Cathy Hopkins - [Mates, Dates 01] (7 page)

1
My hair.

2
My bedroom.

3
My clothes.

4
My life.

Mum came in the back
door laden with carrier bags of groceries.

‘What’re you doing?’
she asked.

‘Changing,’ I said,
then read her my Angel Card.

‘But you’re lovely the
way you are,’ she said and hugged me. ‘My lovely sweet Lucy.’

Arggggghhhh.
That
word again.

‘I don’t want to be
sweet any more.’

‘Well what do you want
to be?’

‘I don’t knOWWWW’

Mum sat down and
looked at me with concern. ‘Are you happy, Lucy? That’s the main thing.’

‘Yes. No. Sort of.
Sometimes.’

Mum laughed then saw
my paper with the list.

‘Things I want to
change,’ I said.

‘Oh but not your hair,
your lovely hair!’ She read down the list. ‘Tell you what, though. You can
decorate your bedroom if you like. It’s needed doing for a while now.’

‘Really? Can I?’

‘Pick some paint
colours and the boys can give you a hand painting. Then we’ll look in the
Curtain Exchange for curtains. They won’t be new but they have a great
selection there and we’re bound to find something you like. Or we could go to
the market and get some fabric and make them ourselves.’

Fantastic. It’s a
start.

Then I looked at the
patchwork of colours on the wall opposite me. ‘But, Mum, what about the
kitchen? You’ve been wanting to do that for ages.’

‘Oh, that can wait,’
she said. ‘I’ve got used to it in a funny sort of way. No. It’s decided. Lucy
gets a new bedroom.’

I couldn’t wait to get
started. Til call Izzie and she can help me choose colours,‘ I said. If you
can’t find the circumstances you want, make them. I like that.’

I ran into the hallway
to phone Iz.

‘Don’t try to change
everything in one go!’ called Mum. ‘Remember, he who would climb the ladder
must begin at the bottom.’

I stuck my head back
round the door. ‘I know. And Rome wasn’t built in a day. See, Mum, you’re not
the only one round here who knows quotes. By the way, where did all that Oxfam
stuff go?’

‘Back in the cupboard
under the stairs. Why? What are you up to?’

‘This is the new me.
I’m going to make myself some new gear. Just you wait. That halter neck top was
just the beginning.’

Mum laughed as I ran
off to the phone.

C h a p t e r
 
7

Liar,
Liar,
 
Pants On Fire

Contents
-
Prev
/
Next

‘Let’s go over to
Nesta’s this afternoon,’ said Izzie. ‘Her mum has loads of fab interior design
magazines. I saw them in their living-room. We can browse through… Lucy, Lucy?
Are you there?’

‘Yes, yes, I’m here,’
I said. ‘Sorry. I dropped the phone.’ Ohmigod. Nesta’s. I know I’ve got to go
some time, now that we seem to be officially a threesome. But Nesta’s? What if
Tony’s there? Part of me is dying to see him again. Part of me is dreading it.
What if Nesta and Izzie suss me out? I’m bound to go pink if he’s there and I
never was much good at hiding anything from Iz. But then again, he might not be
there. Either way, I can find out a bit more about him. Oh decisions,
decisions, decisions.

‘Izzie?’ I said
seriously.

‘Yes, Lucy?’ she said
seriously then laughed.

‘Do you fancy Tony?’

‘God no. Not my type
at all. Too pretty pretty boy. And he’s a bit too sure of himself, you know
what I mean?’

‘Yeah,’ I sighed with
relief.

‘Why, do you fancy
him?’ she asked.

‘Course not,’ I lied.
‘Too pretty pretty boy.’

Liar, liar, pants on
fire, said a voice in my head.

‘So, shall we go over
to Nesta’s?’ Izzie asked again.

‘OK,’ I said. ‘I’ll
come to your house later and we can go together.’ Eek. Er. The new brave me. If
I plaster on a load of foundation, perhaps no one’ll notice if I blush.

Nesta’s flat is
amazing. She lives on the ground floor of a detached Victorian property near
Highgate. One of those places you hear estate agents describe as having
character and original features. Lovely old cornicing in the hallway and
stained-glass windows.

‘Are you OK, Lucy?’
Nesta asked, taking our coats. ‘You’re looking a bit pale.’

‘Oh, I’m fine,’ I
said, immediately reddening under my matt factor 16.‘I like your flat.’

‘Wait until you see
the rest of it,’ Nesta said proudly. ‘I’ll give you the tour. You’ve already
seen it, Izzie, so make yourself at home.’

She led us into a
large room with French windows at the back. It looked warm and welcoming with
deep red walls and curtains and plush brown velvet sofas. The overall look was
a mix of Eastern and old, stylish and comfortable.

Izzie helped herself
to a pile of magazines by the fireplace and flopped down on a sofa while Nesta
led me into a country style kitchen-diner at the side.

‘It’s huge in here,’ I
said, staring around. ‘You don’t often find flats this big.’

‘I know,’ said Nesta.
‘Dad likes the big old rooms with high ceilings and the houses like that were
out of his price range. He says we were lucky to find a flat like this with three
bedrooms.’

She led me out of the
kitchen, down the corridor and opened a door. ‘Mum and Dad’s room.’

I peeked in. ‘Are they
here?’

‘No,’ said Nesta.
‘Dad’s in America and Mum’s on late shift.’

‘Nice,’ I said as I
looked at their bedroom. A big square room done in honey golds with soft muslin
at a bay window overlooking the garden.

Back out in the
corridor hung black and white photographs of bleak landscapes - mountains and
sea against dramatic skies, each one beautifully framed.

‘Who took these?’ I asked.
‘They’re great.’

‘Dad. It’s one of his
hobbies,’ said Nesta, opening the next door. ‘Tony’s room.’

I trooped in after her
feeling like I was spying. The room was done in greys and blues and he was very
tidy for a boy. His books and papers were neatly stacked on his computer desk.
Steve and Lai’s rooms always look like a bomb has hit them. Then I saw the
posters on his wall. Jennifer Lopez. The Corrs. Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

‘Tony likes girls,’
laughed Nesta when she saw me staring.

‘Did your mum decorate?’
I asked.

Nesta nodded. ‘She did
an interior design course before she was a newsreader. Says it’s always good to
have something to fall back on. She reckons you have a limited time working as
a presenter in telly. They keep hiring younger and younger presenters and she
says oldies like her can get thrown on the scrap heap at any time.’

‘You’re so lucky to
live somewhere like this,’ I said. I was really impressed. ‘She’s got a great
eye for colour, your mum.

‘You’ve got a good eye
as well, Lucy,’ said Nesta. ‘You always dress in colours that suit you and that
halter neck you made was fabulous.’

I felt really chuffed.
That was the nicest thing Nesta had ever said to me. I suddenly warmed to her
and decided it would be all right to ask the question I’d been dying to ask
ever since I met Tony. Where is his mum?

Just as I plucked up
the courage, we heard the front door open. My heart began to race. Oh, please
don’t let it be him. Please don’t let it be him and he find me standing in his
bedroom.

We heard footsteps
coming down the corridor and a moment later, Tony appeared. He looked startled
to see us.

‘Just giving Lucy the
tour,’ said Nesta.

Tony grinned. ‘Only
too happy to come home to find a pretty girl in my bedroom. Hi, Lucy.’

He remembered my name.
Oh, God. And he gets better-looking every time I see him.

‘Hi.’ I could feel
myself going puce and prayed my make-up was doing its job.

‘So how’s the search
for the mystery man going?’ he asked. ‘The one with the, er… hair.’

‘Er… I haven’t seen
him again…’ I muttered.

‘He’ll turn up,’ said
Nesta. ‘But we need a plan. To get Lucy noticed. You like girls, Tone. What do
you look for? What do you find attractive?’

Tony looked deep into
my eyes as he thought about his answer. ‘First I like girls who are funny. Who
can make me laugh. And girls who know who they are,’ he said finally, ‘you
know, who know what they want and where they’re going. Confidence, I suppose.
It’s a real turn-on.’

Girls who know who
they are. Confidence. That’s the last thing I needed to hear. I glanced over at
Nesta, hoping she’d shut up or change the subject or something, and I could
swear she was laughing. I bet she’s guessed that it’s Tony I like and she’s
told him. He’s probably having a laugh as well.

Izzie came in to join
us and the three of them spent ages blabbing on about how to get noticed by
boys. I felt like I’d frozen inside.

Suddenly I wanted to
go home. To our mismatched walls and my baby pink bedroom. And my mum.

Tips for getting noticed by the opposite sex

Nesta’s

·
       
Be
blindingly beautiful. There’s no such thing as a plain girl only one who can’t
be bothered. Lippie, good sunglasses and anyone can be a Babe.

·
       
Wear
heels to make your legs look longer.

·
       
Get a
Wonderbra.

·
       
Always
have clean shiny hair.

·
       
Stand
up straight. Don’t slouch. It’s the first thing they teach at model school.
Good posture makes you look more confident and makes your body look slimmer.

Izzie’s

·
       
Relax.
Boys hate clingy or desperate.

·
       
Make
eye contact, then smile.

·
       
Find
out his interests then ask him about them.

·
       
Laugh
at his jokes.

·
       
Don’t
be too available. Play hard to get for a while as boys like a challenge.

Tony’s

·
       
Be
confident. Don’t whinge on about what you don’t like about yourself.

·
       
Look fit.
Boys respond when they like what they see.

·
       
Flirt
outrageously then go home, it will leave him wanting more.

·
       
Don’t
smoke. It makes your breath stink as well as your clothes and hair.

Lucy’s

·
       
Pray
for a miracle.

·
       
Grow
another six inches.

Giving
Nesta Second Chance

Contents
-
Prev
/
Next

‘I’m sure she wouldn’t
do anything like that,’ said Mum after I’d blurted out all my worst fears about
Tony when I got home later that day. ‘Nesta seems like a really nice girl.’

Mums are a peculiar
species. Sympathetic when you don’t expect it and unsupportive when you do.

‘She was laughing at
me, Mum, I swear she was. And she kept asking him what he liked about girls.
Then Izzie joined in. And they were all going on about how to get a boy. It was
so embarrassing.’

‘So you really like
this Tony, do you?’

I nodded, turning my
usual bright purple.

‘How old is he?’

‘Seventeen,’ I said.

‘Well, if he’s got any
sense at all, he’ll like you too.’

‘Yeah but it’s like,
I’m Nesta’s friend. His kid sister’s friend. How am I ever going to get him to
take me seriously?’

Suddenly I felt
awkward talking about it all to Mum. I should be discussing this with Izzie.
But that was out of the question.