Sugar Secrets…& Scandal
Page 11
“What a brilliant idea! I’m sure Uncle Tom and Auntie Helena wouldn’t mind. They’ve always said I’m like another daughter to them…”
“Uh, Cat,” said Kerry warily, knowing exactly what Sonja’s reaction to this conversation would be. “I think you should maybe hang fire with all these plans until you find out what exactly’s going on from your mum. I mean, maybe she’ll want you to stay in your flat!”
“Yeah, and that’s likely,” said Matt sarcastically. “Your mum’s done pretty nicely out of her job and all, but it’s not as if she’s got a wodge of spare cash that she can afford to have two mortgages on the go.”
“What, not like your big bucks dad, you mean?” Cat snapped. “Trying to rub our noses in how much you’re worth again, rich boy?”
Matt hadn’t meant to wind her up quite so much; he genuinely saw that it was potentially a weird time for Cat, but old habits-like teasing her to bits-died hard.
“C’mon, Cat,” he smiled at her cheekily, trying to diffuse the situation. “You can always come and stay with me and my dad in our house-we’ve got too many rooms sitting doing nothing as it is.”
“Really?”
Despite the fact that she was seventeen years old, wore more make-up than every girl in the End put together, and had a dirty cackle that would put Barbara Windsor to shame, at Matt’s offer, Cat looked as sweet and trusting as a four-year-old.
“Yeah, of course,” Matt nodded. “You could have the attic room. And the terms and conditions would be very attractive-free board and lodging, and all you’d have to do in return is wash our smelly socks and have a meal on the table every night!”
“Get lost!” said Cat, sticking her tongue out and no longer looking child-like as she realised her so-called mate was taking the mick. “I’d rather live with my mother till I’m eighty-five than come anywhere near you!”
A figure appeared at their table, shuffling from side to side and wringing a tea towel agitatedly.
“Sorry to interrupt, guys,” said Nick Stanton.
“No problemo Nick,” said Matt, wondering why the café owner looked so stressed. Normally, he was totally laid-back, scratching his chin stubble, patting his beer belly and waffling on about the three most important things in his life: music, music and music.
“It’s just that, well, Joe-I just wondered if you were free to help out here over the weekend, like you have before?” said Nick. “Anna’s down with some stomach bug, and with it being food and everything down here, I don’t really want her rushing back till she’s properly better.”
“Yeah?” replied Joe, concerned for Anna’s welfare. “Hey, Nick, I would help out, but I’m off to the bus station in a minute. I’m going to my dad’s for the weekend.”
“Whoah!” interrupted Matt, glowering at Joe.
“Whoah, what?” asked Joe.
“Joey, mate, aren’t you forgetting something?” said Matt, in his irritation forgetting something himself-the fact that Joe hated his name being lumbered with an additional ‘y’.
“Like what?” asked Joe, frowning.
“Like you’re meant to be helping me out tonight, at that anniversary party I’m DJing at?!”
“What anniversary party?”
“The one at the Balinard Hotel!”
“Well, maybe if you’d ever mentioned it to me, I might have kept this weekend free!”
Kerry, Cat and Nick watched as the conversation between the two lads batted back and forth. Ollie Stanton, wiping his hands as he sauntered over from his stint in the kitchen, caught most of it too.
“What?! I told you about it… ages ago!” said Matt indignantly.
“Like when?” countered Joe.
“Like… I can’t remember!”
“Like you never asked!” Joe responded, looking as irked as mild-mannered Joe ever could.
“You know your trouble, Matt,” said Catrina, pointing a long, painted nail at her friend. “You’re so self-centred that you just supposed poor Joe here doesn’t have a life. You thought all you had to do was whistle and he’d come running!”
Matt’s face was slightly flushed with indignation. But then it never took much to stir up a battle of barbed words between him and Cat.
“I do not think that! I”
“And, let’s face it,” continued Cat merrily, “you haven’t had a brain since Gaby chucked you. I mean, I know you’ve said you’re over her, but you spend half your time in a daze. I bet you didn’t ask Joe. I bet you”
“Hold up! Quit right there!” Ollie refereed, seeing by the hurt in Matt’s face that Cat had hit a raw nerve. It was true, Ollie knew; Matt was finding it harder to get over Gaby than he’d thought…
ARE YOU A BOTTLER OR A BLABBER?
Matt’s dredged up some bad memories from the past, Maya’s trying to make the best of a bad situation, and Cat-well, Cat’s having a bad time all round. They’re all dealing with it in different ways, but what would you do? Try our quiz and find out…
There’s major hassle in your life-what’s your first reaction?
To lock yourself away in your room and slip into a pit of gloom.
To mull everything over till you can start making sense of it.
To pour your heart out to all your friends straight away.
Your new boyfriend’s great, but you know for sure that your parents won’t approve. What do you tell them about him?
Nothing-even though it’s going to be horribly complicated and a real strain trying to keep him a secret.
The bits you think they’ll want to hear. You’ll tell them more once they get used to the idea - and him.
Everything, all at once. And if they don’t like it, that’s their problem.
You catch the end of someone’s phone call, and you’re sure they’re saying something dodgy about you. Do you:
Say nothing, hope you’re mistaken, but still worry yourself sick about what it might be?
Talk to the person later, giving them the opportunity to explain what’s going on?
Ask them straight out what the hell they’re playing at?
Your kid sister gets away with anything at home. You:
Think it’s hideously unfair, and silently resent her and your parents for giving in to her all the time.
Think it’s deeply irritating but put up with it, since complaining to your parents makes you seem as childish as she is.
Throw a total strop next time it looks like she’s going to get her way again.
You’re out one night, and you know you’re showing off, but you’re having too much fun to care. Then you overhear someone make a really bitchy comment about you. You’re hurt. You’d tell:
No one in case they said, “Serves you right!”
Your best mate, ‘cause she’ll always be on your side, whatever.
All your mates, ‘cause you’d want every bit of sympathy you can get.
You feel like your parents are neglecting you. Do you say something to them?
No-you’d feel like a baby. After all, you should manage to deal with things on your own at your age.
Only if the moment was right. You wouldn’t want to blurt it all out when they weren’t paying attention.
Too right-you’d make a real fuss if you thought they weren’t being fair to you.
A friend asks if you’re OK when you’re feeling really lousy. Here’s your chance to get things off your chest. Do you?
Probably not. You’d rather keep your worries to yourself than have people feel sorry for you.
Maybe-if you thought they could give you advice and weren’t the type to go blabbing your problems to everyone.
Yes; you’ve been waiting for someone-anyone-to open up to.
Old photos, old love letters, old diaries. Do you look at them often?
No-they can bring back a lot of bad memories as well as good. It’s better to forget about them.
Sometimes - it’s weird to look back but it can be fun.
All the time. Why should you forge
t or hide the past?
It’s the perfect opportunity: there’s only you and the person you most want to talk to in the room. Do you:
Chat about anything-except what’s on your mind?
Take ages to work up the courage to say what you want to?
Blast them with everything that’s been whizzing around your brain?
Keeping a deep, dark secret to yourself makes you feel…
Miserable. But you’d be more miserable if everyone else knew about it too.
Very uncomfortable. You prefer everything to be upfront and honest.
Desperate to tell. You can’t keep other people’s secrets, and you struggle to keep your own.
NOW CHECK OUT HOW YOU SCORED…
SO, ARE YOU A BOTTLER OR A BLABBER?
Mostly a
Bottle them up? You put your worries in a lead-lined safe and throw away the key! You think you’re being very brave and adult by keeping problems and feelings to yourself, but all you’re doing is making things twice as bad. Worries get magnified, small hassles become major nightmares, all because you’re keeping them locked up inside. Find someone you trust, and tell ‘em what’s troubling you-honest, you’ll feel a lot better for it.
Mostly b
You use your head, figuring out a lot of stuff on your own. But you know that keeping quiet when it comes to difficult situations is only a short-term solution; at some point you’ll have to talk it out, because you’re just not comfortable with keeping things bottled up.
Mostly c
Keeping things to yourself just isn’t your style. Everyone knows everything about you, and if you’ve got something on your mind, they’ll know about it sooner or later! Being straightforward is great, but only if you remember one important rule-think before you speak!
SOME SECRETS ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO KEEP TO YOURSELF!
Sugar Secrets…
1 … & Revenge
2 … & Rivals
3 … & Lies
4 … & Freedom
5 … & Lust
6 … & Mistakes
7 … & Choices
8 … & Ambition
9 … & Dramas
10 … & Resolutions
11 … & Scandal
12 … & Guilt
13 … & Luck
14 … & Love
Copyright
Published in Great Britain by Collins in 2000
Collins is an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
The HarperCollins website address is
www.fireandwater.com
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Creative consultant: Karen McCombie
Copyright © Sugar 2000. Licensed with TLC
ISBN 0 00 675431 7
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-007-40078-2
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