and almost landed in Nicole’s lap.
‘Watch it!’ she cried.
‘Sorry.’
‘What’s going on?’ said Pauly. ‘Why’s it so dark in here?’
‘It’s the night,’ Eric said drily. ‘The lack of sunlight.’
Raymond laughed.
Pauly shoved him.
Raymond bumped into me again.
‘Keep still, for Christ’s sake!’ I yelled, nearly losing my balance again.
‘Why don’t you all just shut up and sit down?’ Nicole suggested.
It was a good idea.
Once we’d all settled down and made ourselves comfortable, everything started to calm down a bit. It was pretty cramped in there, and it took us a while to sort ourselves out (so that we weren’t sitting too close to each other, or kicking each other’s feet), but we got there eventually. I’m not sure if I did it on purpose, but I ended up sitting next to Nicole. She was on myright, sitting against the far wall. Raymond was on my left. And Eric and Pauly were sitting opposite me.
The air inside the den was hot and sticky, and it smelled kind of earthy and raw – a heady mixture of brambles, sweat, warm breaths, and skin.
‘Anyone remember to bring a candle?’ Eric said.
We all looked at each other, shaking our heads, then Raymond reached into his pocket and pulled out two white candles. As Eric clapped his hands – ‘Well done, Ray’ – Raymond lit one of the candles and placed it on the ground.
‘It’s vanilla,’ he said to no one in particular.
As the candle flickered, lighting up the gloom, I gazed around the den. The walls were leaning in a bit, and there were a few stray bramble stems creeping in through gaps in the roof, but apart from that it seemed in pretty good order.
‘It’s a lot smaller than I remembered,’ I said, gazing up at the roof.
‘Maybe it shrank in the rain,’ said Nicole.
I looked at her.
She smiled. ‘Of course, it could just be that we’re all a bit bigger now.’
‘A bit bigger?’ Pauly said, leering at Nic.
‘Piss off, Pauly,’ she told him.
He grinned.
Pauly was always saying stuff like that – crass, jokey, sexy kind of stuff – and I knew it wasn’t worth bothering about. It was just him being stupid. Mr Funny Guy. But it did bother me. Not because I thought it was wrong or insensitive or sexist or anything, but simply because I was thinking pretty much the same thing myself. Nicole did seem to have grown quite a lot… and I couldn’t quite understand it. I mean, itwas only just over three weeks since I’d last seen her, and although we didn’t hang around together any more, I still saw her at school pretty much every day. But somehow she just looked so different now – older, fuller, sexier. I knew it was probably just her make-up and everything – darkened eyes, reddened lips – and the way she was dressed – low-rise jeans, a flimsy little cropped white vest – and the way she’d slicked back her short blonde hair, so she looked kind of icy and hot at the same time…
‘Are you all right, Pete?’ she said to me.
‘What?’
‘You’re staring.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Sorry.’
She smiled. ‘That’s all right.’
‘Who wants a drink?’ Pauly piped up.
I looked over to see him brandishing a bottle of tequila.
‘It’s the special stuff,’ he said, unscrewing the cap and taking a slug. ‘Whooh- hoo !’ he howled, rolling his eyes. ‘Very special in deedy !’
‘What’s so special about it?’ Eric asked.
‘Here,’ Pauly said, passing him the bottle. ‘Suck it and see.’
As Eric took a drink, we all started bringing out the bottles we’d brought. It was a pretty varied selection – a bottle of wine, a few cans of Coke, a half-bottle of Bacardi, Pauly’s tequila, Raymond’s bottle of rum.
‘What the hell’s that ?’ Pauly said, sneering at the grimy little bottle when Raymond brought it out.
‘It’s rum,’ Raymond told him.
‘It’s half empty.’
Raymond shrugged, looking embarrassed.
I glared at Pauly.
‘What?’ he said to
‘Watch it!’ she cried.
‘Sorry.’
‘What’s going on?’ said Pauly. ‘Why’s it so dark in here?’
‘It’s the night,’ Eric said drily. ‘The lack of sunlight.’
Raymond laughed.
Pauly shoved him.
Raymond bumped into me again.
‘Keep still, for Christ’s sake!’ I yelled, nearly losing my balance again.
‘Why don’t you all just shut up and sit down?’ Nicole suggested.
It was a good idea.
Once we’d all settled down and made ourselves comfortable, everything started to calm down a bit. It was pretty cramped in there, and it took us a while to sort ourselves out (so that we weren’t sitting too close to each other, or kicking each other’s feet), but we got there eventually. I’m not sure if I did it on purpose, but I ended up sitting next to Nicole. She was on myright, sitting against the far wall. Raymond was on my left. And Eric and Pauly were sitting opposite me.
The air inside the den was hot and sticky, and it smelled kind of earthy and raw – a heady mixture of brambles, sweat, warm breaths, and skin.
‘Anyone remember to bring a candle?’ Eric said.
We all looked at each other, shaking our heads, then Raymond reached into his pocket and pulled out two white candles. As Eric clapped his hands – ‘Well done, Ray’ – Raymond lit one of the candles and placed it on the ground.
‘It’s vanilla,’ he said to no one in particular.
As the candle flickered, lighting up the gloom, I gazed around the den. The walls were leaning in a bit, and there were a few stray bramble stems creeping in through gaps in the roof, but apart from that it seemed in pretty good order.
‘It’s a lot smaller than I remembered,’ I said, gazing up at the roof.
‘Maybe it shrank in the rain,’ said Nicole.
I looked at her.
She smiled. ‘Of course, it could just be that we’re all a bit bigger now.’
‘A bit bigger?’ Pauly said, leering at Nic.
‘Piss off, Pauly,’ she told him.
He grinned.
Pauly was always saying stuff like that – crass, jokey, sexy kind of stuff – and I knew it wasn’t worth bothering about. It was just him being stupid. Mr Funny Guy. But it did bother me. Not because I thought it was wrong or insensitive or sexist or anything, but simply because I was thinking pretty much the same thing myself. Nicole did seem to have grown quite a lot… and I couldn’t quite understand it. I mean, itwas only just over three weeks since I’d last seen her, and although we didn’t hang around together any more, I still saw her at school pretty much every day. But somehow she just looked so different now – older, fuller, sexier. I knew it was probably just her make-up and everything – darkened eyes, reddened lips – and the way she was dressed – low-rise jeans, a flimsy little cropped white vest – and the way she’d slicked back her short blonde hair, so she looked kind of icy and hot at the same time…
‘Are you all right, Pete?’ she said to me.
‘What?’
‘You’re staring.’
‘Am I?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Sorry.’
She smiled. ‘That’s all right.’
‘Who wants a drink?’ Pauly piped up.
I looked over to see him brandishing a bottle of tequila.
‘It’s the special stuff,’ he said, unscrewing the cap and taking a slug. ‘Whooh- hoo !’ he howled, rolling his eyes. ‘Very special in deedy !’
‘What’s so special about it?’ Eric asked.
‘Here,’ Pauly said, passing him the bottle. ‘Suck it and see.’
As Eric took a drink, we all started bringing out the bottles we’d brought. It was a pretty varied selection – a bottle of wine, a few cans of Coke, a half-bottle of Bacardi, Pauly’s tequila, Raymond’s bottle of rum.
‘What the hell’s that ?’ Pauly said, sneering at the grimy little bottle when Raymond brought it out.
‘It’s rum,’ Raymond told him.
‘It’s half empty.’
Raymond shrugged, looking embarrassed.
I glared at Pauly.
‘What?’ he said to
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