“Do I look like her Clive?” I queried turning to address the source of the voice.

“Er Drew man, what're you doing here?”

“Let me think Clive, looking at penguins?”

“Looking at, hey, don't be like that bud, you know what I mean.”

Clive Jones, once my best mate when I lived in Warsop, here, in the flesh.

“Racing, thought I'd take a squint at the planes while we were here.”

“Your cousins here?”

“Nope, neither of them.” I tried to forestall any further probing, “Look I need to go, bus waiting.”

“Sure I heard someone calling your cuz's name just now.”

“Lots of girls have the same name.”

“I guess.”

“Gaa-ab!” Mand screeched.

Clive craned his head over the balcony to try and spot his prey.

“Catch you later, tschuss!”

I made a break for it, clearing the first set of steps in one go before clattering my way down the rest to where the girls waited impatiently.

“Come on, what kept you?” Jess quizzed.

“Lad from my old school.” I allowed as we trotted towards the car park.

“Sounds like there's history there.” Manda observed.

History indeed, Clive Jones, yeah, stuff I'd rather forget about.

“Ooh do tell Gab.”

“Look it was a couple of years ago, it's over, there's nothing to tell.”

“Hmmm.”

“Sorry we're late, the time sort of ran away a bit.” I thought I'd get an apology in before Steve could go off on one.

“You're alright, I've only just got here myself.”

Must be my lucky day. We clambered into the bus and we were soon heading back towards Lilleshall.

“So?” Jess pressed.

I knew what she was hinting at and even if I was gonna tell her it wouldn't be on our team bus with everyone listening, nope not gonna happen

“Not here.”

“Later then.”

Not if I can help it!

By bus the journey back was under twenty minutes door to door, dinner wasn't until six so we headed to the gardens to crash in peace and quiet for a bit. Jess' phone chirped before we reached ‘our' bench, summoning her to join the other skaters.

“Laters.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

Once she was gone Mand restarted the inquisition.

“So what's the story with this boy then?”

“I said, nothing to tell.”

“There so definitely is, come on spill.”

She's not gonna give up without something is she, guess I'll get it over and done with.

“Okay,” I started, plonking myself onto the bench, “it was like two years ago, bit more I guess. Mad, my cousin, she's like really into Cosplay and stuff, well…”

The telling of the tale, as these things do, took longer than I thought it would, the basic story is quite short but for it to make any sense you have include other stuff.

“So he still doesn't know you are Gaby?” Mand smirked .

“Nope, as far as I know he still thinks she just moved away.”

“Boys!”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Bum it's half six, we're missing dinner!”

My stomach rumbled in agreement, it's not like it's a set mealtime here but I've only had a bit of cake since the race and nothing much since breakfast before that.

“Last one there eats salad!” I challenged, already starting to run.

“Why you!”

I skidded to a halt at the tray pick up barely a metre ahead of Manda.

“Yes!”

“You cheated going across the flower bed,” she puffed.

“All is fair in war.”

“Well you can eat salad, I can smell a roast.”

“Let you off, hmm smells like lamb.”

It was indeed lamb I could smell, they had a bit of a carvery going on so there was turkey and pork too, quite a treat after the healthy food we've had all week, a bit of indulgence.

“Drew man!” Josh's voice called out as we threaded our way towards our favourite table by the windows.

“Josh? Cool man, you made the squad, no one said.”

He was sitting with Jamie and Geth.

“Couldn't tell you if you weren't here,” he pointed out.

I plonked my tray down to join them.

“Hey I wanna sit too,” Amanda complained.

“You could sit with the girls,” Geth suggested.

“And you could get a second brain cell.” She snorted in reply to that suggestion.

“I was only saying.”

“Gi o'er the pair on yer, sit here, I'm finished eating,” Jamie offered.

“Thanks, Jamie, there are still some gentlemen left.”

Don't count me in that statement.

The domestic squabble resolved, Geth left with Jamie leaving the three of us around the disputed seating.

“So you staying in Blighty?”

“Same as you I guess.”

“Cool.”

“What are you two rabbiting about?” Mand asked.

“Eh?”

“You were talking German?” she observed.

“Soz, we'll try to remember to use English.” I apologised.

“Aye lass, Josh Waugh by the way.”

“The Geordie Gabs goes on about, we saw you in some of the vids.”

“Gabs?”

“She's cool, she knows most of it.” I told him.

“The others?”

“Nope, just Mand's, oh yeah, this hellion is Miss Amanda DeVreen.”

“Manda to you big boy.”

“Don't get any ideas Mand, he's taken. Talking of which how are the girls?”

“Same as usual, Gret's trying to get one over Tali all the time.”

“Apart from that? How's Ron?”

“I thought Josh was the only lad on the team Gab? ” Manda queried.

“I am now,” Josh agreed.

“So who's this Ron kid?”

“Ron,“ I chuckled, “she'd lay you out for calling her a boy!”

“Aye, she would at that,” Josh chuckled.

“Veronike Grönberg is the girl I race with most of the time, she lives up near Dusseldorf.”

“I thought you all rode together?”

“Only for the big events, Josh, Tali and Gret live up north so they ride together, Roni and me around the Eifel and NRW mostly.”

“Like the Eifel Tower?”

“Interesting idea but not it. Where I live is in the Eifel, just south of Bonn.”

“That anywhere near Cologne, my Gran went to the market thing there last Christmas.”

“We're south of there but we sometimes go to Köln shopping and stuff.”

“Kuln?”

“It's how you say it, Cologne is the French way of saying it, only tourists say it like that.”

“Hark at her.”

“I was only saying.” Geez I sound like Geth, “You should come over sometime.”

“Like that's gonna happen, Mum and Dad think Ibiza is the height of sophistication, I couldn't stand going this year, stayed with Gran in Brighton instead.”

“Never been.”

“Brighton or Spain?”

“Either.”

“Full o' shirt lifters man.”

“Spain?”

“Brighton Gabs, I don't reckon they'd like that terminology though big boy.”

“Well it's not like I'll be saying it to their face,” Josh stated.

“Still.” Mand pushed.

“Not my thing like, ask Tali.”

“Too much information!”

“I was only…”

“Saying.” Mand and me finished for him, it's become line of the day!

to be continued....

© Maddy Bell 27.04.13