Ronan held a steady gaze and then his chin went to his chest and up again in a single nod. I breathed a smile.
‘You remember?’
He swallowed hard several times, his Adam’s apple going up and down repeatedly.
‘It’s your story,’ I said.
He was starting to smile. It felt like I was winning him back again after the topic of Jennifer had made things confusing.
‘And then after you’ve told it to me you can tell it to anyone, like you used to in English with your stories. You know, apparently, people are voting for Geraldine Rafferty to get the “Future Booker” award at the silly awards ceremony on the night of the formal. They’re handing out sheets for everyone to vote. When I say “they” I mean Kevin and Leanne, obviously trying to get everyone to fill their names in for King and Queen. The “Future Booker” award would definitely have been yours.’
Ronan did a half head shake to the right again.
‘Key-ah,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘Key-ah. Eye-ah …’ He was breathless but I knew he was trying to spell the word ‘king’ again.
‘King?’
‘Key-ah,’ he said, nodding.
‘Who? Me?’ He started to go red again, scrunching up his eyes, as if trying to contain an outburst.
‘Key-ah,’ he squeezed out again as some tears ran down his face with the effort. Then he breathed out very weakly with the sound, ‘eye-ah … eye …’
‘You?’
‘Eye-uh.’
‘King?’
‘Key-uh.’
There was a tiny grin appearing on his wet face. And then I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to tell a joke. Trying to make me laugh. He was trying to joke that he’d be voted king of the formal. Everyone at school liked Ronan so much that he could easily have been voted king, but we all knew it would be Kevin, it’s just the way school worked; it would have been weird if Ronan was voted king, even if Kevin and Leanne were so-called popular they weren’t as liked by everyone as Ronan was, but school was a strange place when it came to those things.
‘King over Kevin Sherry! I’dloveto see that!’ I said.
‘Yea-ah,’ he said, laughing gently.
‘What would Leanne say?’
He blew out through his lips.
‘If I do go, and I don’t know if I will …’
He made a stern noise.
‘Well, I don’t know, what if I chicken out of asking Jennifer for the next few weeks and then it’s too late? Can I not just come here and hang out with you instead?’
‘Nahh!’ he said.
‘What?’ I said, laughing. ‘You won’t let me come here?’
‘Nahh,’ he said again with a scowl and a little grin.
‘Wow, OK, abandoning your best friend?’ I said jokingly.
