“Small, Jen!”
She bites her bottom lip and scribbles down another name.
“No way!” I snatch the pen off her and scratch out the name
She laughs.
“Is Liam gonna make it?” Eloise asks.
I can feel Jen’s eyes on the side of my face like hot lasers, but I keep my eyes on Eloise.
“I hope so,” I say.
Thinking about Liam makes my tummy hurt, so instead I turn my mind to the lie I will have to tell mum to get away with the night…
We are at the lockers, grabbing our coats when, “Oh god, here he comes,” Jen whispers in my ear before slamming her locker closed. She leans against it with her arms folded across her chest.
I take a deep breath, clench and unclench my fists, before turning to face him.
“Hey, beautiful. So how about a ride on my bike?”
He’s asked me the same question every day for the past two weeks and I’ve given him the same answer every day. It doesn’t seem to deter him. Justin Walker, striking because of his silver-white hair and pale blue eyes, but aside from that he’s like a persistent rash that no amount of steroid cream will shift. It makes me itchy just thinking about it and, man, I tried being nice, I tried being rude, I even tried ignoring him, but he keeps coming back for more. I have no more moods in my repertoire and no more patience.
“I’m not gonna shag you, Justin, I’m really not interested. Go find someone else to annoy. Seriously, you’re coming across desperate now. That cannot be good for your rep.”
The smile on his face freezes then falls. “Fine, it’s a bet, okay. Aaron bet me I couldn’t get you onto my bike.” He folds his arms across his chest and leans back against my locker. “I honestly didn’t think it would be this hard, fucksake. It’s just a motorbike ride. Girls like that shit, right?”
Aaron’s in my art class; arrogant, annoying and up himself; and an eavesdropper. A couple of weeks ago Freya, another girl in my class, and I were talking about cars and I told her how I was scared of motorbikes.
Jen snorts. “Not Gemma. She’s got a kinda phobia.”
He stares at me incredulous.
I throw up my hands. “What? I don’t like the idea of travelling on something that fast without a friggin’ seatbelt, okay?”
He shakes his head. “Fine, okay, I give up.” He pushes off the locker and drops me a salute. He’s about to turn away when I have an idea.
“How much?”
“What?” He cocks his head.
“How much was the bet for?”
“Fifty quid. Why?” He studies my face. “Oh…”
We agree on a 30/20 split. After all, I’m the one facing a fear, right? That money will come in handy. I need some new pieces for my goodie box.
He’s waiting for me outside the building. It’s a small community college catering for the town and surrounding villages, but it feels like London with its new redbrick and clean cut lines. The past few weeks I’ve found myself spending more and more time in the town, coming in early and leaving on the last bus back. Despite being in Learmonth for almost two months, it still doesn’t feel like home. Jules said it’ll take much longer than that. Mum says once we celebrate our first Christmas there it’ll start to feel like home.
“You sure about this?” Jen whispers.
I nod. I can see Aaron from the corner of my eye, his blonde hair covered by a black and green beanie hat. He stands with a small group of guys that I recognise, but don’t really know. His hands are pushed into his jacket pockets and his breath plumes in the air. His dark eyes watch me with interest, but I am too busy psyching myself up to go over to the huge black and red beast that glares at me, daring me to approach. Justin lifts his visor and shoots me a cocky smile which I know is for Aaron’s benefit.
I give Jen a quick hug. “See you tomorrow.”
I stride toward the bike, my back pack slung over my shoulder, and take the spare helmet he offers. It’s a tight squeeze but I get it on and flip down the
She bites her bottom lip and scribbles down another name.
“No way!” I snatch the pen off her and scratch out the name
She laughs.
“Is Liam gonna make it?” Eloise asks.
I can feel Jen’s eyes on the side of my face like hot lasers, but I keep my eyes on Eloise.
“I hope so,” I say.
Thinking about Liam makes my tummy hurt, so instead I turn my mind to the lie I will have to tell mum to get away with the night…
We are at the lockers, grabbing our coats when, “Oh god, here he comes,” Jen whispers in my ear before slamming her locker closed. She leans against it with her arms folded across her chest.
I take a deep breath, clench and unclench my fists, before turning to face him.
“Hey, beautiful. So how about a ride on my bike?”
He’s asked me the same question every day for the past two weeks and I’ve given him the same answer every day. It doesn’t seem to deter him. Justin Walker, striking because of his silver-white hair and pale blue eyes, but aside from that he’s like a persistent rash that no amount of steroid cream will shift. It makes me itchy just thinking about it and, man, I tried being nice, I tried being rude, I even tried ignoring him, but he keeps coming back for more. I have no more moods in my repertoire and no more patience.
“I’m not gonna shag you, Justin, I’m really not interested. Go find someone else to annoy. Seriously, you’re coming across desperate now. That cannot be good for your rep.”
The smile on his face freezes then falls. “Fine, it’s a bet, okay. Aaron bet me I couldn’t get you onto my bike.” He folds his arms across his chest and leans back against my locker. “I honestly didn’t think it would be this hard, fucksake. It’s just a motorbike ride. Girls like that shit, right?”
Aaron’s in my art class; arrogant, annoying and up himself; and an eavesdropper. A couple of weeks ago Freya, another girl in my class, and I were talking about cars and I told her how I was scared of motorbikes.
Jen snorts. “Not Gemma. She’s got a kinda phobia.”
He stares at me incredulous.
I throw up my hands. “What? I don’t like the idea of travelling on something that fast without a friggin’ seatbelt, okay?”
He shakes his head. “Fine, okay, I give up.” He pushes off the locker and drops me a salute. He’s about to turn away when I have an idea.
“How much?”
“What?” He cocks his head.
“How much was the bet for?”
“Fifty quid. Why?” He studies my face. “Oh…”
We agree on a 30/20 split. After all, I’m the one facing a fear, right? That money will come in handy. I need some new pieces for my goodie box.
He’s waiting for me outside the building. It’s a small community college catering for the town and surrounding villages, but it feels like London with its new redbrick and clean cut lines. The past few weeks I’ve found myself spending more and more time in the town, coming in early and leaving on the last bus back. Despite being in Learmonth for almost two months, it still doesn’t feel like home. Jules said it’ll take much longer than that. Mum says once we celebrate our first Christmas there it’ll start to feel like home.
“You sure about this?” Jen whispers.
I nod. I can see Aaron from the corner of my eye, his blonde hair covered by a black and green beanie hat. He stands with a small group of guys that I recognise, but don’t really know. His hands are pushed into his jacket pockets and his breath plumes in the air. His dark eyes watch me with interest, but I am too busy psyching myself up to go over to the huge black and red beast that glares at me, daring me to approach. Justin lifts his visor and shoots me a cocky smile which I know is for Aaron’s benefit.
I give Jen a quick hug. “See you tomorrow.”
I stride toward the bike, my back pack slung over my shoulder, and take the spare helmet he offers. It’s a tight squeeze but I get it on and flip down the
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