Undercurrent

Chapter 17

As it turned out, I was better at socialising than I'd expected. Ro's friends, Jamie and Erin, were great fun and they managed to make me feel comfortable almost straight away. I'd wondered why I hadn't met them at college before, but Jamie had left school and gone straight into his family's carpentry business and Erin was some kind of musical prodigy, studying at a music school in the city. She only came back every other weekend.

Despite my transformation into a social butterfly, I'd found myself getting a bit overwhelmed with the constant chatter and after we'd done the first course (pirate themed – classic) I excused myself to go and get another drink from the bar. Ro came to join me, just to check if I was alright. It was weird how I never felt overwhelmed when Ro was there. It was something I'd never had before.

"You ok?" she asked, nudging me with her shoulder.

"I'm good." I smiled. "Just needed a minute."

"Thought so."

I ordered a Coke and Ro ordered for herself and the others. We waited in comfortable silence for the drinks to arrive and when they did, Ro said, "They like you, you know?"

"Oh," I said, picking up two glasses. "Me too. I mean, I like them."

Ro smiled broadly. "I'm so glad!" she said excitedly.

I smiled back. I was glad too.

When we got back to the others, they'd found a table and were in the midst of a whispered conversation.

"...said he'd had a flare up." Erin looked upset.

"Oh God, they're never good," Jamie grimaced. "It's been a while since the last –"

"Drinks!" Ro said, a little louder than she needed. She passed them to her friends and we joined them. "So, round two?"

"Give us a minute," Jamie laughed, the worry that had been etched on his face a moment ago seemed to have cleared.

"Yeah, just because you're used to strenuous exercise like this, doesn't mean everyone can keep up," Erin elbowed Ro gently.

Ro rolled her eyes and pulled a face at her in response. I felt a pang in my stomach. This was the kind of thing I'd been missing out on for years. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed out on until I saw it in front of me.

The next course was a lot more successful for me. The alien theme of this one seemed to suit me better and I ended up winning the game. Ro pretended to be furious that I'd swiped victory from her at the last minute but I could tell she didn't mean any of it.

Jamie and Erin caught the bus home from outside the complex. We waved them off, agreeing to meet up again soon. Jamie was insistent on bowling next time; Erin wanted to go and see some local bands in the town centre. I didn't mind either way. It was just a nice novelty to be invited anywhere.

"Ugh, it wasn't this cold earlier." Ro linked my arm as we waited on the bench outside for our mums to arrive and pick us up, shivering in her t-shirt and jeans.

"Don't you check the weather?" I laughed, feeling pretty smug that I'd brought my hoodie along. "It's nearly October – of course it's getting cold."

"Yeah, yeah," Ro mumbled, leaning her head on my shoulder and letting out a yawn. "Thanks for coming tonight, Nina. I know it wasn't easy for you to say yes."

"Yeah." I couldn't say much as I felt a bit choked up. Yet again, Ro had seen straight through me and knew exactly what I'd been thinking. We sat there quietly, Ro trying to steal a bit of warmth from the hoodie on my shoulder, until the Range Rover pulled up in front of us.

"That's me," said Ro, unravelling herself from my arm and standing. I looked over to the car where I was sure her mum was looking at me with narrowed eyes. I raised my hand in a half-hearted wave but I didn't think it was going to change the woman's impression of me. I wasn't sure what I'd done to earn it.

Ro gave me a quick hug before hopping up into the passenger seat. I watched as they turned round in the car park and drove past again, Ro leaning against the window looking thoroughly miserable and her mum talking animatedly as they went.

I was really confused by the whole interaction but didn't have too much time to think about it before Mum pulled up, her battered Golf – a stark contrast to Ro's mum's Range Rover. I smiled to myself as I thought there wasn't a chance I'd ever want to trade my mum for Ro's, even if she had the money for a hundred Range Rovers.