In a Class of His Own by Georgia Hill

Still, all’s fair in love and
war isn’t it!”
    The pang of jealousy
burned more fiercely. I gulped and thought frantically of what I
could say. As I still didn’t answer, Ann looked at her watch and
frowned.
    “Ooh,
look at the time, come on Nicky, hurry up. Is this your dress? Oh
it’s sweet and such a pretty colour!” She struggled to pull the
back of my dress together and began to fasten the hooks and eyes.
“God, it’s going to be a bit tight. Have you put on some weight?”
    We
entered the hall together but Ann soon spotted someone she wanted to
talk to and disappeared. The hall was crowded and hot; it looked as
if most people were there already. It was all looking really
festive. On the previous evening a team of us had worked long into
the night in order to decorate it. In an effort to disguise the
wall-bars we had wound red, green and white paper chains around them.
I’d added lengths of ivy at the last moment and thankfully it still
looked fresh. Along one side of the hall Mona had set up the trestle
tables and had covered them with pristine white cloth. They were
groaning with food and drink and were prettily edged with holly and
mistletoe.
    As the
band struck up a lively rendition of ‘Oh Christmas Tree’ I began
to relax a little. There were times when I’d thought the end of
this term would
never come. With a shudder I thought back to the horrendous training
day back in September. I remembered the hostility I’d encountered
from some of the staff and a warm glow enveloped me as I realised how
accepted I now was. And with Mum and Dad expecting Andy and Inez over
for the holidays, life was good.
    Mostly.
    Jack
stood
by the stairs talking to Ann. His back was to me, so I couldn’t see
his expression but they looked to be having an animated conversation.
In common with many here tonight, my opinion of him had changed
radically. He had won us over with determination, sheer hard work and
his unique brand of abrupt charm. And I’d certainly seen him in a
different light recently. A roller coaster travelled up and down my
spine as I remembered how jaw-droppingly gorgeous he’d looked
coming out of the wet room. I sighed lustily. But, as I saw Ann take
Jack’s arm and lead him onto the dance floor, the lust was quashed.
I frowned. I couldn’t figure out what he felt for me at all.
Sometimes I felt the flash of his attraction but at other times he
seemed to be deliberately backing off from having any contact with
me. Had I really misunderstood the signs; those longing looks and the
heated silences which flared between us so often? Or was it Ann he
was truly interested in after all? Her comments earlier had stunned
me and I resented feeling so jealous. I was beginning to accept just
how attracted I was to him but I couldn’t bear to make the first
move. What if I did? He was my boss – and my landlord now after
all. I closed my eyes briefly in horror as I contemplated the
potential awkwardness and embarrassment. It didn’t bear thinking
about if I had read the situation wrongly.
    I
shook my head to clear it a little and distracted myself by studying
my dress. While
it wasn’t as elaborate as Ann’s I was still pleased with it. Mum
had tried really hard to adapt it and she had done a skilled job. In
the end she hadn’t found enough material to add a frill as well as
put something around the low neckline so had concentrated on adding
length. Like Ann I swished my petticoats experimentally. I hardly
ever wore a skirt, let alone a long one like this and I felt newly
feminine. I did however, have some concerns about the neckline. I
tugged self-consciously at the plain bodice. It was excruciatingly
tight and very low cut and I was worried that it was far too
revealing. Oh well, I giggled, I would just have to remember not to
eat anything. Or bend over!
    “Nicky!”
called a voice. “Nicky, you’re looking gorgeous tonight!” It
was Rupert. He was grinning hugely. He took my arms, held them out
wide