said a voice from behind. I closed the tab and turned round. Emily was standing there, looking like a mini-rainbow in a polka-dot skirt, a stripy coloured T-shirt and purple Nikes.
‘One chocolate cupcake, please, Ali,’ she said, and then propped herself on the chair beside me.
‘What you up to?’ she asked, logging into the computer next to mine.
‘Nothing much,’ I said, clearing the search history with two swift clicks.
She looked even prettier in daylight. Her hair was a stunning dark red and she had a perfect button nose. She was smaller than me, maybe about five foot, and her nails were painted bright blue.
‘Anything interesting happen after we left last night?’ I said.
‘Nope, not really. I went home pretty soon afterwards.’ If she knew about my freak-out, she didn’t say anything.
‘Have you heard from Nick?’ I asked. I wondered how he was doing. And how long it would take him to get over Sarah …
‘No, I texted him, but he didn’t reply. Nobody’s heard from him yet. Poor guy. And he goes to the same school as her and everything. I’m so glad I go to an all-girls school. No fear of bumping into any ex-boyfriends.’
‘You go to St Mary’s?’ I said, noticing the transition-year pin on her bag.
‘Yep, I’m going into fifth year. Are you going there?’
‘Yeah, I’m going into transition year. I’m glad you’ll be there. At least now I’ll know one person.’ I was so relieved. Knowing just one person, even if they were in a different year to me, made the thought of the first day at school slightly less terrifying.
‘St Mary’s is actually an all-right place. I think you’ll like it.I’ll introduce you to lots of people, don’t worry. Put your number in there,’ said Emily, handing me her phone, which was decorated with purple diamanté studs.
I put my name in, followed by a smiley face. I really was in a good mood now that school was a less intimidating prospect. I didn’t think I’d ever feel OK about the uniform though. Wine was so not my colour.
I noticed one new email. It was a friend request from Emily. I turned and smiled at her.
‘We’re officially friends now,’ she said jokingly.
Ali brought over the tea and cupcakes. We moved away from the computers and sat down at one of the tables. A few minutes later I noticed a dark-haired guy with glasses outside approaching the café door. He seemed to spot Emily and stepped back to check his reflection in the glass. When he saw me looking he stopped fixing his hair and opened the door.
‘David!’ said Emily. ‘You’re back!’ She got up and rushed over to the door to give him a hug. ‘How was your trip?’
‘Hi, Emily,’ he replied, blushing slightly from her embrace. ‘It was brilliant. Really cool.’
I remembered Nick and Colin had mentioned David at the table quiz. He had braces and was about a foot taller than Emily. From his reaction to her hug I guessed he was one of her many admirers.
‘David, this is Jacki,’ said Emily, grabbing his arm and bringing him over to the table.
‘Hi,’ said David, sitting down beside Emily. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘I just moved here,’ I said. ‘A few weeks ago.’
‘Yeah, I heard,’ said David. ‘Nick told me about you.’
Now it was my turn to blush. Nick told him about me . So Nick had been talking about me. Which meant Nick was thinking about me. I wanted to ask him what Nick had said. I wanted to ask him to repeat every single syllable exactly as he’d heard it, but I decided to keep quiet and hope no one could see my delight.
‘You had fun in Japan then?’ said Emily.
‘It was epic. I have Colin’s stuff here,’ he said, putting a plastic bag with some Japanese lettering on it on the table. ‘And I got you something,’ he added, rummaging through its contents. He pulled out a little Hello Kitty purse and gave it to Emily.
‘Aww, wow! Thanks!’
‘And you can have Sarah’s one,’ he said to me.
‘Oh … I don’t think
‘One chocolate cupcake, please, Ali,’ she said, and then propped herself on the chair beside me.
‘What you up to?’ she asked, logging into the computer next to mine.
‘Nothing much,’ I said, clearing the search history with two swift clicks.
She looked even prettier in daylight. Her hair was a stunning dark red and she had a perfect button nose. She was smaller than me, maybe about five foot, and her nails were painted bright blue.
‘Anything interesting happen after we left last night?’ I said.
‘Nope, not really. I went home pretty soon afterwards.’ If she knew about my freak-out, she didn’t say anything.
‘Have you heard from Nick?’ I asked. I wondered how he was doing. And how long it would take him to get over Sarah …
‘No, I texted him, but he didn’t reply. Nobody’s heard from him yet. Poor guy. And he goes to the same school as her and everything. I’m so glad I go to an all-girls school. No fear of bumping into any ex-boyfriends.’
‘You go to St Mary’s?’ I said, noticing the transition-year pin on her bag.
‘Yep, I’m going into fifth year. Are you going there?’
‘Yeah, I’m going into transition year. I’m glad you’ll be there. At least now I’ll know one person.’ I was so relieved. Knowing just one person, even if they were in a different year to me, made the thought of the first day at school slightly less terrifying.
‘St Mary’s is actually an all-right place. I think you’ll like it.I’ll introduce you to lots of people, don’t worry. Put your number in there,’ said Emily, handing me her phone, which was decorated with purple diamanté studs.
I put my name in, followed by a smiley face. I really was in a good mood now that school was a less intimidating prospect. I didn’t think I’d ever feel OK about the uniform though. Wine was so not my colour.
I noticed one new email. It was a friend request from Emily. I turned and smiled at her.
‘We’re officially friends now,’ she said jokingly.
Ali brought over the tea and cupcakes. We moved away from the computers and sat down at one of the tables. A few minutes later I noticed a dark-haired guy with glasses outside approaching the café door. He seemed to spot Emily and stepped back to check his reflection in the glass. When he saw me looking he stopped fixing his hair and opened the door.
‘David!’ said Emily. ‘You’re back!’ She got up and rushed over to the door to give him a hug. ‘How was your trip?’
‘Hi, Emily,’ he replied, blushing slightly from her embrace. ‘It was brilliant. Really cool.’
I remembered Nick and Colin had mentioned David at the table quiz. He had braces and was about a foot taller than Emily. From his reaction to her hug I guessed he was one of her many admirers.
‘David, this is Jacki,’ said Emily, grabbing his arm and bringing him over to the table.
‘Hi,’ said David, sitting down beside Emily. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘I just moved here,’ I said. ‘A few weeks ago.’
‘Yeah, I heard,’ said David. ‘Nick told me about you.’
Now it was my turn to blush. Nick told him about me . So Nick had been talking about me. Which meant Nick was thinking about me. I wanted to ask him what Nick had said. I wanted to ask him to repeat every single syllable exactly as he’d heard it, but I decided to keep quiet and hope no one could see my delight.
‘You had fun in Japan then?’ said Emily.
‘It was epic. I have Colin’s stuff here,’ he said, putting a plastic bag with some Japanese lettering on it on the table. ‘And I got you something,’ he added, rummaging through its contents. He pulled out a little Hello Kitty purse and gave it to Emily.
‘Aww, wow! Thanks!’
‘And you can have Sarah’s one,’ he said to me.
‘Oh … I don’t think
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