Chapter 4

“Do I detect a hint of strife?” Mike asked, “a taste of trouble in Paradise?”

“Possibly,” I replied, “Cal’s acting strange.”

“Again,” Keith added.

“What?” I queried.

“You missed the again,” he replied, as Mike raised a palm to warn him not to carry on.

“Want to talk about it?” Mike asked.

“Not really,” I said, “I just wish it hadn’t happened.”

“I take it that your beloved has done something stupid?” Mike said.

“Well, it looks that way,” I said, “I was due to spend the weekend over in Manchester. Got the hotel room. Took her out to dinner last night, then she asked me to take her to the school disco. I got tied up with signing autographs on the way in, by the time I got free, she was dancing with a group of girls. When I went over to dance with her, I was told, in no uncertain terms, by one of the girls to go elsewhere and get myself a drink, turns out this is some sort of clique in the school that you have to do something horrendous to get in to. When I’d had enough of being ignored, I went over and told Cal I wanted to talk to her, she just told me we’d talk at the hotel and carried on dancing. I went back to the hotel. When she hadn’t got back by half an hour after the disco finished, I just packed and came home.”

“I don’t blame you mate,” Keith said, “she treated you like shit.”

“Then when I got home, Mum, Dad and Mary were in the kitchen, waiting. Mum tried blaming me, so, when I got up this morning, I came out.”

“What?” Keith exclaimed, “you told them you were gay.”

“No, I left the house and came down the town,” I replied.

“Pity, I always wanted a gay friend,” he replied.

Mandy brought my coffee over and hovered.

“Yeah, Mandy?” Keith asked.

“Two pounds please,” she said, holding her hand out.

I fished in my pocket and realised I hadn’t picked my wallet up.

“Er, sorry guys,” I said, “I left my wallet at home.”

Keith put his hand in his pocket and fished out two pounds.

“Here you go Mandy,” he said, “keep the change.”

“Thanks, Keith, I’ll pay you back,” I said.

“No need, you can buy me one another time,” he replied.

“So,” what are you going to do?” Mike asked.

“I’m going to have to go back home if only to get my wallet,” I said.

“I meant about you know who?” he added.

“Right now, I have no idea,” I replied, “all I can do is play it by ear. I spoke to a girl there last night, and she told me about these girls.”

“And that’s all you have to go on?” Keith asked, “one girl telling you something?”

“That and the way Cal was behaving last night,” I said, “there was something else as well, but I can’t talk about that here.”

When we’d finished our coffees, we left the café and headed to our standard talking place, the Valley Gardens.

During the walk, we compared notes on life in the sixth form, just general gossip. Keith told us about some of the icons of pulchritude that his new life contained, not sparing us the more lurid aspects of his descriptions of some girls’ bounteous assets.

Mike and I just stuck to the facts, like I was finding calculus difficult.

“Don’t knock yourself,” he suggested, “it’s well known that I found arithmetic difficult.”

Once we arrived at our destination, we discovered the shelter there was occupied by a group of younger kids, aged around eleven or twelve. They didn’t stay long once we arrived, and the three of us sat down on the bench that lined three sides of the building.

“So,” Mike began once we’d settled in, “what’s this great mystery?”

“Last night, while we were having dinner, Cal brought up the subject of introducing, well a third person into our relationship,” I explained.

“Male or female?” Keith asked, his interest suddenly piqued.

“I don’t think that really matters,” Mike answered him, “apart from the fact that I don’t see David being the type to go for another man involved.”

“No,” I agreed, “but, for the record, it was a girl. One of her friends from school.”

“Wow, Keith said, “two girls, I’m jealous.”

“You’d be jealous of a guy with one girl,” Mike told him, “what do you think brought that on, David?”

“There could be a number of reasons,” I replied, “first, perhaps I’m not enough for her any more.”

“Okay,” Mike said, “I don’t see that, but it’s possible.”

“Secondly,” I went on, “she wants to try experimenting with another girl, but wants to involve me, so that I won’t think of it as cheating.”

“Again, possible, and probably more likely than the first reason,” Mike said.

“Or thirdly,” I added, “it’s part of some weird initiation for this strange ‘Sisterhood’, the other girl told me about.”

“Again, could be,” he agreed, “any more?”

“No, that’s all I could come up with,” I said.

“And which do you think it is?” he asked.

“I’d prefer it to be option three,” I said, “since that’s the easiest to combat. But really, I have no idea, or even if one of them is right.”

“What’s your gut feeling?” he asked.

“One thing I’ve learned is not to go with gut feelings or first reactions,” I said, “I need to take some time to think about it.”

“And she hasn’t rung you?” Keith asked.

“No, she hasn’t,” I replied, then stopped, “Oh, shit, my phone is still switched off.”

I pulled it out of my pocket and switched it on, after the minute or so it took to start up it informed me that I had a hundred and forty-two texts and twenty-three voicemail messages.

I sighed, deeply.

“Problem?” Mike asked.

I showed him the home screen of my phone.

“I hope they’re all from admiring Greg Paradise fans,” he said.

“Somehow I doubt it,” I answered, “I need my wallet.”

My phone started to ring as I said that, and according to the caller ID, it was my sister. Well, at least it wasn’t Cal or my mother.

“Hi Pip,” I answered, “what do you need?”

“I need you to tell me where you are,” she replied.

“What for?” I asked.

“Because, a certain piece of your property is in my hand and not in your pocket, and unless I know where you are, I can’t bring it to you.”

“My wallet?” I asked.

“The same,” she said, “I picked it up from your room about an hour ago, and I’ve been trying to ring you since.”

“Thanks, Pip, you’re my favourite sister,” I said, it was our favourite ‘in’ joke, given that she was my only sister.

“So, where are you?” she asked.

“You know where my friend Keith lives?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied, “the pub just outside the station, Evelyn’s in my class at school.”

“Oh, yes, I forgot that. Well, how about I see you there in about an hour?”

“I’ll be there,” she said, “if you’re not I’ll leave it with Eve.”

“Thanks, Sis,” I said, “love you.”

“I love you too, big bro, when are you going to be back?”

“Later,” I said, “after I’ve ploughed through my texts and voicemails.”

“How many?” she asked.

I told her.

“Most of them from one source I suspect,” she answered, “David, ring her, she’s upset, she doesn’t know what she’s done wrong.”

“I think she knows exactly what she’s done wrong, Pip,” I said, “even if she doesn’t want to admit it, even to herself.”

“Want to tell me?” she asked.

“Not just now,” I replied, “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, David, see ya.”

I hung up.

“Alison’s bringing my wallet, she’s taking it to your place, Keith, and leaving it with Eve, if I’m not there,” I told them.

“Oh good, lunch on David then,” Keith said.

“Once I get my wallet,” I said.

We set off back into town a few minutes later.

As we walked up Carlton Street, my phone rang again.

This time it was Cal.

“Hello,” I announced when I answered, making it deliberately sound like I didn’t recognise the caller ID.

“David, it’s me,” she said, “why did you leave last night?”

“I told you, I needed to talk to you, since you couldn’t or wouldn’t, I went back to the hotel. When it got to half an hour after the disco finished, I came home, I assumed that you weren’t interested in having me there.”

“What?” she almost screamed, “No. David, I did want you there.”

“Really?” I asked, “what for? To stand at the drinks table all night while you danced with the sisterhood and ignored me? Do you actually remember that disco in Munich?”

She was silent.

“And how come you didn’t get back to the hotel until an hour and a quarter after the disco finished. What were you doing during that time?”

“We went back to Mel’s room and talked,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, “well, I suppose that gives me an idea of my place in the hierarchy, second to some bitch with no manners. I take it that was the same Mel who called me a Bozo, and told me to go get a drink because you were dancing with them?”

“Yes,” she said, “David, please, can we talk?”

“Of course we can,” I replied, “you know where I am, just come on over.”

“Next weekend,” she said, “I promise, I’ll come over, we’ll talk.”

“No, Cal,” I replied, “this weekend, today. What’s wrong, do you have to go to their events this weekend, or they won’t let you join their little coven?”

“No, it’s not like that,” she said.

“No, Cal, it’s like this. Make a choice, me or them, me or Mel,” I said, “if you’re not home this afternoon, it’s over between us, finished.”

“No David,” she almost screamed, “please, it’s not like that, please, don’t. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Cal,” I said, harshly, “four o’clock this afternoon, if you’re not here, then it’s finished.”

“Wow,” Mike said, when I ended the call, “I’ve never heard you not just give in to her before. That was awesome.”