Pretty Twisted (4 page)

‘Of course you don’t, you’re a Taurus. You’re prone to possessiveness, did you know?’

‘Not being possessive. Just wouldn’t want other guys to get their hopes up, seeing as you already have a boyfriend.’

I was hoping Freya might give me some reassurance, but instead she said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, having some strong guys at my disposal might be useful. They can be my escorts. A girl a few streets away disappeared back in July.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Yeah, there are loads of posters asking for information. The police have been looking round and everything. It’s a little scary.’

‘I’ll have to come and visit soon so I can walk you places.’

‘And if anyone tries to abduct me, you can use your mad karate skillz on them.’

I sighed impatiently. ‘I don’t do karate any more, Freya. You know why.’

‘I wish you’d stop tearing yourself up over that. The idiot deserved all you gave him.’

That was all very well for Freya, I thought. She hadn’t been the one pulled in front of the police.

‘Tell me more about the conservatoire,’ I said. ‘Do you do much composing – and did you tell people about us?’

‘Of course! Mark had me sing and play one of our pieces with another student doing your guitar bit. Everyone was very impressed.’

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Though we’d written the music for others, the notes belonged to me and Freya.

‘Sounds like another life,’ I said eventually.

‘Sure is. The travelling’s expensive though. I’ve had to get a job waitressing again on Friday nights. Listen, Jonny, I’ve got to go now. Chat soon, OK?’ Before I had a chance to ask when, she’d rung off.

Funny, I’d expected speaking to the person who meant the most to me to make me feel better, but for some reason it had done quite the opposite.

I’d had one piece of luck at college – Natasha wasn’t in my maths class after all. Though there’d been a couple of jibes about the throwing-up episode, everyone was too busy to gossip about me.

As for lessons, they didn’t seem difficult, though there was more homework than I’d expected. I felt a bit odd when I saw my timetable. This piece of paper would be my life for the next year. A constant cycle of maths, further maths, physics and chemistry. It felt like I’d handed over my soul to the devil.

The biggest problem, as it turned out, was the zombie bus. My parents had to drag me out of bed the first morning. I must have looked wrecked, because when they dropped me at the bus shelter Lucy Booker bobbed up and squeaked,

‘Don’t worry, Jonathan, I’ll make sure you get to college OK.’ This was a laugh considering Lucy is about a foot shorter than me and can’t even look after herself properly, but I was too zoned out to argue.

Lucy insisted on plonking herself next to me on the bus and jabbered the whole journey about some website she’d discovered. I knew I should be grateful someone was being friendly, but I was a bit embarrassed that it was Lucy. Not very long ago she’d been my female equivalent. She got on well with the teachers, played ‘geeky’ video games and even wore glasses like mine. Our class made endless jokes about how perfect we were for each other.

That evening I decided to have an exciting night in watching naff eighties music videos on the Internet. I’d just made a cup of tea when a message popped up at the bottom of my screen: Rozzledozzle had come online.

Hey
, I typed, opening a conversation.
Remember me?

yeah.

Wondered if you felt like chatting.

Rozzledozzle didn’t reply. I wasn’t entirely surprised. But then, after about fifteen minutes, a new message popped up.

i did wot u said.

Oh yeah?

yeah. the more i thought bout it the more it made sense so i told abby she was bein a crap friend.

What happened?

she wouldnt take it. she even tried 2 get me 2 feel sorry 4 claudia by tellin me her parents were separating. so wot? my parents divorced but i never used it as an excuse 2 b a bitch!

I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Luckily another message popped up.

i dont think abby understands how i feel at all.
she always takes me 4 granted, & im sposed 2 b her best friend.

That sucks. So you didn’t manage to resolve anything?

we r givin each other space atm. itd b OK if i had other friends 2 hang round wiv but i dont. its always just been us ever since primary skool. its funny, i thought standin up 4 myself wd feel better than this.

Suddenly I felt odd. My words had changed the life of someone I didn’t know.
Mind me asking your age?

A pause.
16.

Same here. I think a lot of things go weird around our age. Everyone’s moving in different ways.

i dont mind things changin. i just want them 2 change 4 the beta.

The new people thing might be one your friend gets over. She’s experimenting, I guess. She’ll straighten out sooner or later.

u really 16? u seem kinda older.

Yep. Don’t worry, I’m not some dirty old man trying to perv on you.

good. im ros.

Hi Ros. I’m Jonathan. I’m guessing you just started sixth form too.

yeah. which subjects r u doin?

I rattled them off. There was a pause.

wow. u must b really clever.

I wasn’t sure how to answer that, so instead I said,
You know what made me laugh? When I got in on Monday college admin had my name down wrong on all the registers. Teachers kept calling me Hawthorn.

hawthorn? that a name?

My middle name – I swear my parents were on crack when they cooked that one up. My dad’s a tree surgeon so it must have seemed a good idea. Thank God it’s not my first name!

:-P thats funny. im so glad im just rosalind emily.

You got off lightly.

in tree mythology, hawthorns r symbolic of chastity & happiness.

Not sure I like that! You’re pulling my leg, right?

no, i just looked it up. i hav sum mythology websites on my faves from when we were doin a project at skool.

Which A levels are you doing? I never asked.

There was another pause.
biology, geography, history, art. i like art best. i draw a lot of portraits & things & maybe il go 2 art college later.

Yeah, I saw your art on your profile – really impressive. What other things are you into?

collecting things. bakin cakes. wishin we had a dog.

What do you collect?

china figurines.

I knew the kind she meant. You saw them advertised on the back of TV guides, with a load of tacky garble on how beautifully they’re crafted. Freya and I joke that they’re only bought by old ladies with no taste.

i also have figurines of characters from sci-fi shows & some animes 2 but there not as easy 2 get as the china 1s.

You into sci-fi?

kinda. lot of its old stuff. no1 at skool really nos wot im talking bout.

Hey, I love old sci-fi! Especially shows that have naff plastic monsters and were patently filmed down a quarry in Dorset. They’re hilarious – so not scary.

they r when ur little. i know cos my dad has almost evry episode of dr who eva made & they used 2 give me nightmares.

Man, I wish my dad was that cool! Nearly every episode – seriously?

yup. & star trek. i no the special effects dont stand up now & there kinda tacky but thats partly why i like them.

Exactly! You’re so lucky – I keep trying to download episodes but my connection sucks and I can’t afford DVDs.

u never said u liked sci-fi on ur profile. it just says u like rock music, computers & horror films & then theres the huge list of bands.

I like to tone the geek thing down.

i dont no much bout music. abby burned me a few cds once but i didnt get into it.

Tell you what, I’ll send you some of my favourite tracks. Maybe you’ll like them better.

thatd b great
tnx!

No prob. I should warn you, I’m a music nut, so if I go over the top, tell me to shut up.

why rnt u takin music a level then?

Parents.

say no more.

It sucks. If they’d let me apply to the conservatoire (that’s a music school BTW) I could have been with Freya.

is freya ur sister ?

Nah, I’m an only child. Freya’s my girlfriend and I miss her like crazy.

o. she pretty?

Yeah. Hang on, I’ll send you a pic.

Rosalind

8.50 p.m.

As soon as the file transferred, I clicked on it so it filled the screen. A guy and a girl were standing in someone’s garden, back to back, smiling at the camera. Both held guitars.

Jonathan’s photo reminded me of the trendier sixth-formers at school. He wore baggy jeans with colourful badges stuck all over, a T-shirt with some band logo on, beaded bangles and black-rimmed rectangular glasses, making him look both studious and cool. His long floppy reddish-brown hair was some way between wavy and curly, and for a guy he had big eyes, giving him an earnest look. He was also very skinny, making me wonder if he had some kind of eating disorder.

As for Freya, she was stunning. She had the curves-in-all-the-right-places figure girls dream of and long hair with a thick fringe, the colour of corn. I wondered if it looked as glossy and smooth in real life. Her face reminded me of a figurine’s – a red mouth smiling sweetly, small nose, long eyelashes, pink cheeks. And I was fascinated by her outfit. It was too weird not to be retro – a skinny-rib sweater and a skirt that would probably have been called mini back in the sixties, fitted leather boots and lots of colourful jewellery. It should have been a mess, but she pulled it off.