SOMEONE DIFFERENT (7 page)

10 – Anna

All day at school on Tuesday I felt like a butterfly trapped in a jam jar. I stared out through the glass, flitted from one place to another, then flapped like crazy when I eventually got released.

The second I arrived home I ran upstairs and got changed. Would Mum notice if I put my new D & G jeans on? I decided to risk it. I took the scrunchie out of my hair and brushed so it hung down over my shoulder.

‘That was quick,’ Mum said
, as I reached the bottom of the stairs. ‘Are you going straight down to the yard?’

‘Yes.’ I opened the front door.

‘Oh, I’m so pleased that little accident yesterday hasn’t put you off. Go on then, I can tell you can’t wait to see Tia.’

I made myself walk steadily so I wasn’t all flustered when I got there. But, guess what? It wouldn’t have mattered if all I’d been wearing was my Prada bikini
– he wasn’t there.

Becky saw me hovering. ‘You’re down early.’

‘Erm, yes. I ...’

‘All on my own I am this afternoon. Jenna’s ill, it’s Cathy’s day off, and the work experience lads aren’t back until Thursday.’

‘Oh.’ My face dropped like a pebble in the sea, and it took me two or three seconds to recover. I looked back at Becky quickly. ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘Ooh, you couldn’t make me a cuppa could you, love? I haven’t had one all day.’

‘Sure.’

I put the kettle on in the office and washed out Becky’s enormous, tea-stained mug. Thursday; it was like an infinity. But then my eyes settled on the filing cabinets and an idea popped into my head.

Quickly, I riffled through the folders until I found one with ‘Referrals – Work Experience Placements’ written on it. There were only two forms inside, and the second one had JAYDEN HARRIS printed at the top. Yes!

I scanned it. Address: 63 Meadows Drive. School: Hart Hill Community College. Date of Birth ... I worked it out. He’d had his sixteenth birthday on the twelfth of November last year; that made him nine and a half months older than me.

Placement Days: Monday, Thursday, Friday.

Mum’s voice sounded outside. Quickly, I put the folder back and stood next to the kettle again.

‘So how’s Tia today then?’ she asked, striding in.

Damn. I hadn’t even looked at the horse. ‘She seems fine,’ I said, hoping I was right.

‘I thought you’d have been in the stable with her.’

‘I err, will be, once I’ve made Becky a drink.’

She pulled a face like she was chewing a thistle and went out again.

Tia kicked the stable door and snorted at me when I went over to her stable five minutes later. I held a carrot out to her as a peace offering, but she threw her head up and knocked it to the floor.

‘She’s been pretty much like that all day,’ Becky said. ‘I managed to turn her out in the paddock for an hour this morning, but she just galloped around constantly. She moves beautifully, but she’s so nervous about everything; she’s hardly eaten a thing since she’s been here.’

Mum started to speak, but she stopped as her mobile phone rang and she answered it.

That was my opportunity and I grabbed it. ‘I’ll just go and see how Pepper is,’ I called, as I skulked away.

***

So, Thursday: trapped in school, finally escaped, changed quickly, and dashed down to the yard.

And he was there.

And what’s more, he was leading Tia around the ménage, and she was following him like a duckling follows its mother.

‘Can you believe it?’ Becky said, coming to stand next to me.

I shook my head in silence.

‘Nobody else can get within three feet of her without her trying to kill them, he walks towards her and she actually whinnies.’

Jay turned towards us for the first time then, and I saw a bruise and a bright red cut around his eye. But even that couldn’t spoil the look he gave me. My heart stuttered and I struggled a little for breath. God, he was even more gorgeous in real life than he had been in my head – and believe me, that took some doing.

‘You can bring her in now,’ Becky called to him.

I arranged my face into something I hoped was seductive as he brought Tia
over, and I’m sure he notice – until, Tia’s ears shot back and she pulled away.

‘It’s OK,’ he said, turning to her instead.

‘Will you put her in the stable?’ Becky said.

‘Yeah; sure.’ He led the horse into her stable, switched the light on, and stood stroking her neck.

‘Why don’t you go in while he’s there?’ Becky said to me. ‘Then at least we can tell your mum you’ve spent some time with her.’

My feet didn’t know which way to turn. Instantly, I felt my face getting redder, and my mouth dried up like burnt toast. But wasn’t this everything I’d been dreaming of for the last three days? And, wasn’t it the reason I’d been standing there trying to look more appealing than a vanilla-slice at a fat farm?

Right; I straightened my back, walked over and opened the stable door.

But then I stopped. I couldn’t help it; I couldn’t even take one more step ... until that is, he smiled at me ... and it reeled me in like a fishing line.

I bolted the door and stood close t
o him, so close I could see every one of his dark brown eyelashes individually.

Constantly, his hand ran back and forth over Tia’s coat, but his gaze stayed on me. The peak of his cap cast a shadow over part of his face, but then he shifted his weight and the bruising caught the light. ‘God. That looks so sore, what happened?’

I closed my eyes and wished I’d used my brain before my mouth; apart from it being a crap line, he might not want to talk about it.

‘It’s not as bad as it looks.’ He stopped stroking Tia for a second but she nudged him until he started again. ‘Footie injury
– ya know, somebody headin’ my face instead of the ball?’

‘Oh.’

He nodded at Tia. ‘Is she yours?’

‘Yes. She seems to like you best though. Becky says she doesn’t behave like this for anyone else.’

‘Aah.’ He gazed at her. ‘You just needs some time, don’t ya, lass? You need to learn who ya can trust, and who’s going to stick around an’ take care of ya.’ He patted her a few times then turned back to me. ‘Is your hand alright?’

‘Yes, it’s fine; it didn’t –’

‘Ann-a-bel. Ann-a-bel.’

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake!’ I tutted without meaning to, then looked at him quickly.

He was laughing, and just the sight of him doing it made me giggle as well.

Before I could answer her, Mum came and stared in over the stable door. She blinked when she saw Jay, then spoke to me. ‘Oh, she’s settling in much better today. I told you she would, didn’t I?’

I nodded, although I couldn’t actually remember her saying that.

She looked at Jay again for a few seconds. ‘Well, come on then, Annabel; you must be getting cold.’

‘No, really; I’m fine.’

‘But everywhere’s starting to ice-over, and anyway, I’m sure you’ve got homework to do?’

‘Not that much, I can do it after dinner.’

Her fingers tightened on the top of the stable door. ‘Where’s Becky?’

‘In the office, I think.’

She turned away and a second later I heard the office door open.

Neither of us spoke for a while. I watched him still stroking Tia, then for something to say, I asked, ‘What time do you finish?’

‘Four, officially; Billy’ll drag me off earlier if he gets the chance though.’

It must be almost that already. Say something cool, quickly, I thought.

But Becky appeared at the door. ‘Jay, Mrs Richardson wants you to take some hay down to the bottom field before you leave. Shall I get Billy to help you?’

We glanced at each other, before eventually he said, ‘Yeah, alright.’ Then he smiled at me again. ‘Suppose I’d better go.’

Our arms brushed together as he squeezed past. ‘See ya later?’ he said.

But a pathetic nod and a quiet ‘Bye,’ were all I could manage, and as soon as he disappeared through the door, Tia’s head spun round, her ears went flat back, and her sharp white teeth missed my hand by millimetres.

***

I’d been in Pepper’s stable for about half an hour when Mum came in. I’d brushed him until his coat felt like velvet, then scratched his back until he stretched his head high up in the air and went all quivery.

‘I thought I’d find you here,’ Mum said. ‘I’ve just spoken to Miss Welbourne.’

Pepper stopped eating and looked at me as my shoulders tensed up.

‘She says she can do tuition with you twice a week; isn’t that kind? And she’s flexible about days – as long as it’s straight from school; three-thirty until four-thirty.’

No. My fingers twisted around the bottom of Pepper’s mane. It was horrendous enough that I had to do it at all, but that was the only time I got to see Jay. ‘So, which days?’ I asked slowly.

‘Mondays and Fridays.’

I stared at her. I couldn’t believe it; it was like she’d done it on purpose.

‘Starting tomorrow,’ she added, and she turned away and went back to the house.

***

Forget butterflies and jam jars. School on Friday was more like being handcuffed, blindfolded and trapped in a six foot high maze. And it wasn’t just school either. It was afterwards, at the house, right up until four-thirty.

I dragged my feet along the driveway. Even getting out of the car at home felt different. It was like I’d lost something I treasured. I know I’d only met Jay twice, and I know it sounded stupid, but I missed him already. There was still that one day a week when I could see him, but it wasn’t enough.

Unsurprisingly, the tuition session was as boring, difficult and stressful as I thought it would be. We just didn’t get each other. She made me go all stuttery and fidgety; she confused the hell out of me, and by the end of it, it felt like I knew even less than I had before we started. It was just awful.

So, when she eventually went, I couldn’t wait; I pulled my Wellies on and ran down towards Pepper’s stable. I thought I heard Mum shouting from the kitchen window, but I wasn’t sure, so I carried on.

It was silent at the stables. There was no sound of Pepper munching hay, or stamping his feet. I leaned in over the door, but all I saw was blackness. That was strange. Usually, even in the dark, and even when he was standing right in the back corner, I could still see glimpses of his white fur.

My hand shook a little as I reached for the light switch. The stable lit up immediately, but it was empty. I glanced around everywhere; maybe he’d escaped? But his door was still bolted, he couldn’t have. Perhaps Becky hadn’t brought him in from the field yet? Yes, that would be it.

‘Pep-per. Pep-per!’ I stood on the field gate. ‘Come on, lad.’

But there was no sign of him. ‘Pepper!’ I picked up a bucket and shook it as loud as I could. He’ll be here, I told myself; any second now he’ll come walking out of the darkness. ‘Pepper, please, come on.’

But he didn’t, and that’s when I started to feel sick, and when my eyes got blurry. What could have happened to him?

‘Annabel.’

I looked around.

Dad was standing right behind me. He stepped closer and put his hands lightly on my shoulders. ‘Pepper isn’t here anymore, darling.’

‘What?’

‘He’s gone to a really lovely home
– a little girl who’s just learning to ride. He’ll love it there, and he’ll be looked after properly, I promise.’

‘You’ve sold him?’ My ribs bit into my lungs like fangs. There was a second of silence, then I sobbed like a baby.

Dad drew my head gently into his chest. ‘Shush. It’s for the best. It wouldn’t be fair to keep him now you’re going to be riding Tia all the time, would it? And Mum felt –’

I pulled myself free from his arms. ‘Mum,’ I whispered. ‘This was all her idea, wasn’t it?’

But before he could answer, I bolted up to the house, shot through the door into the lounge, and slammed it shut behind me.

‘Why did you do it, Mum?’

She jumped up from the sofa. ‘Annabel, I know you’re upset now, but you’ll see it was the right thing to do, given time.’

‘No. I’ll never think it was right. How can it be, when you promised we’d keep him?’

‘Oh, darling ...’ Mum stepped nearer and tried to put her arm around me, but I ducked away quickly. ‘But he was interfering with your relationship with Tia. While ever he was around, you were trying to spread your time between them, and a horse like her needs your undivided attention.’