‘First time for everything,’ Finn muttered.
Kelly punched him in the stomach.
***
‘Oh,you’rehere,’ Finn’s mum, Deanna, said when she came into the lounge room and saw Kelly and Finn on the couch.
Kelly ignored her tone and smiled warmly. ‘Hello, Mrs Walsh. How was your shift?’
‘Like all Saturday shifts, Kelly. Long and painful.’
Kelly maintained her smile but felt it hurting her cheeks.
‘Can Kelly stay for dinner?’ Finn asked.
Now it was Deanna’s cheeks that looked like they were causing her pain. ‘Of course,’ she said through a smile of gritted teeth. She inclined her head towards the kitchen. ‘A word, Finley.’
Finn shot a sidelong glance at Kelly but dutifully followed his mother out of the room.
When she was sure they weren’t going to unexpectedly reappear, Kelly tiptoed to the open door that led to the hallway. The kitchen was at the other end of the hall and Kelly strained to hear their voices.
‘Have you two been here alone all afternoon?’ Deanna said.
‘We were watching a movie.’
‘You know how I feel about you being alone in the house with a girl.’
‘Mum, it’s Kelly.’
‘I don’t care who it is, Finley. I won’t have you ruining your life because teenage hormones get the better of you.’
Kelly could almost feel the heat of Finn’s embarrassment from all the way down the hall. Her own cheeks blushed at what Deanna thought they would be getting up to alone in the house. Then her emotions shifted and she clenched her fists. What an insult. To herandFinn.
‘And don’t invite her to dinner without checking with me first. I’m exhausted after my shift and I was hoping the two of us would have a nice, quiet night together.’
‘Sorry, Mum.’
Kelly dug her nails into her palms. She thought about going home to relieve the pressure on Finn but that was exactly what she shouldn’t do. She had to help him, fight for him, stand up for him.
He walked down the hallway and Kelly skipped to the couch, vaulted over the back and crash-landed on the soft cushions.
‘Everything okay?’ she said when Finn appeared. Her heart rate was up and her cheeks were flushed.
Finn raised his eyebrows. ‘As if you weren’t listening.’
***
The ate in relative silence, politely passing food and using their finest table manners. Kelly was trying to judge the best time to bring up his mum’s request that Finn quit Drama, but the lack of conversation prevented any natural segues. She had no choice but to dive in headfirst, at the risk of breaking her neck.
She took a sip of water. ‘Finn tells me you’ve asked him to drop Drama in Year 12, Mrs Walsh,’ she said.
Deanna visibly stiffened. ‘That’s right. It’s time for Finley to think about his future.’
Kelly’s pulse raced. She felt a bead of sweat run down her back. ‘You don’t think there’s a future in acting for him? He’s very good.’
Deanna put her knife and fork down. ‘I’m well aware of Finley’s talent, Kelly. But I’m also well aware of the number of talented actors who live hand to mouth and can barely scrape two cents together. That’s not the life I want for Finley.’
Finn was sitting next to Kelly, his mother opposite them. Kelly didn’t dare look at him but could see from the corner of her eye that he was following the conversation like an anxious spectator at a tennis match.
