Chapter 20

"What have you been up to now?" I asked the crestfallen Rhea, who was sat with the secretary in the office outside the headmistresses' study. She had been crying, clearly, but there was a mark of defiance in her body language that made me apprehensive. Like so many things Rhea did, there was going to be a complicated explanation to this.

"Where's Mum?" she asked, ignoring my question.

"Earls Court probably. I haven't been able to reach her. Her mobile is dead," I replied answering her question. "So, what have you done?"

Before Rhea could reply the headmistress, Mrs Wyatt, opened her door and beckoned Sarah, myself and Rhea into her office. We exchanged pleasantries and she asked how Sarah and I were getting on at the College before asking where Mum was. I recounted the fact that she was unreachable and she tutted and then turned to my troublesome sister. "Rhea was involved in a violent incident today that is most regrettable, and unfortunately Government guidelines state that this means a temporary exclusion from the school." She gave a simpering look towards my sister and cleared her throat. "Now..."

Rhea looked up and interrupted the teacher. "So I'm getting suspended for stopping some bullying and protecting myself?" she asked in an accusatory voice, wiping her eyes as she spoke. "It was self-defence." She banged the desk with her angry fists before sweeping her hair back.

Mrs Wyatt looked uncomfortable. "That is not quite what you said to Mr Rogers when he intervened. You used some disgraceful language by all accounts that threatened another pupil." She glanced down at the paper in front of her and then back at my angry sister. "Mr Rogers said he had not heard such language from a pupil in all his life."

Rhea shook her head. "That's not fair," she moaned and the headmistress suggested Rhea recount the events of the "incident" herself. Rhea took a deep breath. "Nat has been bullying Si all term. I only found out about it today so I went and told him to stop it. He was there, smoking, behind the Technology block and he pushed me when I told him to stay out of it and was going to hit me so I smacked him in self-defence. Not hard, just to stop him," she told her headmistress with a fierce determination. "I mean, he is almost twice the size of me."

"It's admirable intentions, Rhea."

"I do not have admirable intentions," my sister thundered and raised herself from her seat to lean over the desk. "I was stopping some bullying!"

Mrs Wyatt told her to return to her seat. "We have an anti-bullying policy in place at the school and there was no need to get involved when it doesn't concern you." Mrs Wyatt replied soothingly and gestured with her finger for my sister to sit down. "Now..."

Rhea interrupted aggressively. " ... but it does concern me. I was dating Nat but we split up in the Summer and he doesn't like me seeing Si. So he was having a go at Si to get at me."

Mrs Wyatt shook her head slowly. "I am sorry Rhea. We have a robust anti-bullying policy and vigilantism by the pupils is not going to be tolerated..."

Rhea banged her fist on the headmistresses desk again, causing her pens to topple over. "Bollocks. If your policy is so bloody fantastic then why has Si been bullied for the last six weeks, eh?" Rhea asked aggressively as her hands pointed accusingly towards Mrs Wyatt and I put my hand on Rhea's shoulder to calm her down.

"I don't tolerate that sort of language, young lady," Mrs Wyatt snapped at the angry teenager with a threatening degree of finality. "Now I know you meant well..."

"I did not 'mean well'" Rhea shouting, leaning back over the desk. "I was putting a stop to bullying. Which is your bloody job but you can't do it. Perhaps we should just let everyone be threatened by bullies like Nat and their lives made a misery because some old hag can't be bothered."

"Rhea," I called to warn her but she was angry.

The headmistress took a deep breath and looked at my sister. "We do not tolerate bullying, Rhea. But neither to do we tolerate fighting. Fighting on school premises is punished by a period of exclusion, you know that. And this isn't the first time this term that the little spat between you, and young Mr Pillington have caused problems, is it? Perhaps this will make you let bygones be bygones and put it behind you. And I know you don't want to, but it's time to let it go."

I could feel Rhea steaming at the softly spoken headmistress, but she didn't respond to the words spoken by Mrs Wyatt, who turned to me and passed an envelope. "Please give this to your mother on her return and we will see her and Rhea at 9am on Tuesday in this office for a discussion about Rhea's behaviour. And her language."

"This is bloody ridiculous!" Rhea exclaimed and got up. "Nat gets away scot-free for bullying and assaulting me, while I get suspended for stopping it." Mrs Wyatt went to respond but Rhea cut across her, my little sister's body language aggressive and unwelcoming. "This is pathetic. You're a flaming disgrace!"

Mrs Wyatt told Rhea that she would be addressing the behaviour of Nathan Pillington but as no-one had actually seen him hit her or Simon, he would not be suspended. This did little to improve Rhea's feeling of injustice and we left the office, and the school, in silence, after Rhea had kicked the door of the headmistress in anger on the way out.

We took a walk through the park and Rhea was still brooding. She was incandescent, and I could tell that she did not want to talk; Mum would ensure she would do enough of that later. Sarah held my hand as we meandered around the lake with my scowling sister behind us.

"Drink?" I asked, hoping that this would cheer Rhea up. "And a scone?" I nodded towards the little park café and we walked up the small incline in silence. Rhea was quiet and she sat staring out of the window. Her expression was a mixture of anger and resentment; it didn't bode well. We left after we had drank the lemonades and as we descended the ramp, there was some shouting from our left.

"Nice one Rhea. Suspended for slapping me," Nathan bellowed from twenty yards away, and his two friends laughed at her. "Barely touched me and you get done."

"Leave it," I warned Rhea and she shot me a dangerous look. "Just leave it."

"Simon was crying his little eyes out when he thought you'd been expelled. Little cry-baby. Wonder what he'll do now."

"Rhea--" I said in a low voice. "Ignore him. He just wants a reaction. He just wants to taunt you, don't let him win."

"But then the little wuss did need a girl to stand up for him. Wonder what will happen on Monday when you're not there to protect the little faggot. If he dares to come to school that is. I'm gonna do him over nicely. You can go visit him in hospital when I've finished with him."

"Shut it Nathan," I called across the park to him. "Fuckin' shut it." He laughed, and he began taunting Rhea again.

"Or what, Andy? You protecting your little baby sister now? Poor little Rhea."

"Fuck this!" Rhea flung her bag on the floor and started walking purposely over the grass and flowerbeds towards him, her arms outstretched and shouting. "Fucking come on Nat. This is between you and me. Not Si. You can't stand that it that I dumped you. Well it's over but if you want revenge, try and take it, you arrogant cunt." Nathan's expression changed as my sister charged across the small football pitch towards him. "Well come on. I always could take you out." I ran to keep with her and put my hand on her shoulder but Rhea shook it off with an expletive. "You want some Nat, well come on then."

"Go on. Do as your big brother says or you'll get hurt." She snorted derisively "Don't mess with me," Nathan told her as she approached him. "I will hurt you and there's no teachers to stop me. And I'll fuck Simon up if...". Rhea was almost level with Nathan and his two friends when, as part of her stride, her fist smacked into his solar plexus and in an instant, he keeled over, bending at the waist.

I grabbed Rhea and pulled her back. "Bloody hell, Rhea. Fucks sake, calm down," I yelled and she wriggled out of my grip, her eyes not leaving the writhing boy on the floor. One of his friends went to move towards her but Rhea raised her hand into a fist and he instantly backed off a few yards towards the flowerbeds.

Standing over the prostrate teenager she yelled at him. "If you ever touch Si again I will tell everyone that you, the little virgin, just got beat up by a girl. For the third time. See what that goes to your standing in the fucking rugby team, captain?"

Nathan writhing on the floor, his hands over his stomach, muttered. "Fucking hate you Rhea." He struggled onto all fours to right himself but Rhea smiled ominously.

"Yeah I fucking hate you too," my sister shouted and kicked him in the face. "That's for trying to rape me," she yelled. He howled in pain, collapsing onto the ground and I pulled her back but she spun round and stamped the groaning boy in the testicles. He yelled out a blood-curdling scream and I grabbed my baby sister by the waist, to drag her away. "And that, Tiny Cock, is for getting me suspended!" she shouted and even I could not suppress a wry smile.

I marched Rhea home in almost complete silence. She stormed upstairs and slammed her bedroom door and I put the letter from the school on the table. "Remind me never, ever, to upset your sister," Sarah said and, the tenseness broken, we laughed.

Mum wouldn't though; Rhea was in deep, deep trouble.

I spoke to Mum on her mobile phone as the afternoon drew to a close and told her that Rhea had been suspended for breaking up a fight in her own inevitable way. She didn't quite believe it but I did not want to go into details over the 'phone as it was up to Rhea to tell her side of the story. Mum said her train would get in at around seven and Sarah cooked some pasta with a sauce and some cheese. Rhea shouted at me through a closed door to tell me that she wasn't hungry so we left some out for her and ate ours while we did our homework.

At ten to seven the doorbell rang and I went down the stairs to answer it; I was expecting Miss Edwards but Simon's mother - Emma Matheson - and Simon stood in the windy street looking slightly anxious. "Is your mother in please? I need to speak to her," she asked.

"You better come in," I offered the stoical lady and guided them up the stairs to the lounge. "Take a seat," I offered, pointing to the sofa, and asked her if she wanted a drink as Mum wouldn't be home until 7pm. She tutted and I sent Sarah up the stairs to retrieve my errant sibling.

"Si!" Rhea called, greeting her boyfriend the moment she reached the bottom of the stairs and they hugged. "Why didn't you tell me about Nat?"

Rhea, dressed in jeans and T-Shirt, sat down on the sofa with her boyfriend and she glared at him waiting for an answer. There was a click on the door and I heard footsteps; Mum appeared and everyone in the lounge turned to face her. "Rhea, what's going on?"

"That's what I would like to know," Emma added and Mum spun round, taking off her coat and putting her bag down by the television.

"Emma Matheson?" She asked and Simon's mother nodded. "Grace Hardy," she said coolly and shook Emma's hand.

"I recognise that name," Emma muttered thoughtfully.

"Yes, I own and run the nightclub next door. You wrote and objected to the license being extended," Mum told her coldly and Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "And organised that petition to the Council." Emma looked at Grace a little warily but Mum didn't notice or didn't care, and stared at her daughter. "Now Rhea, tell me what's been going on? You better not have been fighting in school."

Rhea looked at me and then Simon sheepishly and with trepidation started her explanation. "Well sort of. But it was self defence so stop scowling at me." Mum sighed and Rhea rubbed her nose. "You know I split with Nat in the Summer? Well I did that because he tried to blackmail me into having sex and then tried to force himself onto me," Rhea admitted quite calmly and Mum looked at Rhea aghast.

"You what?" She thundered and Rhea wiped her eyes. Simon put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"He tried to rape me. But I can look after myself, and I fought him off. He got hit in places he didn't want to and that was the end of it..."

"He tried to rape you?" She asked incredulously and Rhea nodded.

"He wanted to take my cherry and I wouldn't let him," she replied and Mum shook her head, her eyes boring into the coffee table. "He was the only one of his friends not sleeping with their girlfriend and he didn't like it. I wasn't prepared to have sex with him and he got very angry with me."

Simon squeezed Rhea as Mum asked the inevitable question, "Why the hell didn't you tell me? We need to speak to the Police and..."

"This is why I didn't tell you," Rhea barked. "You think one person's word against another is going to stand up in court? I don't want to be branded a liar for telling the truth." She sighed and looked at her boyfriend. "But I didn't need to, I dealt with it at the time. And I had Si and Becky to talk to, particularly Si and he was great." She gulped. "It scared me and I just didn't want to think about it but I dealt with it."

"You silly, silly girl," Mum told her and Rhea wiped her face with her hand. "So did he try it again today? I am not happy about this in the slightest."

"He did not try to rape me today," Rhea told her. "He didn't touch me."

"So what did happen today?"

"So Nat is history and I start going out with Si who is brilliant with me but when we go back to school, Nat finds out and is not too happy, especially as the story of him being beaten up by me is all over the school so he starts bullying Si, only he didn't tell me. Or anyone, it seems."

Mum looked over at Simon who shrugged his shoulders. "Well, it, um, wasn't much," he stammered but Rhea sat up and shook her head, looking at her boyfriend and then his mother.

"I saw bruises every week on him and he told me it was just football. He missed half-a-dozen homework deadlines when I knew he had done the work as we did it together but always said he left it at home. He suddenly refused to go to the park after school and wouldn't tell me why," Rhea muttered looking up at her boyfriend, who wiped a tear away from his eye. "He's been miserable for six weeks and said bugger all to the one person who needed to know."

"You did not need to know," Simon responded and rubbed his eye.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emma asked her son and he didn't respond. "Or the teachers."

"Or me," Rhea barked. "Me. I did need to know. And what about the nasty rumours Si, was that Nat as well?" She asked him and Simon nodded but didn't speak.

His mum pressed for answer on why he didn't report the bullying and eventually he snapped a half-hearted answer. "Because I didn't want what's happened today. It was me he had a problem with, not Rhea. And she would get involved if she knew."

"Too bloody right," Rhea cried and clenched her hands into fists. "Of course I'd put a stop to it. You think I'd 'ave that? And I'd put a stop to it the moment I found out."

Mum groaned. "So that's what has happened today?" Mum asked and Rhea shifted in her seat. "You tried to put a stop to it?"

"He told me. Or more to the point I found out from Laurence and he 'fessed up when I cornered him. So I went and found Nat and told him to leave me and Si alone or there would be trouble and he just pushed me and laughed. Said he would do what he wanted to Si and no-one would stop him. Not even me. He went to hit me and I just smacked him in the face to protect myself. It came out of nowhere I promise, but at that point Mr Rogers came 'round the corner and saw me," Rhea said emotionally. Her voice was stressed and she had a pleading look in her eye, willing for Mum to believe her.

"That's when they phoned and we went to pick her up," I added and Mum looked at Rhea.

"Is that it?"

"Yeah," she muttered and Mum glared at her. Rhea looked sheepish for a moment and then looked at me. "Well, I sort of told the headmistress she was useless," Rhea admitted. "And as I left her office everything over the previous few weeks fell into place and I realised what that bastard had been doing to Si and I got a bit angry. But it was outside school, so it's fine."

"Oh Rhea, what happened?" Mum asked, her voice dripping with dread and weariness.

"He taunted me in the park, said he was going to do Si over good and proper on Monday as I wasn't going to be there to protect him and I sort of told him that if he touches Simon there really would be repercussions. And that was it." Mum raised her eyebrows and glowered at my teenage sister. "OK, and I may have hit him a little bit as well." Rhea shifted awkwardly and rubbed her eyes, as Mum cocked her head. "And a small kick. But that was it. Just a little bit of self-defence."

"Rhea, he was laid out in a bloody agony when we left," I added. Mum asked in an exasperated tone why I didn't stop her and I responded in an annoyed voice. "Because an angry Rhea is dangerous. I tried but the red mist had descended and she pushed me away. You know what she is like."

"I don't get why if this Nathan guy is so awful then why did you get involved with him?" Emma asked of Rhea who shrugged.

"I don't know. I've asked myself the same question why I was dating the school bully and didn't see it. He wasn't like that at first, he was OK. He is well into his rugby but we had a good laugh and I liked him. But since Christmas he's been getting nastier and nastier and doesn't like it that I dumped him. Certainly not in the way that I did. But I can't let him keep doing what he was doing to Si. It had to stop and the only way it was going to stop was me doing what I did. Draw a line in the sand, and all that. I knew I might get into trouble for it," Rhea muttered with a shrug. "But it had to stop, for Si's sake."

"You did all that and got suspended, just for me?" Simon whispered and Rhea nodded. "Why?"

"Because you are my boyfriend and I love you," she responded instantly and Simon squeezed her hand. "It's what you do with people you care about, you think about them before yourself."

I sniggered. "You are supposed to love me but you go out of your way to make my life difficult"

"You're a special case," she replied instantly and Sarah gave a hollow laugh. "While you are with that..."

"Yes thank you Rhea," Mum interrupted and turned to Emma. "I think I need to go see this headmistress on Monday," she said with a sigh and Emma agreed.

"I think I do too. This Nathan sounds like he has been causing a lot of trouble."

"No don't," Rhea pleaded and looked at Mum. "I shouldn't have lost my temper or hit him so she is sort of right about that. From a school point of view anyway. And the attempted rape wasn't on school premises so they won't care and I can't prove that. And if he starts again I will take care of it."

Mum shook her head. "No young lady. You have done quite enough. If both of you had been honest with us from the start then this would not be as bad as it is. Now I want an address for this Nathan lad as I am going to go and have some serious words with his parents."

Rhea's eyes flashed. "Oh no Mum, please. I don't need you to. I can look after myself." Mum stared at Rhea who stared at the floor. "I'm not telling you," Rhea murmured.

"Rhea, you will tell me."

"Bloody won't," my sister told her and Mum glared at her. "I am not having my mother run 'round and fight my battles for me. It's not happening."

"Rhea, it is not a request. Tell me."

"No," Rhea shouted. "I don't need you to."

Mum looked at Simon who bit his lip. "Do you know?"

"Don't you dare," Rhea threatened but Emma glared at her son and he coughed.

"14 Riverview Lane, Weston Turville," Simon muttered and Rhea breathed in sharply and scowled at him, who simply squeezed his girlfriend's hand. Rhea shook her hand free and snorted.

"If you go then I'm coming," Rhea told her mother as she got up and cut across any protest. "I am not having my mother doing my dirty work."

This caused a smile across Emma's face and Mum took a deep breath. "You come, you behave, you hear?" Rhea said she did, and while I didn't doubt she had heard, would she have listened?

"I wouldn't mind a word with her as well," Emma asked. "If you don't mind that is."

Mum acquiesced to the request and guided her guests and Rhea to the stairs to go down the fire escape. I heard her Golf start up and the sound of an indignant Rhea as they left to see Nathan. Sarah and I looked at each other the moment the car left the car park. "Why did Rhea and Si have to keep secrets?"

"I don't know. That's Rhea isn't it? She thinks she has an answer and a solution to everything and everyone."

"She doesn't though," Sarah said, somewhat wistfully and I snorted.

"Of course she doesn't, but she won't ask for help when she needs it," I told her, suddenly thinking of at least one other girl in my life who was painfully similar in that regard.

Our peace was shattered by a door bell which Sarah went downstairs to answer. Miss Edwards followed her back into the lounge and I smiled a her, she was wearing a coat with a big hood that covered her face completely. As it was not raining, I would suggest that this made her more noticeable, not less.

"Don't tell me you were followed?" I teased and my teacher groaned. "Quick, check the windows for MI5 spies and..."

"It isn't funny. I could lose my job if what happened came out," she said warningly and I nodded.

"Do you want to come up to my bedroom to get them or shall I bring them down here?"

Miss Edwards went to go upstairs and then thought better of it. "I'll stay here," she said with a nervous grin. "I think me going into a student's bedroom to retrieve naked photographs might just get me into more trouble."

Sarah laughed and I bounded upstairs, retrieved my portfolio and spare photos and came back into the lounge. It took only a couple of minutes to find the set of erotic images that related to Gemma and I had only put a couple of her in my portfolio. Miss Edwards stood nervously as I fished them out but I made sure neither Sarah nor Gemma could see any photos of the other girls.

"They are very good," Sarah gushed as I flicked the salacious photographs across the table towards them and Miss Edwards forced a smile. "You do look very sexy."

I laughed. "In future years they'll worth gold dust," I joked. "Female teacher and all that." Miss Edwards recoiled immediately as I spoke and I shrugged. "Sorry."

She shook her head and gathered the pictures. "It's OK. I just need to be so careful now. People wouldn't understand."

Sarah and I looked at her. She looked vulnerable and scared, but had no reason to be. "I am not going to tell anyone," I promised and Sarah did likewise.

"I know, but not everyone would understand if it came out. There would be an outrage if they knew I worked in a strip club or that I messed with a sixteen year old. It'll cause so many problems."

Sarah and I looked at each other. "Not from me. Or Mum."

"Or me," Sarah added. "We liked you as Gemma."

Miss Edwards smiled, flicking her hair back and looked towards the stairs. Sensing her discomfort, we said goodbye to her and she hurriedly left the flat.

It took over an hour but there some creaking on the staircase and Sarah and I looked up expecting to hear shouting, from Rhea's mouth at least, but there was a sense of calm. The fire door swung open and the four-man party descended into the lounge. Sarah and I had our work spread out on the dining room table, with Sarah having got permission to spend the night at mine so we could work on our joint Mechanics project, due in that week.

Mum and Emma came into the dining room, and walked through into the kitchen. They were talking calmly and seemed to be in some agreement. Rhea appeared in the archway as Mum filled the kettle up.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but please can Si come up to the Lake District with me?" Rhea asked Mum and then Emma.

Emma looked at Mum for an explanation. "Every half-term Andy and Rhea go and spend a week with their Dad in the Lake District. He has a big house up there and they take it in turns to take a friend."

"Well I don't know," Emma said to Simon, who appeared behind Rhea. "We do have a few things to do in half-term and it is a long way to go."

"It's just, since we got together we've had all this. I didn't know about it, but for the last six weeks, Si has been bullied because of me and I want us to spend some time together where there isn't that hanging over us. And anyway, it will take him a week of him being nice to me for me to forgive him."

"You can't blame him for being bullied," I told Rhea, joining the conversation and she put her arm around his back.

"I don't blame him for that. I am annoyed with him for lying to me. I asked him if he knew where the rumours about him were coming from and he told me no. And he did know so he is in trouble for that," Rhea replied, her eyes not leaving his and a smile creeping across her face.

"No offence Rhea, but you are not really the sort of person to approach with problems," I told her with a smile and Sarah giggled.

"That's true. More the sort of person to get your problems from," Sarah added and Rhea clenched her fists.

"But he lied to me!" She said firmly staring at her boyfriend. "We can't have a relationship where he is lying to me. Or me to him. It's not on."

Simon nodded. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Yep, you will be if you do it again," she quipped and turned to Mum. "So can he come?"

Emma chortled. "Your daughter is very self-assured and confident"

A flicker came over Rhea's face but Mum answered, "She's too self-assured at times."

"Is that a yes then?" Rhea asked impatiently and Emma sucked in some air through her teeth.

"Well Rhea, you need to ask your father if it is fine for Simon to go," Mum told her but Rhea gave a grin and ran into the lounge to use the phone. She returned a few minutes later with an even bigger smile.

"He said that Simon is more than welcome and he will ensure the spare room is ready. So he is going then?"

Emma sighed and turned to Mum. "Well if Simon goes to the Lake District as John is away for the week at Scouts and Zoe is off with the Guides, I will have a child-free week."

Mum smiled and passed Emma a freshly brewed cup of tea. "I've got one too. It's a good feeling."

Once the Mathesons had left, Rhea later explained that Nathan was still in agony when they arrived at the house and his mother, who Rhea had often affectionately called "the Witch" laid into her when she saw her. Mum was apoplectic with rage when the Witch had shouted at Rhea and asked her if she thought it was OK for her son to try to rape schoolgirls and then bully his peers, at which point the mood changed. The Witch expected Nathan to deny the allegations Mum was making but with Rhea there, she said he seemed distracted and scared and eventually the truth came out although he denied the attempted rape, which made my sister swear profusely at the Pillingtons.

They left as Nathan was made to apologise to Simon. Mum demanded an apology from Nathan regarding the attempted rape but Nathan refused and the Witch told Mum that due to her violent tendencies, Rhea was psychotic and a danger to the rest of the school. She claimed her son had been crying in pain for most of the last five hours; this cheered Rhea up no end and she rationalised that it was even worth getting suspended to know that.

I winced as Rhea continued the story. Mum had simply got up and left with her and the Mathesons but Rhea had a glint in her eye as she got to that part of her tale. "I ran my keys down the side of their new car," Rhea admitted when I pressed her, "but I did it on the other side so no-one saw me. Not even Mum" I sighed and looked at her but she shrugged her shoulders. "No don't worry. I got a decent grip on the key. It went very deep. Nice scratch and everything on that side - the boot, back door, front door and bonnet. Car is only a couple of months old but looks shit now. Violent tendencies? Psychotic? Honestly, it's ludicrous. How can they say such things?" She muttered with not a single trace of irony in her voice.

The end of the last week of a half-term was tantalising, the one week break was only days away and talk of the half-term started to dominate the chatter at school and my thoughts outside of it.

I was travelling up to the Lake District to see my father and unfortunately wasn't taking anyone. Abi was working, Ray wasn't talking to me much, Sarah needed to sort out Kevin (so I could get promotion from the prospective boyfriend-to-be) and that only left Zoe. She was on Guide Camp as a semi-responsible leader and therefore I was resolved to go to Coniston on my own, but this was not really a problem; I needed some time to collect my thoughts.

I did wonder about Sarah as I lugged the carpet cleaner out of its cupboard and started returning the carpet to its' pristine state; would she really split up with Kevin? She had had opportunities to do it before and hadn't but if she didn't do it over the half-term break, what future did we have? It really was a make-or-break time in our relationship.