And
all the others. They called it “Juvenile”. ‘That’s cool. What’s your name
again?’
#22 One of
the fashion faux pars is to attempt the skater look. If you’re over thirty,
don’t bother — you don’t want to look like one of Avril Lavigne’s posse at your
age!
‘I didn’t tell
you. It’s Ellen. Didn’t you tell her my name?’ I looked at David, who was
staring towards the harbour, ignoring me. ‘Oh look, he can’t get his mind off
work,’ I said. Lauren blew out smoke and glanced sideways at him, a smirk
tweaking the corners of her lips.
‘So what are
you doing down this way? You’ve got a bit of an accent. What is it, London?’
I bit my lip.
Oh, that. I couldn’t stand my accent, though of course I didn’t even know I had
one until I came down this way and everyone had a slight Devonshire tone.
‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘But I like coming here better, obviously.’
She frowned,
flicking ash onto the pavement by tapping the end with her thumb. ‘Why? There’s
sod all to do here. You’re lucky living there.’
‘Not really,’
I said. ‘I prefer the open air. I like the way the harbour smells. I’d love to
go out on one of those boats.’ I said that last part loudly, trying to
emphasise to David that it might be polite to take me out on one of those
boats, like a gentleman.
I supposed
Lauren could come too. ‘Just a little boat, you know. Me and Peter used to go
out on a little row boat and just sit there for hours.’
David leaned
against the shop wall. ‘Yeah, Pete and me used to go out fishing. We should go
sometime.’ He nudged Lauren and pinched her hip, making her squirm and grin.
‘That’s a
great idea,’ I said. ‘When? What time?’
They both
looked at me, cigarettes poised before their faces, as if they’d just
remembered I was there. David took another long drag. ‘I don’t know when I
could get a boat,’ he said, looking at the ground. ‘I’ll pop by and let you
know when I do.’
‘When?’
He shrugged.
‘I don’t know. To be honest I meant—’ Lauren nudged him with her pointed elbow,
shutting him up instantly.
I’d read in a
magazine once that guys needed training if you wanted them to behave. I
wondered what Lauren was training David for.
I forced a
laugh, just a light chuckle. ‘Treat them mean,’ I said. It was one of those
phrases they mentioned a lot in magazines. They were always in articles under
the same kind of headlines, even though they were supposed to be different
magazines. Stuff like How to Bag the Office Hottie and 50 Smiles to
Wow your Guy .
I was sure
Lauren would know what I meant, but she just looked at me, her bleach blonde
hair hanging over one shoulder. ‘What?’ she said.
‘Keep them
keen,’ I finished. I looked her up and down. I realised she was the last person
who would read those magazines, looking like that. Here I was wearing a wedding
party dress and she was in skinny black jeans and a studded belt. I bet she’d
never even picked up a copy of Cosmopolitan .
So how, then,
had she gotten David? I supposed I knew. On American TV shows they called it putting
out.
I knew how to
do that.
She threw her
cigarette down on the pavement and folded her arms. ‘Are we going for a pint or
not?’ she said to David. He tossed his in the direction of a drain, leaned
down, and kissed her cheek.
‘Why don’t you
go and I’ll meet you there, eh?’ he said, pocketing both hands in his coat.
‘Why?’ she
asked, a sudden hostility in her voice. I kept a straight face, though I wanted
badly to smirk. He wanted alone time with me.
He bent lower
and whispered something in her ear, making her snort and giggle. I heard the
word leg but that was all. When he resurfaced, she kissed him square on
the lips, before turning to me and saying, ‘I’ll see you later Emily.’
‘Ellen,’ I
corrected her, but she was already crossing the road, her arms hugging her
torso against the wind, while David hovered awkwardly in
all the others. They called it “Juvenile”. ‘That’s cool. What’s your name
again?’
#22 One of
the fashion faux pars is to attempt the skater look. If you’re over thirty,
don’t bother — you don’t want to look like one of Avril Lavigne’s posse at your
age!
‘I didn’t tell
you. It’s Ellen. Didn’t you tell her my name?’ I looked at David, who was
staring towards the harbour, ignoring me. ‘Oh look, he can’t get his mind off
work,’ I said. Lauren blew out smoke and glanced sideways at him, a smirk
tweaking the corners of her lips.
‘So what are
you doing down this way? You’ve got a bit of an accent. What is it, London?’
I bit my lip.
Oh, that. I couldn’t stand my accent, though of course I didn’t even know I had
one until I came down this way and everyone had a slight Devonshire tone.
‘Yes,’ I admitted. ‘But I like coming here better, obviously.’
She frowned,
flicking ash onto the pavement by tapping the end with her thumb. ‘Why? There’s
sod all to do here. You’re lucky living there.’
‘Not really,’
I said. ‘I prefer the open air. I like the way the harbour smells. I’d love to
go out on one of those boats.’ I said that last part loudly, trying to
emphasise to David that it might be polite to take me out on one of those
boats, like a gentleman.
I supposed
Lauren could come too. ‘Just a little boat, you know. Me and Peter used to go
out on a little row boat and just sit there for hours.’
David leaned
against the shop wall. ‘Yeah, Pete and me used to go out fishing. We should go
sometime.’ He nudged Lauren and pinched her hip, making her squirm and grin.
‘That’s a
great idea,’ I said. ‘When? What time?’
They both
looked at me, cigarettes poised before their faces, as if they’d just
remembered I was there. David took another long drag. ‘I don’t know when I
could get a boat,’ he said, looking at the ground. ‘I’ll pop by and let you
know when I do.’
‘When?’
He shrugged.
‘I don’t know. To be honest I meant—’ Lauren nudged him with her pointed elbow,
shutting him up instantly.
I’d read in a
magazine once that guys needed training if you wanted them to behave. I
wondered what Lauren was training David for.
I forced a
laugh, just a light chuckle. ‘Treat them mean,’ I said. It was one of those
phrases they mentioned a lot in magazines. They were always in articles under
the same kind of headlines, even though they were supposed to be different
magazines. Stuff like How to Bag the Office Hottie and 50 Smiles to
Wow your Guy .
I was sure
Lauren would know what I meant, but she just looked at me, her bleach blonde
hair hanging over one shoulder. ‘What?’ she said.
‘Keep them
keen,’ I finished. I looked her up and down. I realised she was the last person
who would read those magazines, looking like that. Here I was wearing a wedding
party dress and she was in skinny black jeans and a studded belt. I bet she’d
never even picked up a copy of Cosmopolitan .
So how, then,
had she gotten David? I supposed I knew. On American TV shows they called it putting
out.
I knew how to
do that.
She threw her
cigarette down on the pavement and folded her arms. ‘Are we going for a pint or
not?’ she said to David. He tossed his in the direction of a drain, leaned
down, and kissed her cheek.
‘Why don’t you
go and I’ll meet you there, eh?’ he said, pocketing both hands in his coat.
‘Why?’ she
asked, a sudden hostility in her voice. I kept a straight face, though I wanted
badly to smirk. He wanted alone time with me.
He bent lower
and whispered something in her ear, making her snort and giggle. I heard the
word leg but that was all. When he resurfaced, she kissed him square on
the lips, before turning to me and saying, ‘I’ll see you later Emily.’
‘Ellen,’ I
corrected her, but she was already crossing the road, her arms hugging her
torso against the wind, while David hovered awkwardly in
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