One Word From You: A Pride and Prejudice Adaptation (14 page)

“
I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing.”

“
Well, while you're thinking about it, why don't you go in and greet your Dad? He hasn't shut up about you coming home.”

It was only natural that he'd missed me. I wouldn't ever let on that I felt the same, but given he was the best parent I'd ever known, it was strange to be away from him for most of the year. I promised to catch up with the others at a later time, and dragged my case inside. Dad was in his office. He hated paperwork, because it kept him away from the vehicles. All his life, he'd been around cars. And now I was doing the same, though I wasn't sure I would follow the same career path as him. The garage was mine if I wanted it when I was older, but I had more of a creative mind. No, I wasn't that brilliant with music, but like Gideon had said, I didn't put in much effort.

Perhaps it was because I was a realist, and I thought that dreaming about becoming some kind of superstar was for children. Or maybe I just used my guitar to mask how utterly without direction I felt in my life. Either way, it wasn't going to be the thing I relied on when I finished with school.

I rapped my knuckles on the door to get his attention. Dad was soon out of his seat, and lifted me off the floor. He span me around a couple of times before he set me back down. At least he wasn't covered in grease and oil like Eric and Max.

“
Elly-bear! Look at you! You've grown since I dropped you off, I know it.”

“
Dad, it's been two months,” I flicked his cheek playfully.

“
Two months too long. Did Jenny come with you?”

“
No, she'll be by tomorrow I think. Ben's going to drive her.”

“
Really? Which car is he bringing?”

I smirked, “Typical. I'm going to dump my stuff and take a walk. I need to stretch my legs.”

“
I'd have thought you'd want to call your Mum or something.”

I paused on my way back to the door. He never suggested that I got in contact with her. There had to be a reason, and I tapped my foot a couple of times while I tried to think of it myself. If I just asked, he would try to lie. It would be terrible, because he had no idea of how to conceal the truth from anyone.

“
Did she call you?”

“
She might have...”

“
Was it about Wyatt, by any chance?”

“
Uh – his name
might
have come up.”

“
I'm not calling her,” I said, “She's been enough of a pain already.”

“
Did something happen?”

I closed the door gently so as not to arouse the attention of the others. When I was sure no one else could hear, I admitted, “Wyatt asked me out. He said that Mum had already approved it. So I kneed him in the nuts.”

“
Saves me doing it.”

“
You wouldn't have.”

“
No, but I might have punched him. What was he thinking?”

“
I don't want to know. I just know that I can't brush my teeth enough times to get the taste of his tongue out of my mouth,” I shuddered at the mere memory.

Dad bristled at that, “He – he – he kissed you?!”

“
Yeah, Dad. It's not the first time. I kissed Lewis when I was ten, you know?”

Obviously Lewis and I weren't that far apart in age. He was Poppy's younger brother. He'd gone to the same school as me before I'd transferred. A lot of girls liked him, but I thought of him as just a friend. Well, most of the time. We'd experimented a little. I mean, I had to practice kissing on
someone.

“
I didn't know! Where is he?!”

“
Seriously?” I asked.

“
Just because it's late, it doesn't mean it's not deserved.”

I rolled my eyes, and left him to his own devices. If Lewis was lucky, then he'd have gone home already. Otherwise he'd end up with either a black eye, or a broken nose. Then again, he had a pretty quick wit. He could probably talk my Dad out of hitting him.

Things would be better when Jenny arrived.

Between her and Poppy, I might have some fun.

And I might be able to forget about William, Charlie, and Wyatt.

Chapter Thirteen

The pain of separation.

Two weeks of bracing sea air, freezing salt water, and girly conversation soon cheered Jenny up. It helped to put the troubles of school behind her, and for a short time we were able to forget about what was waiting for us. I hoped that Charlie would be there upon our return, but my predictions had been seriously off.

Waiting in our room when we got back was Meg. She pointed out a note which had been delivered that morning. It was addressed to Jenny, and I felt a weight sink in my stomach when I recognised Chantelle's handwriting.

Inside of the envelope was a postcard. It depicted snowy mountains, and clear blue skies. Apparently wherever they were was a haven, and they had no desire to leave it to return to school any time soon.

                           
Dear Jenny,

                                          Switzerland is paradise. We’re all so happy here, that we’re going to
stay until we get bored! We have private tutors, so won’t be back this  term. Try not to miss us too much!

                                                                                    ~ Chantelle

I read the card over and over. Jenny had put it down after just one attempt, and gone back to quietly unpacking her things. I didn't know how she could be so calm in the face of what was going on. I would have been calling Chantelle and shrieking at her in anger. Well, I wanted to do that most of the time anyway, but it was really justified in this case.

“
This is a joke,” I said, brandishing the card at Jenny, “This can't be true.”

“
Clearly it is.”

“
No, I'm not accepting this. Charlie had a
massive
crush on you! Things like that don't just disappear overnight!”

“
Beth, please,” she begged, “Don't talk about it any more. I can't do anything to make them come back. I just have to accept that Charlie doesn't -”

“
Don't even say it,” I told her, “Not when you haven't tried. Jen', you can't just let things like this slide. If you find someone you really like, you should at least fight for them!”

“
Who am I meant to be fighting?” she said.

“
Your own ideas of good behaviour, and social conventions would be a bloody good start! Look, Switzerland, right?”

“
Yes. I read it.”

“
Doesn't your Mum have a house out there?”

Jenny nodded, “Yeah. We only go out for the ski season, though.”

“
Why not spend the winter break there this year? And if you
accidentally
bump into them, then that's not your fault, is it?”

Jenny pouted, “Switzerland is a big place.”

“
Then it'll be fate if you do see each other.”

“
What are we talking about?” Lisa asked as she flew into the room, as full of energy as always.

“
Nothing,” I said before Jenny confessed it.

I trusted Meg not to breathe a word, because she hardly spoke two of them together at the best of times. But Lisa, and Chrissy by extension, wouldn't be tactful in voicing their opinions of the situation. It really did seem hopeless when Chantelle kept putting herself in the way, but there was a good chance Jenny might be able to get Charlie alone over Christmas. If she did, then she'd have to find the courage to speak up for herself. I certainly wasn't going to go with her to hold her hand. I would have if it was in my power to, but it wasn't.

I couldn't afford the flight.

That, and it wasn’t right for me to get involved any more than I was already. I could nudge, and encourage, but I couldn’t force them together. If I wasn’t so totally convinced of Charlie’s feelings, then I wouldn’t have bothered to contrive such a stupid plan. But what else could I suggest? If he never came back, then I would have to watch Jenny suffer more and more. It didn’t make sense to me to have it all over before she’d even tried.

I squeezed Jenny's shoulder in a reassuring way. It might take some time for her to come around to the idea of going to Switzerland, especially if she was being so guarded. I really did understand that she wanted to emotionally protect herself. In her situation, I would have felt the same. But I also knew that people didn't get things without working for them, or without taking risks. I mean, I'd worked hard for as long as I could remember to stay on the right track. And Jenny couldn't just expect Charlie to fall all over her. She was so shy and quiet, and that was part of her charm, but it did mean that she was likely to be ignored or overlooked. I thought Charlie had seen past that, but clearly I'd been wrong.

I had six weeks to convince Jenny that my plan was a good one. I had faith in my abilities to do that. After all, who didn't listen to the advice of their best friend in the whole world? And, in the meantime, I had my Music lessons with Gideon to look forward to.

“
Okay, I think we should stop there for today,” Gideon said at the end of our final lesson of the week the following Friday.

I wasn't quite through, but I pressed my palm to the strings to stop the sound of the guitar. I knew I wasn't the best student in the world, and that had to be frustrating for him. I was going to apologise for my lack of talent, but found he was smiling at me in that charming way of his.

“
What?” I asked.

“
That was good.”

“
Seriously?”

“
Well, I don't think you're going to sell out in Wembley or anything, but when you concentrate you're better than you think you are.”

I knew that if I applied myself, I could make a living out of music. But that was just it, there was no chance I'd be able to survive on the money I made. A lot of people wanted to be in the spotlight, and make it big with their fifteen minutes of fame. I was a realist. I knew how competitive that was. Music could be my hobby, as disappointing as that might be, and I would do whatever put food on the table during the day.

Gently, I plucked at the strings again, finding some soothing solace in the sound. I stopped, and let out a soft breath through my nose. Gideon appeared to sense there was something I wasn’t saying. He reached out to pat the top of my head.

I smiled, “Is it that obvious that something’s bothering me?”

“
It couldn’t be more obvious if you started singing about your feelings in an impromptu musical number.”

“
Thankfully, that doesn’t happen outside of the movies.”

“
Yes, that is a blessing,” he said, “What is it?”

“
We’re friends, aren’t we?” I asked.

“
Of course. Although, if another teacher asks, then no.”

“
Fair enough. Look, do you really think it’s worth me pursuing this?”

“
Do you enjoy it?”

“
I guess so...”

“
Then what’s the harm? If it’s something you like, then you should do it. It doesn’t mean you have to be the best person in the world at it. But it makes you happy, and that’s what matters most.”

It was probably the first time a teacher had given me any decent advice. Sure, I learnt a lot about the regular things at school, like I was supposed to. That was just an education, it wasn’t a life lesson. People my age definitely needed more of those. I nodded, “True. Thanks, Gideon. I should get going.”

“
Don’t be a stranger.”

Okay, so I’d thought that I liked him as more than just a teacher. I still thought he was attractive, because I wasn’t blind, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to be anything more than that. Flirting was fun, and I enjoyed his company, but it wasn’t exactly making my heart race. I was starting to think I should be looking for someone my own age.

Now
that
was a terrifying realisation.

I smiled when I saw a familiar face in the hall. Georgia and I hadn’t spoken much since the half term break. We were in different classes most of the times, and it was hard to meet one another. Plus, with everything going on with Jenny, I’d felt like my best friend needed my company more. That didn’t stop me from sneaking up on Georgia, and scaring the crap out of her when I grabbed her waist from behind.

“
Jesus! Don’t do that!” she turned and hit me playfully.

I laughed, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“
You’re not sorry at all.”

“
No, I’m not. How was your break?”

“
Oh, you know,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “Nothing to report really. I - uh - I started going out with someone.”

“
That is a
huge
thing to report! Who is he? Does he live near you?”

“
No. Actually, he’s from this school.”

“
You’re kidding! What, like a new kid? Do I know him?”

“
Yeah… Yeah, I think you do.”

I didn’t really talk to a lot of the boys. I mean, I spoke to them when I had to in class, and I was never actively rude enough to ignore them if they engaged me in conversation, but I had a hard time remembering names and faces. But if he’d transferred into a school like ours, then he had to be pretty well off. I asked, “Will you point him out to me?”

“
I think you’d know him by name.”

“
I doubt it,” I said, “My memory is too bad for that.”

“
No, you would. It’s Wyatt.”

Wait, what?

It took a minute to process. I was really trying hard to think if there were any other boys at the school with that name. And I was desperate to come up with anyone besides the obvious. Georgia could see the pains I was going through as I denied it violently inside. Because no one was stupid enough to date
that
Wyatt! Certainly not her. Georgia had more sense than most people. No one sensible could accept Wyatt as a boyfriend.

“
Okay, I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” she said.

“
No - I - I just can’t quite - are you sure?”

“
Yes, Beth. I think I know who my boyfriend is.”

“
But - but
why?!
”

“
Does there have to be a reason?”

“
Yes. Yes there does. Is he blackmailing you? Tell me, and I’ll put a stop to it. I mean it, Georgia.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, “I knew you were going to be like this. This is
exactly
why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“
By
this,
I assume you mean totally reasonable. Because no one would want to go out with Wyatt willingly. Not ever. And I mean
ever.
”

“
Just because you don’t like him, it doesn’t mean no one else does.”

“
And you
like
him?” I asked, “Are you sure? Like, did he drug you? Or do you need a therapist?”

“
Beth!”