Chapter 45

"It's just too neat and well organised to have happened by accident." Shawna eased the door closed, moving quietly to the kitchen as Hope and Marcus continued.

"Excuse me? You think it's neat and well-organised? Do you watch the news?" Marcus' wry sarcasm brought a smile to her face as she shucked her coat onto the back of one of the chairs

"That's people, not... not 'nature'." Hope countered. "People are a random element introduced by God over the top of his design."

"No, people are just the manifest chaos of the random chance that created the planet in the first place."

"Not computing today, then?" Shawna asked, as she walked to the kettle. Hope's sudden quiet caught her attention. "What's up?"

"Uh... I need to ask a favour." Hope kept her eyes glued on the pattern of the wood-grain in the table.

"Sure, go for it."

"I... need to borrow your boyfriend." She winced slightly, and Shawna shared a look with Marcus who just shrugged that it was the first he'd heard of it.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Be my boyfriend for a day or so." They all paused.

"Is this a sexual thing?" Marcus finally managed.

"Marcus!" It was difficult to tell which of the women was more shocked.

"That's a no, right?" he tried to clarify, looking back and forth between them. Shawna stared at him hard for a moment before smiling gently as she realised he didn't want to have to say no to a friend, but would.

"What makes... why did you say that?" Shawna finally asked him, sitting down as the kettle began to hiss.

"... uh... no reason." The matched looks of disbelief were obvious even to him. "Well... someone might have said that Hope was waspish this week because she wasn't getting any... You know..."

"Brianna?" Shawna asked, but Hope shook her head.

"Elspeth."

"Lorraine." Marcus admitted, after a few seconds.

"Lorraine!" Hope appeared surprised. "Oh... anyway, no, it's not a sexual thing, in fact it's almost exactly the opposite."

"What do you want him for, then?"

"My Dad's coming to visit."

"And you've told him you've got a boyfriend?"

"I've sort of hinted, trying to get him to leave me alone."

"Leave you alone?" Shawna looked worried, which made Hope laugh.

"No, not like that... He just... he sees university as my ideal opportunity to find a good prospect for a husband, get myself ready for family life."

"Doesn't see you in a career, then?"

"Maybe, but married for sure. Spawning grandchildren, too, of course."

"So, you missed a corker today." Shawna swung into step alongside Brianna and Elspeth as they left the canteen, a broad smile on her face.

"Oh?" Brianna smiled gently at the enthusiasm whilst Elspeth stumbled slightly at the interruption.

"Took Marcus for an eye test."

"He was saying yesterday he's been getting headaches." Elspeth noted, getting back into place.

"Right," Shawna nodded, "so he's sat there in the chair, all nervous."

"Over an eye-test?" Brianna seemed surprised.

"It says test, so he gets nervous." Shawna merely shrugged. "Other people get nervous at the dentist, he doesn't seem to mind — it's just the way he is."

"So, what happened." Brianna got them back on track.

"Well, she says 'cover your right eye', which he does. 'Can you read the middle line?' To which he replies 'Yes'."

"Predictable." Elspeth smiled.

"If it were anyone else you'd assume he was trying to be funny." Brianna offered, turning them off the path towards the languages block.

"True." Shawna admitted. "So she waits a few seconds, then looks over at him. 'Can you read the middle line, Mr Bowers.' And he replies 'I said yes, sorry.', and I had to butt in. 'Read it out loud.' I told him, so he shrugged and did. 'OK, that's good. Can you cover your other eye now.' And he..." she trailed off, giggling to herself and stopped.