reaching for his iPhone in the centre console. He turns it on and starts searching for
something.
‘You shouldn’t be messing with that while you’re driving,’ I scold.
‘It’s OK, I got it,’ he replies. ‘Something to cheer you up,’ he adds, as The Wombats’ ‘Greek Tragedy’ starts to play.
I smile across at him as he taps out the drumbeat on the steering wheel. The Wombats are one of my favourite bands and they always take me to a happy place.
I swivel to face him, feeling a bit better as I lean my cheek against the cool leather of the seat.
‘Can you play the drums?’ I ask, watching him.
He nods, but doesn’t stop singing along.
‘That’s cool.’
‘Miles can play guitar, too. Did you know that?’ He gives me a sideways look.
‘I didn’t. But none of you play the keyboard?’
‘Not well. You still wanna learn?’ he asks.
‘If you guys think it’d be a good idea,’ I say. It was Johnny who’d suggested it.
He flashes me a grin. ‘Definitely.’
I stay there like that, watching him with a flutter in my stomach as he sings along to the rest of the song, and then another track comes on, and another, and my eyelids begin to feel heavy. The
next thing I know, he’s unclicking my seatbelt.
‘Where are we?’ I ask, jolting awake.
‘Hotel.’
I look out of the window to see the upside-down, red-and-white sign of The Standard, the super-cool hotel where my friends are staying.
Jack brushes his thumb along the side of my face. ‘You OK?’ he asks softly, staring into my eyes.
I nod sleepily. ‘Tired.’ I jolt again. ‘Where’s the bus?’
‘Right in front of us,’ he says. ‘I caught it up.’
‘Top marks.’
He gives me a small smile. I gather my things together and turn back to him before exiting the car. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’
He glowers as he looks past me to the bus, and Tom, I presume.
I lean forward to give him a quick peck, but, as I’m about to draw away, he takes my face in his hands and deepens the kiss.
‘I told you I don’t need reminding,’ I murmur against his mouth as my insides turn into a mushy mess.
‘Not worth the risk,’ he replies, letting me go with a smirk.
I get out of the car to find Stu frowning at me, and my friends looking tactfully away. So they all saw that. My face burns and I feel slightly sick as I walk towards them.
I was trying not to rub Jack in Tom’s face, and I’ve just failed miserably.
‘Straight to bed, guys,’ Stu says slightly sternly, as we all walk into the hotel lobby together.
Half of my friends have moved on to college so they really must be knackered if they’re following their ex-teacher’s orders without so much as a roll of their eyes. I cast an
apologetic look in Tom’s direction, my heart clenching as I realise he’s angry and upset. He doesn’t meet my eyes as I call out goodnight and we file into our respective
bedrooms.
I’m sharing with Libby, and Lou, who uses the bathroom first, while I kick off my shoes and flop down on the bed. Libby comes to lie beside me, offering me a small smile.
‘You did it,’ she says quietly. ‘It’s after midnight.’
I smile at her, and then suddenly everything goes blurry and all I can see of my oldest friend is a cloud of ginger hair framing her kind face.
‘Oh, Jessie,’ she says, taking my hand and cuddling me to her as I burst into tears again.
We lie with our heads on one pillow, our foreheads pressed together, and it occurs to me with painful clarity that the last time we did this was on the night of my mum’s funeral. Libby is
my dearest friend in the whole world, and she and her entire family had been at the church that day, but Marilyn and Libby had sat up at the very front with Stu and me. I’d begged for Libby
to be allowed to come and stay at my house that night. She’d slept in my bed and held me, just like she’s doing now. I don’t know how I ever grew apart from her, how I could ever
have pushed her away,
something.
‘You shouldn’t be messing with that while you’re driving,’ I scold.
‘It’s OK, I got it,’ he replies. ‘Something to cheer you up,’ he adds, as The Wombats’ ‘Greek Tragedy’ starts to play.
I smile across at him as he taps out the drumbeat on the steering wheel. The Wombats are one of my favourite bands and they always take me to a happy place.
I swivel to face him, feeling a bit better as I lean my cheek against the cool leather of the seat.
‘Can you play the drums?’ I ask, watching him.
He nods, but doesn’t stop singing along.
‘That’s cool.’
‘Miles can play guitar, too. Did you know that?’ He gives me a sideways look.
‘I didn’t. But none of you play the keyboard?’
‘Not well. You still wanna learn?’ he asks.
‘If you guys think it’d be a good idea,’ I say. It was Johnny who’d suggested it.
He flashes me a grin. ‘Definitely.’
I stay there like that, watching him with a flutter in my stomach as he sings along to the rest of the song, and then another track comes on, and another, and my eyelids begin to feel heavy. The
next thing I know, he’s unclicking my seatbelt.
‘Where are we?’ I ask, jolting awake.
‘Hotel.’
I look out of the window to see the upside-down, red-and-white sign of The Standard, the super-cool hotel where my friends are staying.
Jack brushes his thumb along the side of my face. ‘You OK?’ he asks softly, staring into my eyes.
I nod sleepily. ‘Tired.’ I jolt again. ‘Where’s the bus?’
‘Right in front of us,’ he says. ‘I caught it up.’
‘Top marks.’
He gives me a small smile. I gather my things together and turn back to him before exiting the car. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’
He glowers as he looks past me to the bus, and Tom, I presume.
I lean forward to give him a quick peck, but, as I’m about to draw away, he takes my face in his hands and deepens the kiss.
‘I told you I don’t need reminding,’ I murmur against his mouth as my insides turn into a mushy mess.
‘Not worth the risk,’ he replies, letting me go with a smirk.
I get out of the car to find Stu frowning at me, and my friends looking tactfully away. So they all saw that. My face burns and I feel slightly sick as I walk towards them.
I was trying not to rub Jack in Tom’s face, and I’ve just failed miserably.
‘Straight to bed, guys,’ Stu says slightly sternly, as we all walk into the hotel lobby together.
Half of my friends have moved on to college so they really must be knackered if they’re following their ex-teacher’s orders without so much as a roll of their eyes. I cast an
apologetic look in Tom’s direction, my heart clenching as I realise he’s angry and upset. He doesn’t meet my eyes as I call out goodnight and we file into our respective
bedrooms.
I’m sharing with Libby, and Lou, who uses the bathroom first, while I kick off my shoes and flop down on the bed. Libby comes to lie beside me, offering me a small smile.
‘You did it,’ she says quietly. ‘It’s after midnight.’
I smile at her, and then suddenly everything goes blurry and all I can see of my oldest friend is a cloud of ginger hair framing her kind face.
‘Oh, Jessie,’ she says, taking my hand and cuddling me to her as I burst into tears again.
We lie with our heads on one pillow, our foreheads pressed together, and it occurs to me with painful clarity that the last time we did this was on the night of my mum’s funeral. Libby is
my dearest friend in the whole world, and she and her entire family had been at the church that day, but Marilyn and Libby had sat up at the very front with Stu and me. I’d begged for Libby
to be allowed to come and stay at my house that night. She’d slept in my bed and held me, just like she’s doing now. I don’t know how I ever grew apart from her, how I could ever
have pushed her away,
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