Scott has never told me what actually happened the day he and Calla fell out, but I know every boy in our year fancied her, which was his biggest problem. He wanted her too. My guess is, he confessed to her how he felt but handled the situation badly because they were friends one day and enemies the next. We parted ways once I went to college and Scott went travelling. We’ve only reconnected again during this last year, and he's opened up about why he was such a knob towards Calla. I still don't fully understand or condone what he did, and I get he had a tonne of shit going on at home. It was something to do with his parents, but I don't know the finer details. Scott's a private person and he's dealing with it in his own way. Still, this is awkward. “How about I apologise on behalf of the teenage knob?”
“There's no need. It wasn't your fault,” Calla says, a sorrowful tone in her voice.
Despite Scott being my best mate, not once did I back him up when he was shitty to Calla. I got his pride was probably hurt, but I couldn't stand back and watch him disrespect her so badly. I was nursing my own mammoth crush on Calla,so once or twice, we locked horns over her. I even tried to talk Scottie around a few times, but he refused to listen. Looking back, we were all a bunch of knobs, not just Scott. I did my best to protect Calla, but my best wasn't good enough. I let him off the hook too many times.
Awkwardly, I glance over and smile when she says, “I hope I haven't made you uncomfortable.”
“Look, you've got every right to have a go at me. He got away with it to a point and I let him.”
“That's funny, I always remember you were kind to me.”
A wedge of guilt lodges deep down inside, despite what she says. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure,” she smiles.
“I was scared of him.”
She gasps, “No way.”
“Yup. The whole group was.” Thank God we changed.
“Wow Ashton, that's quite a thing to admit.” Her soft, warm hand unexpectedly falls over mine on the gear stick as she adds, “I assume it's not the case anymore.”
My smile widens, then I glance down to where we make contact. Calla's hand slowly draws away, but there's a smirk to her mouth. Her touch must have been instinctive.
“Hitting the six-foot marker by the time we reached sixteen helped for sure, especially as it took Scott a little longer to get there.” I neglect to mention he's made up for it now. We last caught up a couple of months ago before he went off on his travels again. There's no doubt he's a different person now and he regrets his shitty actions towards Calla. However, it’s not a subject for small talk, it’s something he needs to discuss with her.
“I never knew what his problem was with me,” Calla says, gazing out the window. “There was a point when we were pretty good friends. Then he became weird around me.”
“You honestly don't know?” I glance towards her with a smirk. “Then you're the last person on the planet. Everyone knew he fancied you.”
“What?” Her shrill tone is off the scale. “Don't be ridiculous.”
“Sure he did, you must have noticed.”
“Jesus, I didn't have a clue. Like I said, one minute we were good friends, at least, I thought we were. The next he…” Her sullen tone fades out as she stares into space, then comes back to me, fake happiness written across her lips. “Well, let's just say I will never understand boys for as long as I live. The stupid shit you lot do is just strange. I swear you're all aliens.”
“Funny, we thought the same about girls.”
I stop the car at a red light and take the opportunity to glance over again. She looks angelic right now. Sunlight beams through the window, caressing her dark crown like a halo.
“It's weird. I mean, I didn't think you remembered me,” Calla smiles. “How long has it been since you left school?”
“Five years for me. I couldn't wait to get out of the place and get to college. Don't tell me you stayed on for the sixth form.”
“Certainly did.” She seems proud of the fact.
“Wow, glutton for punishment much?”
She laughs, “I know. I was one of the weird kids who enjoyed school; well, most of the time.”
Silence falls between us before I pull away from the lights, then we speak again at exactly the same time. She with, “Thanks again for?—.”
Me with “Didn't you go around with?—.”
We exchange a weird, nervous laugh between us. “Sorry, you go first,” I say.
“I wanted to thank you again. Not many people would stop to help.” I notice a blush to her pale skin while she pushes a thick strand of her straight hair behind her ear.
