Strictly Friends? by Jo Cotterill Read Free Book Online

gave a shaky laugh. ‘Oh, no. I couldn’t be a nurse. Can’t stand blood.’
    â€˜Really?’ His head tilted to one side. ‘Then why did you rush over?’
    â€˜Oh.’ Megan was stumped. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks. ‘I don’t know. I just – well, I thought you might be hurt.’
    â€˜Danny!’ The blonde girl had reached them first. ‘You absolute doughnut, what did you think you were doing?’
    The boy called Paul was sniggering loudly. ‘You owe me a fiver.’
    Danny scowled. ‘The ramp collapsed. I never got a chance to try it.’
    â€˜You still owe me.’
    The dark-eyed girl was shifting nervously from foot to foot. ‘Are you OK? That looked like a really bad one.’ Her voice was so soft Megan hardly caught the words, and she pulled at her long black hair anxiously.
    â€˜I’m fine,’ said Danny.
    The blonde girl looked pointedly at Megan. ‘Who’s this?’
    â€˜This is Megan Hirst,’ said Danny, with a smirk. ‘She’s not a nurse.’
    Megan felt embarrassed. She didn’t belong in this group, and the blonde girl was wearing an expression of disgust. She got to her feet. ‘I just came to see if hewas all right.’ She glanced down at Danny. ‘I should be going now.’
    â€˜Been doing the shopping?’ asked the blonde girl in a sneery voice.
    Megan realized she was still clutching the raisins and TV guide. But the girl’s tone annoyed her. ‘How did you guess?’ she retorted.
    Danny snorted with laughter. The blonde girl glared. The other girl retreated behind her curtain of hair. Megan thought to herself,
These people are really weird
. ‘Well,’ she said politely, ‘it was nice to meet you.’
    â€˜You want a go?’ asked Danny, as she turned away.
    Megan felt baffled. Who
was
this boy anyway? ‘A go?’ she repeated.
    Danny got to his feet with a grimace. ‘On my board. You want a go?’
    Megan glanced at the blonde girl. She didn’t look very friendly. Neither did the dark-eyed girl. ‘Oh, I don’t think so . . .’
    â€˜Ever been on a skateboard?’ asked Danny.
    â€˜Er – no, but . . .’
    â€˜Right. Here’s your chance.’ Without waiting for her to reply, Danny fished out his skateboard from the pile of debris, brushed off the gravel and brick dust,and tucked it under his arm. Then he held out his hand. ‘Come on. We’ll start on the flat.’
    Almost hypnotized, Megan took his hand. It was cool and rough in places – from all the grazes, she supposed.
I should be getting home
, said a little voice inside her head.
Why am I still standing here?
    Now Danny was putting the board on the concrete and showing her how to place her feet. ‘Put down your stuff,’ he said. ‘You need both hands free to help you balance.’
    Megan did as she was told. The board wobbled under her feet. ‘I thought it was fixed,’ she said in some surprise. ‘I mean, I thought the top bit stayed flat.’
    Danny shook his head. ‘It’s called a deck. It needs to be able to tilt in all directions. It’s got suspension, like a car. Try rocking it from side to side.’ He watched her critically. ‘You’ve got good balance.’
    â€˜I’m a dancer,’ said Megan, hoping this would sound impressive, but Danny seemed barely to hear her. His whole attention was focused on her feet.
    â€˜Now try pushing it along a bit.’
    He was a good teacher. It was only when Megan heard a snort that she looked up and realized the other three had been watching all along. The blonde girl had flung one arm casually over Paul’s shouldersand was busy whispering in his ear. The dark-eyed girl perched on the edge of a ramp and glared at Megan through her hair. The heat suddenly rose in Megan’s face and she stepped off the board. ‘Look,’