Pizza again

It was a different night to last night. Last night was fantastic but it was pretty full-on with everyone spilling their stuff. Tonight the vibe was more up and everyone was just having a laugh. I made sure I was sitting next to Elizabeth and I didn’t care who noticed, especially her. If she’d got up and moved I would have felt like a complete loser but she didn’t. She just smiled and slid over on the booth. I sat back and listened to her friends going on about school and boys and stuff, throwing in my own stupid comments, trying to get them to laugh, trying to get Elizabeth to laugh.

Chris seemed to be doing all right over on the other table. He’d been talking to the same girl for the last half hour and she didn’t look like she was going anywhere. Zach and Mark were sitting on either side of him, like his security blanket, but from where I was sitting he didn’t need them. One of Elizabeth’s friends kept going on about how cute he was. It nearly killed me not to give him heaps about it in front of everybody, but even I couldn’t be that cruel.

But there was no way I was watching out for Chris all night. No, my attention was firmly on Elizabeth. She was something else. If you tied her hands behind her back she wouldn’t be able to speak. And her eyes danced along with what she was saying. Her friends were really nice too. You could tell they were trying to scope me out, but they weren’t too obvious about it. For a while, anyway—and then they started.

So you were the bloke who showed us his bits at the bus stop?

It was right about then I started to rethink my nice opinion. I could feel the familiar sound of the fire engine alarms starting up. What do you say to that? And what did she mean my bits? It was just my backside. Wasn’t it?!

I looked at Elizabeth for support but she was loving every minute of it.

I shoved another slice of pizza in my mouth and nodded.

Yeah, we thought that the guy who did it must have been such a try-hard.

I stopped chewing for a split second. That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?

But it seems like you’re all right.

Yeah right, thanks heaps! Queen of the backhanded compliment. Then the one called Milly started up.

Yeah, Elizabeth says you’re really funny.

I looked over at Elizabeth and raised my eyebrows.

So you’ve been talking about me to your friends?

I only said you were funny in a really annoying way.

I resorted to familiar territory and got revenge without words. I grabbed her bag and proceeded to fill it with all the stuff from the table: salt and pepper shakers, serviettes, coasters, the works. By the reaction I got it was working. She tried for a good three minutes to grab the bag from me, but I had the advantage of height and strength and we both knew it. Eventually she gave up and collapsed back into the booth laughing. She tried to grab it again when she thought I wasn’t watching, at which point I threw the bag to Milly and asked her to finish the job. This allowed me to catch Elizabeth’s hands and pin them behind her back.

Eventually Milly relinquished the bag but only after Elizabeth had threatened to get her bag and spread out all of its contents on the table. I wondered for a moment whether I might have gone a little too far when the salt shaker spilled all over Elizabeth’s bag, but she just laughed even harder and when I wasn’t looking grabbed a handful of salt and threw it over my head.

And I thought you were meant to be Miss Maturity!

At that point Milly said she had to leave, and since her mum was giving a lift to the other girls, they all stood up to go.

Wanna lift, Elizabeth?

Ahhh …

She sounded unsure, which was a good sign. She was definitely stalling, I could tell. I just wasn’t so sure if she was waiting for me to say something. Chris could give her—

I can give you a lift, easy. As long as your dad doesn’t come out and give me grief for getting his precious daughter home late.

Mark and the boys had grabbed their stuff and were moving tables. He must have overheard the question. Smooth. Thanks, mate!

No. He likes you. Besides, I told them we had to stay late for rehearsals and that I needed time to unwind afterwards.

Mark was barely listening to Elizabeth’s reply because he was too interested in grinning pointedly in my direction. The Freak was giving me the thumbs-up really obviously.

It was good ending the night with just us again. Even though Chris was a ring-in, he fit right in as usual. For the final hour Elizabeth and I relaxed and didn’t jump every time we accidentally touched. By the end of the night we were resting on one another and it felt great. So great that when Chris said that he had to get the car home so as to prevent parental stress, I nearly told him to go without me. But Mark grabbed his keys and jangled them.

Yeah, me too. Are you ready, Miss Elizabeth?

She didn’t seem very keen to be going anywhere either. But eventually we all stood up and moved outside, saying our goodbyes. I felt my palms go sweaty and jittery when I knew it was my time to say goodnight to Elizabeth. But she came straight up to me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and said she’d see me next weekend at rehearsals … and to give her a call during the week if I wanted. Thank God Chris started to drag me away, otherwise I would have stood there like a speechless idiot. I yelled out goodbye to the Freak and Mark and followed him.

I knew Chris was going to start as soon as we got in the car and he didn’t let me down.

Willo! You are completely gone, mate!

Give it a rest, Chris.

Yeah, well, her friends were saying she’s into you too. He put on a fake girl voice. The talk of the musical.

Shut up, you wanker!

The cutest guy in the production. He kept going with the girl’s voice. And you’re really funny and it’s great how you look out for Zach and help Brother Pat. You’re just a big softy underneath the tough-man act, aren’t you, Will?

If he hadn’t been driving he would have copped one right in the gut. Instead I started on him.

So what about that Maree chick, then? She was hanging off everything you said and, mate, I know you, you’re just not that interesting. Elizabeth’s friends kept going on about how cute you were. They were even more impressed when I told them you were going to be school captain.

Got him. This time it was Chris who went red.

You what?

He hated it when I raised the school captain thing, really hated it. I moved on quickly. Look out, mate, your life is just about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Chris freaked out all the way home, but he was loving it.

And I was loving it. In fact, something strange was happening, because for the past two days almost everything was good.