Chapter 7: The New Girl at School

MONDAY

The first day back at school after his canal trip with Jayne, there was a new girl in Lewis’s form. She was introduced by the teacher as Ella and had moved from another school on the far side of the area. No reason was given for the move.

She was clearly nervous about meeting all the new students. Once she took her seat, nothing was heard from her for the rest of the day.

WEDNESDAY

A few days later Lewis came across her sitting in the playground at lunchtime. She was on her own and reading a book. As Lewis passed, she looked up and gave him a smile which he returned. ‘How are you settling in?’ he asked. ‘Ok,’ she said, ‘I always feel awkward with new people but I’m sure it will be ok after a while.’ ‘Do you mind if I sit with you for a while,’ Lewis asked. ‘Please do,’ she told him putting her book down.

‘Don’t let me stop you reading,’ Lewis said, ‘I won’t interrupt you.’ ‘No, it’s ok,’ she said, ‘I’d rather talk to you. I’m Ella,’ she told him. ‘I remember,’ Lewis said introducing himself. ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ he asked, adding, ‘I’ve got two younger brothers.’ ‘I’ve got a younger sister,’ Ella told him.

‘What made you change schools?’ he asked. Ella went quiet, she was obviously having difficulty finding an answer. ‘It’s ok,’ Lewis said, ‘Skip that, it’s just me being nosey. Tell me about your hobbies instead.’ She gave him a grateful smile then told him, ‘I like walking, I like watching sport but I’m not very good at actually doing it. Oh, and I enjoy cooking.’ ‘How about you?’ she asked.

‘I’m pretty much the same,’ Lewis told her. ‘I’m not much good at sports and I like walking. I can cook a bit too,’ he said. ‘But I like eating much better,’ he added with a grin. ‘Oh, and I like sailing longboats on the canal. I also like cycling and I have a Saturday job at the local video hire shop.’

‘I like fishing as well,’ he added as an afterthought. ‘I got that from my dad, we often go fishing together.’ ‘That’s nice,’ Ella said, ‘My dad died when I was nine. You’re lucky to still have him.’ Lewis gave her a sympathetic smile, ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he said, ‘It must have been very hard for you.’

Just then the bell went, the time had flown by. As they parted, Lewis said, ‘No doubt I’ll see you again somewhere.’ She smiled at him making his heart melt.

Later that day as he was going home from school his phone pinged. It was a text from Jayne who he had been on the canal with last week. It read...

‘Hi Lewis, I went to the theatre group last night. They were all lovely, made me feel so welcome. They are already rehearsing for their next performance. They asked me what I could do acting wise. I said I had no idea I’d never done any. I was asked to read a script out to them all. Then they asked if I could sing. I sang ‘We’ll meet again,’ to them without any music. Everybody clapped. I was then introduced to Andrew one of their pianists. He is going to give me some singing training. He’s very nice, he’s twenty and shy just like I was. It’s too soon to say yet if I will be part of the next production, but I’m so glad I came. That’s all down to you. Thank you so much. Jayne Xx

Lewis replied, Hi Jayne, ‘Your new life begins, I’m so pleased. Let me know how you get on. Lewis Xx

THURSDAY

He didn’t see Ella in the playground the next day although they did exchange smiles as they passed in the school corridor.

FRIDAY

The next day, Ella was sitting in the playground reading again. He wandered over and as he approached, she looked up and smiled at him. ‘Same book?’ he asked. ‘It is,’ she told him, ‘I’ve read it a few times.’ ‘It must be a good one then,’ he said as he sat down. ‘I do like it,’ she told him, ‘But mainly it keeps my mind occupied.’

‘You mean it stops you worrying about your problem?’ he asked. She looked at him, clearly shocked. ‘How did... ‘ she started to say then stopped and turned her head away. Then looking back at him, Lewis was deliberately not looking.

Still without looking at her he said, ‘I don’t know how it came about that I got it. But I seem to have this knack of solving other people’s problems. Because I’ve done it so often now, I’m starting to pick up when people have a problem even before they tell me.’

He turned to face her, gave her a smile then told her, ‘I’m not going to ask you about your actual problem here in public. But I will tell you something in general about people’s problems. But should anything that I say bother you, just tell me to shut up.’ He gave her a big grin. She couldn’t help but smile back at him.

‘There are a number of common trends in people’s problems,’ he continued. ‘To most people their problem is so unique, so personal, so embarrassing, that they feel completely unable to tell anyone about it. Unfortunately, unless they can overcome that, it removes any possibility of solving it.’

‘I have no idea what it is that is troubling you,’ he said, ‘But I can tell you three things about it. One is that it is most likely to involve sex in some form or other. Two is that regardless of what you think, your problem is far from being unique. It’s happened to others before you and will happen to others again. Three and probably the most important, you’re going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life unless you do something about it.’

The hardest part of solving any problem is first of all to admit to yourself that you do have a problem. I think you already know that for you have more or less admitted it to me too. That in itself is another step forward.

Taking little steps like that is an excellent way to solve anything. Providing of course, that you keep moving forward.

‘Do you know the shops at the top of the housing estate over there?’ he asked pointing in the general direction. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I’ve been to them a few times.’ ‘That’s where the video shop is where I work on a Saturday until five pm.’ he told her.

‘After we close, I often stay behind to talk to people who have problems. Ever since I solved a problem for my boss’s relation, he’s happy for me to use the room behind the shop after he’s gone home. People seem to find me easy to talk to. Just in case you would like to call up tomorrow at five, I’ll keep tomorrow free for you. But don’t feel it’s a commitment. Only come if you want to.’

‘If you do come,’ he continued, ‘Don’t worry if you get there and decide you can’t, I’d be more than happy just to walk you home. Whatever you decide,’ he said, ‘The offer will always be open to you.’

As he stood up, he looked at her and said, ‘Oh, by the way, one of the reasons people open up to me is that I never ever disclose anything anyone tells me, no matter what it is.’ He smiled at her and left.

Ella sat still for ages afterwards, not even reading her book. Could this be the answer? she wondered. She had liked Lewis from the start and the idea of walking home with him, a walk of about half an hour was quite appealing on its own. As the end of the lunch break bell stirred her, she still hadn’t decided.

SATURDAY MORNING

Lewis arrived at the shop shortly before Mike. As soon as he arrived, they went through to the back room and had their usual hug and kiss. Mike told him Valerie would be joining them for lunch as she had some news that she wanted to tell Lewis about herself.

Lewis was intrigued but Mike wouldn’t say anything, so he had to wait. He mentioned to Mike that a new girl from school might be calling that evening to talk over a problem if it was ok with him. ‘Of course,’ he said, ‘You know that.’

They had their usual busy morning, then at quarter to one Valerie arrived. She gave them both a wave, then when he finished serving, Mike went round the counter, gave her a hug and a kiss then sent her off to the chippy.

She was back sooner than expected, so she went through to the back room to make their lunchtime drinks. Closing up the shop, Mike and Lewis went through to join her. As soon as Lewis walked in, Valerie threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug and a long kiss on his lips. ‘Thank you again,’ she said.

They sat and ate, chatting generally. Lewis asked how their living together was going. ‘Well, we haven’t fallen out so far,’ Valerie said with a smile. ‘I’m having to do a bit of retraining, but he’s coming along nicely.’ Mike just grinned and looked at her adoringly.