Finding Home Read Online Free Page A

contribute to the piece, Amy. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of talent,’ Mr Davison said. Did I imagine the smirk accompanying that last line? Surely a teacher wouldn’t make fun of a student because of her parent, would he?
    Before I had time to dwell on it, Nick and Ashley returned. Nick was carrying a bass in one hand and a lead guitar in the other, with Ashley limping in behind as he made an abysmal attempt to twirl his drumsticks. I stood and followed the boys to a little door on the other side of the room. Inside was a tiny rehearsal space, complete with drum kit, amps, microphones and more. The gear looked reasonably old, but the fact that the school had it at all made me smile. Maybe being a student here wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
    Luke took the guitar from Nick and held it awkwardly. He looked like he could drop it at any second, but his vulnerability only made me want to help him all the more, to put my arms around him and teach him to hold it correctly.
    ‘Come on, guys, let’s show Amy what we’ve come up with so far!’ Nick gripped the neck of the guitar and strode towards one of the amps, plugging it in without hesitation. His face came alive with anticipation, his eyes glinting with enthusiasm, his posture changing, becoming more focused.
    At a nod from Ashley, the boys started. They began to play a rock song, and I found myself tapping my foot. The bass line snapped, the drums beat hard and, through it all, Nick strummed his guitar and plucked out the notes to a gutsy riff that I wished I didn’t recognise as good. Luke and Ashley held it together, but Nick — he held his own.
    At the end of the song, I took down some notes, and as I familiarised myself with the tune, they played it one more time. They repeated the pattern over and over again until I could confidently hum a few notes and pick out the melody.
    All too quickly, class was over. Nick and Ashley gathered the instruments and returned them to the storeroom, while I lingered in the tiny studio. I willed practice to go on just a little longer, to hold on to my Luke-time for a few more moments.
    ‘That was great.’ I beamed from ear to ear. ‘Thanks for letting me join.’
    ‘No, thank you ,’ Luke said, holding my eyes for just a second more than was needed. ‘I’m really glad you’re here.’
    Blood rushed to my head. There was no way I’d misheard him. Gorgeous, talented and lovely Luke had just said he was happy that I was at his school. In his class. My heart did somersaults.
    ‘Anyway, I’m gonna go meet Coral.’
    Suddenly, his words seemed harsh. One moment I was in flirt heaven, then the next I was falling through the air with no parachute. He was rushing off to meet Coral? Even though he was ‘really glad’ I was there?
    My head spun. I’d gone from on top of the world to confusion in mere seconds. Did really Luke like me? Had I only imagined him flirting with me? And, if he could flirt with me so blatantly, what the hell was going on with him and Coral?

Chapter Four
    After school, I was headed to the takeaway shop again. I’d been there almost every day since I’d first started at Cherrybrook.
    Initially, after first meeting Lily, I’d started loitering near the school car park when classes had finished in the hope that she’d invite me to hang out. Today, I’d stopped near her car, pretending to reply to an important text on my phone, when I saw them. She was already inside with some guy, his lips on her lips. Then her ear. Then her neck.
    All of a sudden, the takeaway shop seemed a good option again. I walked out of the car park and onto the road, and completed the ten-minute ramble down the main street. I could have gone to Lou’s and holed myself up in my room for the rest of the afternoon, but she always wanted to talk and I most certainly did not.
    Instead, I walked up to the counter and ordered some hot chips. I sat down at the plastic-coated table that was pushed up against the big, glass window with