sheet from the rafters, and everyone swivelled around in their chairs to face the
bright screen. A few latecomers darted into the last remaining seats and Clem stared, annoyed, into the playfully tossed-up hair of the girl who sat down right in front of her.
Stella jiggled the box of popcorn loudly and Clem thrust her hand in, florets of popcorn spilling out of the cone all over the floor. They laughed at their messiness, prompting a few curt
shushes from anonymous members of the audience. Clem pulled a face at them in the dark and lobbed a single floret into the crowd.
To her astonishment, a moment later, it came back.
Stella gasped, lobbing a fresh couple of her own in the same direction. Sure enough, several moments later, they were back in her lap. Both girls leaned forward, trying to see their combatants.
A pair of cocky grins, almost blue-tinted in the cinematic glare, shone back at them.
Not bad, Clem mused. That was certainly her favoured way of shrugging off a bad day. She poured herself and Stella a fresh glass each and sat back in her seat, deciding to let them stew for a bit
and refusing to make further contact of either the eye or popcorn kind, even though several more florets were expertly thrown into hers and Stella’s laps.
She tried to concentrate on the film, but the girl in front’s hair was in the way and she had to angle herself diagonally in her chair to see round her. Matters weren’t helped by the
fact that the girl constantly fidgeted away from her boyfriend’s affections as he tried to caress her slender neck. Clem sighed. That was all she needed right now, a lover’s tiff right
in front of her.
The person on the far side of the girl appeared to say something to her and she leaned in to listen. Then she took something and turned around. ‘For you,’ she murmured, holding out a
scrap of paper towards Clem and Stella.
Oh.
Clem took it with a surprised nod. Thanks.’ Then she opened it up to read it, Stella’s chin resting on her shoulder curiously.
Wanna get out of here?
‘Cheeky beggars!’ Stella giggled, clearly delighted and straining to get a better look at their admirers. ‘What do you think?’
Clem looked over, too, wondering which one she’d choose. From what she could make out, they looked a couple of years younger than her and Stella, but that had its own advantages as far as
she was concerned. ‘Yeah, why not?’ she said in a low voice. ‘If I’m going to spend a night in the dark, I may as well spend it doing something other than
brooding.’
‘What about Josh?’
‘What about him?’
‘I thought you two were getting a regular thing going.’
‘Listen, I still like that he’s different to the other guys I usually go for but . . .’ she shrugged. ‘Every time I look at him now I’m reminded of what I
did.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘And he
so
wasn’t worth it. It’s not his fault but . . . we’re not going to get past it. Come on,’ she whispered, checking
her make-up in the mirrored table before standing up and bending down low to collect her bag, accidentally knocking the contents onto the floor as she did so.
‘Shit!’ she hissed, crouching down and hurriedly sweeping her purse, hairbrush, keys and spare ‘get lucky’ knickers back into her bag. The boyfriend in front turned at
the sounds of the kerfuffle and Clem felt herself go limp as she met the glacial blue eyes that had held hers once before.
The Swimmer.
Her knees wanted to buckle, to force her to sit back down again so that she could spend the rest of the evening staring at the back of his head in the dark. How could she not have noticed him
before?
But it was too late. The cocky strangers had seen the girls get up and had themselves left their seats and were now making their way up to the doors to wait for them.
Stella hissed at her in the dark. ‘Move it, Clem! I’m not bloody going on my own.’
Painfully, tearing her eyes away from his, Clem walked towards the
bright screen. A few latecomers darted into the last remaining seats and Clem stared, annoyed, into the playfully tossed-up hair of the girl who sat down right in front of her.
Stella jiggled the box of popcorn loudly and Clem thrust her hand in, florets of popcorn spilling out of the cone all over the floor. They laughed at their messiness, prompting a few curt
shushes from anonymous members of the audience. Clem pulled a face at them in the dark and lobbed a single floret into the crowd.
To her astonishment, a moment later, it came back.
Stella gasped, lobbing a fresh couple of her own in the same direction. Sure enough, several moments later, they were back in her lap. Both girls leaned forward, trying to see their combatants.
A pair of cocky grins, almost blue-tinted in the cinematic glare, shone back at them.
Not bad, Clem mused. That was certainly her favoured way of shrugging off a bad day. She poured herself and Stella a fresh glass each and sat back in her seat, deciding to let them stew for a bit
and refusing to make further contact of either the eye or popcorn kind, even though several more florets were expertly thrown into hers and Stella’s laps.
She tried to concentrate on the film, but the girl in front’s hair was in the way and she had to angle herself diagonally in her chair to see round her. Matters weren’t helped by the
fact that the girl constantly fidgeted away from her boyfriend’s affections as he tried to caress her slender neck. Clem sighed. That was all she needed right now, a lover’s tiff right
in front of her.
The person on the far side of the girl appeared to say something to her and she leaned in to listen. Then she took something and turned around. ‘For you,’ she murmured, holding out a
scrap of paper towards Clem and Stella.
Oh.
Clem took it with a surprised nod. Thanks.’ Then she opened it up to read it, Stella’s chin resting on her shoulder curiously.
Wanna get out of here?
‘Cheeky beggars!’ Stella giggled, clearly delighted and straining to get a better look at their admirers. ‘What do you think?’
Clem looked over, too, wondering which one she’d choose. From what she could make out, they looked a couple of years younger than her and Stella, but that had its own advantages as far as
she was concerned. ‘Yeah, why not?’ she said in a low voice. ‘If I’m going to spend a night in the dark, I may as well spend it doing something other than
brooding.’
‘What about Josh?’
‘What about him?’
‘I thought you two were getting a regular thing going.’
‘Listen, I still like that he’s different to the other guys I usually go for but . . .’ she shrugged. ‘Every time I look at him now I’m reminded of what I
did.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘And he
so
wasn’t worth it. It’s not his fault but . . . we’re not going to get past it. Come on,’ she whispered, checking
her make-up in the mirrored table before standing up and bending down low to collect her bag, accidentally knocking the contents onto the floor as she did so.
‘Shit!’ she hissed, crouching down and hurriedly sweeping her purse, hairbrush, keys and spare ‘get lucky’ knickers back into her bag. The boyfriend in front turned at
the sounds of the kerfuffle and Clem felt herself go limp as she met the glacial blue eyes that had held hers once before.
The Swimmer.
Her knees wanted to buckle, to force her to sit back down again so that she could spend the rest of the evening staring at the back of his head in the dark. How could she not have noticed him
before?
But it was too late. The cocky strangers had seen the girls get up and had themselves left their seats and were now making their way up to the doors to wait for them.
Stella hissed at her in the dark. ‘Move it, Clem! I’m not bloody going on my own.’
Painfully, tearing her eyes away from his, Clem walked towards the
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