Seventeen-year old first year college student Josie Clarke would prefer not to blush the colour crimson at every little thing, but Idiopathic Craniofacial Erythema, a chronic facial condition doesn't play fair.
In fact, it's as uncontrollable...
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As Mel buckles in, and I resign my fate over to her, a song on the radio cuts through the silence that's lingered ever since leaving college grounds.
The unmistakable sound of her voice raises a small smile between us, before Mel starts the engine and Debbie Harry's partially drowned out.
"Are you sure Max isn't going to freak out about this?" I ask, as she takes a sharp corner.
She glances at me and shrugs, before saying, "I'm not sure about anything, but who cares? It's about time this all got sorted."
Her admission doesn't make me feel less jittery. In fact, I feel more nervous than I'd been watching her march through the drama hall towards me after convincing myself she'd be out for my guts if she ever saw me again.
"But, don't you think it's best if he knows I'm coming over like this? So he can at least be prepared," I try, my voice straining.
"Max has had enough time to stew and sulk."
"Mel," I say quietly, unsure of how to broach the topic of what Libby had told me earlier in her text. "Why have you and Max been arguing?"
She spins her head as we come to a red traffic light and long queue. Drumming her nails on the wheel, she tenses her lips and then relaxes. "He thought that I was the one who let slip about the spawn of Satan's parent's marriage falling apart. Can you even believe that?"
Cautious about what to say next, I wait for her to continue, which she does. It's as if she's been waiting to get it off her chest.
"He told me Josie."
"About Maddie talking to me in the girls toilets?"
She nods and lifts her gaze to check her mirrors. "He told me like, two weeks ago. He let slip by mistake. But, obviously he was all butt hurt and worried about promising not to say anything about it to you, that he swore me to secrecy."
I'm not even mad he told her. I'm just surprised.
"I would never go back on my word," Mel says, emphasising each word. "But Max accused me when he came back from the party. Thought I'd got you and him in trouble, which is bullshit. So we argued. He said he didn't say a word, and that it must have been me."
"I'm so sorry," I say, knowing that although I've not had much control over latest developments, I am still to blame for being the catalyst. If I'd only told Max at the start about my intentions to do the talent show with him none of this would be happening.
Raising her hand, Mel says, "Save it Josie. You can tell Max that when you see him, for now let's just listen to some music and drive."
