“So, we didn’t put you off,” I splutter, trying desperately to say something; anything.
“No. It was pretty straight forward.”
“Good,” I try to encourage with a tight-lipped smile before more silence—I take a sip of my tea while he slurps his Coke. The situation is awkward as hell, but if I’ve got to work with him and Ash is convinced he’s changed, I should at least try to be approachable.
“What happened to you when you left school, Scott? I didn’t see you around, not that I wasn’t grateful at the time.” My face heats, but I couldn’t help my little dig, and he can’t expect me to forget everything in an instant.
Scott glances down to his Coke for a second, then when he looks back at me, I note he’s also blushing. “I took myself off around Europe for a bit, trying to put off the inevitable.”
“Which was?”
He shrugs, “Getting a job, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Still don’t.”
“Didn’t you ever have an ambition or imagine where you wanted to be in a few years?”
“Not really, there wasn’t time to think. I had a lot goingon in my home life and in my head. I wasn’t mentally ready to settle.”
I wonder if he’s trying to tell me something, and I initially stare at him, hoping he might expand, but he doesn’t.
We both look down to our drinks as if we might find another topic of conversation in there, but then he asks, “How about you? What’s in your future?”
“Finish uni, get a job, then start something of my own.” The solemn atmosphere lightens a little when we exchange a brief smile.
“Which uni are you at?”
“Highfield.”
“You like it?”
“It’s pretty good, yeah.”
“Great. You seem to have an idea of where you’re going.”
“Well, I have a rough plan, nothing solid.”
He offers another smile. “I kind of had ideas when I left college, mainly to get out of town. My mum left me some money in her will, so I bought an Interrail ticket and didn’t look back.”
“I’m so sorry, Scott. I had no idea about your mum.” Now I feel just terrible.
Scott runs his fingertip around the rim of his Coke can while he talks. “It’s okay. It happened quickly.” He glances up when he says, “Cancer.”
I acknowledge his sad news with a single nod into my teacup as I take a sip. I don’t want to pry into the details, so I just let him talk.
“I supplemented most of my trip with different jobs around Europe, so I didn’t eat into my inheritance.” His mind seems to wander before he takes a breath. “I came back for a couple of months, then headed out to Asia for another year. It was the best thing I ever did, it cleared my head, and gave mesome life experience. There’s more to this big wide world than Braebeach. I can’t see myself hanging around for too long, unless—” he glances up again and huffs a smile. I don’t push him any further. It doesn’t feel right.
“It must be hard, being back.”
“Yeah, it is a bit.”
“Hmm,” I smile while thinking of something else to say.
Scott mouth curves into an uncertain smile, “This is nice, talking to you again.” I look up but stay silent as he continues, “It’s a bit like old times. We used to talk a lot, remember?”
I remain tight-lipped in case I say something I’ll regret. Inside, I’m getting agitated and my irritation increases when Scott says, “We were good friends at one point. It’s a shame you couldn’t get past what happened?—”
My mouth drops and the surrounding air turns red. “Excuse me?” Did he really just say that?
“Oh… I know what you’re going to say, Calla.”
