Summerswitch Part 07

by Maeryn Lamonte

Shelley’s Mum and Dad were round at Carol’s when we got back from the walk. Shelley went straight up to her Mum and hugged her.

“Welcome back dear,” she replied. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d be coming with us after all.”

The double meaning slipped past Aunt Carol and Mr Hamilton and mother and daughter exchanged knowing smiles before Shelley moved on to her Dad.

“Hi Daddy,” she whispered putting her head against his chest and settling in for a long hug.

“What have I done to deserve this?” He laughed putting his own strong arms around her. “Not that I’m complaining of course.”

I went over to Aunt Carol and put my arms around her.

“Oh my heavens!” She exclaimed with her own embarrassed laugh. “Now I know something’s up. What has got into you Jerry?”

It felt so good to be called by my name and I smiled at her. “It occurred to me that that I haven’t done anything to say how much I’ve appreciated all you’ve done for me, Aunt Carol.”

“What do you mean? You built me a wall, isn’t that thanks enough?”

“That’s not what I mean. I just want to say that,” suddenly I was embarrassed, “well, that you’re special.”

Shelley looked over at me with a mischievous look in her eyes. “Should I be jealous already?”

Everyone laughed at that and the awkward moment passed.

“Well I suppose we’d better be getting back to Mum and Dad’s if we have to figure out how to squeeze all your new stuff into those suitcases.” Mr Hamilton gave his daughter a playful pat and lifted her off him as he stood up. “I’m assuming you’ll want to see Jerry off on the train tomorrow?”

Shelley looked at me and nodded.

“What time is it again Carol?”

“Eleven o’clock,” Carol replied, “and I think it might be an idea for you to pack as well young man, so you have a bit more time later.”

“Actually I was wondering if I could call round after tea so Shelley and I could go for a walk this evening.” This self-confidence was new; normally I would have mumbled my way through a sentence like that.

Shelley smiled up at her Dad with pleading eyes and he didn’t have a chance.

“I’ll see you about seven-thirty then.” It was a statement rather than a request, but Shelley nodded in whole hearted agreement.

Whole hearted, there’s an expression I’d never fully grasped before this moment.

Shelley and her parents headed off and I went upstairs to get the packing out of the way. Shell had left the things I’d brought across from her grandparents’ in the wardrobe and dresser, so I squeezed them into her small suitcase for later. I smiled; I would have had an excuse to go round even if I hadn’t thought to ask permission.

Carol made us an early tea and it passed in a daze. She commented once that it looked like I’d worked things out with Shelley, but when I gave her the zombie response, she snorted in mock disgust and didn’t try to talk to me again.

There was time to clear the dishes and wash them before heading out so I did, without being asked. Carol gave me one of her thoughtful looks, but put it down to hormones or some such other teenage malady. When I was done I pulled on my trainers and headed for the door.

“See you later Aunt Carol,” I called.

“Take a key,” she yelled back. “I don’t want you waking me when you come drifting back at some ungodly hour.”

I unhooked the spare front door key and disappeared into the still light evening.

Shelley’s grandpa opened the door to me and beckoned me in. “She’s just getting ready, come in and say hello.”

I did as I was bidden and put the suitcase I’d brought back from Aunt Carol’s at the foot of the stairs. It seemed odd to be a stranger in this house after nearly two weeks of being part of the family. Gran was sitting under a shawl by the fireplace.

“Hello Mrs Hamilton,” I greeted her, “it’s good to see you looking so much better.”

“Oh hello dear, have you come to See Shelley?”

“Yes, we were going to take a walk around the village.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

Shelley’s gran went back to her knitting and an awkward silence descended. Why was it suddenly so difficult to come up with something to say? I guess conversation is a two way thing and Gran didn’t have the same motivation to talk to Jerry Newington as she did to her granddaughter.

I scuffed my feet on the floor and earned myself a reproving look. I smiled a sheepish apology and let out a sigh of relief as footsteps on the stairs announced Shelley’s appearance.

She had gone for the little black dress and looked stunning. My breath caught in my throat, not so much at how beautiful the dress looked and moved on her, as at the smile that shone from her face.

“I know it’s a bit dressy for a walk but I couldn’t help myself. Do you mind?”

“How could I mind?” I stammered out. “I don’t think I’ve seen you look so radiant.”

She ducked her head and I could just make out a hint of red to her complexion through the strands of hair.

“Gran, is it OK if we borrow the picnic blanket? We may want to sit a while.”

With approval granted, she ducked into the kitchen to fetch it and passed it to me as we headed for the door.

“See you guys later.”

“Have fun dear, don’t be too late.”

And we were alone. Shelley grabbed my hand and pulled me into a skipping dance which set us laughing before we reached the end of the road. We settled into a slow walk and she held onto my arm with her free hand.

We walked in silence till we reached the site of our first picnic, both of us seemingly drawn there by the same instinct. It was a quiet evening with a golden sun sliding behind a handful of clouds and a perfect mirror image in the lake. I threw down the rug and settled onto my back to enjoy the peace and quiet and Shelley sat shyly besides me.

“Glad to be back?”

“Hmm, I guess so.” I didn’t sound convincing even to myself and Shelley looked up at me intrigued.

What to tell her? This last fortnight had changed me in ways even I didn’t understand.

“I don’t miss the hours spent fighting with my hair and choosing what to wear, and I certainly don’t miss that rather gross experience from last week,” I started, “but I am going to miss the kick I got out of looking so good.”

“What are you talking about, you look really great.”

“Yeah I remember how it felt to look at you when you were me, but that’s not what I mean. It’s kind of like after all the effort you go through to look good, it’s a real boost when someone does the goldfish impression thing when you walk into the room. If a guy spent as much time on his looks people would start thinking he was gay or something, and without the effort you don’t get to take so much credit for looking good. Does that make any sense?”

“Yeah it does.” She drifted off into her own thoughts.

“I’m also going to miss all those heart to hearts with Gran and Aunt Carol and even your mum. You know I never realised how lonely it is being a bloke till I had a chance to see things through your eyes?”

“Yeah, but we need each other’s support you know. When it comes down to it, with making ourselves look good and trying to get the attention of the man we’re interested in, it’s still you guys who get to decide whether anything comes of it. If the feller’s not interested then we need to have a shoulder to go to and have a good cry on.”

“You think it’s so easy for blokes? I ask a girl out and she turns me down, I have to deal with the fallout as well.”

“But you can just shrug it off can’t you? I mean I’ve had guys do that to me in the past.”

“That’s just for show, can’t let the other guys see you’re hurting. I thought you’d picked up on some of that this last week.”

There was an unasked question between us and I didn’t really want to answer it. I’d spent some time thinking about Alex since the switch back and my feelings were a mess of confusion. I tried to evade it for a while.

“So what do you think that was all about? You know when we switched back and for a minute it seemed like we were stretched out all over this place?”

“Yeah that was weird. I think it was kind of echoes of the spell working, like side effects.

“My Mum told me that the magic always has a way of working out in the time frame it has, which is why she didn’t seem that worried about things getting back to normal before this weekend. She said that sometimes it’s like a piece of elastic stretching out as far as it can and when it springs back it kind of bounces around a bit, so you get some odd effects.”

“When did she tell you this?”

“You know that time in the Carol’s garden when they’d just come from seeing Gran?”

“You didn’t tell me she said things’d be alright.”

“I’m not sure I believed her at the time.”

She put her hand on my chest and started to draw swirly patterns with her fingers. Here it comes.

“So where does this leave us?”

I reached up and took her hand in mine, then looked at her till she raised her head and I could see her eyes. They sparkled with anticipated tears. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing any makeup, probably because she was expecting bad news.

My guts bunched inside me. I knew intimately how she felt about me and had been searching for a way through this particular issue without hurting her.

“You know how I feel about you, pretty much the same as I know how you feel about me; I mean that was the object of the spell wasn’t it?”

She nodded her head and looked away long enough to wipe the heel of her hand across her eyes.

“The thing is all the time you were being me you kept asking about Alex. It was important to you then, just like all the time I was you I was caught up in the way I felt about you and nothing else seemed to matter.

“Now we’ve changed back I guess our feelings are working the way they were before and even though I know I care about you, and I know how much you care about me, I can’t promise anything until I’ve sorted out where I stand with Alex.”

She nodded her head and buried it in my chest. I felt her tears soak my shirt and it was like my heart was tearing itself apart in my chest.

“Besides you’ll probably meet some bronzed, muscle-bound American millionaire in Barbados and forget all about me.”

Her reply was muffled but I just about made it out, “I’ll never forget about you. Oh Jerry, I don’t want this to end.”

Neither did I.

“Then it won’t.” She sat up and looked at me searching my eyes for something on which to build some hope. “Look we can’t stop what’s going to happen tomorrow. You have to go to Barbados with your parents and I have to go back to the arse-end of England with mine, but what we started this last two weeks isn’t going to end when I get on that train tomorrow.

“I’m not going to promise that it’ll lead where you want it to, I’m way too confused to figure out what the way ahead is right here, right now. But you and I aren’t done. Not yet.”

The tears were falling again. That was something else I found I envied; the ease with which she could let her feelings show. There was a smile behind them now and I reflected that back to her.

“And now if you’re agreeable, right at this moment I would really like to kiss you.”

And she laughed and leaned closer, inviting me to do just that.

-oOo-

The rest of the evening past in silence, each of us drinking in the closeness of the other. Tomorrow seemed an impossible distance off and it felt like if we could just be still and quiet enough we could slow time down or even stop it for a while. Eventually the sun reached the horizon and the light began to fade. I squeezed Shelley’s shoulder.

“We should be getting back.”

She clung onto me. “No, just a little longer.”

But the light was fading fast so I pulled her upright. I hadn’t realised before just how light she was. Maybe a week’s worth of shifting rocks had done something for my bod after all.

I folded up the blanket while she arranged her dress, then we headed for home, arms entwined about each other and pulled so tight it was almost impossible to move. Every step we took was slower than the last and it was full dark before we stood in front of the Hamilton’s cottage.

There were lights on still, despite it being after Gran and Grandpa’s usual bedtime and Shelley looked up at me guiltily. “I should go in.”

I nodded and took her in my arms. “See you tomorrow? We’ll probably be leaving around tenish.”

“Can I come for breakfast?”

I smiled. “I can’t imagine Aunt Carol would turn you away.” I pulled her gently towards me and we savoured one last kiss before she extracted herself from my embrace and headed inside.

The walk home was more from memory than anything else. There weren’t any streetlights in Ferrensby and it was already full dark when I dropped Shelley back home. Aunt Carol had left a porch light on so I didn’t have too much of a fumbling war with the key. I let myself in quietly and crept upstairs in my socks. I thought I knew where all the creeks were on the stairs by then but a light came on in Aunt Carol’s bedroom as I reached the top.

“I’m sorry Aunt Carol, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s alright Jerry I wasn’t asleep. How was your evening?”

“Just about perfect.” I drifted into my recent memories.

“Do anything interesting?”

“Not really. We walked down to the lake in Farnham and found a quite spot to sit and snuggle and watch the sunset. We talked a bit, but mainly we snuggled.”

“I remember times like that,” Aunt Carol said wistfully, a dreamy look coming into her eyes. “Some of my best memories were of evenings just like that.”

I perched on the side of her bed and we sat in silence for a while lost in the past — mine quite a bit more recent than Aunt Carol’s.

“So, do you think you’ll see her again?”

I jerked back to the here and now. “What? Oh I suppose there’s a distinct possibility.”

“You’re not still thinking about this girl back home are you?”

My voice took on a whiney tone. “It’s complicated Aunt Carol. I mean the last time I spoke to her I asked if she’d like to go out, then before she had a chance to answer me this dickhead…”

“Jerry.” Aunt Carol has never been a fan of bad language.

“Sorry Aunt Carol, I mean this individual with a penile enhancement to his physiognomy,” Aunt Carol snorted at that, “picked that moment to chase after me and she never had a chance to respond. Now tell me that I can leave things hanging like that.”

“What will you do if she says yes?”

“I’ll take her out then tell her that I had a really nice time and end it.”

Aunt Carol looked at me over her glasses; her equivalent of “Hyeah right!”

“Look I know Shelley lives a long way away and I won’t get to see her that often, but she’s really special. We kind of got under each other’s skin these past two weeks.” If only you knew.

“Well you have been a lot nicer to have around since she came along, so I can only hope that you’re serious. I suppose that you’re going to want to come visit a little more often now then?”

“I’d like that, especially if it happens to coincide with Shelley visiting her grandparents.”

We shared a smile.

“Shelley asked if it would be alright if she came to breakfast tomorrow.”

“Wow, she has it bad. Well if that’s the way things are going to play out I suggest we both get our heads down. You especially, you’re not so brilliant in the mornings.”

I smiled and gave Aunt Carol a peck on the cheek, something I’d never have done before but she seemed to appreciate it.

“G’nite Aunt Carol.”

-oOo-

It was hard getting to sleep that night and I awoke to the sound of Aunt Carol banging pots and pans in the kitchen. It reminded me of Shelley’s gran which reminded me that Shelley was coming to breakfast. Suddenly I was wide awake and charging into the bathroom. Ten minutes later I was dressed and downstairs.

“You do realise it’s only seven-thirty don’t you?” She asked me.

“Well you never know when she’s going to turn up do you?” I tried to be convincing and totally failed.

Carol gave me one of her snorting laughs again. “And I thought she had it bad! If she’s half as civilised as I suspect, she won’t ‘drop in’ for breakfast until at least eight-thirty so you can have another hour in bed if you want.”

“Nah, I’m up now. Is there anything I can do?”

“Are you packed?”

“Yup, toothbrush and jimmies went in the case before I came down.”

“OK well how do you fancy pancakes for breakfast as a last day treat?”

“Sounds good. What can I do?”

“To start off why don’t you go and see if we have enough eggs? If I’m going to make enough for the three of us I’ll need at least four. You can give the chickens their morning feed as well.”

I pulled on my trainers and headed out to the hen house. A couple of scoops of feed went into a bucket and I opened the door and started spreading the food about the run making cooing noises to tempt them out. Once they were out and scratching in the dirt, I snuck into the henhouse and gathered the half dozen freshly laid eggs.

“Still warm from the hen’s bum,” I declared putting the basket down.

Carol passed me a recipe book turned to the correct page, and over the next half hour she led me into the unfamiliar territory of cooking something more complex than beans on toast.

Shelley turned up at eight-thirty and I began to suspect either a conspiracy between them or a genuine psychic capacity in my aunt. I’d already practiced with a few pancakes and had just about mastered the knack of tossing them by then.

“Wow I am impressed,” Shelley grinned at me. “I never suspected you had it in you.”

“Just don’t look at the ceiling; there may still be evidence of my early attempts up there.”

Before long the three of us were chomping our way through a sizable stack each. Aunt Carol didn’t have any maple syrup, but we made do with the golden variety.

“Mmm,” Carol really did seem to be enjoying my efforts. “The American’s do have some questionable culinary ideas but this one really takes some beating.” Shelley and I were too busy wolfing the food down to offer comment.

When we were done Aunt Carol shooed us out of the house, refusing to let us touch the washing up. “Don’t go too far. We need to be packed and on our way to the station by ten o’clock.” We waved our agreement and headed off in search of a quiet spot to spend our last moments on our own.

Ten o’clock came all too quickly, but we made it back in time to load up the car and climb in before the deadline.

“You’re Mum and Dad asked me to drop you off at your grandparents’ after we put Jerry on the train,” Carol told Shelley. “I should be able to get you there by eleven-thirty which means you should be able to say your goodbyes and hit the road by midday; which is what your dad wanted.”

The drive into Harrogate was too short, but it left us with forty-five minutes before my train was due to leave and Carol left us alone in the waiting room until ten minutes before the train went. We did the tearful words-cannot-express routine and made promises of emails and phone calls and texts. I dragged my suitcase and bag onto the train and we stared at each other through the window until the train headed off down the track and she faded from view. Yeah I guess it was a bit over the top, but then it did feel like the end of the world.

A leaden weight settled onto my chest and I just stared at the scenery for a long time. We reached Sheffield and I dragged my case and bags across the station to await my connection. Once it arrived and I was settled in the new car I dug through my bag for something to do. The science fiction book Shelley had bought was in there and I figured I’d give it a go. It passed the time but it wasn’t the best piece of writing in the world. The fight scenes were good, but overall the plot was thin and the character development a bit non-existent. I turned the last page with fifteen minutes to spare and ended the journey as I’d started it. Familiar landmarks flew past and the prospect of home lightened my mood.

I’d been too busy being someone else to feel homesick, and it was only now that I realised I had missed Mum and Dad and even our relatively new home.

They were waiting as I walked off the platform. I couldn’t run to greet them because of my suitcase, but I made a kind of weary last effort and reached them. Hugs exchanged and the familiar family banter cut in. It felt so good to be home.

Aunt Carol must have told them about Shelley over the phone because it wasn’t long before I was getting the third degree from both of them. I mean no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition? I think my parents could have headed it up. I managed a kind of laid back, teenage nonchalance for a while, but eventually my feelings for her came bubbling to the surface and they ended up with more of an answer than they were expecting.

We made it home and Mum sent me up to my room to unpack. I did and filled the laundry hamper with the week’s dirties. Since it was full it seemed right to take it downstairs to the washing machine. I then rather overloaded the poor beast before calling for some help. Mum came in and rescued her cubic friend from my incompetence. I mean how was I supposed to know that you don’t pack in as much as you can? She gave me basic instruction — only this much washing, the powder goes in here, usually use this setting sort of thing — then we headed back to the kitchen. Mmm spag bol, not had that for a couple of weeks.

There was a ton of stuff recorded from the TV and after tea I sat and tried to catch up — Mum wouldn’t let me at the washing up, probably afraid for her dishwasher having seen what I did to the washing machine. I found myself bored with the TV and before very long turned it off and headed for my bedroom. As I turned out the light my thoughts turned to Shelley. I checked the clock and did some sums. She should be landing about now. I drifted off to sleep with images of her pushing a trolley heaped high with suitcases through my dreams.

-oOo-

I hadn’t drawn the curtains properly and a shaft of sunlight found enough of a gap to wake me the next day. It felt weird being back in my own bed; familiar old bedroom, Mum and Dad type noises going on downstairs. Usual plan of action for mid-summer holidays would be to stay in bed until Mum gave me her fifth or sixth last warning, then slouch around the house watching TV, playing video games, but there was a restlessness about me today that was new.

I jumped out of bed and pulled on a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans. It struck me that I had just got ready in less than five minutes and I smiled. “Yes,” I kind of whisper/shouted at my reflection. “I’m back!” Except something didn’t feel right; there was a nagging at the back of mind like I had not done things properly.

I checked myself out in the mirror and notice a couple of stains; fallout from last night’s tea. I pulled the tee-shirt off and balled it up ready to put in the laundry hamper then took down one of the polo shirts that Shelley had bought with Aunt Carol; it actually looked pretty good. Half a minute’s hunting in the bottom of one of my dresser drawers unearthed a comb and I dragged it through my mop until it surrendered. The nagging in the back of my mind eased, and I’d still only added a couple of minutes to my get ready time.

I bounced down the stairs and Mum stared at me like I had a duck growing out of my head or something.

“OK, who are you and what have you done with my son?”

I smiled and shrugged. “I guess I got used to getting up early at Aunt Carol’s.”

I grabbed a slice of toast from the rack and ate it dry.

“I was thinking of going into town for a bit, is there anything you need from the mall?”

…

“Mum, you’ll let the flies in.”

She shook her head and closed her mouth. “Did I just hear right…?”

“Depends what you heard.” I gave her a mischievous grin; this was actually quite fun.

I watch my mother try to start a sentence several times before giving her a gentle prompt.

“So nothing you want from the Mall?” I repeated.

“No I don’t think so, unless… No you wouldn’t want to do that.”

“Do what?”

“I have some dry cleaning to pick up, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to ask you to carry my clothes around when some of your friends’ll most likely be there.”

“No it’s OK, give me the tickets I’ll get them.”

In something of a daze Mum pulled the dry cleaning tickets out of her purse. “There’s about five quid to pay I think, but that should cover it.”

She offered me a tenner with the tickets. I took them from her hand and gave her a peck on the cheek. “See you later.” She was still gawping as I closed the door.

I recognised a few people from school on the bus as I paid my fair; Alex was one of them sitting on the sideways seats towards the back. I walked down the aisle to her and asked if she’d mind if I sat with her. She shrugged and shuffled up a bit and I sat down with no real idea of what I wanted to say. Did she always wear that much makeup?

“I never had the chance to answer your question the other week.” She looked at me a little nervously. “The thing is I already have a boy-friend and it wouldn’t be right…” She kind of trailed off unable to look me in the eye.

I waited for a few moments and the world didn’t crumble into ruin about my ears. “OK, fair enough. Just thought I’d ask.”

We carried on in silence for a while then some of Alex’s friends climbed on at the next stop.

“I’ll give you some room,” I said and moved forward to sit with one of the guys I’d played D&D with in the past. Alex and her friends started whispering and giggling, I suspected I was the focus of their attention but my ears refused to burn and my face refused to go red.

“Crash and burn, dude.” Luke liked to style himself as a beach-bum even though we lived fifty miles from the sea. He had the long hair, the tie-dye tee-shirt, the knee length shorts and the sandals to go with the image, but right now he seemed just a little too pleased at my misfortune.

I shrugged. “Her loss.”

I thought of Shelley curled up in her hotel bed with the sound of the sea drifting gently through an open window and imagined myself there with her. For a few moments the real world receded and I could almost smell her hair.

The driver missed a gear and I jerked back to reality. The next stop was the mall so we all climbed to our feet and hung onto the bars until the ancient bus juddered to a halt.

Billy Cooper was sitting on the wall outside the main entrance to the mall with four of his mates. Luke suddenly wasn’t beside me anymore and I let out a long sigh as I felt all the crap of my life poised to fall on me again. I headed for the main entrance and tried to act casual.

“Hey! Newington!” Who else could it be but Billy Cooper?

He did a passable impression of a sewer pipe, spewing out a long stream of filth, the essence of which was — What the f*** did I think I was doing hanging around his f***ing mall and making the f***ing place look so f***ing f***ed up, and if I had an ounce of f***ing sense in my f***ing empty f***ing head I’d f***ing turn around and f*** the f*** off.

I stopped in front of the entrance and the jeering started. It lasted until I turned towards Billy and walked over to him.

“Did we learn a new word today?” I asked him with just hint of condescension.

“What?” Billy jumped down from the wall. “What do you… What did he just say?” Not very bright our Billy.

I went on the offensive. “Listen Billy, I’m getting really tired of you chasing after me trying to make my life a misery, so I’m going to ask politely only once. Please stay away from me.”

“Oh!” What counts for witty banter in Cooper World I think. “Oh!” Aha, repeat it for effect. “Well! I guess if you’re going to ask nicely then I suppose I should do what you ask.” He turned slowly away from me. Any second now.

He spun round aiming a haymaker at the side of my head. He was fast, but I was amped up on so much adrenaline my eyes were fizzing. I ducked under the punch and he twisted past me, overreaching badly. I stood up as his fist passed overhead and planted my own squarely on his kidney.

He fell to the floor gasping for a breath that wouldn’t come. His cronies stood their ground. If they had wanted to, they could have put a very swift end to me between the four of them, but then I guess most bullies get a bit nervous when one of their victims retaliates.

I crouched down next to Billy and spoke very quietly in his ear. “Now I’m telling you. Stay away from me.” After a second there was the barest of nods. I helped him stand as one of the mall security guys came over.

“What happened here?” He was all ready for trouble.

“Nothing sir,” I told him. “This guy just lost his balance and fell; winded himself I think. He should be ok in a minute.”

What? It’s the truth… mostly.

“I don’t like you kids playing on this wall. I want you all to move on, do you hear?”

“Yes sir, we’re just going.” I tried to be polite but he probably thought I was being cheeky. I turned to Billy. “You alright Cooper?”

His eyes were a little wider and his mouth was hanging open still, but his breath was coming back to him. He nodded again and I turned away and walked into the mall. Every step I expected him to lose his rag and come raging after me, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me look over my shoulder. Keep it cool, nice and slow. There’s the door and… we’re inside.

The hint of a smile played across my lips. The crap hadn’t fallen. I’d stood up to Billy and Co and lived.

Now what?

Oh yeah, bookshop.

It was over an hour later when I walked out the mall. I’d spent a while browsing the new books in the local bookshop and had found a sequel to the one I’d been reading as Shelley and bought it on impulse. Hey if I don’t get into it I can always send it to her as a present. The dry cleaners had been a quick and easy stop except that now I was carry a bright lilac skirt and jacket and a very pink flowery dress. I was fully expecting a few choice comments from the lurkers outside the main entrance, but in the end it didn’t go down that way.

Alex was waiting just inside the entrance to the mall and she came over and took hold of my arm as I approached.

“I heard what happened between you and Billy,” she murmured in my ear. “So do you still want to go see a movie or something?”

Wow! The crap really wasn’t falling today. I had dreamed of this moment for so many weeks and now it was finally here. My heart was in my throat, thumping away like a jackhammer, but somehow I managed to keep a clear head. I stopped and pulled her round to face me. She was very pretty, all be a little heavy on the makeup.

“Alex,” I paused and looked deep into her eyes, how could I put this? “No.”

I let go of her arms and walked past her stunned expression towards the bus stop. As luck would have it a bus pulled up just at that moment and by the time I reached it, the door was clear and I was able to step straight on. I arranged Mum’s dry-cleaning on the seat next to me just as Luke ran onto the bus and sat opposite.

“Dude, what were you thinking?” His eyes were wide with disbelief.

“She had her chance.” I mean if the only thing she likes about me is that I hit a guy then we’re both in for a disappointment. I pulled out my book and started reading.

“Dude, I don’t even know you anymore.”

I ignored him. I was going off the idea of D&D.

My phone beeped.

“What the hey?”

“It’s a phone dude. You know? Some dude or dudette sends you a text so you pull out the phone and read what it says.”

“No-one knows my number except my parents and they don’t know how to text.”

I flipped it open and looked in the inbox. Nope didn’t recognise the number.

“Could be a scam man. I wouldn’t open it if I was you.”

And probably more because he said that than for any other reason I opened it.

“Dad has a worldwide phone. He lent it to me so I could send you a picture of me missing you.” It read then a photo.

It was clearly early morning; the palm trees cast long shadows on the impossibly white sand. The phone had been held at arm’s length and there was the cascade of ash blonde hair and the shy smile with the little overbite… and the bikini.

I wonder how much it costs to send a text to Barbados on my tariff. She’ll be back in a couple of weeks; I wonder if I can persuade my parents to let me have a friend come to stay.

- The End? -