under his bed. He quickly punched in the code – MATTIE – and drew out his graduation yearbook, turning the pages to Mattie’s photo. He’d fingered it so much that most of the colour had worn off and the paper was tissue thin.
Oh, Mattie. Twelve years had passed, and s he was the only woman he had ever asked out, the only woman he had dated. And she was still the only woman he wanted.
F or the one week in Year Ten they were together, Adam was walking on air. He loved fetching Mattie’s books, queuing up for her food at lunch and doing her homework – in short, he loved making her happy.
Then she dumped him, without warning or reason. He begged her to take him back, saying he loved her. To prove it, he hacked into the school’s computer system so all the screen savers in the IT labs said Adam loves Mattie, with a cute Photoshopped picture of Mattie in a bikini. He’d even managed to splice together their photos so it looked like their lips were touching, with a colourful sunset behind them. The height of romance, he thought.
But she ’d just laughed, saying she’d never kiss a boring, spineless blob like him; that she’d only gone out with him to have a servant do her bidding. Adam had run out of the school and hidden behind the skip where . . . He shook his head, still unable to believe he’d actually started howling uncontrollably. Thank God Mattie’s friend Jess was the only person to witness it.
That last year of secondary school was spent downing Jaffa Cakes. As his weight ballooned, he waited, just waited, for her to notice him again. But she never had.
He flipped over to his photo. There he was, Adam ‘Stumpy’ Higgins, in all his adolescent glory: raging acne, excess flab and hair that never could achieve the much-coveted bed-head look no matter how hard he tried. No wonder Mattie wouldn’t take him back again.
In the past ten years h e’d worked hard to be a success, throwing himself into developing video games. People loved the hero he created for his games – a thinner, more handsome version of himself. His hero got the heroine in the end, despite the obstacles.
Funny that the heroine always ended up looking like Mattie. It wasn’t a conscious act, but whatever he did, Mattie was on his mind. Sometimes, he even found himself driving by her flat or hanging out in the off-licence down the street just so he could snap a shot of her.
Adam hadn’t been able to believe his luck when Nate showed up. He’d had to work hard to wipe every trace of excitement and emotion off his face – to stay cool and in control, just like his video-game characters. Inside, though, his heart was pumping. This was his chance to make Mattie fall in love with him!
But how? His appearance hadn’t radically altered since she had last seen him. The word ‘blobby’ still sent a pang through his heart. Come on, he told himself sternly. You run a multi-million pound business. Losing a bit of weight isn’t beyond you. Winning Mattie back wasn’t out of the question. After all, he had the money – now he just needed the looks.
Filled with determination, h e walked over to his kitchen and, taking a deep breath, methodically dumped packet after packet of Jaffa Cakes into the bin. From now until the show began, he’d have nothing but vitamin shakes. And he’d get a personal trainer for twice-daily sessions. That should help him get fit quickly.
He examined his face in the mirror, grimacing at po ck-mark legacies of the acne that erupted after Mattie dumped him. Racing back to his state-of-the-art laptop, he Googled furiously until he found a solution: a few chemical peels should do the trick. Plus he could smooth the perma-scowl that had developed on his forehead with a bit of Botox while he was at it.
Finally at peace, Adam smiled. If he played this right, the audience couldn’t help but choose him to spend those two weeks alone with Mattie.
And then – finally – Mattie would be his.
CHAPTER
Oh, Mattie. Twelve years had passed, and s he was the only woman he had ever asked out, the only woman he had dated. And she was still the only woman he wanted.
F or the one week in Year Ten they were together, Adam was walking on air. He loved fetching Mattie’s books, queuing up for her food at lunch and doing her homework – in short, he loved making her happy.
Then she dumped him, without warning or reason. He begged her to take him back, saying he loved her. To prove it, he hacked into the school’s computer system so all the screen savers in the IT labs said Adam loves Mattie, with a cute Photoshopped picture of Mattie in a bikini. He’d even managed to splice together their photos so it looked like their lips were touching, with a colourful sunset behind them. The height of romance, he thought.
But she ’d just laughed, saying she’d never kiss a boring, spineless blob like him; that she’d only gone out with him to have a servant do her bidding. Adam had run out of the school and hidden behind the skip where . . . He shook his head, still unable to believe he’d actually started howling uncontrollably. Thank God Mattie’s friend Jess was the only person to witness it.
That last year of secondary school was spent downing Jaffa Cakes. As his weight ballooned, he waited, just waited, for her to notice him again. But she never had.
He flipped over to his photo. There he was, Adam ‘Stumpy’ Higgins, in all his adolescent glory: raging acne, excess flab and hair that never could achieve the much-coveted bed-head look no matter how hard he tried. No wonder Mattie wouldn’t take him back again.
In the past ten years h e’d worked hard to be a success, throwing himself into developing video games. People loved the hero he created for his games – a thinner, more handsome version of himself. His hero got the heroine in the end, despite the obstacles.
Funny that the heroine always ended up looking like Mattie. It wasn’t a conscious act, but whatever he did, Mattie was on his mind. Sometimes, he even found himself driving by her flat or hanging out in the off-licence down the street just so he could snap a shot of her.
Adam hadn’t been able to believe his luck when Nate showed up. He’d had to work hard to wipe every trace of excitement and emotion off his face – to stay cool and in control, just like his video-game characters. Inside, though, his heart was pumping. This was his chance to make Mattie fall in love with him!
But how? His appearance hadn’t radically altered since she had last seen him. The word ‘blobby’ still sent a pang through his heart. Come on, he told himself sternly. You run a multi-million pound business. Losing a bit of weight isn’t beyond you. Winning Mattie back wasn’t out of the question. After all, he had the money – now he just needed the looks.
Filled with determination, h e walked over to his kitchen and, taking a deep breath, methodically dumped packet after packet of Jaffa Cakes into the bin. From now until the show began, he’d have nothing but vitamin shakes. And he’d get a personal trainer for twice-daily sessions. That should help him get fit quickly.
He examined his face in the mirror, grimacing at po ck-mark legacies of the acne that erupted after Mattie dumped him. Racing back to his state-of-the-art laptop, he Googled furiously until he found a solution: a few chemical peels should do the trick. Plus he could smooth the perma-scowl that had developed on his forehead with a bit of Botox while he was at it.
Finally at peace, Adam smiled. If he played this right, the audience couldn’t help but choose him to spend those two weeks alone with Mattie.
And then – finally – Mattie would be his.
CHAPTER
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