Leap of Faith Read Online Free Page B

watching Ethan put his arm around Dawn.
    ‘She’s got a very nice head,’ Lily said.
    ‘Yep,’ I agreed. ‘Nice head. Witty banter. Charming personality. She’s pigging marvellous.’
    At that moment Ethan spotted us. I hope that spitting out the words ‘Pigging marvellous’ showed off my profile in its best light.
    ‘Hey!’ he called and pulled Dawn across the road to speak to us.
    ‘Hi Ethan,’ Lily said. ‘What are you up to?’
    ‘We’re just heading to the Picture House, they’ve got this film festival, it’s a bit . . . arty—’
    ‘Farty,’ Dawn finished.
    Hell, they’re at the finishing each other’s sentences stage already.
    ‘But today is vintage horror films. Do you want to join us?’
    ‘No thank you,’ Angharad said.
    Lily shook her head. ‘When I watch horror films people get really annoyed with me because I keep laughing.’
    ‘I’m broke,’ Megs said.
    Dawn looked at me. It wasn’t even in a don’t-you–dare-ruin-my-date way. She seemed perfectly happy for me to tag along, but I didn’t much fancy being a gooseberry.
    ‘I don’t think I’m allowed in the Picture House,’ I said. ‘Last time I was there I got into a fist fight with my granny about whether I could fit the entire contents of one of these titchy pots of ice cream into my mouth at once – which I totally can, by the way. We were removed from the building.’
    Dawn looked blank.
    Ethan looked impressed.
    It’s lucky that my behaviour provides me with an excuse not to go pretty much anywhere in this town.
    ‘I guess we’ll see you then,’ Ethan said and they strolled off.
    We didn’t stay long after that. I was a bit distracted wondering what it would be like sitting in a dark cinema with Ethan. Plus, Megs didn’t have any money because her parents are saving up to send Grammy to Barbados to visit Megs’s great auntie, and Ang wanted to hurry home and prepare to tutor Year Sevens in maths by making sure she’s got enough squared paper or something.
    It was a small comfort to me that Lily will now forever remember Spawn by picturing the word ‘farty’ coming out of her mouth.
    LATER
    When I got home, Dad insisted that I help him make lunch. So I pointed at things in the freezer that I thought I could eat without vomiting and he dribbled on about his boring life.
    ‘Where’s Mum?’ I asked, which is an indication of just how boring he was because it’s not like I had any actual interest in the whereabouts of old Patchouli Pants.
    ‘She’s gone to yoga with Simon.’
    Simon runs the wholefood shop next door to my mum’s shop of New Age nonsense. They’re each other’s best customers. And despite the fact he is possibly even duller than my dad, he’s the closet thing my mum has got to a friend. I looked at Dad.
    ‘And you don’t mind?’
    ‘Mind what?’
    ‘Mum. Being friends with Simon.’
    He shrugged. ‘Any friendship that gets us a discount on your mother’s beansprout habit is fine in my book.’
    ‘But you think it’s possible for men and women to be friends?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘Even if one of them fancies the other one?’
    ‘I don’t think there’s anything romantic between your mother and Simon.’
    I’m pretty sure he’s right. I can’t imagine anyone fancying my mum as it is, but it would be absolutely impossible once you’d been forced to see her doing the downward dog pose in her shorts.
    ‘Anyway, he’s twenty years older than her.’
    ‘Is he? You old people all look the same to me.’ I switched on the oven. ‘But in general, if there was say, a really sweet, lovely, generous girl. Just a hypothetical girl. Not me.’
    ‘Clearly not you from that description.’
    ‘And let’s say Hypothetical Hannah liked this boy, but he already had a girlfriend, do you think it’s possible for her to still be friends with the boy?’
    Dad opened a bag of frozen chips. ‘That depends, is this Hannah going to cry with envy every time she sees the boy? Or the