Fifteen Going on Grown Up (8 page)

“Well sometimes, one has to simply enhance what one has already got.”

Clia told them with a very straight face. This made the other two giggle again and then Clia herself joined in. Still laughing the three girls made their way towards Chandlers.

After spending some time shopping and window shopping the girls made their way towards the Hotspot café. As they neared the café they could see it was very busy. Hally slowed her pace, dropping behind her friends a little the nearer they got. Corrinne not only noticed but knew exactly what was bothering Hally.

“Hey Hally, don’t look so petrified. Everything is going to be ok.”

Corrinne and Clia also slowed down so they were level with Hally and on either side of her. They linked her arms to give her encouragement. Together the three girls approached the café door.

Just as they were about to push open the door, it was pulled from the inside and standing in front of them was the very boy they had come to see. Hally felt herself blushing and tried to pull away from her friends. All she wanted to do was turn and run. Inside she felt embarrassed and shaky, she simply did not know what to do and since the girls were still linked they were blocking the entrance. However the boy didn’t seem to want to get past, in fact he moved to one side and held the door for the girls to pass through. As they separated to get through the open door, Hally dared a glimpse at his face and to her horror he smiled and spoke.

“Hey, you were here yesterday, how are you?”

Hally could only stare back. She seemed to have lost the ability to talk, inside she was churning and thinking he must think she was dumb. Clia came to her rescue.

“Oh hi, yeah we did drop in yesterday. Hally how’s your throat?” Turning back to the boy. “She has a bit of laryngitis so her voice keeps coming and going.”

The boy looked at Hally and stretched his arm out indicating a table near the window.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Why don’t you sit by the window and I’ll get you some cold drinks.”

Hally still couldn’t respond. She wanted to run and hide but at the same time she wanted to speak to him. Here was her chance, the boy she had taken a serious liking to was actually speaking to her, (or was he? she thought, maybe it was Clia that he wanted to talk to) but no, he was looking right at her. Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to smile, she finally managed to find her voice.

“Oh, thanks…so…so do you work here then?”

Behind her Clia and Corrinne were beaming.

“Yeah, I wanted a part time job and luckily I found this one, it fits in well with my plans. I’m starting sixth form in September.”

The boy told Hally this as they moved towards the table.

“So what drinks can I get you girls?”

He asked them smiling brightly as they settled at the table. Hally sat so she was facing into the café and could see him walking back to the counter. Clia and Corrinne sat opposite her. Breathing a big sigh of relief, she turned to her two friends.

“Thanks Clia. I froze. It was awful, I couldn’t speak. He must think I’m really stupid.”

“Nah, I reckon he guessed you were nervous.”

Clia told her matter of factly.

“So, what should I do now. Maybe ‘cos he works here he was just being polite and doing his job, you know showing us to the table.”

“Well if that’s the case he’s very conscientious. No one else is serving people at their tables.”

Hally looked around, and sure enough, other customers were queuing at the counter.

“Look, when he comes back say thanks and sort of pause then ask his name.”

“But I already know his name.”

Said Hally.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that does he?”

Clia replied patiently. Hally put her face in her hands, then slowly composed herself. As she looked up she saw the boy on his way back with a tray of drinks. As he neared she noticed there were four glasses not three.

“Here we go.” He said, placing the tray on the table. “Would you mind if I sat with you? It’s my break.”

Hally nodded as he slid onto the seat next to her. She tried very hard to stay calm, but since she felt like she was trembling inside she was sure this would be visible to him. So she took a little sip of her drink and put on what she hoped was a natural smile.

“So, hello. I’m Wesley Robinson, but just call me Wes, everyone does.”

“Oh, um, hi, I’m Hally and…these are my friends Clia and Corrinne.”

After an unsteady start Hally finally found her voice and was relieved to discover that she sounded quite normal. Wes held his hand out to Clia and Corrinne and smiled at all three of the girls. There was a little silence whilst they sipped their drinks and then Wes spoke again.

“Have you got any plans for the holidays then?”

Hally wasn’t sure if he was speaking to all three of them or just her.

“Well, we haven’t really sorted anything out yet, have we?”

She answered, looking to Clia and Corrinne for support.

“Uh, no, not yet.”

Corrinne replied a little taken aback for they had made some plans for days out and the cinema.

“What about you?”

Hally asked, now feeling quite confident.

“Well mostly working here. Days that is. But then we have only just moved here, so I don’t really know many people. We moved here from Oxford. I failed my first year at sixth form, passed the re-sits, but it put me a year behind. So I’m doing that here. It means I will be a year older than most of the others, but, well that’s cool.”

Although he was looking around at all three girls, he seemed to be directing his words at Hally. Trying very hard not to blush, Hally took a long sip of her drink and found it going down the wrong way. Desperately trying not to cough and spray everyone with cola she tried to swallow, unsuccessfully. In a very undignified way she started to splutter and cough, her cheeks puffing out as she tried to keep her mouth closed. Clia saw at once what was happening and quickly grabbed a handful of serviettes from the dispenser on the table and pushed them into Hally’s hand. Luckily this at least stopped Hally from spraying cola over everyone, however the splutter soon became a definite painful cough and tears poured from Hally’s eyes. Wes turned to her and gently patted her on the back, but she could feel her mascara and eye liner running. Gradually the cough eased and with a real sore throat mumbled.

“I…I’m just going to the ladies.”

Without waiting for any reply she quickly stood up and headed for the loo.

Standing holding the edge of the basin, Hally looked at herself in the mirror and saw two panda eyes looking back. She giggled which turned into a sob and two tears rolled down each cheek. She took a deep breath and told her reflection.

“Well great impression you made.”

The door to the ladies opened and in walked Dana and her friend Penny.

“Nice show Hally.”

Penny said with a sneer.

“You really showed yourself up there. Gave us a real laugh. Are you here to touch up your clown makeup for the next half.”

Before Hally had a chance to respond Dana spoke in a flat but hard voice.

“Knock it off Penny. I’m not in the mood.”

Penny was about to make some remark back but Dana grabbed her by the jacket and pushed her up against the door.

“WHEN ARE YOU GONNA GROW UP!”

She bellowed at Penny.

“Hey cool it Dana, it was just a …”

She didn’t get the chance to finish.

“Joke? Yeah everything is just a joke to you. What do you know anyway?”

Her voice had returned to its former flat hardness. She glanced at Hally who was standing still, shocked by Dana’s reaction, let go of Penny and walked back out of the toilets. Penny straightened her jacket and without a word stormed out after Dana.

Hally again stood looking in the mirror. This time though her mind was on what had just happened and not on her embarrassment. Thinking about Dana’s outburst she quickly repaired her makeup and tidied her hair. Just as she turned to leave Clia came in.

“Are you ok honey?”

Clia asked gently.

“I’m fine.” Clia frowned. “No seriously, I’m ok, but I bet Wes just couldn’t wait to get away from the table and back to work.”

“Actually, he’s still there. In fact he suggested one of us come and see if you were alright.”

Clia said this in such a way that Hally couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, I best see if I can get his attention in a better way then. Come on let’s go.”

The two girls returned to the table and as Clia had said Wes was still there. He and Corrinne were chatting but as soon as he saw Hally he looked up and smiled.

“You ok?”

He asked very gently.

“Just feel like the world’s biggest idiot, but other than that no harm.”

She replied as she slipped comfortably into the seat beside him. Clia sat next to Corrinne and smiled.

“Wes has been talking about Oxford.”

Corrinne said.

Hally looked to Wes and he spoke as if she hadn’t left the table at all.

“Sometimes I miss the place, but mostly am glad to be away. It’s great to live in a new place though, you know new friends and well, just somewhere new.”

Hally thought that he seemed to be stumbling over his words a bit, especially about being glad to be away from his home city, but she didn’t feel she should question him, it was too soon.

Hally felt herself relaxing and soon the four of them were happily chatting about school, the holidays and the town. Wes seemed genuinely interested in everything and though he spoke to all three of them he seemed to glance and smile more frequently at Hally.

“I saw Dana and Penny go into the ladies when you were in there Hally.”

Corrinne commented. She didn’t ask any questions but said it casually to give Hally the option of telling them all if anything had been said or to leave it until later for just her and Clia.

“Oh yes, we were just coming out as they came in”

Hally told her. Corrinne knew then there was more because she had noticed the other two girls coming out before Hally and Clia.

“Are you talking about those two by the juke box?”

Wes asked. Corrinne looked over her shoulder.

“Yes, do you know them?”

She asked warily. Hally frowned, immediately worried about where the conversation was leading.

“No, I don’t know them, just have sort of found out about them. They come in here a lot. Bob, my boss just told me to keep an eye on them when they come in ‘cos they like to cause trouble. They’re usually with a bunch of lads, older I think. I’m surprised to see them on their own.”

Hally felt the tension drop from her shoulders and she very nearly let out a deep sigh, quickly disguising it with a wave in front of her face.

“Bit hot isn’t it?”

She said to no one in particular. Both her friends nodded their agreement even though she could tell that neither of them thought this was the case, especially since they were sitting next to an open window. To change the subject Clia asked if anyone wanted any more drinks.

“I’ll get them.”

Wes said, casually standing up.

“Same again?”

The girls all nodded and replied with thanks and Wes moved towards the counter which was now clear of customers.

“Well what do you think?”

Hally quickly and quietly asked her friends.

“Oh, he’s interested.”

Said Clia.

“Definitely interested.”

Corrinne confirmed. They didn’t get the chance to say any more, or for Hally to tell them about Dana because Wes was already on his way back with another tray of drinks, and again there were four glasses.

“My boss has told me to take the rest of the day off since it’s gone really quiet.”

He told them as he again sat next to Hally.

“So, were you planning on spending the whole day in here?”

He had a wide grin on his face as he spoke and Hally had the feeling he knew she had come in to see him.

“Uh, no, we uh…”

“We did some shopping and thought we would decide what to do after we had had a drink in here.”

Clia jumped in rescuing Hally.

“Well, do you mind if I tag along?”

Wes asked. Hally nearly knocked her empty glass off the table and only just caught it as it rocked alarmingly.

“Whoops, I am so clumsy today.”

She said with a giggle, hoping to disguise her nervousness, which seemed to be coming and going today.

“Of course you can.”

Corrinne told him, and she stood up to take the lead in leaving the café. Clia quickly followed Corrinne leaving Hally to walk with Wes.

For the rest of the afternoon the four of them wandered about town, checked out the cinema listings and helped Wes buy new jeans and trainers; since he announced that he needed them but hated shopping alone. This made all three girls laugh. All of the boys they knew were so vain they wouldn’t let a girl come anywhere near them when they shopped.