The Thirteenth (10 page)

Susan stood up and went towards the door. “I will do you an extra food pack since you don’t have time for breakfast.”

Val gave a tired grin in her mother’s direction. “Thanks,” she muttered, starting to get out of bed and letting her feet slowly hit the soft carpet. As she fished around for her slippers, she realised that her feet were absolutely filthy and the bottom of her pyjamas looked like they had been caressed by her dad’s lawn mower.

Val lifted her sheets and saw that her bedding was not only muddy, but bloody as well. The stone she had stepped on the previous night had obviously cut her deeper than she had thought. Val stood up stripping her bed and shoving her pyjamas into the centre of the bundle in the hope that they would come clean.

After a quick wash, she threw on her clothes and headed down to the laundry room. “What are you doing, Val? Come on,” Susan called impatiently.

“I’m on my way, Mum.” Val ran into the kitchen. The pain in her foot was uncomfortable, but bearable. She found her mother with something that looked like a rucksack.

“Please say that’s not all food?” Val laughed, grabbing it from her mum.

“Shut-up and go.” Susan kissed Val on the head. “Tonight I want you home early; your dad wants to see you.”

“OK, I will be back at about six,” Val shouted back and headed for the bus.

As she walked her mobile phone rang. Pulling it out she saw it was Delta and she automatically slowed her pace to answer it.

“Morning. Have I got a story for you,” Val gushed down the phone.

“Hi. Before you fill me in, do you have time for lunch today? I feel that retail therapy is the only thing that will help me cope with the situation we are in, and to help me recover from what you are about to tell me,” said Delta vivaciously.

Val laughed. “OK, I get from twelve till one. Come to the shop and pick me up.” The idea of a trip out sounded good, a little normality was tempting. “So are you ready for my story?”

“Yes, I’m having a manicure, so I suppose it can’t hurt.” This was exactly what Val needed, Delta made everything that wasn’t to do with her personal care sound insignificant.

Val arrived outside the bookshop to find the front door ajar. She checked her watch; it was still a good ten minutes to opening time. She cautiously made her way up the stairs to the front door. So much had happened she couldn’t take any risks. Pushing the door, she stepped in. There seemed to be no sign of life. She made her way around the counter and checked that the till was OK. Everything seemed to be as she had left it the previous day.

She headed down one of the aisles. “Hello,” she called. “Anyone here?” A stern masculine voice rang through the shop. “Yes, there is someone here and I am pleased to see you are on time.” Val nearly jumped out of her skin. She realised instantly that it was Wallace ‘call me Mr Gallymore’.

“Morning Mr Gallymore, I’m so pleased to see you.” Val called out.

“Well Miss Saunders, unless you can see through walls, you haven’t actually seen me yet,” answered Wallace. Val mouthed several words whilst pulling childlike faces as she walked back up the aisle. As she came out into the reception area, Wallace was just locking the private door behind him.

“I wasn’t sure when I was going to see you. How did your trip go?” Val made her way around the counter dropping her rucksack of food and grabbing the feather duster. She thought that looking productive would please the old man, who actually looked really well. Maybe his trips abroad were for those Botox injections. Val smiled to herself.

“I see you have made adequate sales Miss Saunders and I will be leaving this afternoon to go to a classics convention. I trust I can leave you to carry on in charge?” Wallace stared at Val through his piercing brown eyes.

“Yes of course. I’m so pleased you are happy with my work. I have been thinking, maybe an alphabetical system would work better for us and what about a computer?” Val was filled with excitement. She had lots of ideas for the shop and thought that maybe she might actually end up liking her boss.

“I don’t pay you to think, I pay you to dust and serve. Do you have a problem with that?” Wallace shot bitterly at her. Val felt a sharp arrow pierce her heart; there was no hope for them now.

“No, Mr Gallymore.” Val lowered her head. She had never met such a mean old man in her life. She imagined for a moment that the old hag from last night was Mrs Gallymore, which lifted her morale a little.

“Another question, can you please explain exactly what happened to the water cooler?” asked Wallace. Val had forgotten about that. She was going to have to make up a good excuse to get past him.

Val walked around the counter towards the water cooler. Placing her hands on what was left, she spoke in a hushed tone. “I fell on it while I was switching off the code for the door. I’m so sorry.” Val didn’t even bother lifting up her head as she was sure his reaction was going to be harsh.

“Are you alright? That must have hurt,” he asked sounding concerned.

Val couldn’t believe her ears. “Yes it did. I have several bruises down my back if you want to look.” She started to lift her top.

“No!” Wallace retorted swiftly. “No, that won’t be necessary, thank you. Just take more care. I don’t want to be the one to call your parents telling them that you have had an accident, now do I?” Wallace turned and before Val could respond, he was heading towards the door, talking to her as he went. “I’ll order you another one. There are several boxes being delivered tomorrow. Unpack them with care and put them out in the shop. I’ll return in a few days.” Without turning, Wallace left the shop.

Once he was out of sight Val grinned to herself, “He loves me really,” she muttered, turning and heading off down the aisle, dusting as she went.

Before she knew it, there was a toot outside and Delta was sitting there in her sparkling red mini, ready to go shopping. Val grabbed her things and headed out, locking the door behind her.

“Hello Yankee,” Val greeted her.

“Hello Alien,” retorted Delta, as Val jumped into the car.

Val gasped. That was a bit risky in public. “Don’t say that. People might hear you, and I’m not.”

“Like people here give a damn. Have you not noticed that you can be dying in the street in this country and no one even bothers to help you? Consequently, I will call you Alien as much as I like, Alien.” Delta held her head high.

Val had to agree that she had lain, in pain, on those very steps only a few days earlier and not one person had tried to help.

“So, where are we going?” Val turned to Delta with a quizzical look on her face as she fastened her seatbelt.

“The place I call paradise. The shopping centre.” Delta grinned, checked her rear view mirror and sped off.

Two shops and a coffee later, Val checked her watch. “We’re going to have to leave soon. I need to get back to work,” she said.

Delta winked as she walked into Topshop. “Did you know, Val, that super model Kimmi Nero is the Topshop it-girl this season? I don’t care what she does to her insides, her outer packaging is perfect.”

Val looked at a huge pin-up of a stick like woman hanging in the middle of the shop and felt slightly nauseous. She couldn’t imagine how little you had to eat to be that thin and smiled as she imagined that woman at Val’s dinner table trying to fight off her mum.

As she scanned the clothes, Val wondered if there was something wrong with her. There were at least thirty women flapping around the aisles, picking things up, pressing them up to their bodies and looking at themselves in mirrors. She knew that Delta always looked fabulous, Val didn’t want any of it. Such a high maintenance look it wasn’t her thing at all. She glanced again at her watch; they were going to be pushing it even with Delta’s crazy driving.

“Come on,
now
,” Val snapped.

Delta nodded and ran to the till to pay for a tiny piece of cloth. Val couldn’t distinguish if it was a top or bottom part.

As soon as it was paid for, Val grabbed Delta’s arm and dragged her from the shop. “As fast as you drive, Delta, you walk so slowly.” Delta obligingly started to trot.

They turned a corner so fast that Val almost toppled.

She was still off-balance when she was struck in the centre of her back by something solid. Val was completely winded and was saved from a nasty fall by a large set of hands that grabbed her around the waist.

“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry,” she spluttered as she was carefully set back on her feet again. She looked up, and up. As she reached the summit, she found herself gazing into the eyes of a very tall young man. Her first thought was ‘Wow, he has perfect hair.’ It was mousey brown and he had deep green eyes, the sort you see looking back at you from the front of magazine covers.

“It’s OK. It’s not every day you get run into with such force by a pretty young woman in a Spiderman t-shirt, cool.” Val looked down acknowledging her top. She wasn’t quite sure if she had taken a breath since the clashing of bodies and was starting to feel a little faint.

“I… I… have to go.” She grabbed Delta’s hand and started to run.

“Slow down…high heels…not made for running,” Delta gasped. “You are going to ruin my tips,” blurted Delta between breaths.

Val came to an almost mule like halt and looked around in a panic. “Has he gone?”

“Yes, about half a mile ago, Val.” Delta pulled her hand out of Val’s grip. “You nearly made me perspire. Do
not
do that again,” she said tensely. Looking at Val it dawned on Delta what was going on. Delta was now moving in closer and pointing her finger at Val. “You liked him,” she poked Val’s arm, one strike for each word, “Val-I’ve-never-had-a-boyfriend-Saunders.”

“No, I did not. He was invading my personal space, that’s all.”

Delta laughed, it was painfully obvious that she did. Nonetheless Delta didn’t know what to do; this wasn’t a situation she had ever encountered with Val. Val pushed Delta affectionately to stop her from poking her arm.

Their banter was interrupted when Val heard a voice calling her name.

“Val! Val, hello.”

Val looked around. Where was it coming from? Then, appearing from inside a group of girls, Val spotted Wendy Whitmore.

Panic filled Val’s eyes as she grabbed Delta’s arm. “Delta, it’s Wendy.” Val was once again running. Wendy was a girl who had been in Val’s class at school and had always wanted to be Val’s friend. Val hated her. She was whiney, skeletal and smelt funny; it was as if she would break if you looked at her too hard. They usually managed to escape her unwanted attention, but today it seemed that they weren’t going to have such luck. Wendy was already on top of them blocking their exit.

“Wendy, how are you?” said Val, greeting Wendy with a fake smile.

“I’m fine. What are you two up to then?” Wendy looked at Delta, devouring every inch of her body with her eyes. Extraordinarily Delta was visibly uncomfortable.

Val tugged at Delta’s top as she started to work her way around Wendy. “I’m just going back to work, so you will have to excuse me as I’m late already, but it’s been lovely seeing you, again,” she said as they started to run towards the car park lift. “See you around then,” said Wendy wryly, waving a thin wimpy arm at them as they disappeared into the lift.

“Does she scare you?” asked Delta in a very concerned tone.

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about it.” Val looked at Delta with both eyebrows visibly raised.

“No, don’t bother. You want to be thinking about tall, dark and handsome.” Delta threw Val a glance as the lift stopped.

“Don’t be silly. I will never see him again, and I didn’t think he was handsome at all.” Val stepped out and moved quickly back to the mini, avoiding eye contact with Delta.

They drove back to the shop at speed and in silence, coming to an abrupt halt outside the bookshop.

“Do you want to stop for a while or do you have any other beauty treatments today?” said Val as she ran up the stairs and started to open the door to the shop.

“Claws away, I’m not the one in love,” said Delta who was already out of the car and making her way to the steps. “What did you have planned for us?” Delta passed Val as she made her way in.

“Well, there is dusting, dusting and if you are lucky, a little more dusting,” said Val switching the alarm off as Delta moved behind the counter.

Delta caressed the private sign with her manicured nails. “What do you think is behind the locked door?” She jangled the handle.

“Don’t do that. It says private for a reason,” said Val firmly moving around the counter to remove Delta. “Staff only.” Val circled an invisible barrier with her finger behind the counter.

“Oh, how can I be more like you?” Delta lifted her hand to her forehead pretending to swoon.

“Well you can start by getting a job.” Val came around and handed Delta a duster. It looked so ridiculous in her hands. She was never going to have to do the dirty work. It was almost written in the stars that
Delta Troughton should never break a nail
.

“Should we look for that book thingy or have you found it already?” asked Delta.

Val looked up, she had forgotten all about the book. “Great idea. You see, you aren’t just a pretty face.” Delta did a curtsy and wandered off. “Keep meeting me back at the counter, just in case I do the old Houdini act,” Val shouted at the aisle down which Delta had just disappeared.

“Will do,” Delta called back.

Val started to look. She decided to do the same as the other day and ran her finger down the books in the hope that they would speak to her. She was trying her hardest, but all Val could see was the face of the young man she had bumped into. She wouldn’t admit it, but he had made her feel something she had never felt before. It could only be described as a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach. She imagined them holding hands, chatting, laughing, walking down the road and sitting having a coffee together. “He liked my t-shirt,” Val blushed to herself.

A voice in her ear abruptly broke into her daydream. “Hello Alien, I’m bored. What time do you punch out from this place?”

Val snapped back to reality. She looked at her watch, but Delta couldn’t wait for a response.