Music and Lies (George and Finn Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

cigarette. When he had finished he held it out. ‘Want some?’
    I probably went bright red, despite the make-up. How did you tell someone you’d never smoked before? That you’d always kind of frowned on it? I’d never been one of the cool kids at school and if I didn’t take the cigarette now, it would be the same here. That wasn’t what I wanted.
    ‘I suppose you don’t approve,’ he said with a sneer.
    I hesitated, rubbing my hands down my new jeans.
    ‘Leave her alone.’
    I hadn’t heard anyone approaching and I think I actually jumped.
    It was Finn, the boy who had let us in at the barrier. He took the roll-up out of Cami’s hand and lifted it to his nose, sniffing it. He said to me, ‘You shouldn’t smoke this.’
    ‘I’ll smoke if I like,’ I said. I didn’t see what it had to do with him.
    ‘This isn’t a cigarette, you idiot. It’s a spliff. Ever smoked weed before? Hey?’
    I suddenly felt cold. So this was it, what my mother said about these music festivals. I would be offered drugs and I would get into all sorts of trouble.
    ‘I can make my own decisions,’ I said, hoping I sounded angry and not scared. Why shouldn’t I try it? Other people did. Cami, for a start, obviously.
    ‘Jesus, you mean you’ve never smoked before?’ said Cami. He reached over and took back the spliff and walked off towards the campervans.
    Now he was going to think I was pathetic.
    ‘What did you do that for?’ I said to Finn. He was watching the other boy through narrowed eyes, with dislike.
    ‘You should stay away from him,’ he said. ‘He’s trouble. And while I think about it, you’d do best to keep your distance from Dex Barker, too.’
    ‘What’s it got to do with you?’ I said, annoyed. I didn’t like Dex and I didn’t trust Cami. He had a kind of sly look about him. But he interested me. And I didn’t see why Finn thought he could tell me what to do. He knew nothing about me. What right did he have to interfere?
    Finn shrugged and I thought he was going to walk away, too. But he didn’t. He moved around the tent and tested all the ropes, pulling some tighter. Then he looked inside and did something with the groundsheet. ‘It’ll probably do,’ he said. He looked at the lie of the land and tested it with his heel. ‘Ground’s not too wet here, you’ve chosen a reasonable place.’
    He was a strange boy. He only looked a year or so older than me, but he was so confident and self-contained. He was totally at ease here. He wasn’t even so nondescript to look at as I had first thought. He had quite stunning cheek bones in that pale, watchful face.
    I knew I should thank him for his help. Nobody else had bothered. But I was still irritated. He obviously thought I knew nothing. I grunted and turned my head away.

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    FINN
    I couldn’t believe Beck Mannering had brought her little sister. Jesus! I thought Marcus had said she and Dex were on the ropes, might even split up. And then she turns up with him here, plus the kid in tow. All bright-eyed and keen, like she thought arriving with Dex Barker was fun. What kind of idiot thought that?
    And who the hell was going to look out for her? Beck? Not bloody likely.
    I wanted to shout at someone, but couldn’t, so I ended up helping the kid with her tent – and she definitely needed help – and then headed off into the forest.
    I walked quickly, putting some distance between me and the festival crowd. It helped me forget about Beck and all the rest, letting the silence and the smells surround me. It was a good place to be.
    Old Xavier had said Kielty was kind of special, and maybe he was right. Some parts were just the boring rows of fir trees that had been planted on an industrial scale forty or fifty years ago. This bit in the middle was really old though. Xavier had raved about it, like he really thought I was interested. Ideal topic for the project I was supposed to do next year, so he said, identifying which bits