Read Online The Flirting Games (The Flirting Series - Young Adult) by Stella Wilkinson - Free Book Online Page A

totally oblivious to the rest
of the world. It seemed to Flora like Ellie and Nate had spent most of the last
month kissing non-stop. She decided to leave them to set the world on fire by themselves;
after all, Nate was supposed to be leaving at three and her own mother wasn’t
due to collect her until five.
    Her mom and Travis were catching a
taxi from the airport to get her and then they were going straight back there
and getting a plane to Bordeaux, where they were all going to stay in a massive
chateau with some friends of Travis for Christmas. She couldn’t wait to see her
mom again and tell her all about Compass Court.
    Though she was already looking
forward to coming back after the Christmas break and starting her campaign to
become the next girlfriend of the hottest guy in the whole school.
    ***
    Jack Parkhurst parked his car at the
front of the school and pulled his suitcase off the back seat. It felt weird to
be coming back to Compass Court to stay for two weeks over the Christmas
holidays.
    Rose and Toby’s parents were working
undercover somewhere in Brazil and so his cousins had been going to come to
their house over the holidays, but his own dad was also apparently unable to
leave work except on Christmas Day. As a Captain in the Army he was preparing
some soldiers who were reporting to The Middle East just after New Year and now
it seemed that he was going over there with them for their first month.
    Jack’s mother had of course said she
didn’t mind having all five children to stay over the holidays on her own and
that she would lay on Christmas, but it was Jack who put his foot down. He knew
that she wouldn’t want to be apart from his dad for his last two weeks in this
country.
    Compass Court allowed pupils to stay
over the holidays. It was generally for the pupils who had come to the school
from other countries and couldn’t always go back and forth, but people stayed
for a variety of reasons. Usually other family members had to put up in the
large hotel in Oakworth Village down the road, but the school had made an
exception for Jack as an ex-pupil.
    Though his mother had never said
anything, Jack knew she was scared and worried about his father going back to
The Middle East, so he had informed her that he had discussed it with the
others and they were all happy to stay at school over the holidays and that he
would be staying there too, but that he expected both her and their father to
join them at the school for Christmas Dinner.
    His mother was such a gentle person
that she had been quite overwhelmed by Jack taking charge and had given in
after only a small fight. Jack was sure that he and Alex, Ellie, Rose and Toby
would have a great time wherever they were.
    He stopped to watch the ebb and flow
of parents; it was a scene that never really changed. There was young Jasper
Clements, looking embarrassed as his mother openly cried and hugged him. Next
along was Brenner climbing in to the mud-spattered ancient Vauxhall Corsa,
looking moody and embarrassed for a different reason. His father was chatting
up some of the mothers and wearing a dirty torn jacket held together with black
masking tape. You would never guess to look at him that he was actually Lord
Wentworth and owned half of Gloucestershire.
    Then his eyes stopped to rest on the
shiny blonde hair of Sophie Jones. She seemed lit up by the sunshine, wearing a
short dress that showed far too much leg as usual and her large blue eyes were
looking straight at him. He found his feet starting in her direction.
    Sophie looked skittish, like she
might bolt off at any moment. Jack walked over slowly; half of him wanted her
to disappear in the other direction, save him from having to make this effort.
He felt awkward. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to. He told himself that he
needed to apologize again. That he needed to get back on friendly terms with
her because she was a close friend of Rose. He was also painfully aware that he
really should have