Good Girls Don't Read Free Page B

Besides, he likes the kind of movies I do, including Velvet Goldmine , which Lucy watched and said, “I’m confused. And there didn’t really seem to be a plot.” Whereas Barry understands the love I have for the glam rock era, and therefore the love for the movie (and the glitter and the naked Ewan McGregor), although thankfully he’s over his stage of dressing like they did back then. It was a happy moment for all, I think, although he does look great in make-up.
    “So what have you been up to, Miss Emily?” he asks me, as we settle down on my bed to watch Road Trip . (Ah, mindless entertainment!) It’s a very teenage-drama-series moment, the two of us lying on the bed together, with the duvet pulled up over us, only without the sexual tension.
    “Declan,” I say.
    “No, Emily, I’m Barry. Bar-ry.”
    “Oh, stop, you know what I meant.”
    “What has he done this time?”
    “Well, we sort of –”
    Barry looks at me. “What did you do?”
    “Slept together.”
    “You what?” He looks truly disgusted. I look at him carefully to see if he’s joking, but he seems to be serious. That was the last thing I expected.
    I can’t say anything.
    “Are you serious?” he continues.
    I nod.
    “Why?” he demands. “I mean, you don’t even like him half the time. He’s always manipulating you, and I can’t believe you’d – degrade yourself like that.”
    “ Degrade myself?” I exclaim. “I did not – no, you know what? This is stupid. I don’t have to justify myself to you. I just thought I’d tell you, because you’re my friend, and we talk about this sort of stuff. I don’t need you looking down on me like this.”
    “I just don’t see why you’d do something like that, that’s all.”
    “Because I wanted to! Because it felt like the right thing at the time, that’s why.”
    “And you think that’s a good enough reason? You can’t just go through your whole life doing whatever you feel like, you know. I mean, do you care about anyone except yourself?” I’ve never seen him this angry. It scares me.
    “I do care,” I say softly. And I do .
    Maybe it’s the softness that snaps him out of it. “Sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have – you’re right, it’s your choice, I was just being stupid.”
    “It’s okay,” I say, not meaning a word of it.
    He hugs me, awkwardly. I return the hug, and then we stare at the TV screen. The tension is overwhelming.
    “You know – I actually do have a lot of work to do tonight, so maybe I should go,” he says.
    “Okay. I mean, if you have something to do – you should get it done,” I say.
    He hugs me again and leaves. I close the front door after my best friend and watch him walk away.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    I don’t watch the rest of the movie. I consider calling Lucy, but I know she’s busy studying, and I don’t want to interrupt her. She’s stressed enough as it is. She wants to do law, so the pressure is on.
    Lucy is the epitome of the bad-girl-gone-good persona. When I first got to know her, when I was in Third Year and she was doing Transition Year, she didn’t give a damn about school. We used to skip class and get drunk and/or stoned at her house. As a direct result of this, I failed all my mocks. Since then, of course, she’s done a complete turnabout. From bad influence to shining star. My mum knows her mum, and she just loves telling me how much work Lucy is doing.
    “Of course she is, Mum, she’s in Sixth Year.”
    “But she was working last year, too. You should really be doing some study this year, to make it easier on yourself next year. That’s what Janet did.”
    “Janet can’t even cook for herself, Mum.”
    The conversation usually ends at that point.
    I can’t believe Barry freaked out like that. He’s never reacted like that to anything, ever. He’s usually so laid-back, with an attitude like mine – if no one gets hurt, then what’s the problem? And I can’t believe he had the nerve to try to