I put on a silver necklace and my leather jacket. My outfit was finally coming together.
‘Lookin’ good,’ said Colin.
The door swung open and almost hit him in the back. Oh no, here we go, I was going to be in major trouble. The caravan was in a state.
‘Hi, Mum, I was just about to clean this -’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said, struggling in with shopping bags. Colin grabbed them for her and found a clear space on the table.
‘We’re going to a party,’ he explained, motioning to the piles of clothes. ‘A girl has to look her best.’
Mum smiled. ‘Jacki, it’s fine. You go off to your party.’ She started to unpack groceries and I put on the rest of my make-up in the bathroom while Colin chatted to her about house renovations. He was one of those guys who parents loved because he was so chatty and polite. I could tell from her tone of voice that Mum seemed to be in a really good mood. I filed a mental note to bring Colin round more often.
As I stepped out of the bathroom I heard a car outside. ‘Who’s that?’ I asked, looking out the window.
‘It’s Des,’ said Mum.
‘It’s half nine. Why is Des here?’
‘We’re going to the Chinese in Carrick.’
‘What? Why?’
‘He asked me if I wanted to -’
‘Wait… is this
Colin stood awkwardly between the two of us, trapped in the tiny space.
‘Yes. It’s a date.’ She knew I wouldn’t explode with Colin there. I couldn’t believe it. She was actually going on a date with him. He was totally not right for her. This was ridiculous.
‘Here,’ she said, handing me twenty euro. ‘Don’t be back too late.’
‘
Mum smiled and despite my effort to pull away, she kissed me on the cheek. ‘Have a nice night,’ she said.
‘You too,’ said Colin as she left the caravan. He turned to me and shrugged. ‘She seems happy.’
I hated to admit that he was right. I felt disloyal to my dad, even though I knew it was unfair. ‘I wish we had some vodka,’ I said.
‘Whoa there,’ said Colin. ‘Don’t want you hallucinating again.’
‘I didn’t hallucinate,’ I said. ‘There was somebody in those trees.’
‘Maybe you saw a ghost!’ said Colin. ‘There’s rumours that those woods are haunted.’
I thought back to the bathroom at the cafe. ‘I didn’t see a ghost. She was… she… I don’t know. But I didn’t see a ghost. There’s no such thing.’ It sounded convincing when I said it aloud.
‘Is so,’ said Colin, whooshing me out of the caravan.
‘No, there’s not,’ I said, locking the door behind us. ‘When you die you are dead – that’s it. You rot into nothing and you are never coming back.’
‘Whatever you say,’ Colin replied. ‘Now, let’s get ready to party!’
Chapter 11
‘Right, guys, you can do whatever you like, just don’t move anything, don’t break anything and don’t get sick on anything,’ said David Mulvey as he dropped a bag of tortilla chips on to the mahogany coffee table. From the leather couch, I looked around the enormous sitting room. It resembled a small ballroom, with its dark red walls, smooth wooden floor and crystal chandelier suspended from the high ceiling. The decor was surely the work of an interior designer. It was wonderfully elaborate and everything matched perfectly. His house was probably the biggest in Avarna. On the walk down I’d learned from Colin that it had six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a Jacuzzi in the basement and a tennis court out the back. I carefully lifted my can of cider, terrified of spilling it. I now understood why David had been reluctant to have a party. There were so many things that could get broken.
Nick was slouched in an armchair. His head was resting against one of his hands and he was staring at the TV in a kind of trance. He looked hotter than ever in a white Undertones T-shirt. Colin sat cross-legged on the red rug on the floor, his fingers clasping a game controller and his eyes fixed on the plasma screen. His opponent, Simon, knelt beside him. He seemed to think that the way he manoeuvred his tongue affected his performance, as he stuck it out to the side every time his virtual car came to a bend.
Chris was sitting next to me on the sofa. He was wearing a big black hoodie and seemed to be engrossed in the game. His brother, Pete, sat on the other end of the couch. He was a good-looking guy, probably about sixteen, with a piercing on his left eyebrow. He’d been texting constantly since his arrival. Fitz sat in an armchair in the corner rolling a spliff. This wasn’t exactly the crazy house party they’d predicted. But I guess it was pretty early.
‘When is Emily getting here?’ I asked.
‘Soon… I think,’ said David. He sounded nervous.
‘Do us a favour and go for it this time, will you?’ said Colin.
David looked embarrassed. ‘Yes, I will… probably,’ he said.
‘Shouldn’t be too hard,’ said Simon. ‘Everyone knows she’s easy.’
‘Hey!’ I shouted, not wanting to let him get away with that remark.
‘OH YEAH!’ exclaimed Colin as his car sped over the finish line in front of Simon’s.
‘Carla, I thought you were going out,’ said David as his fourteen-year-old sister came into the room. She had jet-black hair and was wearing a black corset dress and lots of eye make-up.
‘Nah, I thought this would be way more interesting.’
‘You’re so annoying,’ said David through gritted teeth.
‘Oh, and I invited Amanda over,’ added Carla, with a mischievous grin.
‘You know I hate that girl!’ said David. ‘You totally just did that to piss me off.’
Carla shrugged and walked out of the sitting room. David scrunched up his fists and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.
‘This party needs some tunes,’ said Chris, getting out of his seat. He went over to the CD player next to me and began to check out David’s parents’ extensive music collection. Rory Gallagher was soon thundering out of the surround sound system. I loved Rory Gallagher; I had all his albums. I leaned over and scanned the rest of the collection. There was some U2, the Stones, the Cranberries. David’s parents had good taste.
‘Right, who wants to challenge the champion?’ asked Colin, dangling the spare controller above his head.
‘Go on then,’ said Fitz, handing his spliff to Chris. Nick hadn’t spoken one word in the last ten minutes. I watched him get up from his chair and walk out to the kitchen. The doorbell rang and David scurried to answer it.
Emily came into the sitting room, wearing a stunning short blue dress. She sat down on the couch next to me. David was wandering around looking nervous. For a moment it looked as if he was going to sit beside her, but then he turned round and hurried out the door. I wanted to talk to Nick, but the right time never seemed to arrive. I’d only sat on the couch to be in the same room as him.
‘I love your eye shadow, Emily,’ I said, trying to think about something else. It was dark blue and glittery, and matched her eyes. She looked very pretty.
‘Oh, thanks… I got it for my birthday.’
‘Do you want a drink?’ I asked her.
‘No, thanks, I don’t drink. I’ll have a few of those crisps though,’ she said, leaning over to get some from the bag on the table.
‘Where did David go?’ I asked.
‘Dunno, he was acting kind of weird,’ said Emily.
I smirked and nudged her. ‘That’s ’cause he’s really into you,’ I teased.
‘
‘Yeah, he is,’ Colin piped up. ‘Put him out of his misery, will you?’
I really liked that Colin could be so direct and friendly at the same time. And Emily seemed to be taking it well. I smiled to myself. I was beginning to feel comfortable with this group of new friends.
