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bathroom mirror. One corner of his lips quirks upwards, the other has just the hint of a droop so that he doesn’t look too eager. The smile of the super-cool. He smiled at Hannah and she came running.
    We were all surprised. Cathy and I are used to boys making a play for Hannah, of course. They look straight
past
Cathy and me. Cathy is big and bouncy and pounces on people in a friendly fashion like Tigger. I’m more like Piglet, little and pink, and I sometimes wear my hair in a pigtail too. Hannah is more of a Barbie doll than a cuddly toy. She’s blonde like Barbie, and she’s got that sort of figure too. Boys are always hanging round Hannah. Boys in our year at school, not Year Eleven like Grant. But Hannah sings in the choir and they get to practise with the orchestra sometimes after school, and a few weeks ago Grant casually suggested to Hannah that she might like to go to McDonald’s afterwards on their way home.
    Hannah is a vegetarian and disapproves of McDonald’s – but she’d have eaten a whole cow raw if Grant had suggested it. So off they went to McDonald’s and Hannah nibbled a few chips in total seventh heaven –
seventy
-seventh heaven, stars shining overhead and herds of little cows jumping over a galaxy of moons. Grant walked home with Hannah, going right out of his way to do so. Hannah said her heart was thumping like crazy wondering whether he was going to kiss her when he said goodbye. She wanted him to kiss her
sooooo
badly and yet she was terrified too, wishing she could brush her teeth and put lipgloss on first.
    She kept up a frantic gabble all the way down her road right up to her front door. Grant gave her his much-practised devastating smile, bent his head – and kissed her.
    Hannah held her breath. She told us it felt wonderful, but she was so worked up she was scared she might laugh or cry, and she was starting to feel dizzy not breathing. Grant looked deep into her eyes and she was so overcome she let it all go and
snorted
right in his face. He leapt backwards in alarm and he looked so comical she carried on giggling helplessly, spluttering and gasping, going into peal after peal of laughter.
    â€˜I’m so sorry,’ she gasped, clutching her sides.
    Grant gave her one cool look of contempt and walked off. She tried calling after him but he didn’t even look back.
    She knew she’d blown it and burst into tears. She tried apologizing properly the next day at school but Grant just raised an eyebrow.
    â€˜I didn’t realize you’re just a silly little kid,’ he said and he sauntered off.
    He ignored her completely after that. Poor Hannah was heartbroken. She wrote to him but he didn’t reply. She plucked up all her courage and phoned him, leaving sad little messages on his answerphone, but he never called her back. She invited him to her fourteenth birthday party but he didn’t turn up.
    â€˜If only I hadn’t been so
stupid
,’ Hannah wailed. ‘How could I have acted like such an idiot? Snorting right in his face! And all this stuff came out my
nose
. I just about died when I saw myself in the mirror. He must have thought he was with a total loony, laughing like a jackass with green slime dripping out my nostrils!’
    I gave poor Hannah a hug and Cathy launched into her speech about not looking back, looking forward . . .
    But it was Hannah’s mum who was really comforting. She was so sweet at Hannah’s disco, boogying away just like us most of the evening, but when nearly everyone had gone home and Hannah had started crying because she’d so hoped Grant would turn up after all, Hannah’s mum put her arms round her and stroked her hair out of her eyes and kissed her on the nose and told her she was worth ten of Grant Lacey and she’d pull
vastly
superior boys in the future.
    I started crying too and everyone thought it was me doing my usual April Showers act, sad for poor