‘I don’t really know. My Grandmother told Miss Hogg it was a severe allergic reaction, but she’d said nothing to me about that so I don’t believe her. A lot of weird stuff happened to me.’
‘Like what?’
‘Urgh, it’s so hard to explain.’
‘Try me,’ she urged.
‘Well the last thing I remember was Daniel walking me along the path towards my Grandmother’s house, then pretty much everything went black.’
‘So, you can’t remember anything from after that?’
‘Well, I had a few weird dreams. Like I was on this snowy mountain which was next to a forest so I must have been in some state of light sleep to have been dreaming things like that.’
‘Ooh, check you out remembering your dreams!’ she teased.
As Natalie finished her lunch, I gazed towards the door. I sort of hoped that Ben would come back. Or even that Daniel would walk in. So much for trying to keep away from these guys and just focus on myself! I just felt so drawn to them.
‘Right, Misses, we best head back to college, we’ve a lot to squeeze in this afternoon,’ said Natalie.
I looked at the clock and realised an hour had passed. How time flies when you are enjoying yourself and with Natalie I really felt like I had made a good new friend. I stood up and approached Jenny, as she had offered me a free lunch on the house I thought it would be best I gave her a couple pound coins as a tip to show how grateful was and how much I enjoyed my lunch. I still longed to see Ben again and if I would bump into him anymore today.
Chapter 10.
T he afternoon flew by. It had been a lovely but intense day trying to catch up on what I’d missed but I was so glad that I was not doing it all by myself. I had Natalie to support me and I also supported her. We’d both been through so much, lately.
When Gran pulled up in her car, I had a big smile on my face and I skipped with joy to the passenger side.
‘Wow, Grace, you look so happy!’ Gran beamed.
‘I’ve had a really great day. I got so much done and made a new friend as well.’
‘How great! Who’s the new friend?’
‘Her name is Natalie. She’s taking part in these extra tutorial hours with me as she’s been off as well.’
‘That’s wonderful to hear that you’ve got company. I hope the poor girl is ok, though, if she’s had to take some time off from her studies.’
‘Oh yes, she is recovering,’ I said. ‘A tree branch fell on her and badly scratched her face.’ I said nothing about the wolf as I didn’t want to alarm her. ‘She’d been too worried about leaving the house like that. I thought she was very brave to have come today. We went out for lunch together as well. She has family who own a lovely little teashop. You know, the one that is up that alleyway,’ I gestured towards it.
‘Oh yes. I know exactly the one you’re on about. Your Grandad and myself have had some lovely sausage rolls and a coffee or two there a few times. They are a lovely family who run that place.’
‘Yes, it was Natalie’s cousin Jenny serving and she wouldn’t let me pay for my lunch.’
I was thinking about how delicious my lunch was. And, with all the dancing I had done that afternoon, I’d worked up a good appetite to go out for tea. I then became preoccupied with thinking about this date. What to wear? Where was it? I figured that if I wore a nice dress it would suit the occasion and then, hopefully, the place. But what about my hair and makeup! Argh! I never knew going out for dinner would be so complicated! I was keen to get back to Grandma’s and rummage through the clothes I had there. It occurred to me that I could cut out all this stress by just not going. I hadn’t officially said yes to the invitation. And if I did, would Daniel – so possessive, so controlling, according to Natalie – take no for an answer? I began to wish that it was Ben who I was seeing tonight instead. Especially after that kiss... With his soft, warm lips… I so wanted it to happen again, just to feel those lips of his on mine once more.
‘Why’ve you got such a big smile on your face? And you’re blushing!’ Grandma’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She gave me a grin and a wink when I looked at her and I blushed deeper. I felt a motherly warmth from her, one that had really grown in my recent time with her. In the past, she’d asked me about boys but as I didn’t really have any friends and no boyfriend to speak of, I’d just dismissed her questions.
I wasn’t ready to talk to her about the two guys I was interested in, or about the date just yet. So, instead, I told her about how great the dancing had been and how amazing Natalie was, that I was happy to have made such a great, new friend. I then found myself saying that I was going to meet up with Natalie that night to grab something to eat and hang out. I justified this fib by telling myself that she might be worried if I told her that it was really Daniel I was seeing. I just wasn’t comfortable talking to her about boys... Especially as I was so confused about the whole thing! I certainly couldn’t tell her that I wondered if Daniel – the boy I was going on a date with in such a short amount of time – might have turned
