Baby Blue Eyes

Chapter Two

Sticking the poster to the wall in a rather satisfied way, I stand back to admire how it stands out when compared to all of the others. I spent my free making some- even if I say so myself- amazing audition posters, calling guitarists to auditions tomorrow lunchtime.

I decided against using the tacky Clip Art guitarist as a picture, and instead put a picture of one of our previous gigs on it, one where Levi is handily not in shot. We all look as if we’re having a lot of fun, and I’m actually hoping a girl guitarist might sign up, because it can be strange spending so much time with three boys. I could do with another girl to back me up.

Having travelled the school to stick them up in noticeable places, I eventually return to where my friends are all sat. We’re not a very big group, but, unlike the larger groups of people who don’t seem to really talk to each other, we all get on really well.

I sit down between Willow and Ben, two of my closest friends, and Willow immediately turns to me.

‘Zo, I saw your poster!’ she tells me. ‘It looks awesome!’

I smile proudly. ‘Thanks.’ One of the things which puzzles me most in life is how some girls who are permanently orange with over enthusiastic foundation, who spend their time bitching about other girls and straightening their already frazzled hair end up with caring boyfriends who carry their bags around for them, who make them feel loved… and yet are treated like rubbish by their girlfriends. Whereas there are girls like Willow- absolutely gorgeous, with her big velvety brown eyes and wispy blonde hair, one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, intelligent and sweet… and yet she‘s never even had her first kiss. Boys. Sigh.

She leans closer. ‘I actually saw Him looking at it,’ she says, quietly. Willow is thankfully sensitive enough not to talk about Levi very much, and when she does, she refers to him as Him, to spare the awkwardness.

‘Did you?’ My eyes widen as I eagerly wonder what his response might be. ‘What did he say?’

‘He looked bloody pissed off!’ Clearly overhearing, another of my friends, Tasha pipes up, her dark eyes sparkling with laughter.

‘Seriously?’ I feel rather smug about that. Not that I really care about his reaction, come to think about it. It makes no difference to me. Of course. ‘What did he say?’

‘He was with Imogen bloody Cooper,’ Tasha replies, mentioning Levi‘s girlfriend. She always refers to her as Imogen bloody Cooper thanks to the mutual dislike between them (personality clash doesn‘t really sum up the issues between them,) and it‘s kind of stuck. I find myself referring to her the same way, and of course, I have no reason to hate her. ‘So I guess he couldn’t say much, but he was all like, oh, my band is reforming? Nice of them to invite me.’

‘I wouldn’t let him join if he paid me,’ I say, crossly.

Matt shrugs. ‘We might not have a choice. ’

‘We can clearly do it without Levi!’ I say. ‘Jamie and Eddie agree with me on this Matt, you‘re outnumbered.’

‘So he is. We‘re all raring to get back together.‘ A deep voice from behind me makes me jump. I turn round to see Jamie and Eddie stood there, and my face lights up.

‘Yeah!’ Eddie agrees, cheekily slinging one of his arms around Jamie‘s waist and looking up at him mock adoringly. ’Let’s get back together, Jamie, I’ve missed you babe.’

This makes the pair of them dissolve into laughter, and I take the opportunity to roll my eyes at Matt. In the old days, when we used to practise, it was always Jamie and Eddie who mucked around at the wrong time, and we used to have to literally separate them if we wanted anything done.