I knew who that person was, I knew it the whole time, and that’s probably the worst bit of this whole thing. Because there’d have been no need for any of that with Val if Charlie and I had got our act together a bit sooner.
Charlie. He’s the person who feels like home. He was that person right from the start, and part of me knew it all along. Whenever I saw him. He’s my best friend, my soul-mate, my lover. And he’s gorgeous in uniform, the blazer setting off the breadth of his shoulders as he and the others come through the gate. I stand up as they approach.
‘So?’ he asks, taking my hand. ‘How was geography?’
The mere fact that he knows which exam I had says more than a thousand words.
‘Fine.’ I shrug. ‘How was Latin?’
‘Don’t ask . . . At least it’s over with.’
I have to smile.
‘Did Henry finish in half an hour again?’
‘Of course he did. Twenty-five minutes, tops. Which gave him plenty of time to daydream about Emma, so we don’t need to guess at what those two are up to now!’
‘Yeah, they’re out for a run, of course.’
‘Aye, right, what else?’ He puts his arm around my shoulders and lowers his voice. ‘Oh, but it’s today, isn’t it?’
‘Maeve’s birthday?’ I ask. Charlie nods. ‘I think so.’
‘Did you get the chance to ask Emma what they’re doing later?’
‘They don’t have any plans,’ I say. ‘She’ll get him to come down to the bakery about eight.’
‘Excellent,’ says Charlie. ‘We can bake the cake before that.’
‘I hope he’ll be pleased. You don’t reckon he’ll think it’s in bad taste, do you?’
Charles shakes his head. ‘I think Henry will be pleased and that Maeve would like it too.’
‘She really would.’
‘So shall we go down straight after dinner?’
I nod and stand on tiptoe to give Charlie a kiss. He looks surprised for a moment, then kisses me back.
‘What was that for?’
‘Just because,’ I murmur, pulling him towards the door.
Olive appears suddenly. ‘Hey, have you heard?’ she asks. ‘The uniform policy’s not changing.’
‘What?’ I pull away from Charlie. ‘Why?’
‘Mrs Sinclair’s going to announce it in assembly. I heard from Dad. Apparently the governors voted against it.’
I laugh quietly. ‘Seriously?Theyget to wear whatever they want.’
‘They were of the opinion that dressingappropriatelyis one of the traditions of Dunbridge Academy.’ Olive shrugs.
I laugh again. ‘So what do we do now?’
Charlie glances at me.
‘What are you doing this evening?’ I ask Olive.
