Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 05] by Dates Mates, Sole Survivors (Html) Page A

desk, put it in the player and sat back on my bed to flick through my latest
copy of
Vogue
. I sat on the end of the bed and turned to look at him.
I’m not sure if I like you anymore, I thought suddenly. Then another voice
said, You’re just sulking because he doesn’t like your clothes. Then the other
voice said, Well, I don’t like his. Only black or white. How boring.
Arghh
,
I thought. Here we go again with the arguing twins.
    ‘What sign are you,
Daniel?’
    ‘Cancer.’
    ‘That’s the sign of
the crab, isn’t it?’ I said, as a voice in my head said, Yes. Crab, crab,
crabby.
     
     
     
     
     
C h a p t e r   1 4
    Tarot
Reading
     
    Contents - Prev / Next
     
    ‘And so gather the
Witches of East Finchley,’ I said as we all sat on the floor in Izzie’s bedroom
ready to do the tarot cards.
    She did Nesta’s
reading first and it didn’t look good, even to me, who doesn’t know what they
all mean.
    ‘It says there’s a bit
of a stormy time in love coming up for you,’ said Izzie, consulting the book,
then pointing at a card with a picture of a pierced heart on it.
    ‘Tell me about it,’
groaned Nesta.
    ‘I am doing,’ teased
Izzie. ‘It doesn’t necessarily mean bad, though. Just a difficult time. And the
last card is the World, and that’s always a good one. It means a goal is
attained. Success.’
    ‘Great,’ said Nesta.
‘Either way, I’ve decided to be positive. I mean, Simon’s the longest I’ve ever
been out with anyone and he is going to university in a couple of weeks. Maybe
we do need to cool off a bit so that I can go out with loads of other boys and
not feel like I’m cheating.’
    My mum says that in
life there are two types of people. Those who see a glass as half full and
those who see a glass as half empty. Nesta’s definitely a half-full type of
girl.
    TJ’s cards were
brilliant. Mostly cups, which the book said meant emotional happiness, then the
Empress, which Izzie said meant a happy relationship.
    ‘Excellent,’ said TJ.
    Izzie’s reading was
more complicated. ‘I think it means that I’m unsure which way to turn,’ she
said as she looked at the layout, then studied her book.
    ‘What did you ask
about when you shuffled the cards?’ I asked.
    ‘Ben,’ she said. ‘It’s
time to call it a day, but you know, I don’t want to hurt his feelings.’
    ‘Why do you want to
finish with him?’ asked TJ.
    Izzie shrugged.
‘Dunno, really. I still really like him, but hey, you know, we’re far too young
to be tied down.’
    ‘You sound like your
mum,’ I said.
    ‘Heaven forbid I ever
turn into my mother,’ said Izzie. ‘Please, God, no. It’s just, all we ever do
is band stuff or write lyrics. I do like doing that but not
all
the
time. I want to have a bit of fun as well.’
    I was dying to tell
them about my last meeting with Daniel and ask them what they thought, but I
already had a pretty good idea what Izzie and Nesta would say. Izzie would be
all protective of me and want to phone him up and give him an earful for
criticising me and Nesta would simply say, ‘Dump him, life’s too short.’
    When they went
downstairs to get snacks, I told TJ in private about the day before.
    ‘You’re right,’ she
said. ‘You do have to accept criticism but only if it’s constructive. Your
designs are fabulous and you have a great eye for colour. There’s room for
everyone. I bet some of the most famous designers hate each other’s designs, so
it doesn’t mean anything that he didn’t like yours. Like, oh, I don’t know
their names but, say, that one who does bright colours?’
    ‘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