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Authors: Natasha Farrant
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Blue carries on beaming despite aching cheek muscles.
JAKE
Shall we sit on this bench?
Â
BLUE
That would be lovely.
Â
They stop at a park bench. For a while, they sit side by side in silence. Then Jake turns toward Blue. Blue, still manically grinning, turns toward Jake. Jake clears his throat, leans forward and kisses Blue on the mouth. Blue, resisting the very real urge to giggle, kisses him back. Jake closes his eyes. She closes hers.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
I tried to avoid Jake for most of the week. It was all I wanted to do, after that date. All I could think was if he didnât see me, he wouldnât be able to dump me. Being dumped by Jake would just be the most humiliating thing in the world.
By sliding into lessons at the last minute, eating lunch in the library, and hiding in the girlsâ bathroom at the end of the day, I managed not to speak to him for days, but thereâs no escaping Dodi when sheâs on a mission.
Flora, who heard about the disastrous film date from Cressidaâs older sister, said I should be the one dumping Jake, not running scared that he was going to dump me. I told her, âIf I dump him, it will show he upset me, and that would be embarrassing too,â and she said that was stupid but Iâm really, really glad now that I didnât listen to her, just like Iâm really glad Dodiâs my best friend.
The Earth didnât spin the second time Jake kissed me, but it was a lot better.
In fact it was quite nice.
Iâm not sure I can write about it right now. Iâm feeling a little bit giddy.
Â
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
Today I had to take Jas to her riding lesson. This is something Dad normally does, but apparently he has reached another critical point in his novel and cannot be interrupted whatever the circumstances.
Riding lessons were Jasâs birthday present from Grandma before she left for Arizona. Grandma, who is horse mad, almost wept when Jas asked for them in the summer. She even rang Jas up from the ranch where she is staying on the first night of her holiday to rant about GALLOPING ON THE WIDE OPEN PLAINS and THE BEAUTY OF SIMPLE HONEST HORSE FOLK and how happy she was that she and Jas might one day be SHARING THIS TOGETHER.
The stables where Jas goes are right beneath the moto rway, a tiny yard sandwiched between a bus depot and a leisure center. They are about as far from the wide open plains as it is possible to get, but I can see why Jas loves them. It is rather incredible, after walking from the train down an alleyway covered in graffiti, to stumble on a lot of plump, glossy ponies. Jas skipped into the yard like she owned the place and ran up to greet a young woman who was striding around the yard in skintight jodhpurs and knee-high riding boots, cracking a whip and barking orders at about half a dozen children who were scurrying around with saddles.
âThis is Gloria,â Jas announced. âGloria, this is my sister Blue.â
âVery pleased to meet you,â Gloria said. âYou can help Jas tack up Mopsy.â
I followed Jas into the tack room, where an old man who looked like a bum sat drinking tea.
âThatâs Bill,â Jas whispered. âHeâs Gloriaâs father. He used to be a jockey.â
Bill looked like he could barely walk, let alone ride a horse. I waved at him. He grunted. Jas reached behind him to pick up a bridle.
âNot that one,â he snapped.
If anyone at home ever spoke to Jas like that, she would probably burst into tears, but here she just laughed, picked up a different bridle, and skipped out again to tack up her pony. The old man watched her go, and I swear I thought he might be smiling, but when he saw me watching he went straight back to being grumpy.
The lesson was a typical riding lesson, lots of girls and one boy following each other nose to tail around the ring, with Gloria shouting instructions at them through a loudspeaker. I watched Jas bounce
JAKE
Shall we sit on this bench?
Â
BLUE
That would be lovely.
Â
They stop at a park bench. For a while, they sit side by side in silence. Then Jake turns toward Blue. Blue, still manically grinning, turns toward Jake. Jake clears his throat, leans forward and kisses Blue on the mouth. Blue, resisting the very real urge to giggle, kisses him back. Jake closes his eyes. She closes hers.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13
I tried to avoid Jake for most of the week. It was all I wanted to do, after that date. All I could think was if he didnât see me, he wouldnât be able to dump me. Being dumped by Jake would just be the most humiliating thing in the world.
By sliding into lessons at the last minute, eating lunch in the library, and hiding in the girlsâ bathroom at the end of the day, I managed not to speak to him for days, but thereâs no escaping Dodi when sheâs on a mission.
Flora, who heard about the disastrous film date from Cressidaâs older sister, said I should be the one dumping Jake, not running scared that he was going to dump me. I told her, âIf I dump him, it will show he upset me, and that would be embarrassing too,â and she said that was stupid but Iâm really, really glad now that I didnât listen to her, just like Iâm really glad Dodiâs my best friend.
The Earth didnât spin the second time Jake kissed me, but it was a lot better.
In fact it was quite nice.
Iâm not sure I can write about it right now. Iâm feeling a little bit giddy.
Â
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14
Today I had to take Jas to her riding lesson. This is something Dad normally does, but apparently he has reached another critical point in his novel and cannot be interrupted whatever the circumstances.
Riding lessons were Jasâs birthday present from Grandma before she left for Arizona. Grandma, who is horse mad, almost wept when Jas asked for them in the summer. She even rang Jas up from the ranch where she is staying on the first night of her holiday to rant about GALLOPING ON THE WIDE OPEN PLAINS and THE BEAUTY OF SIMPLE HONEST HORSE FOLK and how happy she was that she and Jas might one day be SHARING THIS TOGETHER.
The stables where Jas goes are right beneath the moto rway, a tiny yard sandwiched between a bus depot and a leisure center. They are about as far from the wide open plains as it is possible to get, but I can see why Jas loves them. It is rather incredible, after walking from the train down an alleyway covered in graffiti, to stumble on a lot of plump, glossy ponies. Jas skipped into the yard like she owned the place and ran up to greet a young woman who was striding around the yard in skintight jodhpurs and knee-high riding boots, cracking a whip and barking orders at about half a dozen children who were scurrying around with saddles.
âThis is Gloria,â Jas announced. âGloria, this is my sister Blue.â
âVery pleased to meet you,â Gloria said. âYou can help Jas tack up Mopsy.â
I followed Jas into the tack room, where an old man who looked like a bum sat drinking tea.
âThatâs Bill,â Jas whispered. âHeâs Gloriaâs father. He used to be a jockey.â
Bill looked like he could barely walk, let alone ride a horse. I waved at him. He grunted. Jas reached behind him to pick up a bridle.
âNot that one,â he snapped.
If anyone at home ever spoke to Jas like that, she would probably burst into tears, but here she just laughed, picked up a different bridle, and skipped out again to tack up her pony. The old man watched her go, and I swear I thought he might be smiling, but when he saw me watching he went straight back to being grumpy.
The lesson was a typical riding lesson, lots of girls and one boy following each other nose to tail around the ring, with Gloria shouting instructions at them through a loudspeaker. I watched Jas bounce
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