Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 01] (4 page)

Mum leaned over and looked
under my arm. ‘Bit of talc on there and no harm done.’ Then she grinned.

‘Welcome to the world
of you have to suffer to be beautiful.’

‘Is she with you?’
asked the ticket lady at the cinema.

Nesta nodded and tried
to brave it out. ‘Three, please.’

I turned away and
tried to make myself disappear as everybody in the cinema queue stared at me.

‘You do know that you
have to be fifteen to see this film?’

Nesta nodded. ‘Yeah.
Course.’

‘Do you have proof of
your age?’ said the lady, looking pointedly at me.

Nesta shook her head.
‘Not on me.’

Izzie tugged Nesta’s
sleeve. ‘Come on, let’s go.’

As we made our way out
of the foyer, I could hear the ticket lady tutting as she took money from the
people next in line. ‘Honestly, kids these days,’ she said. ‘They’re always
trying it on.’

I tried not to meet
anyone’s eyes as we snuck out. I felt awful. It was my fault. Izzie and Nesta
could both easily pass for sixteen. It’s me. Even though I’ve put some kohl on
my eyes and am wearing lipstick. I’ve ruined their evening.

‘Bad luck,’ said a
voice from the queue.

We all turned back and
saw Michael Brenman standing with a bunch of his mates waiting to get in. He
was smiling at Nesta,

‘Anyone can see the
midget’s underage,’ sneered Josie Riley, looking at me. She’s a snotty Barbie
lookalike from Year Eleven and well-known as a bully in our school, always
picking on younger or smaller kids like me. She linked her arm through
Michael’s and pulled him away then looked back at us to say, ‘Stick to Disney
in future, kids.’

Nesta glared at her.

‘What are you staring
at?’ said Josie.

‘I’m just trying to
visualise you with duct tape over your mouth,’ said Nesta.

I gulped. Ow. Move
over Scary Spice, I thought, Nesta Williams has come to town. I made for the
exit. I didn’t want any trouble. I knew what Josie could be like. Once she and
her scabby mates had got me in the school loos and put my books in the sink and
turned on the taps. Took me ages to get the pages dry.

Michael moved away
from Josie and came up to Nesta. ‘You’re new in school, aren’t you?’

Nesta nodded, not
taking her eyes from Josie who was still gobsmacked at her comment and was
looking more than a bit unhappy. I don’t think anyone had ever talked back to
her before.

‘We could get tickets
for you,’ he said.

Izzie pulled Nesta’s
arm. ‘I don’t think it’s worth risking,’ she said to Michael. ‘If the ticket
lady sees us going in, you’ll only get in trouble as well.’

‘Come on, Mickie,
leave the children to play,’ called Josie, moving up the queue. ‘It’s almost
our turn.’

Michael turned back to
the queue. ‘Well I’ll see you around,’ ha said and smiled again at Nesta.

‘Wow!’ said Nesta when
we got outside. ‘Who is he? He’s gorgeous, easily an eight out of ten.’

‘He’s Michael Brenman,
he goes to the sixth form college in Finchley,’ Izzie said.

‘And he smelt amazing,
lemony and clean, could you smell it?’

Actually I could. It
had almost knocked me out. Never mind splash it on. He smelled as if he’d
marinaded himself in it.

‘Yes, er, lemony,’ I
said diplomatically.

‘What’s he doing with
that bullying creepoid? What’s her name, anyway?’ said Nesta.

‘Josie Riley,’ I said.
‘Isn’t she one of the girls who was calling you names that day at the bus
stop?’

‘Yeah. I wonder if
she’s his girlfriend,’ said Nesta.

‘One of the many. I wouldn’t
bother if I were you,’ said Izzie. ‘Everybody fancies him.’

‘But he did smile at
me and say I’ll see you around. What do you think he meant?’

‘I think he meant
he’ll see you around,’ said Izzie.

‘Yeah but, see you
around like I want to get to know you better? Or see you around, just see you
around?’ insisted Nesta.

‘See you around, like
join the list of girls I’ve already got gagging for me. He’s cute and he knows
it. Best play hard to get with someone like him.’

‘You reckon?’ said
Nesta, looking back at the cinema. ‘Mmm, very interesting.’

She did look stunning
tonight. Her hair was loose down her back and she was dressed in a denim
jacket, tight jeans and high-heeled ankle boots that made her legs look
endless. It wasn’t surprising that Michael had noticed her. All the boys were
staring at her. She looks so sophisticated. Izzie looked good too in a tiny
white cut-off top and combat jeans and trainers. I caught our reflections in
the burger bar window. They both look like grown-ups who’d let their kid sister
tag along.

‘I’m really sorry,’ I
said. ‘You’d have got in if it hadn’t been for me.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ said
Izzie. ‘You look great tonight and I love your top. Where did you get it from?’

‘I made it,’ I said.
‘Do you really like it?’

‘It’s fantastic,’ said
Nesta, feeling the material. ‘I’ve got one just like it from Morgan. But mine’s
real silk.’

Izzie saw my face
drop. ‘But this is lovely,’ she said quickly. ‘It does look like real silk,
Lucy.’

‘So what shall we do?’
I said, trying to draw the attention away from my top. ‘No point in going home
now and we’re all being picked up from here later.’

‘Let’s go and practise
flirting,’ said Nesta, flicking her hair back as a group of lads walked past
and looked appreciatively at her.

‘OK,’ I said, ‘but
much good it’ll do me. Boys never notice me even when I’m doing my best flirtie
gertie act.’

‘Rubbish,’ said Izzie.
‘You’re better with boys than anyone I know. Probably because you’ve got big
brothers. Boys always find it easy to talk to you.’

I winced when she said
this as I remembered last summer. Izzie and I had been to watch Lai play
football and we’d met this lad and for a change, he’d really chatted me up. I
didn’t really fancy him but I was flattered by the attention. Then Izzie went
off to get us some hot dogs and he asked if I thought she liked him and would
go on a date with him.

‘Yeah, but only so as
a way to get talking to you,’ I said. ‘Or Nesta. It’s like I’m everyone’s kid
sister. One of the lads. They never take me seriously.’

Suddenly I realised I
sounded like a right saddo so decided I’d make them laugh with my Madonna
impersonation. My party piece at Christmas. It always makes Izzie crease up. I
danced along behind them singing ‘Like a Virgin’ at the top of my voice.

‘Lucy,’ said Iz,
giggling despite herself. ‘People are staring at you.’

‘It’s one way to get
noticed,’ I said.‘ OK. Maybe not. So what shall we do, then?’

We looked around at
the various alternatives.

‘I suppose we could go
bowling,’ said Nesta.

I felt my heart sink.
Dad had given me my pocket money but it was only enough for the movie, popcorn
and a Coke. Bowling cost lots more and, of course, there’d be drinks.

‘No point,’ said
Izzie. ‘All the lanes will be booked on a Saturday night. Why don’t we go and
get some chips in the cafe and just hang out? They play good music over there.’
She pointed in the direction of one of the restaurants.

I sighed with relief.
That would be OK, I thought, I could afford that.

‘I feel rotten you
didn’t get in because of me,’ I whispered to Izzie as we made our way over.

‘It’s OK, honestly,’
she insisted. ‘I didn’t really want to see the film that much anyway.’

I knew she was trying
to make me feel better. She’d been dying to see the film ever since it came
out. Ewan McGregor was in it and he’s one of Izzie’s pin-ups.

On Sunday evening, I
phoned Izzie to see if she wanted to come over and watch a video with Steve and
Lai and me. Mum and Dad were going out, so we were going to get a couple of
horrors in and scare ourselves stupid.

‘Oh Izzie’s not here,’
said Mrs Foster when I called. ‘She’s gone to see that film. You know, the one
with Ewan McGregor.’

‘Who’s she gone with?’
I asked, as though I couldn’t guess.

‘Nesta. She called for
her half an hour ago. Er… are you not going with them?’

No. I wasn’t going
with them. And I know exactly why I hadn’t been asked.

C h a p t e r
 
4

Love
at
 
First Sight

Contents
-
Prev
/
Next

School was awful. I was
avoiding Izzie and Nesta. I’d been really hurt last night. But I’d got the
message. Izzie’d moved on and didn’t want me around any more.

I ignored them both in
English though I could see Izzie was trying to catch my eye. I kept my head
down and pretended I was fascinated by Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Mr Johnson was taking
the class and I usually like his lessons. He’s big and jolly with a red beard
like a Viking. He chalked a load of stuff up on. the board then said, ‘Now,
watch the blackboard while I go through it.’

Everyone cracked up
and when he realised what he’d said, he started laughing as well. But not me.
Me and Hamlet. We got things to think about. To be friends with Iz and Nesta or
not to be? That is the question.‘

After English, we had
a special lesson with Mrs Allen all about third world countries and their need
for help. Mrs Allen is our headmistress so everyone was on their best behaviour
and really quiet. But it wasn’t just because she was taking the class. It was
depressing hearing about the hunger and wars in some areas.

We had to get into
groups to discuss the lesson so I made sure I was in Mo Harrison and Candice
Carter’s group so I didn’t have to speak to Izzie or Nesta.

‘I don’t understand
why people fight,’ I said, feeling guilty that I was having my own conflict
with Izzie, ‘and over something stupid like land. I reckon it’s like, if you
look at the sky there aren’t any fences or boundaries. It should be the same on
the ground.’

‘Yeah,’ said Mo. ‘Why
can’t we all just share everything?’ ‘Same sun, same air, same earth,’ I said.
‘It hardly makes sense that there’s famine in the world when you see all the
shops with food spilling out the doors. And people over here on diets all the
time when on the other side of the world, other people haven’t even got enough
to eat.’ The lesson made me feel very sad. I mean, Mum’s been going on about
poor people and the starving for years. Like when one of us wouldn’t eat dinner
or something. But I never took much notice. Watching the slides Mrs Allen showed
and seeing the real people was different. I could see it made us all think. I’d
got all freaked out about not having a best friend any more but in some places,
some people have just lost their parents or their kids.

I don’t know what to
do about Izzie and Nesta. It seems so petty to fall out, especially after
today’s lesson. I feel really confused now and don’t know what to think.

Maybe I could go and
be a volunteer in the third world when I grow up. But then what could I
volunteer to do? My only special talent is making cheese omelettes so it’s
probably best I learn a skill first. But what?

At lunch-time, I was
out of class before Nesta and Izzie could catch up and made my way to the
library. I needed time to think and decided I’d go and look through books about
courses and careers and stuff and see if there was anything I fancied or might
be good at.

It all seemed a bit
daunting as I leafed through the pages; there’s so much to choose from.

‘Hey, Luce,’ said
Izzie, coming up behind where I was sitting at a desk. ‘What’re you doing in
here? Me and Nesta have been looking everywhere for you.’

I pointed at the
books. ‘Trying to decide on my brilliant career.’

I carried on reading
as if she wasn’t there but the silence felt uncomfortable and the words were
swimming on the page in front of me.

‘You’ve been very
quiet lately, Luce. Is everything OK?’

I felt as if I’d
swallowed a wad of chewing gum and it had got stuck in my throat.

‘Luce?’

‘How was the film?’ I
finally said.

Izzie looked
embarrassed. ‘I know. Mum said you called.’ She slid into the chair next to
mine. ‘Nesta’s got drama tonight so why don’t you come back to mine? Just us.
We’ll have a laugh. Tell you what, I’ll do your birth chart. I’ve found this
fab site on the Net and we’ll see what the future holds.’

It did sound tempting
but I didn’t say anything. I still felt confused and pushed out.

‘Oh pleeease, Lucy. We
could do the Tarot cards as well. It might help you get some more ideas about
what you want to do.’