Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 06] (7 page)

‘I’ve got a quiz to
try out on you,’ said Lucy, flopping on the sofa. ‘It’s just your kind of
thing, Izzie - sort of a psychological test.’

We were all over at
Nesta’s the following evening. We spent the first twenty minutes swopping news
and I’d filled them in on bumping into Josh again and the ongoing war with Mum.
She was back to her usual mad self when she picked me up from the tube station
the night before. Apparently when she phoned Dad to ask why I wasn’t home yet,
he mentioned that he knew about the belly button stud. She wasn’t happy. Oh no.
She spent the whole journey home going on about how he’s too laid back when it
comes to disciplining me, he’s not the one who has to lay down the rules, the
one who worries when I’m out late, wonders where I am and what I’m getting up
to. I tried telling her that I could handle myself, but she wasn’t really
listening. No wonder Dad doesn’t want to get involved. She gets so worked up
over nothing.

It was good to get out
of the house and over to Nesta’s to see the girls and have some normal company.

‘OK,’ I said, sitting
on the floor next to the sofa. ‘Shoot.’

‘You have to think of
your three favourite animals,’ said Lucy. ‘Then remember them in order. Tell me
when you’ve got them.’

We all sat and thought
for a few minutes.

‘OK, ready,’ I said.

‘And me,’ chorused
Nesta and TJ.

‘OK,’ said Lucy. ‘Say
them out loud and why you picked them. Nesta?’

‘Cats because they’re
elegant and independent. Leopards because they’re beautiful, and peacocks
because they’re stunning when they put their tails up and strut their stuff.’

Lucy laughed.

‘What?’ asked Nesta.
‘What’s so funny?’

‘You’ll find out in a
minute,’ said Lucy. ‘OK, Iz?’

‘Um, dolphins because
they’re friendly and intelligent, orang-utans because when you look into their
eyes, you can tell they have these really wise old souls, and owls because
they’re meant to be wise, but if you ever take a good look at them, they’re
actually hysterically funny — they can turn their heads round almost three
hundred and sixty degrees.’

Lucy burst out
laughing again.

‘
What?
’
I asked.

‘You’ll see in a
minute. TJ?’

‘Penguins because they’re
entertaining and have a funny walk, dogs because they’re intelligent, loyal and
playful, and meercats because they look after each other — they’re really
social animals.

‘OK.’ Lucy said,
grinning. ‘I’ll tell you what it all means now. Your first choice was how you
see yourself…’

‘That’s amazing,’ I
said. ‘TJ picked penguins because they’re entertaining, and you are, TJ. Dunno
about the funny walk, though. And Nesta picked cats because they’re elegant and
independent. It’s really true.’

‘And you said dolphins
because they’re friendly and intelligent,’ said Nesta, ‘That’s true as well.’

‘OK, what do the other
choices mean?’ asked Nesta.

‘Second one is how
others see you and the last one is how you really are.’

‘We see you as an
orang-utan…’ laughed Nesta, pointing at me.

‘Yeah, fat and hairy,’
I said.

Nesta laughed again.
‘We’re going to have to work on your self-esteem, girl.’

‘But it’s more the
reason
why
you picked them that’s revealing, not the animal so much,’
said Lucy. ‘And Izzie said because when she looks at an orang-utan, she sees a
wise old soul. That’s
exactly
how I see you, Iz.’

‘And you really are a
peacock,’ said TJ, pointing at Nesta.

Nesta’s face clouded.
‘Proud as a peacock. Oh dear.’

‘No,’ said Lucy. ‘You
didn’t say that. You said you liked peacocks because they’re stunning when they
strut their stuff. Nothing could be more true in your case.’

‘And others do see you
as beautiful,’ said TJ. ‘You said leopards for your second one because they’re
beautiful. Second one’s how others see you, right, Lucy?’

Lucy nodded.

Nesta started
strutting around the room. ‘Yeah. And you’re an owl, Izzie. Why did you say you
liked them?’

‘Because they can turn
their heads three hundred and sixty degrees.’ I tried to do it, but nope,
wouldn’t go.

TJ pulled a face. ‘And
I’m a meercat.’

‘But all the ones you
chose, you said were because they’re playful, intelligent and loyal,’ said
Lucy. ‘That’s exactly how you are, TJ. Don’t you see - your choices reveal a
lot about your character.’

‘Kind of like how what
you wear reveals who you are as well,’ I said. ‘So what did you pick, Luce?’

‘Horse, ostrich, dog.
Horses because they’re gentle, ostriches because they’re funny and dogs because
they’re faithful and fun.’

‘Spot on,’ said TJ.

‘OK,’ said Nesta. ‘I’m
going to strut my stuff into the kitchen. Who wants what?’

‘Diet Coke,’ said TJ.

‘Same,’ said Lucy.

‘Izzie?’ asked Nesta.

‘How long are your
parents out for?’ I asked.

‘Until about
ten-thirty, I think,’ said Nesta. ‘They’ve gone to see a movie. Why?’

I eyed the drinks
cabinet under the bookshelf behind the sofa. They had an amazing collection of
spirits and liqueur - some I’d never heard of. Nesta saw me looking and went
and stood next to them. ‘What can I get you, Madam? Gin and tonic? Vodka and
orange? Eggflip and marmite?’

I went and stood next
to her and put my finger under my chin. ‘Hmm, I’m not sure, barman. What do you
recommend?’

‘Chocolate milkshakes
with marshmallows,’ said Nesta, heading for the door. ‘How does that sound?’

‘Shall we try a
drink
drink?’ I asked. ‘You know, while your parents are out. Just a taste to see
what we might like.’

‘I’ve tried most of
them,’ said Nesta,‘ and I can tell you, they’re pretty yuck. Whisky is sour,
vodka is tasteless and gin tastes like lighter fluid.’

‘Since when have you
been drinking lighter fluid?’ I asked.

Nesta screwed her face
up. ‘You know what I mean. Not very nice.’

‘I’d like to try one,’
I said. ‘See, like what Lucy was saying about people’s choices revealing who
they are — I don’t know what I like to drink.’

‘But most of them
taste awful, honest…’ said Nesta.

‘I know,’ I said.
‘I’ve tried some of Mum’s when she’s been out too. But you can mix them with
other stuff, you know, to take away the taste of alcohol.’

‘So, what’s the
point?’ asked TJ.

‘Well, you can’t drink
Sprite or Ribena Lite forever. It’s looks a bit babyish sometimes.’

‘Says who?’ said TJ. ‘I
don’t care. It’s what tastes good to
me
that counts. I’m the one
drinking it.’

‘Yeah, but if you’re with
a load of older boys or something, or at a party, it might be good to ask for
something more sophisticated.’

I glanced at the
bookshelves and spotted a book tucked in with some recipe books. I pulled it
out and read the title.‘
Cocktails for City Nights
. How about we try
one of these?’ I flicked through the opening pages. ‘There are loads here.
Barracuda Bite, Moscow Mule… Oh, here’s one for me. It’s called Dirty Mother.
What do you think? See what they taste like?’

Lucy came and read the
list over my shoulder. ‘Hey, TJ. How do you fancy trying a Screaming Orgasm?’

‘
Exscooth
me?’ she giggled.

‘It’s made from Irish
cream, Kahlua, vodka and amaretto.’ I looked at the bottles. ‘Yeah, your mum
has all of those.’

Nesta came back over
to the drinks cabinet and looked at the bottles. ‘Shall we?’ she asked with a
mischievous look on her face.

‘Count me out,’ said
TJ from where she was lying on the floor. ‘I don’t like alcohol. I tried some
red wine once and it tasted like ink.’

‘Yeah, but some of
these sound really nice,’ I said, still reading. ‘They have juice and liqueurs
and some even have cream in them. I’ll make you a special one. A TJ Watts.’

The milkshake sounded
good to me,‘ said TJ. ’That’s what I fancy. Did you know that one glass of
spirits has something like three hundred calories in it? I’d rather use my
quota up on chocolate.‘

‘Oh, come on,’ I said.
‘Where’s your spirit of adventure? Let’s make a few of them. Just for a taste.’

Lucy looked worried
and glanced at Nesta. ‘But won’t your parents notice?’ she asked. ‘I mean, if
the levels in the bottles have gone down, they’ll know it was us.’

‘We’re not going to
drink
that
much, Lucy,’ I said. ‘Just experiment a bit. Last night
when Josh asked what I wanted to drink, I felt stupid. In future, I want to be
able to answer with confidence. I think that’s part of being a grown-up,
knowing what you like. But I haven’t got a clue. I think it’s part of finding
out who you are - you know, whether you like coffee or tea, spirits or wine and
so on.’

TJ grinned. ‘Well if you’re
an orang-utan, we’d better get you some banana juice.’

‘Yeah right. Very
refined.
Not
,’ I said.

Lucy started laughing.
‘Drink? Oh, thank you, darling,’ she said in a posh voice. ‘I’ll have…’ She
glanced at the cocktail book. ‘Yes, I’ll have a Tidal Wave - no, maybe not,
sounds pretty lethal. No, make mine…’ This time she made her voice go
squeaky.‘… a Coconut Highball.’

Nesta read over her
shoulder and made her face go stupid. ‘And I’ll have a Zombie.’

‘That sounds nice,’ I
said. ‘It’s rum, pineapple, lemon and orange.’

‘OK,’ said Nesta. ‘Here’s
the deal. We mix up a few and have a little taste of each other’s. OK?’

‘And if the levels are
down a bit,’ said Lucy,‘ we can fill the bottles up with a bit of water. That’s
what my brother Lai did when he tried Dad’s whisky the other week. Dad never
noticed.’

We spent a short time
picking the ones we liked the sound of, then checking to see if Nesta’s parents
had the ingredients.

‘They’ve got most of
them,’ said Nesta. ‘People always give them weird liqueurs at Christmas and
they never get touched unless Mum is making some exotic dessert.’

I picked a White
Russian as I thought that sounded really cool. Nesta ended up choosing one
called a Kamikaze, TJ went for a Pina Colada and Lucy decided that she had to
try the Screaming Orgasm.

‘Just in case I never
get off with a boy ever again and never actually get to have sex,’ she said,
laughing. ‘At least I can say truthfully that I’ve had a screaming orgasm.’

‘Yeah. Who needs
boys?’ I asked, running my finger down the index. ‘There’s one here called Sex
With a Shark.’

Think I’ll pass on
that,‘ said Lucy. ’I’m trying to give up sharks. Rats are more my thing. Love
rats.‘

Nesta went and got
juices and cream from the fridge and we spent the next ten minutes pouring and
stirring. Once our drinks were ready, we took a sip of the one we made, then a
sip of each other’s. My White Russian tasted fantastic, so after the others had
a sip, I drank all of it. It had a load of cream and coffee liqueur in it and
tasted really sweet. Fab. Nesta didn’t like hers. ‘Too sour,’ she said and
handed it to me. I took a sip. Yuck. She was right. ‘Too much lime,’ I said.

‘Stick to the sweet
ones,’ I said. ‘Here, I’ll make you one. A Nesta special.’ I poured some
blackcurrant liqueur, a shot of gin and some vodka into a glass and swirled it
around. It’s simple, I thought. You just mix up what you like until it tastes
good. Nesta didn’t like that either, though. Waste not, want not, I thought,
adding a bit of lemonade. Tastes like Ribena. So I slugged it back.

TJ only took a sip of
hers. ‘I thought we were just trying them,’ she said.‘Not drinking the whole
thing. We might get drunk.’

‘Cowardy custard,’ I
said. I took a taste of Lucy’s. Mmmm, I thought. Also quite nice. It tasted
really sweet and almondy.

‘It’s got amaretto in
it,’ she said. ‘Mum puts it in her cake mix at Christmas.’

‘Let’s try another,’ I
said, raising my glass.

Nesta pulled a face.
‘Not for me, thanks. I learned my lesson at your first gig with King Noz,
remember?’

‘All forgotten,’ I
said happily. It was around last Christmas and some plonker had given her a
pile of champagne. It was my first performance with King Noz and I was really
nervous about it, then Nesta got tiddly and hogged the limelight by dancing
madly in front of everyone when they were supposed to be listening to the band.
I suppose it was funny, looking back, but at the time, I was really miffed that
she’d stolen all the attention.‘

‘I felt quite ill
afterwards, if I remember rightly,’ said Nesta.

‘Can’t take your
drink,’ I teased her. ‘OK. Lucy, do you want to try another one?’