now and it took me about ten minutes to find it. And I still couldn’t decide what to wear. Nothing looked right, nothing matched. Hannah and I usually got ready for important things together: we’d made a pact after the leggings incident of 09. They’d looked good in
I finally settled on my skinny jeans and white tank top with the gold detail and buttons down the front (top two left open). I quickly brushed my hair, lined my eyes black and slipped into my grey boots. I stuffed only the essentials – my purse, my phone and a stick of blood-red lipstick – into my black shoulder bag.
I stole one final glance in the bathroom mirror before following Mum out of the caravan on to the damp grass. It hadn’t rained again but the sun was still hidden behind grey cloud. A light breeze carried us down to the village. Mum pulled her pink cardigan tighter round her shoulders as we dodged the puddles of rainwater dotted along the winding road. Avarna was beautiful in the daytime, but it was lovely in the evening too. It was so peaceful.
‘You can be on our team if you want,’ said Mum. ‘A few other teachers from the school are going too.’
‘It’s OK. I already have a team.’
‘Oh, really?’
‘Nick from the shop asked me to join his. They were one short.’
‘Nick from the shop, eh?’ Mum stopped walking and gave me a quizzical look.
I couldn’t stop my cheeks from going red.
‘So that’s why you took so long to get ready.’
‘He has a girlfriend,’ I said, walking ahead.
‘Minor obstacle.’
‘Mum!’ I squealed, and we both laughed.
As we neared the parish hall the village was buzzing. Throngs of people headed for the hall, located on the curve of the main street. It was hard to miss with its bright red window frames and doors. A large plaque with the numbers 1878 told us when it had been built and the courthouse sign informed us of its original function. I tried to imagine the trials that had gone on here in the past.
As we entered through the doors at the front of the building we could see groups gathered round the twenty or more tables across the floor. Whispers of gossip and bursts of laughter filled the hall. I could see Mary Reynolds weaving through the tables, placing a small stack of answer sheets on each as she passed. Quizmaster Joe Clancy was standing on the stage, surveying his audience. I spotted Nick at one of the tables at the front. Another guy sat across from him. I recognized Colin’s red hair immediately. The minute I saw them I felt a bit nervous but I quickly got over it. This was too important to screw up.
‘There’s Margaret,’ said Mum, waving over at the primary school principal. ‘Is your team here yet?’
‘Yep. They’re over there,’ I said, pointing at Nick.
‘Oh, I see!’ said Mum, raising an eyebrow at me. ‘Good luck. And I hope you do well in the quiz too,’ she added, smirking.
I rolled my eyes at her before strolling over to Nick and Colin. Nick was looking gorgeous, and had clearly got some sleep since I last saw him. He looked at me, and there was a noticeable second of silence – that momentary beat that every girl strives for, which can only be achieved through a perfectly planned outfit.
‘Hi,’ he said as his eyes subtly scanned my body. ‘Colin, this is Jacki.’
‘We’ve already met,’ said Colin, looking up to smile at me. There were ink stains on his hand and he was doodling with a biro.
‘Oh, right. Take a seat.’ Nick pointed to the grey chair next to him before glancing around the hall and then he began texting furiously. I dropped my bag to the floor and settled down. Nick’s aftershave was almost overbearing, but so intoxicating that I wouldn’t have minded being suffocated by it. He was wearing denims and a Metallica T- shirt. A red hoodie hung across the back of his chair.
‘Four to a team, four to a team, twenty euro per table,’ shouted Joe from the stage. ‘Mary, will you see if you can get this to work?’ he said as he fumbled with the faulty microphone. Mary hurried up the wooden steps on to the stage. Joe stood beside a long table in the middle of the stage, where a chubby man was seated.
‘I didn’t think this would be your kind of scene, Nick,’ said Colin. ‘I was expecting to have to drag you here.’
‘Did you not know I was on our primary school quiz team?’ he joked, acting insulted.
‘Oh yeah, I forgot about that! But we’ll hardly win without a full team…’
‘I’ll text Chris and see what’s keeping him.’
‘When is David back?’ asked Colin, leaning back on his chair.
‘Tomorrow. I’ve told you, like, eight times,’ said Nick, without looking up from his phone. ‘Don’t worry, he got your comics or whatever it was you were looking for.’
‘Aw, savage. Did he get all the ones on the list? And did he get that DVD I asked for?’
‘I don’t know. I was only talking to him online for a few minutes.’
‘He’s so lucky. I’d literally kill to go to Japan.’ Colin picked up his phone and started texting.
‘Who’s David?’ I asked, wanting to get in on the conversation.
‘Our mate,’ said Colin. ‘His dad has businesses all over the place and is always going away. He had to go to some conference in Japan and David got to go with him. His dad is a bit of an asshole; David’s sound though. And his sister Carla is all right sometimes.’
‘He’s not an asshole,’ said Nick, dropping his phone down on the table. ‘Peter Mulvey is one of my dad’s best friends.’
‘Whatever,’ said Colin, turning to me and rolling his eyes.
‘Twenty euro, please,’ said the woman who had just arrived at our table.
Nick’s phone buzzed. He read the message and sighed. ‘Chris can’t come – he’s stuck in work. Looks like it’s just the three of us, so that’s going to be…’ Nick attempted the mathematics in his head.
‘Six sixty-seven each!’ I said. I loved maths. Maths and music were my two favourite subjects.
‘Eh… yeah,’ he muttered. We handed the woman our money.
‘David lives up near Nick,’ said Colin. ‘You’ll get to meet him when he gets back.’
‘Testing, testing,’ Joe’s voice echoed through the hall’s speakers. ‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the G. A. A. club’s annual table quiz. As usual there will be ten rounds and prizes will be given for the teams who come first, second and third. Alec McNamara, your local accountant -’ Joe pointed to the man seated next to him – ‘will be keeping the scores tonight.’ Alec gave a nod to the crowd. A black calculator and a row of sharply pointed pencils were positioned neatly on the desk in front of him.
‘Please write your table number clearly on the top of each answer sheet, and hand them to the lovely Mary Reynolds at the end of each round.’ Mary gave a little wave to the crowd. ‘The best of luck to everyone,’ said Joe. ‘We’ll be starting shortly.’
Nick shuffled about in his seat, and for a split second his leg touched mine. It’s amazing how electrifying a touch can be when it comes from someone you really like.
Nick saw that Colin was holding a pen and had resumed his doodling, so he placed the bundle of paper in front of him.
‘You can write the answers,’ he said. ‘We’re table four.’
I watched as Colin began to print the number four clearly at the top of each sheet.
‘Right, round one,’ Joe’s voice hushed the crowd. We huddled together like a guerrilla group preparing to go into battle, each of us displaying that fiercely competitive streak that surfaces in even the most placid of people during the marvel that is the table quiz.
‘Question one.’
We leaned in closer together.
‘Who is the Roman goddess of love?’
During these huddles my head was dangerously close to Nick’s. I noticed how long his eyelashes were.
‘A haematologist specializes in the study of what?’
And how a freckle touched the centre of his top lip.
‘If you have myopia, what would you suffer from?’
And how there was hard skin on his fingertips from playing guitar.
