Chapter 8

The tickets for the Pink Floyd concert were going to be on sale early on Wednesday morning. Sian and I went over to the Students Union to buy them, as Julie and Vee had a revision tutorial to attend first thing.

I got a very bad feeling when we met the end of the ticket queue only just inside the Union doors. We tagged on to the back of the queue, and very soon there were many more people behind us, and the end of the queue was outside the doors.

"Lucky we came straight here and didn't hang around for another cuppa!"

The queue was moving quite fast; but to my horror, as we reached the door to the Great Hall, there were big hand-written signs up: 'NUS Cards To Be Shown - Two Tickets Maximum'.

"Bloody Hell! I need three!"

Sian would get tickets for herself and Vee, but I needed tickets for both Julie and my sister Jen. I couldn't let either of them down, so I was in trouble.

I looked around in desperation. It was clear that people were having their hand stamped once they had bought tickets, so I wouldn't be able to queue again.

Several people I knew vaguely passed us on their way out, each with their allocation. No help there.

Then I saw Malcolm appear around the door.

"I'll be back in a tick, Sian!"

"Hi Malcolm, how many are you buying?"

"Just one for me, mate - do you want me to get you another?"

"Thank god for that - yes please, I promised my sister a ticket for her birthday - you've just saved my life yet again!"

"No problem!"

I gave Malcolm the money, told him I'd meet him outside, and went back to Sian.

"God that was a narrow squeak!"

We moved to the tables, showed our Union cards, handed over our money, were given our two tickets, and had the backs of our right hands stamped with a red star.

There seemed to be a reasonable number of books of tickets left on the table, so I was fairly confident that Malcolm would get two.

Sian and I waited outside in the lobby. Malcolm came out with a great big grin, and handed me my ticket.

"Just made it, Jon, they were almost sold out!"

"Thanks, mate, I really owe you. Come and have a cup of tea before the practical?"

"Thanks, I will."

"This is Sian, my girlfriend's flatmate. Sian, this is my Chemistry bench mate, Malcolm."

"So you are the one who keeps saving him from blowing himself up?"

"He's not that bad - just a bit too enthusiastic with the Bunsen burner!"

The three of us strolled the short distance back to Sian's house, and had a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits in the kitchen.

We chatted about the Pink Floyd concert; Malcolm was very knowledgeable about their music, and I could see that Sian was impressed.

Then Malcolm and I had to leave for our double practical.

"Thanks for the cuppa, Sian, it was really nice to meet you."

"A pleasure! Get him to bring you up here again."

Malcolm and I set off. He was always quiet, but he seemed to be thinking.

"Nice girl, that. It makes a change for me to sit and have a quiet cup of tea in female company."

"Yeah, she's really nice. Likes a glass of beer, too."

We said no more, but I did some thinking too. I owed it to Sian to help her find a boyfriend, and it sounded as if Malcolm wouldn't mind a girlfriend. I owed him a lot of favours too!

It was our last Chemistry practical before the exams. Malcolm and I took it slowly, and made sure we checked all our equipment before packing it away - it would be a disaster to be missing a key item on the day and lose exam time getting it from the store. I asked him if he was staying in Cardiff until the end of term; like me, his house lease ran until the end of June and he was in no hurry to leave.

"I fancy a few lazy days, watching a bit of cricket, catch a bit of sun, relaxing before I start my summer job."

"That sounds very sensible! My girlfriend will be here until then, so we'll probably see you on one of your sunbathing outings."

"Sunbathing, with my scrawny body? Nah, I'm talking about sitting outside in the sun with a glass of beer and a good book!"

I went round to see the girls later that afternoon; only Sian was in.

"Jon, I'm cooking supper, but we're almost out of bread and milk - be a dear and get some, will you? The others will be back soon."

I set off for the shops. It was a pleasant early summer day, and I strolled along under the trees.

The front door was ajar when I got back, so I went straight up.

Vee sounded excited as she talked to Sian and Julie in the kitchen. I put the milk and the bread on the table, to find her taking off her anorak while the others looked at her wide-eyed.

She quickly explained to me what they had been talking about.

"Jon, I've just been down to the clinic to get my prescription for the summer. The doctor was running late and several girls were sharing secrets, so I listened in. There were two ideas I really liked the sound of that we could try. One girl said she came best if they changed position half way, you know like starting on top and finishing doggy style; but another said that her boyfriend brings her to the brink of orgasm, and then stops, brings her to the brink again, and stops, and only when she is going mad does he let her come - and she said that it was like nothing she'd ever had before!"

"Julie, Bryony will be back from the library soon - can I please borrow your man and your bedroom? Please, pretty please? I'm feeling really horny after overhearing that conversation!"

"Of course you can, Vee - just don't break him!"

We returned sheepishly to the kitchen fifteen minutes later.

Fortunately, Bryony was not yet back. Sian put the kettle on, and Julie got another couple of mugs out for us.

"I'm sorry, Julie, I really messed that up. I was so desperate that I got Jon over-excited; we both came very quickly, and it was far too quick to be any good. You two have a go when Gustav has recovered."

We heard the front door slam and the sounds of Bryony coming up the stairs, so quickly started talking about our plans for the holidays.

Sian's parents were planning on celebrating their Silver Wedding by going on a two-week cruise together around the Mediterranean; she was hoping to get a summer job locally at the shop where she'd helped provide holiday cover the year before.

Julie gave Bryony a mug of tea, and we continued talking.

I had worked in a local vegetable factory the previous summer, washing and cutting up the vegetables to be frozen. It was quite tedious, but the money was good, and I was young enough to be able to handle the long shifts and the extra hours when the lorries came in with the fresh produce.

Vee was hoping to get Jeff to take her on a package holiday to Spain - we knew that she had in mind a fortnight of sun, sangria and sex to try to get Jeff to loosen up a bit, but we weren't going to mention that in Bryony's presence.

Bryony was cagey. I suspect that she still wasn't sure whether or not to come back to University for the second year, and she said little about her plans other than a family holiday in Scotland.

"And what about you two, Julie? What's Rebecca got planned?"

"I think she's going to be doing work experience at her Dad's firm, and then they're taking her on holiday to Cornwall as usual. I don't know yet what I'm doing workwise; Mum and Dad always take us to North Wales for the last two weeks of August, so we'll probably be doing that again. We've been going there since I was seven, so it's almost like a second home!"

As Bryony was still up and about, we had to resort to a bit of subterfuge that night.

I wished all the girls goodnight in the kitchen, and said I'd let myself out. I went down the stairs to the front door and opened it before letting it bang shut, with me still in the hall. Then I quietly went back up the stairs, and slipped into Julie's room.

The door opened a few minutes later, but instead of it being Julie, it was Vee, in her dressing gown. She held her finger to her lips for silence until she had closed the door behind her.