‘That’s the reason you should always take the ferry to Staten Island,’ Seth says, gazing ahead in wonder. ‘The view of Lower Manhattan neverdisappoints.’
I hold my phone up and snap a picture. Not just for Birdie, this time, but for myself too. Seth’s right. It’s out of thisworld!
Behind us, a couple of teenagers pass by and point at me in my life jacket, laughing at what a dorkIam.
I stick my tongue out at them, only thankful that I straightened my hair and they don’t recognise me from theTVtoo.
And then, to my surprise Seth strides over to the life jacket booth, gets one and pullsiton.
He looks like even more of a berkthanme.
And then, without a word he comes and stands back nexttome.
‘Yo, take a picture, maybe it’ll last longer!’ he yells to the cocky teenagers. They laugh and point at him then, insteadofme.
And I get the feeling that was very much hisintention.
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ChapterTwenty
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OMG.Doctor BJ heard you talking about his peen! I had to turn my phone off, so I couldn’t text back last night but I am mortified! He came in, his voice all stuttery and his face all red. He said: ‘Do you have something you wish to discuss, Birdie.’ And so I just told him that my friend – you – has a major crush on him. I know you’ve never even seen him, buthedoesn’t know that. I’m sorry, Brewster. I had to throw you under the bus to save myself!! I apologise for being glib about you feeling so embarrassed re.Sunday Night Live. I have had a taste of my own medicine fo sho!!! Argh! Good luck getting Chuck’s letter backtoday!
As I stepoff the ferry with wobbly legs, I stand for a moment with closed eyes, feeling immensely grateful to be back on solidground.
I follow Seth as he walks confidently out of the large bright terminal and purposely down the street, not even looking at a map on hisphone.
‘You know this place well?’ I ask, walking quickly to keep up with his long-leggedstrides.
‘I grew up here,actually.’
As an ominous roll of thunder booms above us, the rain starts pelting down once more. I put up my umbrella and quicken my walkingspeed.
‘Can I get under there with you?’ Seth asks,crouchingdown.
‘Seriously? It’s been raining for two days straight. How do you not have an umbrella ofyourown?’
