Heart (7 page)

Yankee:
That’s always good. See your boyfriend?

Me:
What boyfriend?

Yankee:
Sorry, thought you were seeing someone.

Me:
No. Why u think that?

Yankee:
You acted a little strange. I was worried I’d messed up.

Me:
No. Just a strange mood

Yankee:
So no boyfriend then? ☺

Me:
No. Not looking either!

Yankee:
Message received! Meet for lunch before lecture?

Me:
OK. 1.30?

Yankee:
It’s a date… only joking!

Me:
Bye.

Yankee:
What are you doing now?

Me:
Bye.

Yankee:
Seriously?!

Me:
Yes. Bye.

I finished drafting my essay and went to bed. Lying there, I realised it was just a week since Jake had left me here, alone. My heart was still a heap of broken pieces, but at least they were now arranged in a tidy pile in the corner.

Who was I trying to kid?

Shaking the rain off my hair and wishing I was organised enough to carry an umbrella, I looked around the food court for Garrett. He was sat, engrossed by his phone screen, so I made my way over to his table. As soon as I got there, he was out of his chair and holding one out for me.

“Let me get something to eat first,” I said, ignoring the chair.

“I’ll get it. You sit down.” His tone was one of command.

“I can get my own lunch!”

“I know but I’m trying to be a gentleman here. Give me a break, will you?” The combination of his smile and the proximity of others meant I had little choice but to go along with it. “What do you want?”

“I’ll have a jacket potato with cheese and beans. Oh, and a Sprite, please.” Having draped my coat over the back of the adjacent chair, off he went to buy lunch.

“Here. I don’t know how you can call those things beans, though. They’re gross!” Once the lunch trays were placed on the table, he sat across from me and smiled. I hadn’t noticed his teeth before. It was true what they said about American dentistry. He had a great smile.

When it was time to make our way to the lecture, he pulled me close and sheltered us both underneath his coat, holding the hood over both of our heads. The difference in height meant the walk was an endless knocking of elbows and legs and we were breathlessly laughing when we finally reached our destination, almost falling through the door to the lecture hall.

“Oh, and what do we have here? A scene from some airport chick-lit romance where the couple fall in love through the raindrops? How
sweet
. You’re late. Sit down and kindly do not disturb us any more than you already have. Back to Victorian balladry, everyone.” The lecturer’s sarcasm definitely brought an end to our laughter. I was embarrassed and angry. Checking my phone, I could see we weren’t late; he had started early. As the lecture progressed, my anger grew to the point where my notes were little more than random words punctuated by ferocious stabs of my pen.

Garrett didn’t get the chance to stop me making my way to the front of the hall as soon as the lecturer dismissed us.

“Ah, an apology, is it? Better late than never, I suppose.” His words did nothing whatsoever to appease me.

“No, this isn’t an apology, as we weren’t late. I checked and it wasn’t quite three thirty when we sat down. You started early.”

“Sorry. Was I supposed to wait until the chime of the clock to begin? Everyone else was seated and ready but because you,” he paused to scan the seating plan, “Miss Peters and Mister Adams, were not here, we were supposed to sit and make small talk until you deigned us with your presence?” The old man’s voice was dripping in sarcasm and I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks.

“You do not have the right to talk to us like that, Sir,” I added my own note of sarcasm to the word. “We are paying ridiculous amounts on tuition. The least we deserve is to be treated like—”

“Doctor Randall, I’m sorry, we won’t be late again,” Garrett interrupted my spiel. “It was completely my fault. Please do not hold it against Neve, Sir.” His words were accompanied by a smooth smile, the one he had used on me before. The transformation in the lecturer was beyond belief.

“Of course, Adams. Garrett, isn’t it? Thank you for the apology. That was all that was needed. Just don’t make a habit of it,” he added, with a wink, before leaving the hall.

“What was that for?”

“I just wanted to smooth things over. There’s no point making enemies of the faculty.”

“But he was rude to us! He humiliated us, in front of everyone! I don’t pay nine grand a year to be treated like that!”

“Well, for a start, it’s not you who’s actually paying the nine thousand, is it? And, secondly, you were about to be very rude, some might say obnoxious, to a respected man of a certain age. Rudeness is never acceptable, Neve.”

“Who do you think you are? My dad? You can’t speak to me like that!”

“Yes, I can. I’m your friend and I won’t let you make a fool of yourself. That whole firecracker routine is amusing when you’re a child, entertaining even, but you’re not a child and so you need to stop acting like one.” Was he right? Did I act like a child? For once, I was speechless; the due north on my sense of self was so off at that point, I didn’t know if he was right.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said, walking away. Knowing if I refused to go with him it would only accentuate his point about my childish behaviour, I followed and we walked in silence toward the housing complex.

“Which block are you in?” I asked when we reached the door of my house.

“Oh, I’m off campus. My car is parked by the union.”

“So why have you just walked the whole length of the campus with me then?”

“Because I don’t want you walking around alone. And I like being with you.”

“Really? Even when I’m a
firecracker
?” I couldn’t resist throwing his words back at him.

“There’s a time and a place for being feisty. That just wasn’t one of them,” he said, with a hint of flirtation. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Neve, but I think it’s important for friends to be honest with each other, even if that means saying something you know might be hard to hear.” His words made me feel less annoyed with him and the way he had handled the situation. I couldn’t fault the idea of honesty between friends, could I? “Actually, I have a favour to ask. Are you doing anything tomorrow morning?”

“No, I don’t have classes until three. What do you want?”

“It’s my mother’s birthday and I need to shop for a gift for her. Would you be willing to come along and offer a female perspective?”

“Of course. What time?” Who wouldn’t be quick to take up the offer of shopping?

“I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

“Eleven’s fine but I can get the bus into town. It’s silly you driving here to pick me up, only to drive back again.”

“Neve, how many times do I have to tell you? Let me be a gentleman. It’s the way I’ve been brought up to be.”

“Okay. Eleven will be lovely. Thank you, Mister Adams.” I dropped a quick curtsey and ran into the house before he could reply.

Something stopped me before I unlocked the door to my room and I crossed the corridor to Ruby’s room. I felt bad that I hadn’t spoken to her or Kema since
that
day. Even though I hadn’t seen them, I hadn’t sought them out, either.

My knock on the door was answered with a cheerful “Come in, it’s open!” Knowing Ruby was probably expecting someone other than me, I opened the door but didn’t cross the threshold.

“Hi there. It’s Neve, from across the hall,” I wittered, not wanting to alarm Ruby, who, let’s be honest, had never even met me.

“Hi,” was the mumbled response from a toothbrush-armed Ruby, her mouth filled with toothpastey bubbles which dripped onto her pyjamas as she spoke. With something that sounded like “Shit”, she ran to the bathroom and I could hear the swill of water as she rinsed. “Come on in,” she repeated, drying her face as she opened the door wide.

Ruby’s room was about as different to mine as you could get. The girl had clearly raided every ethnic goods shop in the student part of town, and there were nightlights glowing from any spare bit of space on the jumbled shelves and windowsill. It was chaotic, yes, but felt like an exciting place to be, filled with interesting bits and pieces which each told a tale.

“God, you’re not one of those Japanese minimalists, are you?” she asked as she watched me survey her room. “If so, you’re in the wrong place!” Even her laugh was unusual, all up and down notes.

“No, it’s fantastic. You’ve made it seem like home.” Maybe I needed to do more to personalise my room than dot a few photos around. Oh, and stack some pebbles in the corner.

“Well, it
is
home now, isn’t it? And this is great; I’ve never had a room to myself before!” Her fingers wove random curls in her red bob as she spoke; she was at least as interesting to look at as her room.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Two sisters and one brother means the girls always have to share and he gets a room to himself. But we’re not bitter about it!” Amazed at how open she was, I found myself grinning at her as she talked, drawn into everything about her. “So, how are you doing now? Got over whatever-his-name-was?”

“Getting there. I just wanted to say thank you for sending Kema over.”

“Ha! Part of it was me wanting a few minutes’ space from her. She’s kind of intense!”

“Intense? Scary more like! I didn’t dare to disobey!”

“Her bark is worse than her bite. Funnily enough, she asked me yesterday if I had seen you. She’ll be glad to know you’re all right.”

“Say thank you to her. I really appreciate what she did, even if I was a bit stroppy at the time,” I admitted.

“I will. Do you want to stay for a drink?” Not wanting to outstay my welcome, I declined and went back to my room.

At least I had one friend now.

And Garrett.

I was waiting outside the housing block when Garrett sped into the driveway at one minute before eleven. Well, when a sleek, black Audi sped in and came to a halt in front of me. Before the engine had even died, Garrett was out of the car and round at the passenger side, holding the door open for me.

“Nice car,” I muttered as I lowered myself into the leather seat.

“Thanks, it’s just a rental. You know, a hire car?” he translated for me.

“Well, it’s lovely,” I said, a little over-awed by the array of illuminated gadgetry in front of me. At least I knew how to buckle the seatbelt.

“It’s a TTS Black edition,” he told me, obviously expecting me to be impressed by that gobbledygook. “I’m used to a bigger car at home but this sure packs a punch.” He pressed a button to start the engine and pulled away at speed, as if to emphasise his point. Garrett drove like a racing driver, weaving around other cars whenever the opportunity arose. Both hands braced the wheel, maintaining complete control, as the automatic transmission meant he didn’t have to change gears. A couple of light taps on the steering wheel had
Holy Grail
by Jay-Z pounding from every corner of the small space.

Ensconced in the luxury of Garrett’s car made me think about Jake and how different it was being driven by him, in his old van with only the FM radio for background music. This was a whole different experience. And not just the car.

Swerving into a space in the Lanes, Garrett pulled a pair of sunglasses out from the visor and put them on before coming round to open my door. I knew better than to let myself out and was a little daunted at the Garrett I was now confronted by. He was wearing his usual smart jeans and shoes; I had yet to see him in anything remotely approaching trainers. Today, however, he was sporting a fitted navy jacket and a white shirt; combined with the shades, he looked more like a successful businessman than a student. And I was out of my depth, dressed in River Island jeans, Converse and my trusty parka.