✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

54. Silver Linings

Tess was sitting on the bus, paying no attention to anything but her phone, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She knew it wasn't Tami, because he'd said the day before that he was going to be away for a few days dealing with family trouble. She contemplated ignoring the interruption, as she didn't know anyone else who lived on this side of Raybridge, and she needed to ask Spike if he'd made a decision yet about the cinema trip that evening. But that would still have been rude, and she knew that making more friends was a good idea for anyone in her situation.

She wasn't expecting to see Spike right there, when she was in the middle of tapping out a message to him on her phone. But there he was, in the flesh. She quickly turned the device off and slipped it back into her pocket.

"Fancy seeing you here!"

"I know. It's almost like we're going to the same school, isn't it?"

"You know what I meant. This bus is the wrong direction from your house."

"Not if I woke up at five this morning and there was already family drama to deal with."

"The bad kind?" She couldn't actually picture anything that might qualify as drama for the Torrance household, but she was sure that if she could imagine anything it would have been bad.

"Could be worse. Well, pretty bad, but not for me. Nik tripped and hurt himself. You can guess what Duke suggested to take the pain away... I figured somebody needed to be the responsible one, and the pool of sober someones was me. So half an hour later I'm checking my little brother into the hospital, and they're asking the usual questions. You know?"

"Not really. I've been in hospital like once in my life, and my parents must have done all the paperwork. Previous conditions and everything?"

"Safeguarding. Like, they want to know how it happened, why there wasn't a responsible adult to take him, why his dad isn't there with him. That kind of stuff, anyway. Anyway, he's staying in so the doctors can keep an eye on him. Saw Adam there, and he offered me a coffee. Helped me get my head back in a better place. So... I figured it's best to wait with Nik, reassure him there's not going to be any trouble, and get the bus from Pine Ridge. So..."

Spike stumbled a bit as the bus pulled off, but quickly dropped into the seat next to Tess, making the move look almost intentional.

"How about you? Good morning?"

"Is the cinema trip cancelled? Did they say how long Nik's going to..."

"He might get to go home tonight, might want him to stay in until tomorrow. If he's in hospital overnight I'll stay with him. But until then, the day goes as planned. No sense going home until I need to. You want to come?"

"Yeah. We barely see each other out of school now," Tess answered, smiling hugely. Being able to spend time with Spike, regardless of what they were doing or why, somehow made her life feel complete. It almost pushed her worries from that morning out of her mind, and she didn't need to think about why she would be so eager to see more of one of her friends.

Spike hadn't decided where they were going yet, but he was determined to make a fun evening of it. They would go out for dinner somewhere after school, maybe to the Pasta Buffet in Upper Ashfields, and then on to one of the small cinemas there. He hadn't decided what to watch either; but thought it would be better to decide once everyone who wanted to come was there. Tess had to agree with that. She didn't mind what they were watching, or what they were eating. The important thing to her was being with Spike on his special day, and perhaps getting to know some of his other friends as well.

"How many people are you expecting?" she asked.

"A handful. I know a lot of people, but not many I'd call close friends. I mentioned it on Clatter, so anyone wants to show up they can. Jeb and Tami will probably come. Your friend Chloe's pushing me to go watch that Tags movie, I think she wants an excuse to see it again."

"It's worth seeing more than once. I'd love to give it another shot, see how much more I pick up this time."

"It's a twist movie, then? You didn't mention you were going to see it."

"Not really. It's... Ffrances is a huge fan of the comics it's based on, and she's lent me a few to read, so I know a lot more about the world now. I bet that makes a huge difference. But I'll be happy with anything you want to see. Your birthday, after all. I bet everybody has their own preferences, so you can't think about what they all want to see.."

"Mindy said she wants to go to some Tyler Walthamstone flick. I told her I'd consider it, but if she wants to come she better start showing some respect first."

"Isn't she, like, the supreme commander of the popular mean girl squad in your year? Why does she care about your party? I mean... there's nowhere I'd rather be, but she seems like she'd only want to put you down."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "She's been reasonably polite to me, if a little shallow. It's just my friends who get maximum disdain. Maybe she's a slave to hormones or something, it's all I can think of. I won't sink to her level, but if she wants to get me to respect her, she needs to be nice to the people I actually care about. It would be good for her to learn that lesson sooner rather than later. Just... not tonight, I don't want the evening to be hijacked by more of her self-absorbed demands."

Tess knew it was probably uncharitable of her, but she didn't have much sympathy for Mindy Ciertowczki. After seeing her talking to Spike, the girl had been nothing but spiteful to Tess. If attributed to misplaced jealousy, at least her behaviour made some kind of sense. But that still didn't excuse it. She hoped that Mundy would come to see that she would get a lot further by learning to be a good friend, but shewas cynical enough to know that it wasn't likely.

"I think we'll have more fun that way," she said. "I'm sure there will be more people than you expect."

"It's not the number of people that matters. It's the right people. And I count myself lucky to have met all the right people. So whether it's a half dozen friends sharing stories of the dumb things our teachers have said, my whole English class showing up en mass after last period, or if it's just me and you, I'm sure I'll have a wonderful time."

The bus had just arrived outside the school, so Spike was already rising to his feet. Tess followed a single step behind, muttering a general statement of agreement, until her brain caught up with her ears and she realised what he had just said,

"Just me and you."

Did that mean he considered it a possibility? That he half expected all of his other friends to let him down? Or could it mean that he was hoping for a moment alone, like the date she had always been too nervous to ask for? She didn't want to say anything like that, but if he was thinking the same... how could she ever know what was a possibility, ot what was just wishful thinking?

All through school that day, she looked forward to the evening. But she couldn't have said even to herself which outcome she was hoping for.