round his waist and pull him close.
‘Oh, what I wouldn’t give to lie in these arms tonight.’ He presses his face against my hair. ‘At the weekend,’ he says. ‘We can snatch some time together at the weekend.’
‘I’ll hold you to it.’
He kisses me briefly and then leaves.
I wander round the house aimlessly for ten minutes while I sip my coffee and I would so love to switch on the television and just lie on the sofa and watch something mindless, but I have a project to do for tomorrow and I haven’t even begun to think about it.
Clearing a space in the middle of Petal’s toys, I settle on the floor and pull my bag with my college work in it towards me. My eyes are so heavy. I could just do with half an hour’s sleep, but it’s just not going to be possible. I must get this work done. It’s for Amelia Fallon, my course tutor – she of the pinched face and the turned-up nose – and I know that it doesn’t just have to be good, it has to be marvellous.
Dragging a cushion from the sofa, I plump it up and then stretch out on the floor, resting my head on it while I start some doodles. My eyes feel like lead weights. This level of tiredness surely isn’t conducive to fabulous creativity. Coffee, coffee, I need more coffee. I shake myself awake and swallow the dregs from my cup. I’ll just do half an hour on this and then I’ll make myself another one.
What seems like a minute later and Olly is stroking my hair. I open my eyes. Oh, God, I must have fallen asleep when I really didn’t mean to. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I could ask you the same thing.’
I’m still lying on the floor, head on my cushion, work – untouched – spread out in front of me. I hear myself groan. Surely he hasn’t come back from his night shift already?
‘Please tell me that I haven’t been here all night.’
‘Sadly, you have been here all night.’
I haul myself up. Every bone in my body aches where I’ve been lying on the hard floor.
He sits down beside me and I lean against him and start to cry. ‘I’m so tired,’ I tell him. ‘So very tired.’
‘Don’t go in today,’ Olly suggests. ‘Go to bed. Catch up on your sleep.’
‘I have to go in today. I’ve got an assessment with that old harridan who’s my course tutor.’ She would just love it if I was absent for that. I’m sure she’d just love to mark up a nul points on my report card. ‘I can’t miss this.’
‘You can barely keep your eyes open, Nell. Nothing is that important.’
‘It is,’ I sob. ‘It’s important to me.’
He studies me and his face assumes a resigned expression. ‘Then go and have a shower while I make breakfast.’
I glance at my watch. No chance of churning out a fabulous project now. I’ll just explain exactly what happened to Amelia Fallon and the difficulties of my situation. I’m sure she’ll understand. Won’t she?
Chapter 15
‘It’s not good enough, Nell,’ Amelia Pinched-Face-Turned-up-Nose Fallon says. ‘It’s really not good enough.’
We’re sitting at opposite sides of her desk and I feel like I am five years old again and in trouble with the head teacher. Needless to say, I was late and my interview/interrogation has not got off to a good start. Outside the door I can hear the noisy buzz of the college, students chattering, feet clattering. In here it is silent, and about as comfortable as a tomb.
I have just explained that I have not completed – not even begun – my latest project and to say that it has not gone down well, is something of an understatement.
After an awkward amount of time has passed, Amelia folds her arms and leans forward. Her face is close to mine and I resist the urge to back away. She lets out a weary sigh. I am all the troubles in her world personified. ‘I’m going to have to ask you to leave the course.’
That hits me like a body blow. ‘Leave?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
She isn’t afraid at all. I can tell that much. But
‘Oh, what I wouldn’t give to lie in these arms tonight.’ He presses his face against my hair. ‘At the weekend,’ he says. ‘We can snatch some time together at the weekend.’
‘I’ll hold you to it.’
He kisses me briefly and then leaves.
I wander round the house aimlessly for ten minutes while I sip my coffee and I would so love to switch on the television and just lie on the sofa and watch something mindless, but I have a project to do for tomorrow and I haven’t even begun to think about it.
Clearing a space in the middle of Petal’s toys, I settle on the floor and pull my bag with my college work in it towards me. My eyes are so heavy. I could just do with half an hour’s sleep, but it’s just not going to be possible. I must get this work done. It’s for Amelia Fallon, my course tutor – she of the pinched face and the turned-up nose – and I know that it doesn’t just have to be good, it has to be marvellous.
Dragging a cushion from the sofa, I plump it up and then stretch out on the floor, resting my head on it while I start some doodles. My eyes feel like lead weights. This level of tiredness surely isn’t conducive to fabulous creativity. Coffee, coffee, I need more coffee. I shake myself awake and swallow the dregs from my cup. I’ll just do half an hour on this and then I’ll make myself another one.
What seems like a minute later and Olly is stroking my hair. I open my eyes. Oh, God, I must have fallen asleep when I really didn’t mean to. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I could ask you the same thing.’
I’m still lying on the floor, head on my cushion, work – untouched – spread out in front of me. I hear myself groan. Surely he hasn’t come back from his night shift already?
‘Please tell me that I haven’t been here all night.’
‘Sadly, you have been here all night.’
I haul myself up. Every bone in my body aches where I’ve been lying on the hard floor.
He sits down beside me and I lean against him and start to cry. ‘I’m so tired,’ I tell him. ‘So very tired.’
‘Don’t go in today,’ Olly suggests. ‘Go to bed. Catch up on your sleep.’
‘I have to go in today. I’ve got an assessment with that old harridan who’s my course tutor.’ She would just love it if I was absent for that. I’m sure she’d just love to mark up a nul points on my report card. ‘I can’t miss this.’
‘You can barely keep your eyes open, Nell. Nothing is that important.’
‘It is,’ I sob. ‘It’s important to me.’
He studies me and his face assumes a resigned expression. ‘Then go and have a shower while I make breakfast.’
I glance at my watch. No chance of churning out a fabulous project now. I’ll just explain exactly what happened to Amelia Fallon and the difficulties of my situation. I’m sure she’ll understand. Won’t she?
Chapter 15
‘It’s not good enough, Nell,’ Amelia Pinched-Face-Turned-up-Nose Fallon says. ‘It’s really not good enough.’
We’re sitting at opposite sides of her desk and I feel like I am five years old again and in trouble with the head teacher. Needless to say, I was late and my interview/interrogation has not got off to a good start. Outside the door I can hear the noisy buzz of the college, students chattering, feet clattering. In here it is silent, and about as comfortable as a tomb.
I have just explained that I have not completed – not even begun – my latest project and to say that it has not gone down well, is something of an understatement.
After an awkward amount of time has passed, Amelia folds her arms and leans forward. Her face is close to mine and I resist the urge to back away. She lets out a weary sigh. I am all the troubles in her world personified. ‘I’m going to have to ask you to leave the course.’
That hits me like a body blow. ‘Leave?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
She isn’t afraid at all. I can tell that much. But
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