Read Online The Set Up by Sophie McKenzie - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sophie McKenzie
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have all this reading to do.’
Unbelievable. I sighed.
‘That’s a shame,’ I said. ‘Ketty was really hoping you’d come along.’
‘Ketty’s going?’ Ed’s face brightened.
I grinned. ‘So you’ve only been here two days but you know who Ketty is?’
Ed blushed. ‘I’ve just . . . I’ve seen her running. She’s . . . well, it’s different. I mean, she’s different, isn’t she?’
More than you’ll ever understand, mate.
‘Yeah, Ketty’s cool,’ I said. ‘She’s a really good friend of mine . . . tells me everything.’ I paused. Here goes. ‘Actually, I think she likes you.’
‘Really?’ Ed’s face flushed scarlet.
‘Yeah,’ I lied, praying he wasn’t going to suddenly break his own rules and attempt to read my mind. ‘Ketty was going on about you earlier, before she went running. Said how good-looking she thought you were. And interesting.’
Ed’s dark blue eyes lit up.
‘Don’t expect her to make it obvious, though,’ I added hurriedly. I wondered if I’d gone too far. I was sure Ketty hadn’t even noticed Ed existed. And she was certainly way too cool to go for someone so geeky. ‘Ketty’s much shyer than she looks,’ I went on. ‘She might seem like she’s not interested but she’s actually just really unsure of herself.’
‘Okay.’ Ed leaned forward, like he didn’t want to miss a word I was saying. ‘Thanks, Nico. I really appreciate you telling me all this.’
For a split second, he almost made eye contact with me, then his gaze dropped again.
A throb of guilt pulsed through me. I pushed it away. I was only doing this so that Jack would get another chance to speak to Ed . . . to make him see how special his mind-reading abilities were.
I was doing Ed a favour here .
‘Right, well we’re meeting out the front at seven-thirty.’ I stood up, then punched him playfully on the shoulder. ‘Good luck, man.’
The Saracen’s Head in Hanmore Park was already crowded when we arrived just after 8 p.m. I hadn’t really enjoyed the twenty-minute bus journey over here . . . I was too preoccupied – mostly with my impending juggling but also, slightly, over how Ed was going to react when he realised he’d been tricked into a meeting with Jack.
I hoped Jack would show up soon. While he was talking to Ed, I planned to slip outside with Ketty and give her a juggling demo. Once I’d proved that I could do what I’d claimed, I was hopeful that she’d stop acting so withdrawn around me. Actually, I was hoping for a lot more than that. But now really wasn’t the time to get ahead of myself.
At least Ketty hadn’t seemed to mind Ed tagging along. And Ed himself was surprisingly at ease with us both. I’d called Jack beforehand.
‘I’m not sure a pub’s the best place for you to meet Ed,’ I’d said. ‘He’s not exactly experienced in the night life department.’
Jack had laughed and told me not to worry about it – or our ID. ‘Just give the password “white flag”,’ he’d said. ‘That’ll sort everything.’
And now we were standing beside the bar. It was ultra-modern, all mirrored walls and pale blue lighting.
We were the youngest people in here by several years. I was cool with that and Ketty looked like she fitted in okay, but Ed – dressed up like a middle-aged yuppie in a crisp shirt and chinos – looked very uncomfortable.
I looked round. Most people weren’t taking any notice of us, but a few of the older ones were giving us extremely dirty looks.
A man beside us bought a beer and Ed turned to me.
‘I thought you said there wouldn’t be alcohol,’ he whispered. ‘And where are all the teenagers?’
I grinned. ‘I may have misled you on the exact parameters of the evening, Ed, but just because they serve beer here, doesn’t mean you have to drink it.’
Ed opened his mouth to say something, then glanced at Ketty and clearly thought better of it.
I smiled to myself. He didn’t want to look uncool in front of
Unbelievable. I sighed.
‘That’s a shame,’ I said. ‘Ketty was really hoping you’d come along.’
‘Ketty’s going?’ Ed’s face brightened.
I grinned. ‘So you’ve only been here two days but you know who Ketty is?’
Ed blushed. ‘I’ve just . . . I’ve seen her running. She’s . . . well, it’s different. I mean, she’s different, isn’t she?’
More than you’ll ever understand, mate.
‘Yeah, Ketty’s cool,’ I said. ‘She’s a really good friend of mine . . . tells me everything.’ I paused. Here goes. ‘Actually, I think she likes you.’
‘Really?’ Ed’s face flushed scarlet.
‘Yeah,’ I lied, praying he wasn’t going to suddenly break his own rules and attempt to read my mind. ‘Ketty was going on about you earlier, before she went running. Said how good-looking she thought you were. And interesting.’
Ed’s dark blue eyes lit up.
‘Don’t expect her to make it obvious, though,’ I added hurriedly. I wondered if I’d gone too far. I was sure Ketty hadn’t even noticed Ed existed. And she was certainly way too cool to go for someone so geeky. ‘Ketty’s much shyer than she looks,’ I went on. ‘She might seem like she’s not interested but she’s actually just really unsure of herself.’
‘Okay.’ Ed leaned forward, like he didn’t want to miss a word I was saying. ‘Thanks, Nico. I really appreciate you telling me all this.’
For a split second, he almost made eye contact with me, then his gaze dropped again.
A throb of guilt pulsed through me. I pushed it away. I was only doing this so that Jack would get another chance to speak to Ed . . . to make him see how special his mind-reading abilities were.
I was doing Ed a favour here .
‘Right, well we’re meeting out the front at seven-thirty.’ I stood up, then punched him playfully on the shoulder. ‘Good luck, man.’
The Saracen’s Head in Hanmore Park was already crowded when we arrived just after 8 p.m. I hadn’t really enjoyed the twenty-minute bus journey over here . . . I was too preoccupied – mostly with my impending juggling but also, slightly, over how Ed was going to react when he realised he’d been tricked into a meeting with Jack.
I hoped Jack would show up soon. While he was talking to Ed, I planned to slip outside with Ketty and give her a juggling demo. Once I’d proved that I could do what I’d claimed, I was hopeful that she’d stop acting so withdrawn around me. Actually, I was hoping for a lot more than that. But now really wasn’t the time to get ahead of myself.
At least Ketty hadn’t seemed to mind Ed tagging along. And Ed himself was surprisingly at ease with us both. I’d called Jack beforehand.
‘I’m not sure a pub’s the best place for you to meet Ed,’ I’d said. ‘He’s not exactly experienced in the night life department.’
Jack had laughed and told me not to worry about it – or our ID. ‘Just give the password “white flag”,’ he’d said. ‘That’ll sort everything.’
And now we were standing beside the bar. It was ultra-modern, all mirrored walls and pale blue lighting.
We were the youngest people in here by several years. I was cool with that and Ketty looked like she fitted in okay, but Ed – dressed up like a middle-aged yuppie in a crisp shirt and chinos – looked very uncomfortable.
I looked round. Most people weren’t taking any notice of us, but a few of the older ones were giving us extremely dirty looks.
A man beside us bought a beer and Ed turned to me.
‘I thought you said there wouldn’t be alcohol,’ he whispered. ‘And where are all the teenagers?’
I grinned. ‘I may have misled you on the exact parameters of the evening, Ed, but just because they serve beer here, doesn’t mean you have to drink it.’
Ed opened his mouth to say something, then glanced at Ketty and clearly thought better of it.
I smiled to myself. He didn’t want to look uncool in front of
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