older than my whiny little sister, b) I was wise enough to be able to take care of the piercing myself, unlike Cassie who obtained an infection when she got her first pair at the age of nine, and c) Mum had two piercings herself, so she wasn't in the slightest position to give me a door-slamming 'no'.
"C'est la vie," I said, cheekily picking up one of her many fries. "Mmm," I murmured, as the delicious flavour hit my tongue, "I've got to have some of those."
"Where is Valerie?" Mae asked, her eyes flashing around me, looking for the slumped, I-don't-care form of Valerie.
"Val and her friend, Piper, are sitting on the benches outside as the short walk was way too exhausting for them." I rolled my eyes. "So I was given the job of buying the milkshakes and food, which was too exciting to decline. Who knew that becoming an owner of a car would turn you into a lazy ghost of yourself within a week?"
Cassie and Mae roared with laughter, whilst cool queen Amelie discreetly took a sip of her orange juice, giving the proud impression that she so wasn't amused. As if she ever was.
I left the three, hopefully as Cassie tried to knock some sense into Amelie's boorish behaviour, and joined the long, boring line of customers awaiting to be served or receive their orders. A tall, lanky boy not much older was standing in front of me, blocking my view of the menu screen above the counter, which brought aromatic smells of finger-licking fries, divine chocolate milkshakes and frying burgers, and I leapt into the air once or twice, still unable to read the menu.
"Sorry, I didn't know that I was in your way," a deep, smooth voice said, clearly apologetic. The boy in front of me in achingly bored queue turned around, revealing a stunning pair of heart-warming chocolate eyes and large, kissable lips, his skin displaying a soft golden tan.
"No, no, it's fine, honestly," I replied, waving his un-needed apology away. "I was only looking at the menu because there was nothing else to stare at - it looks as though I'm going to be stuck in this queue for a while."
The boy nodded. "Yeah, I've already been here for at least five minutes and the time is dragging - it hasn't been so busy here for ages!"
"You come here all the time?"
"Sure, it's one of the only fast-food chains that I like!" he warmly chuckled, then introduced himself, "Hey, I'm Luke Avery."
"I'm Sadie Thompson," I replied, and without the thought flashing through my dumbstruck mind, I shook hands with Luke, whose lack of reluctance amazed me.
The last time I'd attempted to shake hands with a boy ended up with a sarcastic comment and threatening smirk, leaving me as embarrassed and red-faced when my seven year old self accidently dropped a Care Bear toy down the toilet and Mum had to spend nearly two hours restoring it to its former clean state.
Yeah, so far, this conversation happened to be normal, which was a miracle regarding the fact that my last chat with a teenage boy ended with an Oscar-winning argument in front of half-deaf pensioners inside a cake-scented cafe.
"So, do you live around here, Sadie?" Luke asked. "I don't remember seeing you before."
I shook my head. "No, I live in Applebury."
"Ah, I could sense that there was a new-girl-about-town way about you - for instance, unlike the local girls, you don't wear a banging pair of gold hoops which dangle all the way to your waist."
I giggled. "Well, I do wear gold hoops from time to time, but obviously not the pairs which literally pull my ears off."
"Thought so," Luke remarked, a wistful expression planted on his lightly freckled face. "Shame that you don't live here, Sadie" - his saying my name sent a rush of ecstasy through my enlivened veins - "because I'd love to have somebody like you around." Lowering his voice to a whisper, Luke moved his head closer to mine and murmured, "None of girls in Millingbourne are, well, my type."
My ears,
"C'est la vie," I said, cheekily picking up one of her many fries. "Mmm," I murmured, as the delicious flavour hit my tongue, "I've got to have some of those."
"Where is Valerie?" Mae asked, her eyes flashing around me, looking for the slumped, I-don't-care form of Valerie.
"Val and her friend, Piper, are sitting on the benches outside as the short walk was way too exhausting for them." I rolled my eyes. "So I was given the job of buying the milkshakes and food, which was too exciting to decline. Who knew that becoming an owner of a car would turn you into a lazy ghost of yourself within a week?"
Cassie and Mae roared with laughter, whilst cool queen Amelie discreetly took a sip of her orange juice, giving the proud impression that she so wasn't amused. As if she ever was.
I left the three, hopefully as Cassie tried to knock some sense into Amelie's boorish behaviour, and joined the long, boring line of customers awaiting to be served or receive their orders. A tall, lanky boy not much older was standing in front of me, blocking my view of the menu screen above the counter, which brought aromatic smells of finger-licking fries, divine chocolate milkshakes and frying burgers, and I leapt into the air once or twice, still unable to read the menu.
"Sorry, I didn't know that I was in your way," a deep, smooth voice said, clearly apologetic. The boy in front of me in achingly bored queue turned around, revealing a stunning pair of heart-warming chocolate eyes and large, kissable lips, his skin displaying a soft golden tan.
"No, no, it's fine, honestly," I replied, waving his un-needed apology away. "I was only looking at the menu because there was nothing else to stare at - it looks as though I'm going to be stuck in this queue for a while."
The boy nodded. "Yeah, I've already been here for at least five minutes and the time is dragging - it hasn't been so busy here for ages!"
"You come here all the time?"
"Sure, it's one of the only fast-food chains that I like!" he warmly chuckled, then introduced himself, "Hey, I'm Luke Avery."
"I'm Sadie Thompson," I replied, and without the thought flashing through my dumbstruck mind, I shook hands with Luke, whose lack of reluctance amazed me.
The last time I'd attempted to shake hands with a boy ended up with a sarcastic comment and threatening smirk, leaving me as embarrassed and red-faced when my seven year old self accidently dropped a Care Bear toy down the toilet and Mum had to spend nearly two hours restoring it to its former clean state.
Yeah, so far, this conversation happened to be normal, which was a miracle regarding the fact that my last chat with a teenage boy ended with an Oscar-winning argument in front of half-deaf pensioners inside a cake-scented cafe.
"So, do you live around here, Sadie?" Luke asked. "I don't remember seeing you before."
I shook my head. "No, I live in Applebury."
"Ah, I could sense that there was a new-girl-about-town way about you - for instance, unlike the local girls, you don't wear a banging pair of gold hoops which dangle all the way to your waist."
I giggled. "Well, I do wear gold hoops from time to time, but obviously not the pairs which literally pull my ears off."
"Thought so," Luke remarked, a wistful expression planted on his lightly freckled face. "Shame that you don't live here, Sadie" - his saying my name sent a rush of ecstasy through my enlivened veins - "because I'd love to have somebody like you around." Lowering his voice to a whisper, Luke moved his head closer to mine and murmured, "None of girls in Millingbourne are, well, my type."
My ears,
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