barely covered my loose mane of wavy hair, turned red. An older woman, frazzled to the extent that she looked like she was on the verge of starting World War III inside the noisy building, nudged me and muttered to move ahead as there was now a huge gap in the queue, so Luke and I rushed ahead, relieved that we were one step closer to being served.
"Do you ever travel outside of Millingbourne?" I wondered.
Luke offered a broad smirk in response. "Of course, I get out of here all the time!" he exclaimed, "otherwise I go crazy!"
"What about your friends? Do they ever come with you?"
"Nah, they hardly do. Nowadays, they are far more interested in going around the park with their girlfriends and taking them on dates to the fish and chip shop." Luke paused. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
I turned my gaze away from Luke and stared at a young girl gobbling around twenty fries in one go, in the hope of Luke getting the message that it was a question I'd avoid answering at all costs.
He didn't get it, though.
"Come on, surely a, um, pretty girl like you" - I nearly snorted because how could I be classed as 'pretty' when my foundation barely covered my recent outbreak of whiteheads and my two year old pair of grubby, grass-stained trainers were the only shoes I could find in the closet? - "must have a very lucky boyfriend!"
I shook my head, wishing that Luke would change the subject. Hm, only an answer would do. "No, I'm single," I declared, in a flat, hoarse tone.
At that moment, Luke was called up by one of the cashiers at the counter - we'd barely taken any time to notice that we'd reached the front of the dwindling-in-size queue - and he gestured that he'd come back to continue our chat, then I stated my order, making a spur-on-the-moment decision to get some McFlurry's. Who cared, I thought, as I handed over the cash to the cashier, whose black, claw-like nails kept catching on the thin notes. A teenager - particularly one with a super tiny waist - only lived once!
Heading against a clown-painted wall where Luke had been waiting for me, we first stood in silence, his awkwardness leaving me speechless to what I could possibly say. Relationships were hard - everybody, whether single or not, were aware of that - and it did seem a tiny bit inappropriate asking about whether I'd been going out with anybody when we'd just met a few short minutes ago. Perhaps it was a man thing.
"So, do you want to meet up sometime?" Luke eventually asked, breaking the silence like a hot air balloon.
And despite my annoyance at his asking about a too-difficult-to-explain relationship, I couldn't resist it. "Of course, I'd love to. Do you want my phone number?" I offered, unzipping my bag to reach my phone.
"Sure." Luke put his hand in his pocket and fished out his iPhone, which had a Chelsea FC design case - Dad definitely would've been chuffed to meet a fellow Chelsea supporter - and read out his phone number, as did I.
By the time we'd entered and save our numbers, Luke's order was ready and he went over to the counter, carrying boxes of Big Macs and tower-tall bottles of milkshakes.
I raised an eyebrow. "Are those all for yourself?"
"Unfortunately, no," Luke responded, a pretending sad expression played on his face. "Actually, my family were too impatient to order in the Drive-Thru, so they asked me to come inside. So," he awkwardly began, rolling on the heels of his Converse trainers, "I've got to go now."
"Me too."
Luke sighed. "What about if I travel to Applebury via bus sometime soon? My summer is set to be a wash-out and I'd prefer to be doing something with someone who isn't glued to their phone awaiting texts all the time."
I burst into a euphoric grin. "Yeah, I'd absolutely love that - I'm sure that you'd like it! There's even a little cafe that I visit all the time..." I trailed off, unsure what to say next.
"Nice meeting you, Sadie."
"You too,
"Do you ever travel outside of Millingbourne?" I wondered.
Luke offered a broad smirk in response. "Of course, I get out of here all the time!" he exclaimed, "otherwise I go crazy!"
"What about your friends? Do they ever come with you?"
"Nah, they hardly do. Nowadays, they are far more interested in going around the park with their girlfriends and taking them on dates to the fish and chip shop." Luke paused. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
I turned my gaze away from Luke and stared at a young girl gobbling around twenty fries in one go, in the hope of Luke getting the message that it was a question I'd avoid answering at all costs.
He didn't get it, though.
"Come on, surely a, um, pretty girl like you" - I nearly snorted because how could I be classed as 'pretty' when my foundation barely covered my recent outbreak of whiteheads and my two year old pair of grubby, grass-stained trainers were the only shoes I could find in the closet? - "must have a very lucky boyfriend!"
I shook my head, wishing that Luke would change the subject. Hm, only an answer would do. "No, I'm single," I declared, in a flat, hoarse tone.
At that moment, Luke was called up by one of the cashiers at the counter - we'd barely taken any time to notice that we'd reached the front of the dwindling-in-size queue - and he gestured that he'd come back to continue our chat, then I stated my order, making a spur-on-the-moment decision to get some McFlurry's. Who cared, I thought, as I handed over the cash to the cashier, whose black, claw-like nails kept catching on the thin notes. A teenager - particularly one with a super tiny waist - only lived once!
Heading against a clown-painted wall where Luke had been waiting for me, we first stood in silence, his awkwardness leaving me speechless to what I could possibly say. Relationships were hard - everybody, whether single or not, were aware of that - and it did seem a tiny bit inappropriate asking about whether I'd been going out with anybody when we'd just met a few short minutes ago. Perhaps it was a man thing.
"So, do you want to meet up sometime?" Luke eventually asked, breaking the silence like a hot air balloon.
And despite my annoyance at his asking about a too-difficult-to-explain relationship, I couldn't resist it. "Of course, I'd love to. Do you want my phone number?" I offered, unzipping my bag to reach my phone.
"Sure." Luke put his hand in his pocket and fished out his iPhone, which had a Chelsea FC design case - Dad definitely would've been chuffed to meet a fellow Chelsea supporter - and read out his phone number, as did I.
By the time we'd entered and save our numbers, Luke's order was ready and he went over to the counter, carrying boxes of Big Macs and tower-tall bottles of milkshakes.
I raised an eyebrow. "Are those all for yourself?"
"Unfortunately, no," Luke responded, a pretending sad expression played on his face. "Actually, my family were too impatient to order in the Drive-Thru, so they asked me to come inside. So," he awkwardly began, rolling on the heels of his Converse trainers, "I've got to go now."
"Me too."
Luke sighed. "What about if I travel to Applebury via bus sometime soon? My summer is set to be a wash-out and I'd prefer to be doing something with someone who isn't glued to their phone awaiting texts all the time."
I burst into a euphoric grin. "Yeah, I'd absolutely love that - I'm sure that you'd like it! There's even a little cafe that I visit all the time..." I trailed off, unsure what to say next.
"Nice meeting you, Sadie."
"You too,
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