Page 139 of The Reboot
‘Hi,’ she said, puzzled. Why was he talking to her? They never talked.
She looked around the classroom. Everyone was in their usual groups. His gaggle of friends were huddled by the door, talking among themselves. Why had Roly suddenly decided to pay attention to her? He was the most popular boy in their year. Was it just that he was a completist and she was the only person in the class he hadn’t won over yet with his charm and charisma? He needed to be friends with everyone, so he had to squeeze her in before time ran out? She hoped he wasn’t taking pity on her because her best friend Julie wasn’t in today. She and Julie may be the class swots, but it wasn’t as if they were social outcasts. There were other people she could spend break with if she chose to. She’d just wanted to get on with her book.
‘So, Ella. I thought we should talk.’
‘Why?’
He shrugged. ‘We never talk.’ He cocked his head to the side. ‘Why do you think that is?’
‘Because we’re not friends?’
‘Well, we can fix that right now. We’ve got’ – he checked his watch – ‘fifteen minutes until the bell goes.’
‘Isn’t it a bit late for making friends? School’s over in two months.’
‘So?’
‘So then we never see each other again.’
‘Just like that? After all we’ve been through together?’
She laughed. ‘Not much point now, is there?’
‘It’s never too late.’
She hesitated a moment. ‘Okay, then.’ She closed her book. ‘What do you want to talk about?’
‘Hmm. Let’s see.’ He tapped the top of his chair. ‘We could discuss the themes of class and patriarchy inWuthering Heights. Or the effects of the famine on Irish society from 1850 to … a date of your choosing.’
‘Is this just a ploy to pick my brain for the exams?’
Roly laughed. ‘No, it’s honestly not. I’m only doing the Leaving to keep my mum happy.’
‘Really? You’d have dropped out before it?’
‘Yeah. I don’t see the point. I mean, I’m not going to college, so why do I need to know all this random stuff?’
Roly had famously aced an audition earlier in the year to be in one of those manufactured boy bands put together by a music mogul, and they were already taking off. He was going straight from school into a ready-made music career.
‘Still, your mum’s right. An education is never a loss. You’ll always have something to fall back on.’
‘Yeah, I can talk about my aunt’s pen in fluent French.Où est la plume de ma tante,’ he said in an exaggerated French accent. ‘Voici la plume de ma tante! That’ll get me far.’
She shrugged. ‘You never know. It could come in handy.’
‘Not really, I don’t have an aunt.’
She laughed. ‘Well, for chatting up girls in Paris, then.’
‘I still don’t have an aunt.’
‘The girls in Paris don’t know that.’
He laughed. ‘Want a Rolo?’ He produced a crumpled half tube from his pocket and offered it to her.
‘Thanks.’
‘Sorry, they’re a bit melty.’
