✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

15. Tess at Work

Friday was a good day for Tess. There was no history lesson, for one thing. She wasn't particularly fond of maths or literature, but she liked to think she was quietly competent. She was certainly better than any of her classmates who kept interrupting with questions that seemed to show they hadn't understood anything the teacher said, or were just not listening. And without any kind of league tables for the class, there was no way to know how far below or above the average she might have been.

Kim asked again if she wanted to go shopping at the weekend. Tess was sorely tempted; knowing that she still had the money that her parents had left for her as a housewarming gift. She could afford to treat herself a little, maybe get something nice. A gift for Spike, or something to say thank you to Gabby for letting her stay, she wasn't sure. But wandering around the shopping district of Greater Ashfields with her friends was a good way to kill time whether she ended up buying anything or not. She was sure that they would all have a laugh at every shop they stopped in front of, pointing out things that might be good for someone they knew, or laughing at items that it seemed nobody in their right mind would ever buy.

The only thing putting Tess off was that she didn't know how much that money was supposed to last her. She knew that her dad had mentioned an allowance in one of the confused emails to Gabby, with Aunt Mary and Grandma Forton passing on a message and injecting their own notes of confusion along the way.

They had suggested that her parents could give Gabby a regular payment to cover her upkeep, out of which she could give Tess a regular allowance after seeing how much her food costs and bills changed with an extra person in the house. Or Mum had said it might be better for them to send money to Tess electronically, so that there was still a little reminder of her parents supporting her.

In the rush to sort out moving house with relatively little notice, quite a few details seemed to have been put to one side. And right now, she wasn't sure if they had ever made a decision. Tess wanted to show her parents how responsible she was, and she thought that she wouldn't impress them by spending money on luxuries when she had no idea how long it would be before she had more.

"You should come to town on Saturday," the voice jolted her out of her own thoughts. She'd been sitting there for some time with a sandwich half way to her mouth, while she wondered about the best course of action.

"I'm not sure if–" she started to answer, and then realised that the voice in her ear hadn't been the one she was expecting. She quickly put her food down and turned around to give Spike a happy hug. Just seeing him could brighten her day, and help her to worry less about whatever might be bothering her.

"I should," she agreed. "But I don't know if I've got money to spend."

"Then I'll buy you lunch. I want to see you again. I can't come to yours, you wouldn't want to see my place, so I'll join you for this shopping trip."

Tess turned back to Chloe and Kim, who were sitting with her. It seemed strange inviting someone else along, when it had been the same group of friends hanging around in town almost every weekend for as long as they could remember. But Chloe answered before she could even ask.

"Great, I was wondering when we'd get to see more of you. Tess can't stop talking about you, but we barely talk."

"Hey!" Tess mumbled, feeling the blush rising again. She was sure that she wanted to spend more time with Spike, but she'd never found the right words to actually say that to him, and she didn't know how she felt about somebody else breaking the news.

"Saturday, then," he said with a nod. "And thanks, I'll be looking forward to it."

Tess didn't know what else she should say; it seemed like the decision had been taken out of her hand. Her best friends, and a friend who she cared for more than she could admit, would both be waiting for her now. And there was no way she would even consider letting them both down. She was nervous, sure. She'd never had the courage to suggest going anywhere with Spike, in case he might assume it was meant to be a date or something. He'd come to her house to study before, when he didn't feel comfortable at home, but they'd done very little else. And now... well, it couldn't be a date if her friends were all there. It didn't mean anything, but she found herself mumbling, nervous for reasons she couldn't understand.