Page 96 of When We Were Young

‘Get what?’

‘What it was like for you when you won the competition. I’m excited about getting in the studio, but I’m gutted I can’t come home and see you. I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t worry.’ She swallowed away the thickness in her throat. ‘Wow, recording in New York!’

‘Yeah.’

‘How long will it take?’

‘They’ve booked six weeks for the basic tracks, but we might add string arrangements and stuff, so it depends.’

She forced a smile, hoping he’d hear it in her voice. ‘String arrangements! You always wanted to do that!’

‘I know. I hope they go for it.’

‘They will.’ The smile was fading, folding in on itself.

‘Listen, I can’t talk long – we’ve got to get on the road. I’ll try to call you later, okay?’

She cleared her throat. ‘Okay.’

‘Milly, could you come over for a week or something?’

‘I could try.’ But she couldn’t. She was already behind on her coursework because of the exhibition. They’d kick her off the course if she didn’t get back on track.

‘But it’s only six weeks,’ she added. ‘We’ve done the hard part.’

Chapter 45

June 2016

Liv

I’ve never pitched a tent before, but I manage it all by myself following the instructions that fall out of the bag of Ella’s brand-new purple three-man. She can’t help because she’ll ruin her nails. There are twelve of us sharing five tents. We arrange them in a circle, leaving space in the middle for us to hang out. I told Dad I’m staying at Chloe’s. It’s the only alibi that raises no questions. But she’s still not returning my calls.

Nathan and I pore over the festival programme, planning who we want to see. All the others are interested in is food and drink, so we head to the food area and stuff ourselves with chips. Everyone puts money in, and Nathan and Ella go to the bar because they look older. They return with two trays full of plastic pints of cider, and we sit on the grass drinking as the sun sinks.

I check my watch. ‘Moon Illusion are on the main stage soon. Shall we head over?’

‘What’s Moon Illusion?’ asks Ella.

‘Tonight’s headliner! Come on, you didn’t come all this way to sit in a field!’

Charlie smirks. ‘I did.’

‘Anyone?’ I ask.

Lottie pulls a face.

‘I’ll come,’ says Nathan.

The two of us make our way to the main stage under zigzags of rainbow bunting fluttering in the breeze. Literally everyone we pass is laughing or smiling. A couple of stilt walkers lope past. I love this place.

The closer we get to the stage, the more tightly packed the crowd becomes, so Nathan takes my hand and drags me through. There’s a loud but muffled announcement and all I can make out is: ‘Moon Illusion’. Applause ripples towards us from the stage, and when it hits us, it sends tingles down my spine. We stop where we are and clap and whoop, grinning at each other like idiots.

As the band starts to play, another wave of applause washes over us. The sun is setting to the left of the stage; the sky streaked with pink and gold. I have never felt a buzz like this.

Every Moon Illusion song is an anthem that gets people singing along and jumping up and down and we’re so squashed in, it’s impossible to stand still. The warm fuzzy feeling from the cider is helping. My cheeks hurt from smiling, and whenever Nathan and I exchange glances, his eyes are gleaming. This is the best thing ever. I just want to go to music festivals for the rest of my life. I don’t want the set to end but after two encores it’s clear Moon Illusion aren’t coming back on stage no matter how much we chant ‘More!’ The stage goes dark, the compère says something about looking out for each other and everyone shuffles towards the tent field. Nathan takes my hand even though there’s no danger of us getting separated now and I feel like I’m floating.