A wave of relieved groans surrounds me, along with a fresh waft of perfume and the chaos of screeching chair legs and hurried steps, as everyone moves backand rushes to the coffee machine for one last top-up before the bell rings. I, however, am trying to figure out what I’ve just been signed up for.
“You okay?”
I squeeze along my shoulder, trying to ease the tightness in the muscle. “I twinged my neck.”
“Ooh, painful. Do you want to go to the nurse and get some painkillers?”
I’m tempted, but say, “No. I want you to tell me what you just signed me up for.”
Celeste’s face lights up in a way that makes me nervous, and she jumps from her chair. “Come on, let’s get coffee, and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s so much fun.”
I’ll reserve judgment on the fun until I know exactly what it’s supposed to be, but I get up anyway, and we make ourselves a coffee.
“So,” Celeste begins, flicking a small packet of sugar between her fingers. I wait patiently for her to rip it open, pour it in, and stir with one of those wooden sticks. I wait so long I’m almost ready to shake the answer out of her. “Every February in Valentine Nook, the village committee hosts the Valentine Festival. It takes place over the weekend near Valentine’s Day. The reception pupils give a little concert, and there’s lots of fun and games. It’s abigdeal.” She pins me with an intense look.
The Valentine Festival. How had I forgotten we’re about to enter the busiest time of year in Valentine Nook?
“Okay...what’s that got to do with us? We have to do the concert?”
If I’m being honest, a concert for a bunch of five- and six-year-olds is always a cute time, even if it is a bit like herding cats. But seeing their little faces as they singtheir hearts out cracks even the stoniest of souls, and I can cope with a Valentine concert. You never know, it might bring some life back to mine.
“No, we do that anyway. I volunteered us to be on the committee.” She grins, like I’d be nothing other than ecstatic.
To be clear, I’m not.
The concert is one thing. Being a member of the committee is quite another.
I remember one year when my mum volunteered. As the weeks closed in on the fourteenth of February, we saw less and less of her. By the time the big day came around, she looked like she’d been awake for thirty-six hours, powered by sugar and wine. When my dad presented her his Valentine card, she threatened to divorce him.
At any time of year, Valentine Nook is a hive of activity—random marriage proposals, maneuvering around the constant queues outside Agatha’s store, the couples walking around starry-eyed . . .
But during February . . . it’s love on steroids, and most definitely not for the weak.
It’s hard to get excited about love when your heart and soul are currently in a state of apathy. In fact, if you cut me open right now, you’d probably find my organs to be less pink and more gray turning to black.
Maybe I can call in sick.
I don’t want to be reminded that I’m alone, and I definitely don’t want to be part of the committee that prides itself on hosting the best festivals in England and possibly Europe.
Celeste is still talking, and I’m nodding politely, but my mind is running a million miles an hour.
“It’s so much fun. I didn’t grow up around here, but I did come to the festival once when I was a teenager. My friends and I spent the whole time in the queue for love potions.” She’s speaking so loudly that a couple of colleagues walking past stare at her. “Half the money raised goes toward the upkeep of the village, the other half goes to the local children’s cancer hospital. Last year we made over twenty thousand pounds.”
“That sounds good,” I say, because it’s the only positive thing I can manage.
“Yes, and I thought we would have fun. It’s also good to take your mind off your boyfriend?—”
“Hendricks isn’t my boyfriend,” I snap defensively, making Celeste giggle.
“Hendricks? Hendricks Burlington?” She giggles more. Seriously, she giggles way too much, especially for a Monday morning. “No, silly. Your boyfriend in Australia?”
Oh my God.Oh my God.I blink hard. How did I forget? “Noah.Right.Yes. We broke up.”
“Yes,andso this would be the perfect opportunity to move on, maybe find someone new . . .” She elbows me. “And I’ll keep your little crush on Hendricks Burlington a secret. Don’t worry, we’ve all got one. It’s a club.”
I stop walking. This needs to be nipped in the bud right now. I don’t care who’s crushing on him becauseobviouslyeveryone is crushing on him.
“Celeste, I do not have a crush on Hendricks Burlington.”
