Best Player: A Romantic Comedy Series (Dreaming of Book 1)

by Anne Thomas

  It was at the break when the first incident of the day happened. Naturally, it involved Billie Winters.

  Since I'd accidentally shown him and his friends my underwear on the stairs that had become his favourite way to annoy me. He seemed to find it even more amusing than my punching him or whatever. His usual routine was asking me what underwear I had on today, and if I was wearing boy shorts. Once or twice he'd even had the bloody cheek to try and lift up my skirt, to which my response was a swift kick to the shin. Siân told me I should get adventurous and kick him in the balls, but so far I'd not felt the need to go that far.

  Anyway, at the break, I left my maths lesson and began to walk down into the quad. On the way, I ran into Adam and his friends. Adam actually left them to walk with me.

  "So, Beth's date with Danny's set for this weekend," Adam began conversationally. I eyed him. Since I was working with him in drama, I'd got to know him quite a bit. Aside from the occasional black mood when he didn't get his way, he was all right. Funny and nicer than I'd ever anticipated. He did have a fetish for apples, but that could be forgiven. At the end of every drama lesson, he'd shun his usual friends and stand with Beth, Sharon and me. Because of this, he knew the ins and outs of Beth and Danny's 'situation' (if you could call it that).

  "Yes," I agreed. "It is."

  "You know, I want to meet this guy," Adam said. "I'm gonna be there." We turned the corner and found Billie and co lounging around outside one of the history classrooms. Thankfully, they didn't notice us straight away, and Adam slowed down.

  "You don't have to," I told him, hitching my bag up my shoulder.

  "I want to. I don't mind," he assured me. "And I won't even bring any of my mates, I promise." I rolled my eyes. Popular he might be, but he was a weird lad in my opinion.

  "Sure, whatever. I don't think Beth will mind. It's two o'clock, at the escalators outside the cinema, you know?"

  "Llynmawr Mall, right?" He nodded and reached into his pocket, taking out his trademark shiny red apple. He slowly peeled off the fruit sticker and came to a halt, grabbing my arm, so I stopped as well. By this time, Billie and his mates had spotted us and Billie were slowly dawdling his way over. Adam took no notice and firmly placed the sticker on the lapel of my blazer.

  "Happy birthday," he said, flashing me a smile, before starting to walk again.

  "Lougher," Billie said, nodding at Adam. Adam held up a hand in greeting, and I hurried after him. Billie put a hand on my arm, and I still. Adam didn't.

  "So, Nerys, I'll see you at two o'clock, Llynmawr Mall, yeah?" Adam called over his shoulder. He gave me the thumbs up and turned the next corner into the stairwell.

  "Llynmawr Mall?" Billie inquired. "You going on a date with Lougher, or something?"

  "What the hell makes you say that?" I demanded.

  "You looked pretty friendly with him." He pointed at my lapel. "He gave you a Pink Lady apple sticker."

  "Oh, and that's, you know, right up there with engagement rings, that is. Sure sign I'm going on a date with him," I snapped sarcastically.

  "Well, in case it escaped your notice, Freckles, I happened to hear something about seeing you at two o'clock at Llynmawr Mall?" Billie socked his head inquisitively to one side, and I scowled at him.

  "I'm going out with a few friends," I told him. "And Adam just happens to be one of them."

  "Is Newell going?" Billie asked. Behind him, most of his friends were rolling their eyes or preparing to move off.

  "Not if I have anything to do about it," I replied. "You'd better hurry, Winters; your friends are leaving without you."

  "Yeah, Billie," Liam said with a snort. "Hurry! Or we'll leave without you."

  "Yeah, right." Billie turned on his heel and loped after his friends, with no parting shot left in his wake. That was a surprise.

  The second incident happened at dinner. I left my Spanish lesson with John, and we walked down to the canteen together and sat at our usual table, leaving two seats at the end of the table for Gwen and Suzanne (although they usually pretended that they didn't know us, they still sat with us at dinner).

  Gwen came swaggering over and dumped her rucksack on her usual chair, and Suzanne followed in her wake and did the same thing. Siân and Beth joined us from their Law lesson, and we began to talk about Saturday.

  "Who sits here?" a voice demanded. The voice belonged to Adam, who had a polystyrene tub of pasta and tomato sauce in one hand and a bottle of orange juice tucked under his arm. He dropped his bag on the floor and kicked it under the table, before depositing his lunch onto the table and shoving Gwen's bag onto the floor.

  "Gwen," I responded. "Usually."

  "That's okay then." And he took her seat, pulling another apple out of his blazer pocket and placing it carefully on the tabletop. He then began to eat his pasta.

  We all stared at him. This was new; he'd never eaten with us before. And judging by the looks on most of his friends' faces – they all sat on the table behind us – they were all surprised too.

  "What the hell," I finally said, putting my sandwich down. "Adam, why are you sitting with us?"

  Adam looked up from his forkful of fusilli. "Because I want to?" he suggested. "Why? Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" He looked curious. I sighed heavily and unscrewed the cap on my bottle of juice.

  "Because," I said after I'd taken a sip and put the lid back on the bottle, "Guys like you do not sit with girls like us." John made a little indignant noise, and I conceded slightly. "And John. You sit with girls like them." I gestured in the direction of a table made up of Adam's female equivalents, headed by Nicola Cryer.

  "I don't want to sit with them, though," Adam pointed out, tentatively nibbling at his pasta. "I want to sit with you."

  I raised my eyebrows, and Siân eyed him with an odd look in her eyes. Beth looked amused, and John looked pleased. Ann didn't appear to have noticed, as she was at that moment absorbed in a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (in Welsh).

  "Well, you know, I'm touched, Adam, but...what the hell?" I repeated. Adam laughed, which was when Louis made his way over, bearing another tub of pasta and a bottle of orange juice.

  "Mind if I sit here?" he asked John, resting his hand on the back of Suzanne's usual chair. John shrugged, and Louis took it as a yes and moved Suzanne's bag onto the floor before sitting down. "Hey, Adam."

  "Hey, Lou."

  I stared at them both as they struck up a conversation about football (Manchester United vs. Chelsea. Who was better? A fascinating conversation, as you can imagine).

  I then stared at John, who now looked amused. "The Beast isn't going to be happy," he muttered to me.

  "That doesn't really bother me," I said, "But the gossip –"

  "No one's gossip," said Adam confidently, spearing another fusilli. "Trust me. Besides, I and Louis are accompanying you to the cinema tomorrow, so we might as well sit with you at dinner."

  Beth looked at me. "I didn't know you were coming with us, Adam," she said slowly. "Or you, Louis."

  "I did tell Nerys this morning," Adam said, smiling at her.

  "You said that you were coming," I frowned, "But you never said anything about –"

  "I'm not allowed to come, then?" Louis asked me. "Is it forbidden?"

  "No. But –"

  "Hello, Nerys!"

  Oh, great. Just what I needed: Glyn Newell.

  "Hello, Glyn," I said through gritted teeth. The whole atmosphere of the table changed. Siân's face contorted into one of annoyance, and John just looked mildly pissed off. Beth sighed and looked down at her sandwich, and Sharon and Elisha halted their somewhat loud conversation on cats to kind of wince in Glyn's general direction. Adam and Louis simultaneously looked up at him, a look of death upon their faces. I then winced. This wasn't going to be good.

  "Nerys, do you want to go out with me after school?" Glyn asked, practically panting with the excitement of asking me the same question he asked me nearly every single week. "It's a Frida
y, so I thought –"

  "I can't tonight, Glyn," I interrupted. Adam's eyes swiveled towards me, and he picked up his apple, buffing it with the sleeve of his blazer. "My – my drama group is staying tonight," I invented wildly. This wasn't true: we stayed on Mondays after school to work one-on-one with Mr. O'Connor, but Glyn didn't have to know that.

  "You can't be," Glyn frowned. "Your group stays on Mondays, not Fridays."

  Adam whistled, pulling a face, and I gaped. "Well, tonight..." I trailed off lamely.

  "How did you know that one, Newell?" Adam inquired, chewing on a piece of apple skin.

  "I've seen you there," Glyn said with a sniff. "You were there last week, and this week, anyway. So, Nerys, tonight –"

  "I can't; I just said," I interrupted once more, sounding snappier than I'd intended to. "I am actually staying for drama."

  Adam looked amused, now, but Louis was still staring at Glyn. He'd never forgiven Glyn for that incident on the first day of term.

  "Oh. I see. What about afterward, then? I can wait for you," Glyn offered eagerly.

  "I still can't. My brother's coming over." This, at least, wasn't a lie. Matty usually came over on Fridays because of his fiancée, Pascal, was at work.

  "I could come over to your house," he suggested. At his, Adam, Siân and John all snorted. Beth looked sympathetic. Ann was tracing the picture of Albus Dumbledore on the back of her book with one nail, head resting in the palm of her other hand.

  "I don't think that's a good idea," I mumbled.

  "Or tomorrow!" Glyn then said in a very bright voice. "We could go somewhere –"

  "She's not free tomorrow," Adam butted in.

  "Yeah, we're going to the cinema at the shopping centre," I agreed, shooting Adam a grateful look.

  "Oh. Well. I just thought..."

  "Well, Glyn, too much thinking then. I think it's pretty obvious that Nerys here isn't interested," Adam responded with a small shrug. "I'd move on if I were you."

  "Adam!" I exclaimed reproachfully.

  "Well, you're not," Adam scoffed. "Don't lie to the man."

  "Don't answer for me!" I complained.

  "Yeah, don't answer for her!" Glyn backed me up, fixing Adam with an irritated glance. "You don't know what she's thinking..."

  "I can have a bloody good guess," Adam chuckled, "She wants you to go away."

  Glyn's face turned an ugly shade of puce with anger. "Yeah, well, she wants you to go away, she doesn't want you to sit with her –"

  "Bet she'd rather have me than you."

  "Well –" Glyn began, but he was cut off by Ann's sharp voice.

  "Both of you be quiet," she said, picking up her book and resuming reading it. "You're giving me a headache."

  Glyn glared in her direction, before addressing me once more. "I'm sorry for bothering you, Nerys," he said in a clipped voice. "I'll see you later." And he stomped off, somewhat resembling a moody toddler.

  "Pen pin*!" Louis called after his retreating. A few people in the vicinity laughed at his insult, although Glyn appeared none the wiser.

  "Oh my God," Siân said, covering her face with her hand. "Why the hell did you tell him what cinema we'd be going to?" she demanded through her splayed fingers, eyes spitting fire. "He'll be there tomorrow, mark my words!"

  This was when Gwen and Suzanne returned. They slowed when they saw our two new additions, and Gwen looked pretty annoyed when she saw her bag dumped on the floor.

  "Come on, Suzanne," she said snootily, swooping down to pick up her bag, "We'll find another table somewhere else." And with that, she left, much to John's delight. Suzanne was much slower, taking her time.

  "Sorry, Suzanne," Louis said, rising from his chair. "Did I take your -?"

  "No. I mean, yes, you did take my seat, but it doesn't matter." She shook her head, one corner of her mouth tilting upwards. "There are other places I can sit, I'm sure." She slung her bag over her shoulder, bade us goodbye and followed Gwen.

  "Now I feel bad," Louis frowned.

  "Don't," John said sadly. "You probably did her a favour. I don't think she wants to sit with us anymore." He smiled across the table at me. I smiled sympathetically back.

  Adam took a sip of his orange juice. "It seems, Nerys," he said in a lazy voice, "That you've got yourself quite the little stalker."

  "Oh, shut up, Adam," I said tiredly. "I have not. He's just..."

  "How many times this term has he asked you out somewhere?" Adam challenged. I shrugged and prodded at my uneaten sandwich.

  "Nearly every week. I don't know."

  "He's annoying," Siân informed Adam, leaning towards him eagerly. I got it, now: Siân thought she was in with a chance with Adam. "I mean, he follows her."

  "Don't exaggerate," I muttered darkly.

  "I'm not!"

  "You need something to put him off," Adam said, screwing his mouth up as if he was pondering something. "You know...like..."

  "Like changing my hair?" I looked at him skeptically, and he shook his head.

  "That'd never work. No, I mean, like getting a boyfriend. You know. To put him off." Adam sat back, looking pleased with himself. Everyone else just stared.

  "You offering, Adam?" John inquired, looking amused.

  "God, no!" Adam snorted, and then looked at me apologetically. "I mean, you're a great girl, Nerys, but I'm not interested. No offense."

  "None was taken." I rolled my eyes, and Siân kicked my leg under the table, covering her mouth with her hand as she muffled her laughter.

  "Anyway," Adam said dismissively, "No one would ever believe that."

  I flicked a crumb from John's flapjack at Adam. "Cheers!"

  "No, I mean because we don't really know each other. We have no history," Adam explained. "If I started holding your hand now, everyone would think something weird was going on, so it needs to be someone you have a bit of history with."

  "What, like John?" Siân suggested.

  "Hmm. It could work, but most people think that he's gay, so..." Adam looked at John. "Sorry, mate, but it's the truth. I don't think you're gay, but..."

  "No, point taken," John nodded.

  "Who, then?" I asked, prodding Adam's arm. His eyes looked a bit hesitant.

  "You'd kill me," he said finally, "If I said who I'm thinking of."

  There was a pregnant pause, everyone's eyes fixed on his. My gaze turned stony because I knew whom he was thinking of. John clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh as he cottoned on.

  "Oh my God," he laughed, "Billie?"

  "You're right, Adam. I might just kill you!" I snapped. "God, that makes me feel sick, that's a horrible idea!"

  "You gotta admit, though, Nerys, it might just work. People would so go for it! They'll put down all the animosity as just being denial, and I bet you could both pull it off," Beth said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "That's a great idea!"

  "I think Adam is right," Ann said, not looking up from her book. "Billie is the perfect candidate: most people know that you two have this hate thing going on, and they'll easily believe it's a love hate thing, because that's what the gossip is at the moment."

  My mouth dropped open at her words. "It is?" I asked, biting my lip. She nodded.

  "Not only do people think that there's something going on between the two of you," Ann continued, "Billie's intimidating enough to scare off Glyn. The boy's terrified of Billie and his friends enough as it is. He is, I personally feel, an ideal candidate."

  Everyone was looking at me. I looked down at my lap, my face burning under their scrutiny. "Can't I just go for Antal?" I muttered under my breath. "That would be so much easier..."

  Antal and I got on quite well now. He didn't speak much Spanish, you see, so Mrs Brooke had given me the task of teaching him the basics during a lesson. He teased me about my accent and I just blushed and giggled like an idiot. He called me 'édesem**,' whatever that might mean.

  "What was that?" John smirked. He'd managed to get it out of me, the fact t
hat I had a slight...thing for Mr. Kiss.

  "Nothing," I said in a louder voice than I'd meant to. "Anyway, it wouldn't work, because Billie really doesn't like me. He'd never agree. Plus the thought of pretending to be his girlfriend makes me feel ill."

  Ann sighed heavily and turned the page in her book. "Okay. Whatever you say, Nerys. Now, people, keep kind of quiet because Harry's just met Firenze in the forest."

  "Are you going to be there tomorrow, Ann?" Adam implored.

  "Unfortunately, yes. I want to revise for a science test but Nerys here coerced me into going."

  "Hey!" I said defensively. "I did no such thing. I just asked you to show up for moral support. And, also, in case this Danny turns out to be a dick, and then you can be all sarcastic at him."

  "Danny's not a dick!" Beth objected.

  "He wrestled you over a jar of manuka honey," I pointed out. "The dick potential is there, Beth."

  "His mother was ill," she mumbled. I just snorted, and she threw a cheese and onion crisp at me in response.

  Adam's suggestion remained forgotten for the rest of the day, but let me tell you – that was not the end of it...

  *Pen pidyn – Welsh. Means 'dickhead'.

  **Édesem – Hungarian. Means 'sweetheart'.

  Chapter 7: Honey Boy

  The Powell household, on a Saturday morning, can be a bit of a crazy place to be.

  Take the Saturday I was meeting Danny (or Honey Boy), for example.

  My brother Matty stayed over the night before because his fiancée Pascal was on a hen night or something like that. Matty is eighteen years old but has already moved in with Pascal, and they're already engaged. Our parents are fully supportive, while Pete and me – well, we like Pascal and everything, but we think it's a bit rushed. Not that we'd ever say that to their faces. Matty would probably disown us if we did. Pascal is half-French, half-Canadian, and is probably slightly insane, but she's not so bad, once you get past the fact it really annoys her when people can't speak French.

  So, anyway, Matty had been staying over, which meant we'd had to get out the blow-up bed for him. When he used to live with us, he'd shared a room with Pete, and Gareth and I had our rooms. When he moved out, Pete redecorated what had been their room and got rid of Matty's bed, so when Matty sleeps over, he's got to sleep in the living room. What this means is that it adds to the craziness, because we're trying to get ready to go out and whatever, and there's this big dock off lilo in the living room.