Non Pratt - Trouble

Cd u mayb stop bein such a suck up? Some of us r tryin 2 bum here.

She adds a little smiley face with the tongue sticking out. I find it entertaining the way Hannah writes as if she’s texting.

What’s up?

Because something is. Emoticon aside, Hannah isn’t smiling.

Wot u doin @ wknd?

The question unnerves me. It’s Valentine’s Day on Sunday.

Seeing Neville on Sunday.

I make a mental note to switch my date with Neville, which should amuse him.

Come 4 family dinner on Sat? There’s a pause in her writing as Mrs English looks up from marking a stack of essays to check we’re all dutifully reading our texts. J up 4 wknd .

Jay’s home? This is interesting.

“Hi,” I say and hold out my hand.

“Hi.” Jason takes my hand and sizes me up as he shakes. “So you’re Hannah’s boyfriend.”

Hannah and I give him what must be identical stares. Whatever he’s been told, I’m sure no one’s told him we’re actually dating. That has never been the story.

“Sorry, I’m not sure what the appropriate title is…” he starts to say, but Hannah shoots him down.

“How about ‘friend’ — you’ve heard of those, right?”

Immediately I reassess the situation. Hannah’s been subdued this week, something I’d put down to hormones, which is the excuse she gives for absolutely everything. But I was wrong. Whatever this is, it has less to do with hormones and more to do with Jay. Whatever it is, I’m on Hannah’s side. As if I’d be anywhere else.

“Aaron!” Lola flies out of the front room and cannons into me for a hug.

Robert comes out of his office and claps his son on the shoulder. “So you two have met, then?”

“Just now, Dad. We exchanged maybe a sentence before Lolly came in and stole Aaron from me.” He playfully prods his little sister in the cheek, but she presses closer to me instead of him. It’s nice to be the favourite, but there’s something in the way Jay looks at me that tells me I’ll regret it.

Dinner is a Chinese takeaway that Hannah and Jay go to collect in his car. Paula and Robert are busy in the kitchen, leaving me and Lola to play Mario Kart in the front room. This suits me fine — although, being more of an RPG player, I endure a relentless drubbing from the nearly-six-year-old girl next to me. Lola doesn’t seem to mind that I’m a far from worthy opponent and when she hears her brother and sister come in, she pulls me into the kitchen and sits me next to her.

“And Mummy on the other side.” Lola pats the chair to her left.

“What about Jason, Lolly? You haven’t seen him in a while. I’m sure he’d like a chance to spend some time with you.” Only parents do this — presume it’s OK to speak for you even when it’s obviously inviting trouble.

Lola looks at Jason with wide eyes as he puts the bags on the table then she leans into me a little as she looks up at her mum and beckons her closer.

“I don’t want to sit next to Jay. He’s not been very nice to Hannah,” she whispers into her mother’s ear so quietly that I only just catch it and I’m sitting right next to her.

Hannah’s mum frowns and leans in to whisper back.

“I’m sure they made up when they went to get the takeaway.” She catches me looking and I turn away. “Please, poppet, ask to sit with Jay — he’s missed you.”

Lola glances at me and after I give the slightest of nods, she announces that she’s changed her mind. Disaster averted, we settle down and I watch as Jay tries to engage Lolly in conversation, then I watch Hannah watching him. It’s not as if I believed Paula before — about her stepson and her daughter making up — but it looks like they’ve been arguing some more. Hannah’s jaw is locked in attack mode and she’s snapping prawn crackers like a piranha. Jay on the other hand won’t look at her. At all. Not even when she asks him to pass her the soy sauce.

The conversation takes a dangerous turn at the unwrapping of the duck pancakes when Jay asks me whether I’d like to come and see what Warwick is like in case I fancy applying. He’s just being polite (or smug) but it draws attention to the fact that in two and a half years’ time I should be in a position to go to university.

“I thought I might go somewhere close by,” I say, smearing plum sauce on my pancake. Hannah and I haven’t really got an exit strategy for our fabricated relationship so I’m forced to ad lib.

“There’s not many good places that near. I checked.” Jay looks at me and I swear his expression is challenging. Under the table, Hannah presses her foot gently on mine. I ignore Jay and eat my pancake.

The subject comes up again at the fourth tub of rice. This time from Robert.

“Seriously, Aaron, what are your plans for the future now that” — he trails off and looks at Hannah — “you’ve others to think about?”

“I was thinking of seeing how it goes. Making plans seems a bit premature.” Good answer — well done, me.

“Mm. It never hurts to be prepared.” And that appears to be all Robert has to say on the matter.

But not Jay. “Still, gotta think about your options now, haven’t you? Work out which subjects to concentrate on when you’re revising — no point worrying about Biology if you’re going to study English, is there?”

“Aaron’s pretty smart, Jay.” Hannah steps in before I finish my mouthful. “I don’t think he needs to worry about his revision the way you did.”

Ouch.

Robert frowns at his stepdaughter, opens his mouth to say something, then sees his wife glaring him into silence.

“Keen, huh?” Jay sticks his lip out and nods in what can only be described as a patronizing manner. “What’re you doing hanging out with Hannah?”

It’s meant to be a joke but no one — not even Lola — cracks a smile.

I’ve had enough of this.

“Being a friend. Obviously a subject you missed out of your revision.”

In any other company that might have been chalked up as a point to me but Robert stares at me in a way that makes me feel smaller than a grain of egg fried rice. There’s no chance to rectify the situation in the flurry of activity as empty containers are stacked and leftovers touted about and I regret what I said. Robert is someone I want to think well of me.

After dinner we go to the front room and provide a dutiful audience whilst Lola acts out a scene from The Lion King . I’ve seen it before. Actually, I think I helped her learn the lines. It’s late, though, and Lola can’t stop yawning, so Paula takes her upstairs for a bath, and just as Robert gets up to drive me home, his phone rings.

“Aaron, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take this call and I could be a while…”

“That’s OK.” After my transgression at the dinner table the last thing I want to be is an inconvenience.

“I can run you home,” Jay says with a smile so forced that I’m sure he’s only doing it to impress his father. It works and as Robert rubs a hand over his son’s head on his way past, I can almost see the thought bubble appear above his head: my son is the best . Or something more eloquent.

Hannah comes out with me as I fetch my coat.

“Sorry about Jay,” she says with a sigh.

“I thought he was meant to be a nice guy?” I say.

“He was.” Hannah shrugs. “University is turning him into an arse.”

But Jay is golden. He is fanciable no matter what he looks like. He’s nice however he behaves. For guys like him, there will always be an excuse.

“Break it up, snuggle puppies.” Jay radiates irritation as he stalks out of the door. “Hannah, are you coming too?”