He's After Me

Chapter TWENTY-FIVE



Jem wakes me in the morning with breakfast on a tray complete with pink carnation in a vase. I peer at it in amazement. There’s cereal, bacon and eggs, toast and marmalade, and a glass of what looks like sparkling orange juice with a strawberry and a slice of orange in it. I take a sip.

‘Wow! This is gorgeous.’

‘It’s Buck’s Fizz. Champagne and orange juice.’

‘Champagne?’

‘You know, the fizzy stuff.’ His eyes are alight with laughter.

‘I know what it is, idiot. Where did you get it?’

‘I found a case of it in the cupboard. Don’t worry, he won’t miss one.’

‘Jem! Of course he will! You’ll have to replace it! And the bacon and eggs and stuff!’

‘I will. Now shut up and enjoy your breakfast.’

I sit back against the pillows and take another sip. ‘I could get used to this.’

‘You can. For the next few nights, anyway.’

‘You reckon?’ I poke my toast into the egg and take a bite. ‘Delicious. How did you know this is the way I like my eggs?’

‘Oh, I know everything about you.’ Jem grins and tops up my glass with more champagne. ‘Nothing escapes me.’

I grin at him happily as the yolk runs down my chin. ‘Do you know, I’m beginning to think you do!’

I’d love to stay in bed with Jem all day but, mindful of my meeting with Mrs Hopkins, I tear myself away and jump into the shower. She’s nice, Mrs H, she’s on my side. I’m kind of looking forward to a friendly chat with someone since my big-time falling-out with my best mate last night.

When I come out of the shower, he’s reading in bed.

‘What’s the book?’

He shows me the cover. It’s a diary. Jude’s.

‘That’s private!’

Jem grins. ‘That’s why it makes interesting reading! Wanna look?’

For a second I’m tempted. Then I say, ‘Nah, I’m late,’ and I busy myself getting dressed.

When I kiss him goodbye, he tries to pull me back into bed, but I resist.

‘When will you be back?’ he moans.

‘As soon as I can,’ I laugh, managing to wriggle out of his arms.

By the time I make it into college, I’ve missed first period, but I’m waiting for Mrs H outside her office when she bustles along at break-time. I could swear for a second she looks relieved when she catches sight of me, but she just gives me a tight little smile and ushers me inside with the words, ‘Take a seat. I’ll be with you in a second.’ Then she totally ignores me, clicking on her computer instead and staring at the screen, her face expressionless.

I might look composed but inside I’m a bundle of jangling nerves. I’ve left Jem in the apartment and, though I don’t like to admit it to myself, that worries me a bit. I’m not sure why – I trust him, don’t I? I mean, he’s hardly going to go through my father’s bank accounts or steal the family jewels, is he? And anyway, who am I to talk?

I’m sitting here in my tutor’s office wearing a pair of Jude’s knickers. A black, lacy thong! Jem’s choice. I had no clean underwear so he went through her drawers and found it for me. He doesn’t seem to get the privacy thing – he thinks it’s hilarious, but it really freaks me out. Plus, despite my sobering power-shower, I’m feeling slightly drunk after my champagne breakfast. It’s all kind of surreal.

Mrs Hopkins clicks her screen shut purposefully and swings around to face me.

‘Anna? Have you got anything you want to tell me?’

‘What?’ Her words wrong-foot me. What does she mean?

She takes a deep breath. ‘Where were you this morning?’

‘Pardon?’ I stare at her blankly. I’d nearly broken my neck getting here on time for this meeting. I didn’t have to do this. I could still be fast asleep in Jem’s arms. She was the one who wanted a cosy little chat, not me.

‘First lesson?’ she prompts.

‘I was here,’ I lie.

‘That’s strange. I didn’t see you in English.’

My blood runs cold. I’d forgotten it was English first thing. Her lesson.

‘I had a dental appointment.’

‘Really?’ She turns back to the computer and opens up the screen again, turning it towards me so I can see it too. It’s a record of my attendance. Or rather, of my absences. ‘And did you have a dental appointment last Friday, period two? Or Thursday afternoon? Or all day Wednesday? Or the week before when you missed double Sociology, three periods of Art and an important lecture by a guest speaker on Flaubert?’

Her voice is different this morning. Accusatory. ‘I’ve been doing a little research, Anna. I can see that recently you’ve been missing a large number of sessions. Can you explain why?’

‘I’ve been trying to catch up.’ I mumble.

‘The more lessons you miss, the more difficult it will be to catch up.’

‘I know that!’ I rub my brow, between my eyebrows where a headache is building up momentum. I can feel her gaze on me.

‘Did you go home last night?’

My head jerks up in surprise. ‘Yes!’ Only I can feel my face burning and I can tell she doesn’t believe me. How does she know, the witch?

‘You’re dressed in the same clothes as yesterday,’ she says, as if she’s read my mind. ‘In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never done that before.’

‘Yeah, well, there’s always a first time!’ I say. Just who does she think she is? ‘I don’t comment on the clothes you wear!’ I add.

‘You’re not paid to keep an eye on me,’ she says crisply. ‘On the other hand, I am paid to look after your welfare here at college as well as teach you English. It’s my job. It’s important to me that you do well, Anna, that you make the most out of your time here, get good grades …’

‘Yeah, you wouldn’t want me to fail my exams, would you? That would really mess up your league tables!’

She has the grace to look embarrassed. ‘Yes, it would,’ she admits. ‘It would look even worse if you dropped out altogether.’

Dropped out? Who said anything about dropping out? Suddenly I feel scared. She’s not going to give me the push, is she?

‘You’re a clever girl, Anna. One of the best I’ve ever taught. But you’ve got to put the work in if you’ve got your sights set on an English degree at a decent university.’

‘I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll do Art instead.’

‘Really?’ She stares at me in surprise. ‘Mr Thomas tells me you rarely bother to turn up there, either.’

I stare at the floor.

‘Anna.’ Her voice is gentle now and, paradoxically, this makes me want to cry. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t throw away all your opportunities for some boy …’

Some boy? How does she know so much about me? I stare at her, open-mouthed while the penny drops. ‘Huh! I get it. You’ve been talking to Zoe, haven’t you?’

‘She was worried about you when you didn’t turn up at college this morning.’

‘Yeah, right!’ I burst out bitterly. ‘She chucked me out in the middle of the night!’

Slight exaggeration, but Mrs Hopkins nods understandingly. ‘Zoe explained that you’d had a row and had left her house, upset. She was very concerned when there was no sign of you in English, and confided in me. Nobody else knows, though I was just about to contact your mother to see if you’d got home safely.’

I swallow, grateful at least that my presence here this morning had scuppered that little idea. Mum, for all she liked him, would’ve had a fit if she’d known I’d lied to her and spent the night with Jem. Especially in Dad and Jude’s bed!

And I can’t even begin to think what they would say if they knew about it!

Suddenly it all feels a bit mucky. Tacky. Sordid. Though at least I’d got away with it and no one ever need know.

But then Mrs Hopkins says, ‘Maybe it would be a good idea to ask your parents to come in to see me anyway? We could have a chat about your progress, set up a programme to get you back on track before it’s too late …’

‘NO!’ The last thing I needed was for my parents to be informed about how rubbish I was and what a bad influence Jem was on me. ‘It’s difficult at the moment at home. My parents have split up. Dad’s … not here … he’s in New York … working. And my mum’s not very well at the moment. It would only worry her.’

‘Oh.’ The teacher’s face droops with concern. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. That does explain a lot. But I do feel they need to be kept in the picture, before it’s too late …’

‘Look, I’m fine, really. OK, I know I’ve been slacking a bit lately, but I’m back on track, honest. Now I’ve dropped Sociology, I can concentrate on the others and prepare properly for my A levels. Maybe you could give me a hand with English, help me catch up … ?’

Mrs Hopkins smiles. ‘Of course I will,’ she says and dives into her filing cabinet. Five minutes later, I stagger from her office with a stack of notes and past papers a mile high.

That’s my trouble. I’m too good an actress.

Outside, Zoe is waiting for me, hopping anxiously from one foot to the other, arms folded tight with tension.

‘Anna! Are you OK? I was so worried!’

‘Yeah, right. For your information I got chased by some nutter. I could’ve been attacked and left for dead for all you cared!’

Why did I say that? It was Jem – I was in no danger whatsoever. Maybe because at the time, before I knew it was him, I had been truly terrified. It has the desired effect anyway. Zoe’s face is blank with shock.

‘Oh my G—’

‘Yeah, thanks a bunch!’ I say, glaring at her over my pile of papers. ‘And not only did you chuck me out of your house last night, you and your big mouth nearly got me chucked out of college!’

She stares at me in horror. ‘I’m so sorry! I was worried sick about you when you didn’t turn up this morning. And Mrs Hopkins asked where you were and I couldn’t help it, I—’

‘I know, she told me.’

‘I’m sorry!’ she repeats miserably. ‘It’s all my fault.’

‘Some friend you turned out to be!’

‘Anna, if there’s anything I can do to make up … Anything?’

‘Yes there is. Stay away from me!’

I stalk off down the corridor, enjoying the sight of her mortified face. It makes me feel better somehow.

I can’t think about my own role in all this. Not yet.

I’ve got other things to do.