*Chapter 13*

Agony Aunt

 
 
The return through the gorge was undertaken as one group, once back at our start point we had literally five minutes in the gift shop before Dad and Jem ushered us out to the bus. The hotel is literally five minutes drive away so by quarter past seven we were back and chomping at the bit for dinner.

“Okay everyone,” Steve made an attempt for our attention, “dinner is a buffet, no, not all salad Mark. We’ll be having a debrief after you’ve eaten then the rest of the evening is your own.”

“Yay.” Laura offered which raised a few titters.

“Get on with it then.” Steve prompted.

We didn’t need telling twice, the walk had certainly raised an appetite and whilst we have eaten since today’s stage, it was a long time ago and a couple of sandwiches and fruit are never going to refuel us.

“Hmm, something smells good.” Sal offered.

“Something looks good like.” Josh added.

Mark and Geth had a bit of a tousle over who got first shot at the banquet but otherwise, for teenagers, we were quite civilised. Buffet it might be but cold it wasn’t, two soup options, a selection of meat in the form of schnitzel, cutlets or steak, veggies, salad stuff and a variety of dressings meant we were certainly not going to go hungry. I loaded a plate with a selection of goodies then had to go back for some salad – look I’m a growing um girl.

“Geez Drew, I don’t know how you can eat all that.” Claire mentioned.

“Wasn’t me that wanted a hotdog before dinner the other night.” I offered in return.

She blew a raspberry, which as she had a mouthful of soup resulted in a bit of a mess.

“Clai…re!” several voices complained.

“Sorree.”
 
 
Hungry I might be, pig I’m not so unlike the other lads, well Laura too, I didn’t go back for more chips. There was fruit for dessert and coffee of course so I set myself up with a big yellow thing in a skin and a cup loaded with caffeine ready for the debriefing.

“So,” Dave started, “how do you think it went today? Mark?”

“It could’ve gone better, I lost a lot of time on that climb.”

“Not just you Mark, it was quite a bogey for a lot of riders. Drew?”

“I’m glad it wasn’t any longer.”

“You’ll all be glad to know that you won’t get many Hors category climbs in your careers, Drew, your split from the town to the summit was only about two minutes slower than the leading pro’s managed in the Swiss national tour last year.”

“Nice.” I allowed.

“Amanda?”

“It was all about that climb today wasn’t it, Roni and the Swiss girl have more climbing endurance, I was pretty pleased that I didn’t lose more on the climb.”

“What about the descent, it was exciting enough in the car, anyone have any input on that?”

“Ah dunno how Super Bond stayed upright on some o’ those corners like.” Josh offered, “Ah’ve been racing with him most of the year but today scared the brown stuff out of me.”

“Drew?” Dave prompted.

“I just concentrated on my line.”

“An ahm Lance Armstrong.” Josh scoffed.

“Anyone else?”

“It was quite good fun, all those bends but you do have to concentrate.” Laura opined.

“So as a team we’ve consolidated our position today even if some of us have lost some time. We still have the two main jerseys and first two places in the boy’s race, Amanda has retained her third place in the girl’s event and we now have the lead in the team competition. It’s a strong place to be but its far from over, tomorrows time trial is likely to be decisive.

I know most of you are fair testers but this isn’t the F1 and we don’t have too much clue how most of the competition will fare. Mr Bond has worked on a strategy for our specialists, as they’ll have the advantage of using the time trial bikes. The rest of you will have tri bars on your bikes, Mike & Darren have been fitting them this afternoon, so you won’t be too disadvantaged. You’ll be starting in reverse order so Josh, Drew we should be able to give you some useful splits. Questions?”

There wasn’t really anything more to say.

“Okay then, we need your gear downstairs for nine in the morning, we’ll go to tomorrow nights accommodation, then we’ll use the ride to the start for a warm up.”
 
 

“You wanna talk?” I asked Mand as the meeting broke up.

“Kay.”

“Walk?”

“Nowhere private round here.” she agreed.

“At the front in say five minutes?”

“Five minutes.” She really was on a different plain of reality!
 
 

I dodged up to the room to find Josh already there and on the phone. I slipped in and started looking for my trainers.

“…Yeah he’s just come in like…aye ah will, so I’ll sees ya at tha weekend, luv to Gran…aye, wiedersehn.”

“Uncle Joe, he said to tell you hi and congrats on the jersey like.”

“Er thanks, so you going to see him?”

“Aye, Da’s on manoeuvres so me Mams off to Gran’s for a few weeks so I’ll be back in blighty until the middle of September like.”

“What about the Worlds, aha there you are!” I pulled my missing footwear from under the bed.

“What about them?”

“You are still riding?”

“Of course, Mam and Uncle Joe are coming too.”

“Cool, for a minute I thought you were gonna flunk on me.”

“Don’t be sa daft man, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

I erupted into laughter.

“What did ah say like?”

“You said you wouldn’t miss it for the world, the worlds.” I chortled.

“And?”

“Miss it for the world – worlds?”

He still looked blank, “forget it, I think we’re driving up.”

“Aye, I forgot your Mam is riding too.”

“Yeah, bummer eh – I’ll be upstaged by my Mum.”

“So what are you up to?”

“Walk with Manda.” I allowed tying my second shoelace.

“I’ll come too, ah need a walk after all those frites.” He enthused.

Bummer!
 
 

“What’s he doing?” Mand asked a few minutes later.

“I said we were going for a walk and he sort of invited himself.”

“Great.”

“So which way we going like?” my Toon friend enquired.

“Down past the funicular thing.” I suggested.

Josh set out at a sharp pace, Mand and me intentionally a slower one.

“So?” I enquired once our companion was out of earshot.

“Eh?”

She’s pinching all my best lines, “Darren?”

“Oh him, I dunno do I?”

“But you do fancy him?”

“Well a bit, I mean he’s got that cute dimple and those eyes.” She dreamily supplied.

“Can’t say as I’d noticed.” Look I don’t go round looking at other guy’s eyes all right?

“She says!”

“Not interested, all yours.” Hmm, wonder what Toni’s doing? “Why don’t you ask him out?”

“Don’t be so daft, where’d we go?”

“We’re staying in Interlaken tomorrow night right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I saw a Maccy D’s, you could go for a burger?”

“I guess.”

“Come on you two, don’t wanna get lost.” Josh called back up the road.

I waved back and he set off again.

“Great prawn!”

“But loveable.” Mand chuckled.

“So?”

“Alright, I’ll ask him okay.”

“Could use that other box of dye?” I suggested.

“Nah, he can take me as I am, I sort of like it like this, Mum’s gonna go potty though.”

“Yeah, mine went ballistic when I ended up with blue hair and that washed out in a couple of days.”

“Now that sounds like a story I have to hear.” Mand grinned.
 
 

“Them posters are everywhere.” Josh observed as we passed yet another rendition of me hamming it up for the camera.

“I can’t believe no one else has realised its you.” Mand offered.

“They see what they want to I guess, scruffy kid with long hair who rides a bike or ‘Heidi’, the girl with er, big assets, make up and a fancy costume.” I suggested.

“Josh, you tell her, you’ve known her for a while.”

“Well I guess a lot of people do think she’s a girl like.” As if that’s news. “Ah suppose what Drew says is sort of right though, you might think she’s a girl but she does look quite different on the poster, quite a babe.”

“Josh!”

“Sorry man, but its true like, I mean its not that I fancy youse or anything, not that ah don’t like.”

“Josh, stop while you’re ahead mate, I think we know what you mean.” Manda was nearly splitting her sides.

“Do you think they’d miss a couple?” I enquired.

“Ah doot it, they slapped enough up everywhere,” Josh stated, “What you want em for?”

“Thought I’d send one to my Gran and put one up next to my page threes.”

“Ya daft booger, come on there woor some better ones back in the village, I might get one for ma se’en.”

“Boys!” Mand stated, rolling her eyes skyward.

And so it was that we snuck back into the Hotel Tourist smuggling half a dozen copies of the ‘Heidi’ poster advertising the Helvetia Cup. Hey maybe I can sign a couple and sell ‘em on Ebay?

© Maddy Bell 30.01.14