Chapter 58

It was the weekend before the start of term and Andrew sat that night and did a quick review of his life against his goals and the overall plan.

Career – still the easiest one. He knew he was going to study Engineering, Physics or Computer Science. His career would follow from whatever you studied at university. Next year would start to bring it all into sharper focus as he thought about specific universities or courses.

School – other than Cousins being an arse in Geography, school was drama free. His marks were good, the teachers and his parents were happy. The latest module on the computer course looked like it would be finished by the end of the term. His plans for the summer would impact the potential completion of the next module.

Fitness – Andrew had achieved his goals and it was now about consistency. He exercised every day, ate pretty healthily, and ate a lot, and was feeling the benefit of it.

Money – Kyle at ComputerCom was very downbeat on future sales after the petrol companies. There were several large outfits starting to enter the market with more complete packages. They would make significant money off this last sale but the easy money days were over. Andrew would talk to Brian and Leslie on Sunday night about the expected future income and where he should invest it. He had made a good start but always needed to remember that the money was to make a difference not just let him live a life of luxury.

Karma – at that moment it was a tougher one. The Food Bank was a constant and he was being a good friend and trying to help others as much as possible. Small things like going out to the farm for a couple of days at New Year. He really didn’t think that Moira could fall under karma anymore. He was getting paid and getting laid. Wow, did that make him a gigolo? Don’t think about that one too closely Andrew. He would have to be cognisant to that. He was tutoring Moira and it was definitely hard work but he needed to do more somehow.

Balance – for almost the first time since he set up the goals, this one might be on track. Regular time away from studying with both the CCF and Julian, regular dates with Tanvi and Katie and regular sex with Moira. He knew that the CCF and Julian were semi-studying but it was as much about him hanging out with other people as opposed to sitting in his room studying on his own. That is what made Suzanne such a good friend, they studied together. He also had a couple of gigs lined up for later in the year, The Who and Bruce Springsteen.

When Andrew arrived at the Campbells on the Sunday night before school started he felt good about where he was with his plan. He gave Mary a big hug and held it for a second longer than usual. Dinner was ready and they sat down to eat immediately. Andrew waited for the family to start conversation. It was forced at first but then it flowed as usual. They had spent the previous day quietly. A few tears but less than before. The grief was still real but it was no longer ever-present and raw, it was memories now. Andrew talked about some of his thoughts from when he was swimming the day before, including the revelation of his parent’s acceptance of mostly living an adult life, while only being 15.

“I had not thought of it that way Andrew, and maybe they have not consciously either. But it does seem reasonable. You drive yourself hard and do so much. They just help and stay out of the way. They are trying to be supportive without fussing around and laying down too many rules. Compared to most other parents you have a very free life.”

Andrew snorted at that given all the parental interrogations he had gone through. After dinner they were sitting with cups of tea and he brought up money, earning and investing and what he should do in the coming year.

“I like that you are always thinking ahead Andrew. It looks like this petrol company program is going to make you a lot more money but others are pushing into that market. Leslie tells me that Kyle at ComputerCom seems downbeat about future sales after the petrol companies. There are opportunities to invest but the recession is intense at the moment and has been all year. It appears that the worst is over but the job losses have been horrendous. Inflation is still sky-high as well. One thing to consider is doing up your house. Builders are really struggling. You could get a very good price for the renovation and just get it done now when everyone is fighting for work. We have talked before that the whole house would cost you as much as £50,000, maybe even a little more. I think you can get it done right now for not much more than half that. £30,000 maximum. So that is something to think about. It does not generate income but it is capital appreciation. Mhairi would handle all the details and hire someone to manage the work. I would pop in when I am in London just to keep an eye on it. I really think you will make more money investing in the property than you can in the market. Interest rates are below inflation so your real return is negative. This seems the safest bet right now. We should do this exercise every term so we can revisit it at Easter.”

So Andrew agreed that he would totally renovate his house in London. As Brian said he got Mhairi to handle the details. He never visited the construction once while it happened. Brian did make time and checked up every time he was in town and the builders all assumed he was the owner. Andrew’s own visit was not scheduled to take place until it was complete at Easter.

In the meantime term started and Andrew revelled in the routine and consistency. He liked a structured life. He and Suzanne caught up on the first morning and it was good to talk to her. She obviously knew what was happening with Tanvi and Katie but she had the good sense not to talk about it in front of the rest of their class. And she knew he would just ignore all her questions.

Academically, life followed the pattern of the previous two years. He worked hard, studied all the time and made sure he was on top of all the work. With the ‘A’ in Latin he had straight ‘A’s for the first time in senior school, previously Latin always let him down. Andrew was determined to keep them through the whole year. He was incentivised by the hope that he could ditch Latin after the year. Even with all the extra tutoring with Moira he moved through the computer material. By the end of the term he had completed the coursework with four ‘A’s and 2 ‘B’s. Once he had completed the residential week then he would have finished the first block of four courses, a third of the way to his degree. The only grain of sand in his oyster was Cousins. Having Suzanne sitting next to him kept him calm. Andrew no longer responded in class unless asked directly and never engaged him. Andrew was polite and submitted all his work on time. If Cousins wanted to keep playing petty favourites then so be it. He was not going to let him upset him.

The first week of the new term had Andrew end up with a stronger friendship with someone he knew already. He had only ever met the model Monica at Tony’s shop. It was the first Thursday of term and Andrew had run round the Meadows as usual on his Sports day before retreating to the City Library. He had crossed the road to wait for his bus when he saw Monica walking towards him, in the company of two other, older women. When she saw Andrew a look of fear crossed her face, just for a moment. Andrew realised that Monica was with co-workers from the council who almost certainly didn’t know about her moonlighting as a nude model. So he ignored her and stood at the bus stop queue and let her pass. He figured that he would talk to her the next time their paths crossed at Tony’s but a minute later he felt a tap on his shoulder and when he turned she was standing there, looking relieved.

“That you for not speaking to me. And especially not calling me Monica. I don’t know what I would have done with those two.”

She jerked her head down the street in the direction of the departed pair.

“Do you have a few minutes? Time to grab a cup of coffee?”

Given that his parents no longer seemed to be bothered when he wandered home Andrew shrugged and they ended up at the little café not far from the school, the scene of several of his talks with Suzanne.

“Thank you again for not outing me there Andrew. I should have been more prepared for running into someone but the guys from the Friday night club all work out in the suburbs or are like Tony and work in their own shops or businesses. In the three years I have modelled you are the first person I have run into with people from work. The reason I wanted to chat is.”

Monica stopped for a moment.

“Actually there are several reasons. The most immediate one is should we ever be talking and someone from work shows up can you call me Maggie. In fact can you call me Maggie the whole time, except in the studio. In day to day life I am Maggie Fife, Monica is someone else, a pretend person for a few hours every month.”

Andrew’s mind was going like the wheels on a slot machine. So much fitted into place, answers to questions he wasn’t sure he would have known to ask. Of course Maggie wouldn’t want her real name known. He had no idea if any of the shoots that she had posed for had been published but Andrew understood the desire for anonymity. And yet.

“Sure Maggie, I will make sure to call you that except when we are actually modelling. Can I ask you something though? Why do you model if you are afraid to be found out?”

She smiled at his naïve interest.

“That is not a question with a single, or indeed simple, answer. And would probably take more time than we have.”

Andrew was intrigued but it didn’t look like he was getting any more from Maggie.

“The second reason I wanted to chat to you was Tony told me that he wanted to set up a modelling shoot for before your birthday so that you got used to me as the model, the studio, the whole thing. Is that right?”

“We talked about it before Christmas. It strikes me as a sensible first step. I have rarely worked with people, just my family mostly and so know nothing about posing a model. I think if I was part of a smaller group and just took some photos and listened, followed their lead, I would learn from that. And then maybe in the last 30 minutes of a two hour session I could be the person suggesting the poses, talking to the model. You have modelled for years, you will know way more than I will.”