by Mates, Dates
I flicked through his album, taking in pictures of the girls as babies, then toddlers, then eight, nine, ten, holding their mum and dad’s hands, smiling at the camera. Then they turned into a pair of sulky teenagers with dyed hair and mad clothes.
‘I guess,’ I said. I’d never thought about parents feeling rejected before. To me, Mum was just Mum, always there. But I suppose I had shut her out lately and there was a time when we used to hang out together a lot. And it was true, I couldn’t even remember the last time I gave her a hug. ‘Hmmm.’ I smiled at Angus. ‘How about you talk to her? She can trust me, you know. Just ask her to chill out a bit.’
‘I will. Of course I will. Just try to meet her halfway,’ said Angus. ‘I bet you’ll find that it makes a world of difference. Now, how about half that sarnie while the cast of EastEnders finish fighting it out in the kitchen.’
I took the sandwich this time. ‘Thanks, Angus.’
He smiled. ‘You’re welcome, Izzie.’
After talking to Angus, I went to my room and ripped up the song I’d written about hating Mum so much. In the light of what Angus had said, it seemed really harsh, and although I was mad with her at the time, I would have hated for her to ever find it and think that I really meant it. Writing it was just a way of letting off steam. I guess I’ve got to find a way to express the times when she doesn’t wind me up as well, I thought.
As I was ripping the sheet of paper into tiny pieces, I heard the front door open and close. I looked out the window to see Dad leaving. He looked up at me, smiled and gave me the thumbs-up. Phew, at least that’s over, I thought as minutes later I heard his car drive away.
Moments later, I heard Mum’s footsteps on the stairs. I took a deep breath and resolved to be nice to her. It wasn’t hard when she came in, as she looked strained after the conversation with Dad. I was sorry I put her through it.
‘Er, Izzie…’ she began.
‘Me first,’ I said. ‘I want to say I’m sorry for… er, taking off this morning. It’s not that I don’t appreciate everything you do and I know you worry about me and I’ll try harder in future not to upset you.’
Mum’s face relaxed and she sat on the end of my bed. ‘Did you really want to leave and live at your dad’s?’
‘Not really,’ I lied. I’d love to live at Dad’s, if there was room, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. ‘I don’t think I’d last a day without my own space. I’m sorry I put you through that.’
‘Me too. I’m sorry we haven’t been getting along lately. I can’t help worrying about you, but I’ll try not to be too much of an over-anxious mother. So, what are you going to do this afternoon? Oh…’ She laughed. ‘I’m not checking up on you, only asking…’
I laughed as well. ‘I may do some homework,’ I said. ‘And I may go up to Muswell Hill to get some things from Ryman’s that I need for school - if that’s OK. Do you want me to call you from Muswell Hill?’
Mum looked up at the ceiling and smiled. ‘No. I trust you to go to the stationary shop. Honestly. Am I really so bad?’ She glanced at the clock. ‘Oh… got to dash. They’ll be wondering where I am at work, wandering off in the middle of the day…’
‘Sorry about that,’ I said, looking at the carpet. I did feel a bit ashamed. I’d caused chaos today - Dad having to leave college and Mum having to come home from work on her lunch hour.
Mum looked at me with concern. ‘So, are we all right now?’
I nodded.
She looked at her watch again. ‘Oh. Got to go. Oh, and… I’ll be back late tonight. There’s a work’s function I can’t avoid. It’s such a nuisance, these dinners always come at the most inconvenient times. I’d rather come back and have a proper chat about things, but it’s not something I can get out of. Angus will be coming with me, so… will you be all right on your own this evening? These things tend to go on a bit. I might not be back until it’s gone midnight. I can ask Angus to stay if you like. He doesn’t really need to be there.’
‘No, don’t be silly. Go. Have a good time. I don’t need babysitting.’
‘Only if you’re sure.’
‘I’m fine, Mum. And we can chat another time,’ I said, feeling slightly relieved. Then I put on a stern expression. ‘And if you’re going to be in past midnight, I expect a call. I lie awake worrying if you’re not in.’
Mum raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘Don’t push it,’ she said as she went out the door. But she was smiling.
At last, everything’s back to normal, I thought after she’d gone.
But there are twenty-four hours in a day and Thursday wasn’t over yet.
Line for Lucy’s T-shirt Collection
Insanity is hereditary.
You get it from your kids.
C h a p t e r 1 0
Best and Worst
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The following day, I decided to do the exercise that we’d been set for the holidays. I’d been putting it off all summer, so, with only three days left before school started, I thought I’d better make an effort.
Our teacher, Miss Watkins, had given us the opening lines to the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
I picked up the handout sheet and read:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
Boy, he sounds confused, I thought, up and down and round and round. Seems like some things never change. Then I looked to see what we were meant to do with the handout. Miss Watkins had written underneath the quote: ‘Write a short account of the best and worst times of your summer.’ Forget the whole summer, I thought, as I sat as my desk, I could put them all into one day: yesterday.
I got a few sheets of paper out of my desk drawer and began to write:
Worst: being mad with Mum and storming off to Dad’s only to find out that staying with him was a no-go.
Best: my talk with Angus. I’m beginning to really like him. Then everything being OK between Mum and me again.
Josh phoned an hour after Mum had gone back to her office. He wanted to meet up, so I suggested Muswell Hill as I’d already told Mum I was going there.
Worst: went to meet Josh. It was pouring. Not gentle summer rain, this was torrential. Arrived looking like a drowned rat. So much for looking cool. I was positively frozen.
Best: Josh was soaked too and looked drop-dead gorgeous with wet hair slicked back and his skin glistening with rain. He put
his arm around me as we ran through the downpour, then kissed me under a tree. Possibly the most romantic moment of my whole life, even though water was dripping down the back of my jacket.
Worst: met up with his weird friend Spider. Don’t like him. He is Sullen with a capital S. Josh did ask if I minded hooking up with him. Actually, I did mind, as I wanted to get to know Josh better, but then I remembered what happened to Lucy this summer. She went out with this guy who was really clingy and possessive. He started telling her who she could and couldn’t see, and in the end, she finished with him because she felt suffocated. Didn’t want to do that to Josh.
Worst: had a cigarette. Spider offered me one and I took it. I don’t know why. I guess I wanted to look cool. Hah. I took one puff and blaghh, I gagged on it. Spider creased up laughing. Won’t be trying one of those again in a hurry, as it tasted disgusting. Josh had one as well and when he kissed me afterwards, it wasn’t as nice as before in the rain. He had cigarette-breath. But I guess I did too. Should have taken some gum.
Best: Josh held my hand as we walked along in the rain. It made me feel like he was happy to be seen with me.
Worst: made huge mistake and took Josh and Spider to Ben’s garage. 1 knew it was empty, as Ben had gone
to his gran’s eightieth birthday in Brighton with his family and wouldn’t be back until late. I guess I wanted to impress Josh, but it backfired. I knew it wasn’t a good idea the moment we got there. Spider had been drinking and carried on drinking. He was into everything, opening drawers and picking up the guitars. I had to tell him to leave them alone, as the boys are very picky about who handles their instruments and don’t like people messing with them. Then he started pulling CDs and things out of Ben’s filing cabinet. I know he has everything dated and labelled, so had to tell Spider to get lost. In the end I asked him to leave. He told me not to get my knickers in a twist. Very original. Not. After he’d gone, Josh lay on the sofa, rolling joints. Got a bit worried that Ben would smell marijuana when he got back. Josh said that marijuana is nicer than tobacco, so I had a quick puff. He told me that I had to really inhale it, which I did and it made my head go woozy. Not sure that I liked the sensation.
Best: listening to music, talking and snogging Josh on the sofa. I give him nine out of ten on the snogging scale. Minus one because I could taste the tobacco and an aphrodisiac it is definitely not.
Worst: after we left the garage and I locked up, it was ten-forty. I knew Mum wouldn’t be home until after midnight, so no worries there, but I knew I shouldn’t get back any later. Josh said he was off to a party and when I said I couldn’t go, he was like, Oh, OK, I’ll give you a call, then. Then off he went, leaving me standing there on the pavement. Felt confused, as after all that snogging, I thought he’d at least care about how I got home. Didn’t like being out on my own so late at night. Phoned Nesta as she was closest and she and Tony came and escorted me home. Tony was very sniffy about Josh. He said that he thought Josh sounded like a creep and any boy should always make sure a girl gets home safe as there are too many weirdos about. Nesta thinks I shouldn’t see Josh, as he sounds like bad news. Felt very confused. I don’t know whether she’s right or whether she’s jealous because she thought he was cute in the beginning, but he never gave her any attention.
I looked over what I had written for my best and worst, then ripped it up and threw it in the bin. Somehow I don’t think MissWatkins would be too happy if she knew I’d been drinking, smoking, puffing on joints and snogging boys. I tried to rethink what Dickens had said in the light of what had happened to me. I wrote:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of Year Ten, it was the age of growing up. It was a time of discovery. It was a time of being silly. It was an era of fighting with my mum. It was an era of trying to accept her. It was the season of rebellion, then the season of regret. The spring of new love, the winter of disappointment. I had a new boyfriend, I didn’t have a new boyfriend. I was going direct to romance, I was going direct home, alone to bed.
Yeah, I thought. Times haven’t changed much at all since Dickens lived. Life is still a rollercoaster. Opposites. Good times, bad times, best and worst. I wondered how the rest of my class was getting on with the exercise and how their summers had been. It would be hysterical if everyone wrote the truth about what we’d got up to, as knowing the girls in our year, they’ll have been up to all sorts.
As I tried to get into writing the more socially acceptable version of my best and worst times, Lucy phoned.
‘Oh, I’ve done that homework,’ she said. ‘Took two minutes. Best time: breaking up for the summer holidays. Worst time: well, that will be going back on Monday, won’t it?’
I laughed. ‘I guess. Might be a bit short for what’s expected, though.’
‘I’ll tell her I’m going through a minimalist phase with my writing. Less is more sort of thing. Anyway, forget about homework, we’ll have enough of that soon when term starts and if you ever get stuck, Lai has been working on a list of good excuses for handing homework in late. He’s hoping TJ will put it in the magazine, but I don’t think she’ll dare. He’ll e-mail it to you, if you like. But tell me all about Josh. Nesta said you saw him yesterday. What’s he really like?’
‘Weird,’ I said, ‘or maybe not weird. More like mysterious. He’s quite unlike anyone I’ve ever met before. I don’t feel I know him at all. Like, I asked him where he lived and he said, “Planet Earth.” I asked him what school he went to and he said, “The school of life.” I asked him what birth sign he was, as I thought I could do a horoscope to see if we’re compatible. He said, “Marsupian.”’
Lucy laughed. ‘Marsupian. At least he didn’t say he was from Uranus.’
‘I even tried your quiz, Lucy. You know, the one about your three favourite animals and why?’
‘What did he say?’
‘First, he went a bit funny and asked if it was one of those girlie magazine quizzes on how to pigeonhole a boy. Then he said, “Number one: Bugs Bunny because he’s got big furry feet. Number two: Shrek from the movie because he’s green and rubbery. And number three: a Teletubby because although they’re not real animals, they’re sure as hell not human.’”
‘So he wasn’t taking it seriously?’
‘He doesn’t seem to take anything seriously,’ I said, and I told her about him leaving me to get home on my own.
‘That’s sucks,’ said Lucy ‘Bin him.’
‘Do you think?’
‘Definitely. He may be gorgeous and different, but I think it’s really uncool for a boy to leave a girl stranded on the street when it’s late.’
‘That’s what Tony said.’
‘Plus, the way he evaded giving you any information about himself,’ she continued. ‘It seems like he won’t let you get too close. All those jokey answers. I’ve heard Mum talk about clients who do that. She says people use humour as a block or defence sometimes.’
Lucy’s mum works as a counsellor. She’s really cool and has good insight into people. She was certainly right about Josh. It was like he was shielding me off. I knew nothing about him and he knew everything about me, as I’d answered his questions truthfully.
‘You deserve better,’ said Lucy.
‘But he is a good kisser…’
‘So? So are lots of boys.’
‘You’re right. And I did feel crapola standing on the street after he took off last night. Sort of like I’d been discarded when my use ran out. Yeah, from this moment on, Josh is Izzie history.’
Excuses for Handing in Homework Late
By Lal Lovering
· My homework is late because I was up all night writing letters demanding better pay for teachers.
· Aliens from the planet Zog took my homework as an example of great Earth literature.
· I can’t give in my homework as we had burglars last night and they stole it.
· I couldn’t do my homework because I accidentally superglued my teeth together and had to go to the dentist’s.
· I can’t hand in my homework because the cat had kittens in my schoolbag.
· I’ve been replaced by an evil robot replica and it doesn’t do homework.
· I couldn’t do my homework because my contact lenses stuck to my eyes.
· I couldn’t do my homework because I was grieving the death of my pet rock.
· I have done my homework, but it’s done in invisible ink.
· My homework’s late because I have an attention deficient disorder, er… what was I saying?
· I didn’t do my homework because my inner child didn’t feel like it.
·
C h a p t e r 1 1
Turnaround
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I was woken the next day by a frantic phone call from Ben. ‘Izzie, have you by any chance taken the CD with the songs we’re going to do tonight? Remember, I recorded it a few weeks ago when we had that run-through?’
I did remember. It was a good session and everyone was in a really good mood, playing well and in tune. There was a possibility that a talent scout might be at the gig tonight and Ben wanted to be ready with a demo CD to give him.
‘I’ve looked everywhere,’ Ben continued. ‘And I’ve sp
oken to the other lads. No one’s seen it.’
I felt my stomach churn. I had a feeling that I knew exactly where it was. Spider. He must have taken it last night.
‘No, I haven’t got it, Ben,’ I said. ‘Haven’t you got another copy?’
‘No. I was going to do some today. Never mind. It’s got to be here somewhere. I’ll carry on looking.’
I felt rotten when I put the phone down, but I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I’d taken two boys back to the garage. Even though we’re not an item any more, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I’ll kill Spider, I thought. I have to get the CD back, but then I’m not going to see Josh again, am I? So how am I going to see Spider? Luckily the phone went again and this time it was Josh. He asked if I’d meet him in Highgate. My first reaction was to say no, as I still felt bad after being abandoned last night, but I wanted to get the CD back from Spider in time for the gig, plus I wanted to get something for Mum’s birthday tomorrow, so in the end, I agreed.
I set off for Highgate, thinking that I’d be really cool with Josh this time. I’d ask how I could get the CD back and I’d let him know that he couldn’t just see me when he chose, then abandon me when he had a better offer.
He was waiting for me in Costa on the High Street at a table at the back. I sat opposite him and resolved that I wasn’t going to gabble away and do all the talking. If he was going to be mysterious, then so was I.
