by Mates, Dates
‘Versace.’
‘Yeah, him. I bet he doesn’t like the subtle ones who do, you know, like simple classical stuff. What’s his name? The one that does the aftershave?’
‘Armani, and Versace is a she now. Gianni was shot outside his home a few years ago and so his sister took over the business.’
‘See?’ said TJ. ‘You know loads about the fashion world. I bet he doesn’t know that.’
‘Everyone knows that, TJ.’
‘Do they? Oh, sorry. I’m not the one to talk to about fashion, am I?’
‘Goddesses, yes; fashion, maybe no.’
‘But I do know that you have your own style and it suits you, Lucy. Remember when Nesta gave me that makeover and made me look like a Barbie doll. It wasn’t me at all. It made me realise that you have to trust your own judgement about what suits you and not let others impose their ideas on you.’
I laughed. She was right. TJ, maybe you don’t know the names, but I think that you know more than you realise.‘
TJ looked at me with concern. ‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, Lucy, but… well, it’s just, you do seem different since you met Daniel and I wondered if… are you having a good time?’
‘Yeah. I mean, I know we had a bit of a glitch when I showed him my designs, but apart from that, we’ve done loads of things together. I feel like I’ve discovered London. We’ve been everywhere.’
‘I know, but… you could do all that with anyone -with a teacher or your mum. I mean, do you have a good time, a laugh? Silly times and serious times when you really talk, you know, about what you want and all your plans? About how you feel?’
That made me think. We didn’t really. He talked, or rather, lectured. He liked an audience and I did find what he had to say interesting. But no, we didn’t talk about personal stuff, not really, and we certainly never got silly. I couldn’t imagine Daniel being silly. He’s far too busy trying to be sophisticated, I told myself. But that’s what I like about him. He’s different.
‘OK,’ said Izzie, coming back in with a huge box of Liquorice Allsorts. ‘Let’s do Lucy’s cards next.’
Nesta followed her in carrying a tray full of tortilla chips and Pringles and Diet Cokes.
Izzie handed me the cards and told me to shuffle them while thinking about my question.
What’s going to happen with Daniel? I thought. What’s going to happen with Daniel? Then I laid out the cards as Izzie told me.
‘OK,’ she started. ‘Hmmm. The first card is the Page of Swords.’ She flicked through her book then read what it said. ‘This card denotes a young man with a strong will. He’s very clever, but can be ruthless and unconcerned about the feelings of others.’
TJ gave me a knowing look. I guess that’s true, I thought. He wasn’t very sensitive when he looked at my designs.
‘And it’s crossing the Page of Wands. Another boy. Oh, that’s interesting. Hmmm, some kind of conflict coming up, I’m afraid, as there’s the Lovers card as well.’
‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ I said.
‘It can be - let me just look it up,’ said Izzie, turning to her book again. ‘It says that you have a choice ahead of you, and the other cards are saying that you need to reassess.’ Just at that moment, my mobile rang. ‘Daniel,’ I said.
‘Just checking in,’ he said. ‘What are you wearing?’
‘Oh, jeans and a T-shirt. It’s only us here.’
‘Ah, but us designers, we’re the ambassadors of style. Wherever we are, whatever we’re doing.’
Oh, get a life said pre-menstrual twin in my head. Who does he think he is? The fashion police?
After that, we went downstairs to watch the Pop Idol video. Talk about taking criticism, I thought, as we watched some of the judges destroy people’s performances. It was funny, though, especially a girl who sang ‘YMCA’ really out of tune. Then Daniel phoned again.
‘I miss my little bear,’ he said. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Watching Pop Idol,’ I said.
‘Oh, that rubbish.’
‘It’s not rubbish,’ I said. ‘It’s great.’
‘Well, you’re obviously enjoying yourself, so I’ll leave you to it,’ he said huffily. ‘When am I seeing you next?’
‘I have to pick up some business cards for Mum in Hampstead tomorrow morning, so in the afternoon?’
‘Great,’ he said. ‘We could go round Camden.’
‘Fine,’ I said. I wished he’d get off the phone so I could get back to having a laugh with the others as we watched the excruciating performances on the video.
‘OK, going now. Miss you.’
‘Yeah,’ I said, then hung up. Whatever, I thought.
‘He’s really got it bad, hasn’t he?’ whispered TJ.
I nodded. The fact that he phoned so often was starting to bug me. I was beginning to feel suffocated. I decided that next time I saw him, I’d take the bull by the horns and have a word about maybe giving each other a bit more space. After all, Mum’s always saying that you have to work on relationships and not give up at the first hiccup. It was still early days for Daniel and me, and maybe it was going to take time to adjust to each other.
C h a p t e r 1 5
Page of Wands
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The sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky the next day as I walked down Hampstead High Street. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather, dressed in light cottons and sitting about outside the cafes. I went and picked up Mum’s cards from Ryrnans and decided to have a mooch in the shops. I still had an hour before I was due to meet Daniel.
Just as I walked past Cafe Rouge in the High Street, I heard someone call my name. I looked over the road and there was Tony waving at me. He crossed the road and came towards me.
‘Hey, Lucy,’ he said.
‘Hi,’ I said, blushing furiously. ‘How are you?’
‘Good. Are you still speaking to me, then?’
‘Yeah, course.’ ‘I tried ringing you…’
‘I know. Um, sorry…’ Tony looked around.
‘So, what you doing?’
‘Not much.’ I showed him the bag with the cards in it. ‘Just picked these up for Mum, then I was going to have a wander round the shops.’
‘Let’s go and get a drink and catch up, then,’ he said, linking his arm through mine. ‘I haven’t seen you for ages.’ We found a table outside the Coffee Cup and he ordered a Coke, then asked what I’d like.
‘Hot blackcurrant,’ I said, thinking, Thank God I don’t have to drink another of those awful espressos.
‘You’re looking good,’ he said when the waitress had gone.
‘So are you,’ I said. ‘Been out in the sun?’
He nodded. ‘So, Nesta tells me that you have a new boyfriend.’
‘Sort of. And you have a new girlfriend?’
‘Sort of,’ he said. ‘Actually, no. That’s over. Um, she doesn’t know yet, though, I don’t know how to tell her, but… nah, it’s not working.’
‘Why?’
Tony shivered and pulled a silly face. ‘You know me, I’m not really into having the big relationship. You know, the world of coupledom. And she, well, she’s getting a bit heavy, if you know what I mean. Always wanting to see me, like every day, and always phoning wanting to know what I am doing.’
‘Too clingy?’
‘Yeah, I feel like she’s taking over my life.’
‘Yeah,’ I said.
‘So how’s it going with you and what’s-his-name?’
‘Daniel.’ I shrugged. ‘Not sure. I mean, it was great in the beginning, brilliant, but… I don’t know, still early days. But same thing, really. He wants to do the couple bubble thing, just us in there. I don’t know if I like it.’
Tony looked at me fondly. ‘We got on, though, didn’t we?’
‘We did.’ I smiled back at him. ‘And I’m sorry I overreacted when you… you know, that evening in Highgate. I hope we can be mates.’
To
ny put his hand on mine. ‘You bet. Always. I tell you what, we’ll be like Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley. They used to go out and they’re still best of friends.’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘But you can be Liz and I’ll be Hugh.’
Tony laughed. I’d forgotten how easy he was to be with. Fun. Not like Daniel, I thought. Everything was so intense with him. And so serious.
‘So this new bloke is clingy, is he?’ said Tony, looking pleased.
‘Yeah. Always wanting to know what I’m doing, where I’m going. I feel like he’s always checking up on me.’
‘Like that boy over there,’ said Tony. ‘He’s staring at you. You’ve got an admirer.’
I glanced over to where Tony was looking and my heart stopped. It was Daniel. And he didn’t look happy.
I waved and beckoned him to come over, then introduced Tony. The two boys nodded at each other.
‘Sit down,’ I said. ‘Join us.’
Daniel shifted about on his feet and seemed reluctant.
‘Well, I was just off,’ said Tony, getting up.
He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. ‘See you soon, Lucy.’ Then he left me, but as he walked away, he turned back and gave me a look as if to say, ‘You’re in trouble now, girl.’
He was right. Daniel took his seat and looked at me accusingly.
‘So?’ he said.
‘So what?’ I asked.
‘Explanation?’
I didn’t like his tone. ‘For what?’
‘You said you were doing a job for your mum, then I find you holding hands with some boy.’
‘We weren’t holding hands - well, not exactly. Tony’s a mate. I haven’t seen him for a while and we were catching up.’
‘Didn’t look like that from where I was,’ said Daniel sulkily. ‘It looked like you were really into each other.’
‘I bumped into him when I came out of Rymans,’ I said, thinking, Why am I feeling so defensive? ‘Nothing was going on.’
‘Yeah right,’ said Daniel.
‘You know what?’ I said, getting up. ‘You can think what you want.’
Daniel caught my hand and pulled me back down. ‘No, sorry. Don’t go, Lucy. It’s just, well, it looked like you were having a really good time with him.’
‘I was,’ I said. ‘But we’re mates, that’s all. Do you think you can’t trust me or something?’
‘I guess I just want you all to myself,’ said Daniel, then grinned, ‘and who can blame me? I guess I get jealous.’
‘Well, there’s no need.’
‘No need, as long as you promise not to see him again.’
‘What’? No way. Anyway, he’s Nesta’s brother. I’ll see him whenever I go to her house. Are you going to tell me I can’t go there next?‘
‘No, but maybe I should go with you next time.’
I stood up again. ‘You know what, Daniel? I don’t think it’s working with us. I don’t like people telling me what to do all the time. And I don’t like having to explain myself when I’m completely innocent. My friends mean a lot to me. And they include Tony, and if you don’t like it, then too bad, because we’re finished.’
And with that, I left him sitting there with his mouth hanging open. Ha, I thought. Put that in your designer pipe and smoke it.
C h a p t e r 1 6
Dumbers and the Dumbed
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Instead of going home, I called Izzie. She was rehearsing with Ben near Highgate and was only too glad to have an excuse to get out for a break.
‘Nesta’s just called too. I said I’d see her in Raj’s in half an hour,’ she said.
On the way over to meet her, I began to have second thoughts about Daniel. Had I been too hasty? Mean? Heartless? Just finished with the best boy I would ever find? I hoped that Izzie would make me feel better about it all as it was my first experience of dumping someone.
As soon as Izzie appeared at Raj’s, I filled her in on what had happened in the last week. It was such a relief to be able to talk freely to her again and I told her everything - what he’d been like when he came to my house and what had just gone on in Hampstead.
She looked shocked. ‘How could he say that about your hair and your designs? You’re brilliant. I reckon he’s jealous, because he can see you have more talent than he’s got in his little finger.’
‘Anyway, I just finished with him,’ I said.
‘Good,’ said Izzie. ‘What a creepoid. He’s like an emotional bully. What a control freak. But are you OK?’
I nodded. ‘I think so. I don’t know. I mean, some days we had a really good time. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on him. You know, with time, maybe I could have changed him.’
Izzie shook her head. ‘My mum always says that the only time you can change a man is when he’s a baby.’
I laughed. ‘I guess. I was starting to feel like I had no space.’
‘Like that joke,’ said Izzie. ‘Boys are like dogs - give them a bit of affection and they follow you everywhere.’
‘Yeah right,’ I said.
Izzie looked thoughtful. ‘It’s never easy being the dumper. You feel rotten.’
‘Have you told Ben yet?’
‘No. But I’m going to do it soon. I’ve been agonising over it for days. I don’t know what I’m going to say. There’s no easy way, is there?’
I thought back to how I’d told Daniel. ‘Try, “We’re finished.” That says it all.’
‘I guess,’ said Izzie sadly. ‘I hate having to do it.’
‘Yeah. It’s like, I think I made the right decision,’ I said, ‘but I feel mean.’
‘So do I,’ sighed Izzie, ‘and I haven’t even told him yet.’
At that moment, Nesta swept in and flopped down next to me.
‘I’ve just been dumped,’ she announced. ‘Simon has dumped me. Me. Me!
‘Why? What happened?’
‘I knew it was coming,’ she said. ‘I told you I knew it. He said he really liked me, blah blah, and that he hoped we could stay friends, blah blah, but because he was going to go to university, he felt it was a good idea that we made a clean break because it’s a new chapter for him, blah blah, and that long distance relationships never work. Blah blah blah blah blah.’
‘Are you very upset?’ I asked.
‘Over a boy? Course not. I don’t care,’ she said, and then she burst into tears, causing a lady on the next table to look over with concern. ‘I really liked him, Lucy.’
‘I know you did, Nesta. And I am sorry. Can I do anything? Get you anything?’
She shook her head. ‘Til be all right. Sorry. Sorry. Just I’ve never been dumped before.‘
I went to sit next to her and put my arm around her. ‘It’s a day of firsts for both of us. I’ve just finished with Daniel.’
This seemed to cheer her up. ‘Really? Good,’ she said. ‘I know I only met him once, but I didn’t like him. I can say that now, can’t I?’
‘You can. You can say whatever you like.’
She wiped her eyes and attempted a smile. ‘So here we are, the dumped and the dumper.’
‘And Izzie’s about to join the ranks,’ I said.
‘Ben?’ said Nesta.
Izzie nodded. ‘Boys,’ she said. ‘Who needs them?’
‘Yeah,’ said Nesta sadly, ‘who?’
What is going on today? I thought, when I called in at home later. It must be something in the stars. In fact I’m surprised that Mystic Izzie hasn’t picked up on some fight between planets or something which is provoking all our horoscopes. Everyone seems to be changing and rearranging their love life. Even my brother Lai was affected, and it takes a lot for him to change anything, even his socks.
‘What’s up with you?’ I asked when I popped my head in the boys’ room and saw him slumped on the bed a la tragic hero with his hand over his forehead.
‘You wouldn’t understand,’ he said and turned away towards the wall.
‘Try me,’ I s
aid. It wasn’t like him to be low and even though he was a pain mostly, he was still my brother.
‘I want to be alone,’ he muttered.
I went in and sat on the end of his bed. ‘I just finished with Daniel,’ I said, in an attempt to perk him up. He usually couldn’t resist the latest gossip about my and the other girls’ love lives. Says it’s good research.
Lai sat up. ‘See, that’s it, isn’t it? You finished with Daniel. Another poor boy, subject to the whims and fancies of you girls.’
This wasn’t the reaction I’d expected. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Girls,’ he moaned. ‘Can’t live with them, can’t shoot them. You can stick that on one of your T-shirts.’
‘What is your problem?’ I asked.
‘Nothing,’ he said. ‘Girls. Or rather not girls. Sometimes it’s not fair, you know. You girls call all the shots and us boys just have to take it.’
‘Hey, what’s happened to the snog chart?’ I asked, noticing that the back of the door was bare.
‘In the bin,’ he said.
‘Why? I thought you were winning.’
‘I was. But what’s the point? All those girls I’ve snogged and none of them meant anything to me.’
‘But I thought that was the point. No ties, no commitment, just fun. I thought that was your philosophy.’
‘Shows what you know,’ he said.
‘OK, so what is your philosophy, then?’
Lai sighed. ‘I can’t tell you. You’ll laugh or tell your mates.’
‘Trust me,’ I said. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’
Lai sat up. ‘OK. There’s this girl. A girl I really fancy. I mean really fancy. I think she may be The One.’
‘Well, that’s good, isn’t it? You’ve finally fallen for someone.’
‘Not finally. I’ve fancied her for ages, but it’s like she doesn’t even know I’m on the planet,’ he said. ‘She barely even gives me a second glance.’