want to get involved with a bird that Harry ‘Scumbag of the Year’ Hopkins has had his hands all over?’ asked Dazza.
‘And God knows what else,’ added Jack. ‘We’re not trying to be tossers here; we’re just looking out for you as friends. Even me, and I hate you.’
‘I hate you too,’ said Gibbo with a weak smile.
‘Good,’ nodded Jack. ‘That sounds like the Scotty Gibson I know.’
Gibbo brightened.
‘I guess you guys are right. There’s plenty of talent left here, ain’t there? Hey Butler, I’m surprised half the chicks in this room aren’t gagging for you after that slide. That was awesome!’
‘Yeah, well maybe if you losers weren’t crowding me they’d get a look in,’ said Ryan, sticking out his chest with pride.
‘All right Romeo, we’ll leave you to them,’ said Jack. ‘Come on you guys. And Gib, try not to knock over anyone who’s bigger than you. Or who has big mates. You might not be so lucky next time.’
The session continued for another hour or so, and it proved to be just as eventful. Firstly, the guy Gibbo had knocked down came over, initially feigning friendliness, and told him he’d be waiting outside when the session was over. That was enough to take all of the remaining wind out of Gibbo’s sails, and he cut an ever more downcast figure as he continued to slowly lap the rink. On top of that, the moment Stephanie McMahon headed for the ladies room Harry Hopkins made a bee-line for Ryan. Fortunately, Harry was by far the inferior skater and Ryan managed to evade him for the entirety of Steph’s comfort break. As the couple sloped off for a snog in the corner, Jack slid over to Ryan’s side.
‘Nice work evading the big Double H,’ he grinned. ‘You know, that nickname just represents the size of his man-boobs.’
Ryan almost wet himself laughing.
‘I think you’re right. Hey look; his are even bigger than Steph’s.’ He pointed at the repulsive display going on in the corner.
‘That’s hardly difficult, is it?’
‘No, I guess not. Hey, you seen Sophie from the side recently? She’s getting a cracking pair.’
His friend looked uneasy for a second while he considered.
‘You know, I don’t think they’re all that big. Now, Louise Chapman; that’s another matter. That girl is probably taller when she’s lying on her back.’
That comment sent Ryan off into fits of laughter again.
Slowly the session wound down to a close, but the boys continued to squeeze every last ounce of amusement out of it. This was partly because Gibbo had no desire to leave the place in a hurry and partly because it had proven to be a pretty fruitless afternoon for them on the pulling front. The only one of them to receive any sort of attention was Jack, but he just waved it away, seemingly intent on saving himself for better things. Even more annoyingly, Dazza’s sister appeared to have paired off with a lad from the year below them.
‘He’s a whole year older than her!’ he cried, as the others restrained him from going over and splitting them up.
‘So?’ said Ryan. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve never eyed up someone outside our year group.’
‘Yeah but, well, she’s my sister, innit?’
‘Isn’t she, you mean,’ corrected Jack.
‘What are you, a dictionary or something?’ said Dazza irately. ‘Anyway Butler, you don’t know what it’s like. You ain’t got no brothers or sisters.’
Jack opened his mouth again, but Dazza pushed him away.
‘I just don’t want her taken advantage of.’
‘You’re right,’ shrugged Ryan. ‘But just because you couldn’t pull to save your life, doesn’t mean you should stop her.’
‘Well, I don’t see you doing any better, Mr Fifty-Foot Hockey Stop.’
‘Yeah, what happened about that?’ asked Jack. ‘I thought we were leaving you alone to work your magic.’
‘They just didn’t come over. I got eyes from loads of girls, but none of them followed it up.’
‘Okay, so by ‘loads’ you mean one or two at best. And if they did then why didn’t you go over and talk to them?’
‘What?’
The other three exchanged amused glances.
‘And you were giving me a hard time,’ sniggered Dazza.
‘Ryan, you can’t expect a girl to just fall into your hands. They expect a bit of a chase first,’ said Jack.
‘Really?’
‘Of course. You know, you really should have come on that French exchange trip last term. It was a real eye-opener; taught me all I need to know. Seriously, this is the sort of ignorance I’d expect from Gib.’
‘Hey!’
Jack turned to him and smiled.
‘All right there Gibbo? I thought we’d lost you there for a while. Something on your mind?’
The others laughed.
‘Shut it you lot,’ he growled. ‘You know that geezer is going to be waiting outside with all his mates. How would you be feeling?’
‘To be honest, that guy’s mummy has probably already picked him up and taken him home for his tea,’ said Jack. ‘I really wouldn’t worry about it.’
‘You reckon?’ said Gibbo, brightening slightly.
‘Sure. If anyone should be bricking it, it should be Ryan. Did you see old Double H trying to hunt him down earlier?’
‘Yeah, that was funny as hell,’ laughed Dazza. ‘He couldn’t get near you, could he?’
‘Nope,’ beamed Ryan, giving him a high-five. ‘Probably means double the beatings on Monday, but never mind.’
‘Just pack out your uniform with newspaper,’ said Jack. ‘That should soften the blows.’
‘Like there’s any room in his uniform for that!’ cried Gibbo.
The mood continued to be bright and breezy as they removed their boots and retrieved their stuff from the lockers. By the time they left the rink the threats made to Gibbo were a distant memory, and they headed over to some rather dishevelled pool tables next to the bowling alley while they plotted their next moves.
‘Sorry guys, I’m going to have to be a let-down on this one tonight,’ declared Jack as they struggled to figure out why there were two black balls on the table.
‘Why?’ asked Ryan indignantly. He belted the white ball so hard that it leapt off the table and slammed into a nearby vending machine. He received sarcastic applause from the others.
‘Err… it’s a family thing,’ said Jack uneasily. ‘Rubbish excuse, I know. But I’m afraid that’s it. I’m sure you’ll be the same next week when your dad gets back.’
He had a point, so Ryan did not bother to argue the case.
‘How about you pair?’ he asked.
‘Reckon we’ll head down to the skate park,’ said Dazza, looking over at Gibbo, who nodded.
‘You bunch of lame buggers,’ said Ryan, who could neither skate nor ride a BMX to any decent standard.
‘Butler, you should get yourself a pair of roller blades and come on down,’ said Dazza. ‘You’d be easily good enough to keep up with some of the girls.’
‘Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.’
The afternoon began to fizzle out and Jack headed home, but there was still enough time for Ryan to take a look round some of the shops in town. He walked down the hill with Dazza and Gibbo; the three of them making fun of Jack in his absence.
When they reached the town centre the other two left him to browse through the selections of music and games, though he knew full-well that he could get them all cheaper online. Still, he managed to plan out his next few purchases and even went as far as mentally earmarking which of his old games would have to be sacrificed to make way for the new.
After a while the shops began to close and the hordes of people began to disperse. Like the rest of them, Ryan had little better to do than to head on home. He got out his mobile and tried to ring his mum for a lift, but the line was engaged and he was reluctantly forced to make the walk back on his own. In truth, it was not much further than the walk back from school – he actua
lly passed the gates on his way – and the biggest surprise was that he did not bump into Daisy as he went. After the past week it felt unusual for him not to have to say goodbye to her as he reached her gate, but he wasn’t particularly bothered. His mum had already signed him up for a walk in the woods the following day and that would be enough.
When he walked through the front door he could hear his mum talking away on the phone. Interestingly, the volume level dropped dramatically when she heard the front door slam shut. Ryan stuck his head into the lounge to formally announce his return and she gave him a wave. Using a rather stilted version of sign language, he managed to establish that he had about an hour until dinner. He dumped his ice skates in the cupboard under the stairs and headed up to his room. He flicked on every electronic device he owned when he got there, as he couldn’t decide which one to use first.
With music blaring from his stereo, and some new tracks downloading from the internet, he settled down to cause some mindless carnage on his games console while he waited for dinner to arrive. Ryan was surprisingly good at keeping himself amused, although being an only child had given him plenty of practice. While his parents did spoil him, Ryan made the most of the things he had. The majority of his toys had been all but worn out when he was younger, and most of the games in his possession had been completed. Only those with a good degree of replayability he retained, while the rest were recycled through the shops in town, or online.
After an hour had passed with still no sign of dinner, he began to sort through his collection and made a pile of those he planned to trade in. Many were only a few
Dreamweavers: Awakening Page 34