‘My best friend used to live here,’ I say finally, gesturing to his house.
‘What’s that got to do with anything?’ says Ty, looking confused.
‘You’re not the only person who’s going through this,’ I tell him.
‘Well, it still sucks,’ he says.
‘Yeah, but you might make some new friends, see a new city.’ I don’t know why I’m hyping this guy up, all he’s done is shit on my hometown.
‘I wasn’t good at making friends in San Francisco,’ he says. ‘It’s not going to be any different here.’
‘I’m getting that vibe,’ I say, dryly.
He shakes his head. ‘You don’t get it. My dad made us move to the other side of the world, away from the life I had. Then to top it off, he wants me to apply for colleges on the side we left. Which means there’s no point making friends, as I’ll have to go back anyway.’’
If there’s one topic I don’t want to get sucked into with astranger, it is university applications. Especially with someone who is as unreasonably angry as this guy.
‘I think I’ll go now,’ I say. I pause. ‘I would say it’s been nice meeting you, but you know what, it hasn’t.’
And with that, I turn around and head back into the house, thinking about what a downgrade my new next-door neighbour is.
Seven
Let’s get going
It’s time to bust out of this town
Let’s get going
I’m going to take the crown
‘Let’s Get Going’ fromThe In-Between
My new neighbour is the worst,’ I say the next day to Ollie on FaceTime.
‘And here I was worried he’s going to replace me,’ says Ollie, grinning at me through the screen. My heart feels like it’s physically hurting in my chest.
‘No chance.’ I snort. ‘He’s completely pretentious and angry.’
‘Wow,’ says Ollie. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get so worked up about someone before. About other stuff, sure, but not other people. You’re normally Ms I-Want-Everyone-To-Get-Along.’
‘That’s because I don’t like arguments. But all this guy seems to do is cause arguments!’
‘He really hit a nerve, didn’t he?’
‘It’s annoying, this American guy landing here and making all these judgements, without even knowing anything.’
Ollie laughs. ‘Don’t you see the irony? You send your friends Selena Says all the time with your judgements!’
‘That’s different,’ I say. And it is. My Selena Says aren’t said to anyone’s face. Which, okay, makes it sound worse, but I’m not going around picking fights. ‘Oh, I need to remind you, Rose Conrad tickets are going on sale at the end of the month.’ Maybe he won’t notice I’ve changed the subject. ‘You need to register for the access link.’
‘Okay, send it over.’
‘Amazing, thank you,’ I say. Ollie doesn’t have as much skin in the game as I do, but it’s important to have as many chances as possible to get the tickets. ‘How are you finding Manchester?’
‘Oh, you know,’ he says. ‘It’s fine. Not as cold as everyone said it would be.’
‘It is August.’ I laugh. ‘Well, the last day, but still.’
