Never a Perfect Moment by Cathy Cole Page A

walking as fast as she could. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
    Ollie was looking worried now, jogging beside her to keep up. “We’re still going on that date on Friday, right?”
    Polly spun round. “What were you talking to Megan Moore about on Monday?”
    Ollie looked startled. “What are you bringing that up for?”
    â€œTell me!”
    â€œI was asking her if she knew of any good places in town where I could take you on our date on Friday, OK? And she said there was a new Italian place down by the harbour,” Ollie said. “So much for the surprise. Happy now?”
    Polly didn’t say anything. Her head was spinning.
    â€œI think Megan was kind of hoping I’d ask her there instead of you,” Ollie added.
    â€œWere you hoping that too?” Polly asked in a trembling voice.
    â€œNo!” Ollie protested. “I don’t like Megan. I like you. Aren’t you listening to me? I’ve booked a table for you and me on Friday. Or are you going to turn me down again?”
    Polly took a deep breath. “I can’t do Friday, Ollie,” she said. “I’m going to the Funky Fox Festival with Eve and the others.”
    â€œBut I thought we arranged—”
    She was about to cry. All those years she had wanted to be with Ollie, and now that she was actually getting the chance it seemed like nothing was going right.
    She fled.

SEVENTEEN
    The rest of the week was difficult. Ollie was avoiding her. Polly was sure of it.
    There had been plenty of chances for conversation. She and Ollie took most of the same classes. But every time she’d looked for him, he had been among his friends, talking or laughing or looking at his phone. He hadn’t glanced up at her once. He hadn’t even texted her.
    And that’s fine by me , Polly thought through gritted teeth. She never wanted to feel that level of humiliation again.
    â€œPenny for them?” said Rhi as the bell went for the end of school on Friday and they gathered at the lockers.
    â€œThey’re not worth that much,” Polly muttered.
    â€œShe’s mooning over Ollie,” said Eve, flipping her hair briskly over her shoulders. “You have to snap out of it, Polly. Boys find mooners such a bore.”
    I’ve definitely blown it , Polly thought sadly.
    Why hadn’t she just gone out with Ollie the first time he asked? OK, so Eve had turned up unannounced that night. But that wasn’t Polly’s problem, was it? Then there’d been the fiasco at Saturday’s wedding, and the girls making eyes at Ollie during football practice. The final nail in the coffin had definitely been the art gallery.
    This was all her own fault.
    Polly wondered if she’d subconsciously sabotaged her own chances with Ollie. She’d been in love with him for so long, maybe on some level she couldn’t bear the thought of it not working out between them, and had done everything in her power to stop it from happening at all. The knowledge did nothing to make her feel better about the clothes and make-up disaster.
    Eve paled and gripped her locker door as a wave of year eleven boys swept past. One of them looked over his shoulder with a knowing gleam in his eye.
    â€œI’ll cure you, babe,” he said.
    â€œYou might cure rabies,” said Eve, looking at the boy like he was dirt on her shoe. “But you won’t cure me.”
    The year eleven boy reddened. “Dumb lesbian,” he snarled.
    Rhi patted Eve tentatively on the shoulder as his friends dragged him away and out of sight down the corridor. “Are you OK?”
    â€œWhat do you think?” Eve snapped.
    Rhi raised her hands. “I don’t want a fight,” she said.
    Eve’s shoulders slumped. She passed a hand over her eyes. “Sorry, Rhi, I didn’t mean to bite your head off. It’s just – I’ve had it with all the comments this week. It’s very