Read Online Donna Joy Usher - Chanel 01 - Cocoa and Chanel by Donna Joy Usher - Free Book Online
Authors: Donna Joy Usher
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Dog Squad, told me. And he should know because he’s his friend.’
‘Andy’s a shit stirrer,’ she said as we climbed over a pile of wood.
‘But he talks about his boyfriend Sam all the time.’
She started laughing, and we had to slow down so she could run and laugh at the same time.
‘What’s so funny,’ I finally demanded.
‘Sam is short for Samantha,’ she said between giggles.
Well I’ll be damned , so he wasn’t gay.
‘I wish I had known you thought he was gay,’ she said.
‘Why?’
‘I would have gotten a kick out of it.’
The silence caused by the animosity behind her words hung over us like a heavy fog as we ran to the balance log.
We were half way across, her going backwards, when I finally summoned the guts to ask the question. ‘Why would you have gotten a kick out of it?’
She glanced down into my eyes and said, ‘I’m not sure.’ We wavered on the log for a few seconds before she broke eye contact and started moving backwards again.
The silence between us was different now as we dodged and weaved through the course. Initially it had been cold and distant. A silence born of two people ignoring each other, but we couldn’t do that anymore. Something had broken, and not in a bad way, and now the silence was loaded with tension.
We were traversing the zigzag ropes when she said, ‘I’m sorry.’
I was so shocked I hooked my foot on a rope and would have fallen if not for her support. ‘Sorry for the leaky pen?’
‘Yes.’
‘The men’s underwear?’
‘Especially sorry about that.’
‘The spiders?’
‘The what?’
‘The huge hairy spiders you put in my room.’
She shuddered. ‘I didn’t put any spiders in your room.’
Huh . Maybe they did travel in packs.
We ran up a hill and could see the last obstacle looming in the distance. ‘Oh no,’ I said.
‘A rock climbing wall,’ Nastacia confirmed.
I could see Susie and her partner part way up the wall. As we watched Susie slipped, dragging Liam off with her. Poor Susie, even without the handcuffs she would have had trouble climbing it. I could see Liam gesturing and then she pulled herself up onto his chest and wrapped her legs around him. She clung on like a back-to-front, one-armed koala while he clambered awkwardly up to the top and then disappeared from view.
‘We are so not doing it like that,’ Nastacia said.
‘Afraid I’d drop you?’
She snorted. ‘I know you’d drop me.’
We fell off the wall twice before we made it to the top; partly because our hands were slippery from the mud and partly because we had trouble finding handgrips big enough for us both to hang onto. Coming down was as scary as going up and we slipped with a metre to go, tumbling to the earth.
‘I hope we don’t lose points for the dismount,’ I said.
‘Why didn’t you tell?’ Nastacia asked, her gaze drilling into me.
‘Tell what?’
‘On me. That day.’
‘Ooohh. That day.’ I pulled her arm in the direction we had to go and started running again. The finish line was only a few hundred metres away. ‘Why would I?’
‘You could have had me kicked out of the Academy.’
‘They said we couldn’t have people of the opposite sex in our room,’ I pointed out.
‘It didn’t even cross your mind did it?’
‘No.’
We ran for a little longer before she said, ‘That really sucks.’
‘What does?’ The finish line came into view in the distance and we quickened our pace.
‘All this time I’ve hated you because I thought you weren’t good enough, and now it turns out you may be a better person than me.’
‘What’s this ‘may be’ shit?’ I asked as we charged across the finish line.
‘All right so there’s every possibility you are a better person.’
We slowed to a walk and then stopped.
‘That didn’t hurt did it?’ I said, grinning up at her. And then I had a thought. ‘Is that why you backed off? Because you thought I was going to dob?’
‘Yes. And then when you didn’t
‘Andy’s a shit stirrer,’ she said as we climbed over a pile of wood.
‘But he talks about his boyfriend Sam all the time.’
She started laughing, and we had to slow down so she could run and laugh at the same time.
‘What’s so funny,’ I finally demanded.
‘Sam is short for Samantha,’ she said between giggles.
Well I’ll be damned , so he wasn’t gay.
‘I wish I had known you thought he was gay,’ she said.
‘Why?’
‘I would have gotten a kick out of it.’
The silence caused by the animosity behind her words hung over us like a heavy fog as we ran to the balance log.
We were half way across, her going backwards, when I finally summoned the guts to ask the question. ‘Why would you have gotten a kick out of it?’
She glanced down into my eyes and said, ‘I’m not sure.’ We wavered on the log for a few seconds before she broke eye contact and started moving backwards again.
The silence between us was different now as we dodged and weaved through the course. Initially it had been cold and distant. A silence born of two people ignoring each other, but we couldn’t do that anymore. Something had broken, and not in a bad way, and now the silence was loaded with tension.
We were traversing the zigzag ropes when she said, ‘I’m sorry.’
I was so shocked I hooked my foot on a rope and would have fallen if not for her support. ‘Sorry for the leaky pen?’
‘Yes.’
‘The men’s underwear?’
‘Especially sorry about that.’
‘The spiders?’
‘The what?’
‘The huge hairy spiders you put in my room.’
She shuddered. ‘I didn’t put any spiders in your room.’
Huh . Maybe they did travel in packs.
We ran up a hill and could see the last obstacle looming in the distance. ‘Oh no,’ I said.
‘A rock climbing wall,’ Nastacia confirmed.
I could see Susie and her partner part way up the wall. As we watched Susie slipped, dragging Liam off with her. Poor Susie, even without the handcuffs she would have had trouble climbing it. I could see Liam gesturing and then she pulled herself up onto his chest and wrapped her legs around him. She clung on like a back-to-front, one-armed koala while he clambered awkwardly up to the top and then disappeared from view.
‘We are so not doing it like that,’ Nastacia said.
‘Afraid I’d drop you?’
She snorted. ‘I know you’d drop me.’
We fell off the wall twice before we made it to the top; partly because our hands were slippery from the mud and partly because we had trouble finding handgrips big enough for us both to hang onto. Coming down was as scary as going up and we slipped with a metre to go, tumbling to the earth.
‘I hope we don’t lose points for the dismount,’ I said.
‘Why didn’t you tell?’ Nastacia asked, her gaze drilling into me.
‘Tell what?’
‘On me. That day.’
‘Ooohh. That day.’ I pulled her arm in the direction we had to go and started running again. The finish line was only a few hundred metres away. ‘Why would I?’
‘You could have had me kicked out of the Academy.’
‘They said we couldn’t have people of the opposite sex in our room,’ I pointed out.
‘It didn’t even cross your mind did it?’
‘No.’
We ran for a little longer before she said, ‘That really sucks.’
‘What does?’ The finish line came into view in the distance and we quickened our pace.
‘All this time I’ve hated you because I thought you weren’t good enough, and now it turns out you may be a better person than me.’
‘What’s this ‘may be’ shit?’ I asked as we charged across the finish line.
‘All right so there’s every possibility you are a better person.’
We slowed to a walk and then stopped.
‘That didn’t hurt did it?’ I said, grinning up at her. And then I had a thought. ‘Is that why you backed off? Because you thought I was going to dob?’
‘Yes. And then when you didn’t
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