Class A (26 page)

‘A bit,’ James said. ‘But I’ve only worn most of them once. They don’t smell that bad.’ He put one of them under Kerry’s nose. ‘See.’

‘For
 
god’s
 
sake,’ Kerry said angrily, pushing James’ arm away. ‘They’re appalling.’

James gave them a sniff.

‘
Phew
,’ he gasped. ‘Those ones are a bit ripe. I think they’re what I wore to boxing club last night. But most of these are OK.’

Kerry shook her head. ‘You’re an animal, James.’

She slid off the bed and walked across the hallway to her own room. James’ mobile rang.

‘Hey, April,’ James said. ‘Where are you?’

‘I’m at the airport with Erin and my mum,’ April said. ‘We’re sitting here waiting to board the plane and I thought I’d say hi.’

‘I only saw you a few hours ago,’ James said.

‘Don’t you want to talk to me?’ April said, with a hint of acid in her voice.

‘Of course I want to talk to you,’ James lied. ‘It’s just … I’m really busy, packing and stuff.’

‘I’m wearing your Nike watch,’ April giggled. ‘So I can think about you whenever I look at the time.’

‘Don’t forget to give that back,’ James said. ‘It’s my only good one.’

‘Blow me a kiss,’ April said.

James shook his head before doing a couple of quick smooches into his phone.

‘I think Zara’s calling me downstairs, April. I’ve got to hang up. Have a wonderful trip, bye.’

‘James. I—’

‘
Gotta
go, April, sorry.’

James ended the call and tutted. Kerry had walked back in behind him. She was holding four pairs of clean sports socks.

‘Girl trouble?’ she inquired.

‘Don’t ask,’ James said.

‘Borrow these,’ Kerry said. ‘My feet aren’t much smaller than yours. Just make sure you wash them before you give them back.’

‘Cheers,’ James said, tucking the socks into his hold-all. ‘You know, April’s driving me round the bend.’

‘Why?’ Kerry asked. ‘She seems like a really nice girl.’

‘She is,’ James said. ‘But she’s too intense. She phones me
 
all
the
time. She follows me everywhere at school and starts putting her arm around me. If I’m talking to someone else, she pulls me away and whispers stuff in my ear.’

‘She’s got a crush on you,’ Kerry said. ‘You should be flattered.’

‘It’s more than a crush,’ James said. ‘I bet she’s already picked out the wedding dress, and now she’s working out the names of our kids.’

‘Typical man,’ Kerry said indignantly. ‘You like having a girl draped off your arm, but only so you can snog her and impress your stupid mates.’

‘Give over,’ James said. ‘It’s just, April is a lot keener on me than I am on her. It’s not my fault girls can’t resist me.’

‘In your dreams,’ Kerry grinned. ‘I suppose you’ll dump April and leave her in a state, like you did with Nicole.’

‘Nicole?’ James said, looking mystified. ‘I only kissed her once, for about two seconds.’

‘Nicole asked if you liked her,’ Kerry said. ‘So you
snogged
her, then you dumped her.’

‘I just didn’t snog her again,’ James said. ‘I don’t know why you’re turning it into some big deal.’

‘But you didn’t have the decency to face her. You just skulked around the house avoiding her for the next couple of days. Nicole was really upset.’

‘Well …’ James said. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings.’

‘Yeah, right.’

‘Look, Kerry, I don’t deliberately treat girls like that. To tell the truth, there’s someone else I really like.’

‘You mean Amy?’ Kerry said. ‘You can practically see the drool run out your mouth every time she comes near you, but get over it, she’s seventeen years old.’

‘That shows how much you know,’ James said tersely. ‘Every boy on campus fancies Amy, but it’s not her I’m talking about.’

‘Who is it then?’

‘None of your business.’

‘Huh,’ Kerry sneered. ‘You’re making it up so I don’t think you’re a pig.’

‘No,’ James said.

‘Do I know her?’ Kerry asked.

‘Yes.’

‘It’s not Gabrielle, is it?’

James laughed. ‘No.’

‘You’re such a
plonker
,’ Kerry said. ‘I don’t know why I’m even bothering to talk to you.’

James loved the way she reared up on the balls of her feet whenever she got ratty.

‘You really want to know who I like?’ James said.

‘I don’t care,’ Kerry said, folding her arms.

‘Fine, I won’t tell you then.’

But James had piqued Kerry’s curiosity and she quickly changed her tack. ‘Oh … go on then.’

James toyed with the idea of making someone up, or saying something stupid, but he realised he was never going to have a better opportunity to tell Kerry how he really felt. He couldn’t carry on bottling it for the rest of his life. He took a deep breath.

‘I …’

His mouth dried up. He felt like his head was about to explode.

Kerry shook her head. ‘I knew you were lying.’

‘No, I like
 
you
,’ James blurted.

He stared at Kerry for what felt like a trillion years, studying her face for some kind of reaction.

‘Are you winding me up?’ Kerry asked, suspiciously.

‘Ever since basic training,’ James rambled. ‘Even when we were covered in mud doing combat practice and you were battering me, there was something about you that I really liked. I mean … We’re always really good together, because you’re kind of stuffy and do everything by the book and I’m kind of … Well … I suppose you could say I’m an idiot at times.’

‘You really like me?’ Kerry grinned.

James felt like he wanted to die. ‘Yes.’

‘So you’re serious?’ Kerry asked. ‘Because if you’re messing with me, I’ll punch every single tooth out of your dumb head.’

‘I swear,’ James said. ‘So, you know … Am I wasting my time? … Or?’

Kerry smiled a bit. ‘Everyone we know has been going on about us having a thing for each other. I never thought you really liked me though. You’re always going on about tits and I’ve hardly got any.’

‘Yeah, well,’ James said. ‘I’m not perfect either. But you do like me?’

Kerry nodded. ‘When you’re not driving me insane, you’re just about my favourite boy on campus.’

James leaned forward to kiss her, but the hold-all was stuck in the middle of the tiny room and they had to shuffle around it. It was a only quick peck on the lips, but James got a massive rush.

‘I wish you were coming to Miami with me,’ he said.

‘It’s only a week,’ Kerry smiled. ‘And there’s one condition if I’m gonna be your girlfriend.’

‘What?’ James asked.

‘From now on, your underwear only gets worn once.’

27. MIAMI

James and Junior touched down in Miami on Saturday evening. Keith had changed his plans and flown out a couple of days earlier with his minder, George. The beefy ex-heavyweight met the boys at immigration and drove them to Keith’s house in a Range Rover.

James spent the whole drive with his face stuck up against the window like a five-year-old. He loved the little differences that make you know you’re in a different country: traffic lights strung over the road on wires, billboards with prices marked in dollars, the huge double-trailer trucks that looked like they’d roll over your car without the man in the cab feeling so much as a jolt.

Automatic gates parted obediently when the car got near Keith’s house. The pastel-blue building sprawled out behind a mass of palm trees. There were two storeys, with balconies overlooking the ocean and lush terraces planted with palm trees and flowering cacti.

‘Your dad is
 
so
 
loaded,’ James said as he stepped out of the car, shaking his head in disbelief.

‘Come and check out his cars,’ Junior said.

There was a separate garage, the size of which reminded James of a fire station. The boys wandered in as George dealt with their bags. There was a row of everyday modern BMWs and Mercedes, but the exciting stuff was parked behind: the outlines of seven Porsches, clad in protective blankets. Junior pulled up a corner of one, revealing a headlamp.

‘This ran in the Le Mans twenty-four-hour race,’ Junior said. ‘My dad had it taken up to Daytona for a track day. He got it up to three hundred kph on the straight.’

‘Class,’ James said.

‘Like my motors, James?’ Keith asked.

James turned around to see Keith standing in the doorway, wearing pool shoes and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt.

‘You’ve got a different Porsche for every day of the week,’ James grinned.

‘I’ll take you for a cruise down South Beach in one of them tomorrow night,’ Keith said. ‘It’s all lit up with neon signs after dark and there’s heaps of great restaurants. Did you see anything else you wanted to do in that guidebook?’

‘Is it too far to go up to
Orlando
?’ James asked. ‘Junior said Universal Studios is cool.’

‘It’s a few hundred kilometres,’ Keith said. ‘But it’s no hassle driving out there. We can stay overnight and get a couple of theme parks in if you want. I’ve got some business to sort out, but that should be wrapped up in a day or two. Was there anywhere else?’

James shrugged. ‘I dunno, don’t put yourself out or anything. Me and Junior can hang out on the beach, go shopping and stuff.’

‘The fan boats over the everglades are good fun,’ Keith said. ‘And how are you set for spending money?’ He pulled a roll of dollars from the back of his shorts.

‘I can’t take money off you as well,’ James said. ‘You’ve already paid for my flight and everything.’

Keith handed James three hundred-dollar bills and gave the same to Junior.

‘Buy something for April at the mall,’ Keith said. ‘She’s sweet on you.’

‘Cheers,’ James said. ‘Is it all right if I use the phone to tell Zara I’ve arrived?’

‘Sure,’ Keith said, spreading his arms out wide. ‘With a house this size, the phone bill is the least of my worries.’

After a quick call home, the two boys stripped to their boxers, jumped off the wooden decking at back of the house and sprinted across the deserted white beach towards the ocean. James was feeling grotty after eight hours crammed on an aeroplane, but all that washed away as he curled his toes in the mushy sand and let the sea water spew over his chest.

‘I’m so glad you came instead of
Ringo
,’ Junior said, raising his voice above the waves. ‘This week is gonna be such a laugh.’

*

James slept in one of the guest bedrooms. He had a four-poster bed, plus an en-suite bathroom with a giant marble tub. When he woke up, he slid on shorts and a T-shirt and opened up a set of glass doors that led on to a balcony overlooking the ocean. He took some of
lungfuls
of sea air and leaned against the metal railing, letting the sun toast his skin.

The coastline was dotted with yachts and motor launches out for a Sunday morning cruise. An elderly Hispanic gardener was hosing the terraces below. The man nodded politely when their eyes met. It made James wonder where he’d end up in life. Would he have the $10 million ocean-front house, or would he be like the crinkled old guy who watered the flowers?

‘
Yo
,’ Junior shouted.

He came strolling through James’ bedroom and stepped on to the balcony.

‘What you doing out here?’ Junior asked.

James shrugged. ‘Just thinking.’

‘Dumb idea,’ Junior said. ‘Thinking wears out your brain. My dad wants us downstairs. We’re going to IHOP for breakfast.’

‘You what?’

‘It’s a pancake place,’ Junior explained. ‘I’m getting a stack of strawberry whipped cream pancakes. They give you so many you can barely move when you finish. Dad and George are going into town for some business meeting, so they’re dropping us at the mega-mall. It’s about twenty times the size of the Reeve Centre. We can spill some
dosh
on shopping, then there’s a sixteen-screen cinema and a rollercoaster if we get bored.’

‘Sounds good,’ James grinned.

*

James bought himself new jeans and swimming shorts and a couple of CDs, including one as a present for Kerry; then they caught a movie and waited around until George arrived to collect them. It was mid-afternoon when they got back to the house.

‘How was the meeting?’ James asked.

‘Good,’ Keith grinned. ‘Very, very good.’

‘Does that mean I’ll be able to go back to making money from deliveries?’

‘I don’t know about that,’ Keith said awkwardly. ‘Everything is gonna be different. Do you fancy going for a swim now the sun’s lower?’

‘Actually,’ James said, ‘do you mind if I use your laptop to e-mail my family?’