by Noël Cades
Alice, who had been fearing that Jules had got pregnant or something worse, was privately slightly relieved.
"Maybe that’s just what all those people do," she said.
"Her name was Petal, can you believe it? Not Petal like a nickname or something, I mean her parents actually christened her that. Petal. What a stupid name." Jules was working her way through a large box of tissues that were crumpled all over her bed.
"Is she a crusty?" Alice asked.
"No, even worse, she looks totally normal. I met her once, before I knew he was screwing her. She’s all petite and perfect with glossy dark hair. She looks like that girl off The Wonder Years." Jules herself was tall and her reddish brown hair defied most styling. Alice thought she had beautiful hair, it was so thick and wavy, but Jules had always wished it was straight and sleek.
"She lives on a canal boat, for god’s sake," Jules continued. "In Tewkesbury. And she has a kid."
It was unclear from her tone which of these things offended her the most.
"It’s not his though? The kid?"
"God no. Not unless one of his ancestors is a Rasta or something."
At least this meant any of Jules’ plans of joining the alternative community and ditching her degree were hopefully over as well.
"You could still do something environmental, you know. Maybe specialise in environmental law?" Alice said.
"Sod that. Working pro bono for a logging company is more like it."
Alice went to open the curtains. "It’s a really nice afternoon. Come out for a walk."
Jules vowed she was never going out in daylight again.
"You can become a recluse after tomorrow. Just one more exam. Let’s go to the garage for some chocolate and then we can go through the notes from today’s class."
There was a petrol station two streets from where Jules lived. Open 24/7 it was a popular snack stop after a night out. Reluctantly Jules dragged herself up. "I look like hell. I haven’t got any make up on."
"Just wear sunglasses."
Jules obeyed which was rare for her. She truly was broken down, Alice thought.
Outside the weather was flawless. Surely this would lift Jules’ spirits.
"I never asked about how you were going," Jules said. "Anything more happen regarding your lover boy?"
It had been a huge relief to Alice that even if all the staff knew none of the pupils had managed to find out. She was pretty sure she had detected certain glances and looks of disapproval from various teachers though it could have been her paranoia imagining it. But if it had got round the school she would have had grief from Maddy and other. Happily they had said nothing.
"You got very lucky then. Though I suppose it doesn’t really matter now," Jules said.
"Still embarrassing with all the staff knowing, if they do. I always thought it would be cool if they found out but somehow it all makes me feel like That Girl."
"Most are probably jealous," Jules said. "He’s the best looking staff member at Fairmount in years. Possibly ever. Pretty galling that he’s seeing a sixth former rather than one of them."
They crossed the road to the service station. Mid-afternoon, in the early summer heat, everything seemed hazy and quiet. There weren’t any cars there filling up.
"That’s what I thought it would be like. But it’s not, it’s as though they think less of me," Alice said.
"I shouldn’t worry about it. I bet most of them don’t even know. Francis and the Padlock would want to keep it hush if they didn’t actually expel you."
* * *
Much chocolate and revising later, Alice returned home. She was feeling fairly relaxed about the final exam tomorrow. And also excited. It was a bit like Christmas Eve: waiting for the very last day of school.
One more exam, and then… nothing. Some of the other Economics students were planning to go to a nearby restaurant with a licensed bar for lunch and start the pub crawl early. Alice had other plans.
At least Jules was in a better mood by the time Alice had left. With luck the loss of Leafy wouldn’t drag down her entire summer.
Her mother was making supper when Alice entered the kitchen. "Did you find Jules?" she asked. "Was she ill?" Alice had stopped home briefly to change out of her school uniform before heading to Jules’ place.
"Yes, and no. Sort of. She had a heartbreak thing going on," Alice said. "But she’ll be fine for tomorrow. You know Jules." Jules was resilient.
Her mother sighed. "You girls. Why can’t you all just finish your exams and leave the complications for later? You have all the time in the world."
But it just didn’t work like that. Things happened when they happened. Neither Jules, Alice nor Becky would never have planned to fall headlong in love in the middle of their A-levels if they had any control over things.
Alice remembered someone once telling her that you always met someone the night before you went on holiday. Or at a leaving party. Either because it was Fate throwing a spanner in the works or because you gave off a special unavailable vibe that made you irresistible. In actual fact Alice didn’t think it was either of these things. It was simply bad timing.
"It all just happened," she said. Not without a twinge of guilt since she knew she had actively pursued Stewart.
There were a lot of what ifs. What if he hadn’t kissed her in the pavilion that first time, might she have given up? What if he hadn’t been at the barbecue? What if he’d never come to the rave at Selsley? Actually the more she thought about it, it was as much him as it was her.
This wasn’t something she planned to tell her mother though. "Is Richard back?" she asked.
"He’s in his study."
Alice still felt she owed Richard hugely for his role with Mr Francis and Mrs Paddington that week. She wasn’t really sure how to repay him. But that currently mattered less to her than his good opinion. It wasn’t something she had thought about before but now she was worried he thought less of her.
Richard looked up from some papers as she hovered at the door. "Ready for the final day?" he asked.
She took this as an invitation to come in and sit down. "We’ve revised everything possible. I just have to try not to forget it overnight."
"I’m sure you’ll do admirably. Your mother and I are both very proud of how well you have always done at school. Whatever your results come August, you have a bright future in front of you."
This meant a lot coming from Richard. Her mother was modest about his virtues but Alice had come to realise over the years that he was very highly respected in his field and possibly even brilliant. This was despite never knowing exactly what he did. The research he carried out in his study was for his private interest since he couldn’t bring his actual work home.
She wasn’t really sure what to say except to thank him.
"I always wanted a daughter," he told her. "I realise I can’t take the place of your own father but I feel very blessed to have you as well as the boys."
Alice was unexpectedly moved. He had always just been Richard to her, an uncle-like figure whom she was very fond of. She had barely seen him as a stepfather let alone a father.
"I never knew my father so there isn’t really a place to take," she said. "My mother and then you are all I’ve really known." She hoped this conveyed what she wanted it to.
He smiled, so hopefully it had.
"If you are ever in trouble I hope you will feel able to let me know. Should you run into financial difficulties on your trip, for example."
Alice could see that there was something that he didn’t feel quite able to say but she guessed what it was. He didn’t want her feeling that she had to rely on Stewart or anyone else, that he and her mother were still there for her.
"I will, I promise." She suddenly felt incredibly lucky. There were so many choices and options in front of her but they were good choices. She was safe.
27. Final day
"School’s out!"
Jules and Alice were finally done.
Becky had finished a couple of days earlier, but she was meeting them at the school gates to celebrate along with the rest of those who had just finished Economics. They were off to the nearby restaurant and happy hour lunchtime cocktails.
Alice was a few minutes late, and when she showed up she was wearing her tennis gear. "I’ll join you guys in a while. I have something to do first."
"Oh god you are not doing what I think you are doing. I thought you were joking about it," Jules said.
Alice grinned. "It’s the last time I’ll ever be wearing this, so it may as well get a send off."
"Does he actually know what you have planned?"
"Maybe. He’ll soon find out anyway."
Everyone else was so absorbed by the thrill of finally finishing school that there weren’t any more questions and Alice slipped away.
As she had expected, Stewart was over by the nets preparing for the afternoon’s cricket practice. His eyes widened when he saw her. "Is that what you wore to your Economics exam?"
"I thought I should say a final farewell to the pavilion," Alice said.
"Do you need some assistance with that?"
"I think so."
He went inside with her and locked the door behind him. "Christ those skirts are distractingly short," he said as he turned her to face him.
Alice felt inexplicably nervous. Even though she couldn’t really be expelled now, and there was little chance of anyone trying to get in the pavilion anyway at this hour, it felt like a huge transgression of the rules.
Here they were once again, in the dark cool of the pavilion, with its musty smell of summer and sports. Her last taste of school.
He cupped his hand on her rear, his fingers reaching under the edge of the fabric. He stopped, and then moved his hand a little further. "You’re not wearing anything under this?" He was shocked but desire flickered in his eyes. She felt him caress around the curve of her rear, feeling her bare skin.
"Not exactly."
"A fine sight for Mr Francis if the wind blew it up in front of him." He was clearly as amused as he was turned on by her lack of underwear. He drew his hand between her legs as he put his other on her shoulder and brought her to him.
She could never get enough of kissing him. His lips were firm and warm, he knew just the pressure to use to tease her own lips and gently bite down her neck, into the sensitive hollows above her collarbone.
She reached for his own clothes, trying to undo his fly, but he stopped her. "I won’t last more than a few minutes as it is."
"You want it that badly?" she asked, delighted by his desire for her. She felt the same. The ban imposed by Mr Francis on any contact between them for the past few days had only made her obsess with longing for him.
"You walk in here like every man’s fantasy, half-naked in that outfit, how long do you expect me to last?"
She laughed and then shuddered as his fingers slipped inside her, where she was already unbelievably wet for him.
"Seeing as you’ve made yourself so conveniently accessible…" he turned her round and pushing up her tennis skirt she felt him position himself between her legs. He was rock hard. He had her facing the wall, and she put her hands against it for balance.
He pushed into her and she caught her breath. She felt the warmth of his chest against her back, his hands slipping beneath her shirt feeling for her breasts. She loved him touching her body, how his hands felt caressing her. Strong and warm. Knowing just how much he wanted her.
She felt him inside her: the perfect fit. He felt it too. "We fit so well, you’re perfect." Hearing him say this made her body ring with pleasure and increased her own desire for him.
"Do you want me as much as I want you?" he asked.
"More. Endlessly."
He laughed, out of breath. "I can’t go forever, it’s hard holding off at all given what you do to me."
This inspired Alice to try and make him lose control. She writhed her hips back against him, loving how the change of angle felt, trying to draw him in even more.
"You do that again and I won’t last another second." His hand stroked down her stomach and his fingers slid to her most sensitive place. This made her arch involuntarily. "You’re going to come with me," he told her.
His fingers kept up the pressure, firmly and relentlessly moving over her. She cried out and squirmed against him. He had complete control of her body.
Here she was, her last day of school, with the school cricket coach screwing her in the pavilion. The forbiddenness of it and the thought of what the Headmaster would do if he knew sent a momentary thrill through her.
But he wasn’t just a cricket coach. He was hers. She didn’t know if she could call him her boyfriend but she was with him, properly. They didn’t have to hide any more.
The rhythm of his fingers and his thrusts inside her were exactly right. She needed this and she needed him. She nearly cried out how she felt - that she loved him, that she was in love with him, that she could never imagine anyone else making her feel this way - but she didn’t quite dare yet.
Instead she bit her lip and tried to muffle her own sounds as he brought her over the edge and the pleasure radiated out of her from where he was touching her, inside and outside.
She heard and felt him orgasm too, triggered by her own climax. He was saying her name and gripping her against him.
Then he pulled her upright and around to face him, and his lips were on hers, passionately and tenderly. "You are the best. You’re like an addiction," he told her between kisses.
She didn’t know if she really was the best but she loved that he said it.
"So now the ban on contact with you is lifted, when am I seeing you next?" he asked.
She wanted him to come to the restaurant with her. But with half the First Eleven there it would likely be awkward. He would still be coaching some of them even after exams were over as there were several matches left before the official end of term.
"Tomorrow night there’s the leavers’ party…" She knew he couldn’t come to that, but she didn’t think she could wait another whole day to see him.
"Can you come round afterwards?"
"It might finish late." She looked at him expectantly, hoping the invitation would still be open.
"If I’m asleep you can wake me up." His eyes told her all she needed to know. He wanted to be with her.
She answered him with a kiss, moulding her body against his and feeling the wonderful hard planes of his chest and the muscles of his back. She could feel him start to grow hard again.
"I could make love to you all afternoon but at some point we’ll have the Second Eleven banging at the door for nets practice. They might prefer a show but I’m not planning on giving them one," he said.
Alice laughed. "OK. I’ll leave you be."
"And you’d better put something on under that," he said, feeling her bare flesh under her skirt again. "I want you open access to me, but not the whole world."
No one had ever expressed anything like possessiveness to her before. While Alice knew he was joking, she loved the sense of being his and his alone.
He kissed her again and she slipped back to the main school to shower and change. She no longer cared what anyone might think of her being in her tennis gear in the middle of the day. She was free and she could do what she liked.
* * *
The others were still on drinks and hadn’t ordered food yet when she arrived at the restaurant. There were about twenty people there from school including Becky and Jules. It was an American diner themed outlet with a huge cocktail and beer menu.
"What took you so long?" someone asked. "Get a last minute detention?"
"Something like that." She was feeling incredibly happy.
"A detention in the pavilion," Jules said. She was already half wasted, there were huge communal jugs of Long Island Iced Tea on the tables that had no doubt contributed.
"In the pavilion?" Oh god, Maddy Pullen was there, her ears instantly prick
ing up.
"Yeah. Alice had a sporting engagement." Jules was grinning, she no longer cared what Maddy knew or thought. In her drunken state anything that annoyed Maddy was a score worth making.
Alice did care. She kicked Jules under the table though she doubted it would do much good.
"What do you mean?" Maddy asked. She wasn’t going to let up.
"Are you taking up cricket?" a boy asked, getting the wrong end of the stick.
"No, I just had something to do. But I’m here now and ready to get some drinks in," Alice said, hoping to change the subject.
But cogs were turning in Maddy’s mind. "You weren’t with him, were you? Don’t tell me you went and flung yourself at him. There’s no way he’d be interested in you."
"You said that before," Jules reminded her. "And you were wrong then just as you are now. Because he is interested in her, and they’ve been together for some time."
"Jules!" Alice hadn’t bargained on being exposed by Jules’ drunken defence. She wished Becky would help her out but Becky seemed even less sober than Jules and was barely communicating.
Maddy didn’t want to believe it. "There is no way. There is just no way," she kept saying.
"What’s going on?" someone else asked.
Maddy turned to him. "Jules is trying to claim that Alice is seeing Mr Walker, but it’s bullshit."
"Seriously? The coach?"
Everyone was now fixated on the conversation and Alice was blushing red.
"You’re going out with Stewart Walker?" It was one of the First Eleven. There was no hope of keeping it under wraps now. Not that Alice needed to but she hadn’t quite been ready for some huge announcement either.
"Not exactly." She was she supposed, but it hadn’t quite been put into those terms. She caught Mike Jackson’s eye and felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn’t said anything but he clearly knew something about the situation, doubtless from Joe.
"He’s old enough to be your dad, isn’t he?"
