Chapter 8

Monday mornings are awful.

What is it about Monday mornings that are so different from any other weekday mornings? It can't just be that it's the day after the weekend. It's something much broader than that.

It's just something about Mondays. I mean, why does it always rain? It's one of the very few clichés that are true. It always rains on a Monday morning, no matter how good the weekend weather was.

And how come on Mondays, you always had the worst lessons? I always did at school, and even though now at Uni all the lessons are the same, why did you always get the most lessons on a Monday?

Why?

Was it just some secret fact, or just a weird coincidence every year?

And Mondays always drag, `cos what have you got to look forward to? Monday night and then Tuesday. And nothing ever happens on either of those two occasions. It's Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays that are exciting. You have something to look forward to.

And boy, did I have something to look forward to this Thursday and Friday!

I was going out with Christian from a1 on Friday night and we were going to dinner and then onto see a film at the cinema. And it was going to be wonderful `cos he likes me, he's totally gorgeous and we get on so well. Plus, he's paying for everything (wahoo!).

But that's not really the point. The point is I'm, Kate, I am going on a date- a proper, proper date- with a fabulous guy, for the first time in months!

So I didn't care that I had loads of lessons today, and that it was raining and even that I didn't have a car- I was top of the world that Monday morning.

I keep thinking I'm dreaming- I really do. I can't believe all this is happening to me- to me! It's like a fairytale. One of those far-fetched dreams you have when you're a love struck 15 year old, dreaming that you're going out with your favourite pop star. Not that Christian WAS my favourite pop star (well, now he is!), and that I even liked a1.

I was so incredibly lucky. There must be so many girls right now who have adored Christian for years and would kill to be in my position.

And I think Abbie was one of them! Well, not that she wanted to date Christian, although she had fancied him once... a long, long, long time ago! No, it was another member of a1 she wanted to be with... a certain very tall, very cute, curtained-haired singer... Ha! Ha! Ha!

When I phoned her last night after Christian and I had arranged to go out on Friday night, you could never have heard a girl who could be more pleased with herself!

"I told you it was a1. What did I say? I knew a1 would've been the reason he cancelled! And I told you he'd phone again..."

And similar "I told you so!" chatter for the rest of the night.

I didn't care though. You had no idea how happy I was that she was right on this occasion and I was wrong!

I was waiting for her to pick me up to go to Uni.

I'd had to get up a bit earlier than I normally do, to get my bag and everything sorted out, but it was only a one-off, so I didn't mind too much. I was getting my car back this afternoon anyway, thank God. Not that I hated Abbie picking me up, it was just an inconvenience for me and for her.

She lived just outside Greenwich, and didn't travel as far to Uni as I did. Today she had to drive into Greenwich, pick me up, and then drive all the way into London. So, it wasn't really fair on her. Still, it was only one morning. Everything would be ok again tomorrow.

She picked me up just after 8.15am, and immediately, as soon as we got into the car, she wanted to talk about Christian again!

"Is this all we're going to be doing today?" I asked, grinning. "Talking about Christian?"

"Yep!" Abbie laughed. "Well- him and Ben."

"Abbie, I'm going out with Christian, not Ben!" I laughed.

"I know that! God, I don't know what I'd have done if you'd met Ben on the bus, and he'd snogged you. God! I might have had to kill you."

I laughed. "And I don't know what I would've done if Ben had snogged me! It would have been pretty strange `cos I don't fancy him!"

"Oh, c'mon, Kate! You didn't fancy Christian before you met him on Saturday, and that didn't stop you!" Abbie said.

"I s'pose that's true," I agreed reluctantly.

"Anyway, I thought your favourite member of a1 before Saturday afternoon had been Mark!" Abbie laughed.

I laughed too. "Oh God, yeah. I'd forgotten about that!"

"What are you gonna do if you meet the guys and fall head over heels in love with Mark, whilst you're going out with Christian?" Abbie asked.

"Er... I don't fancy Mark, Abbie," I told her. "You just asked me who I liked best out of all of them and I said Mark."

"You thought Christian was the weird, Norwegian one!" She laughed.

I blushed. Oh God, I had, hadn't I?

How embarrassing!

"And you'll get to meet the lovely Paul! Ahhh... he's so cute. You'll have to tell me if he's as hilarious as we think he is," Abbie said.

"And if he's as small as we think he is!" I joked.

Abbie gasped and took one hand off the steering wheel to hit me.

"Don't be cruel!" She scolded. "He's taller than you!"

"No- I think we're the same height, actually," I corrected her. "We're both 5"5."

"Well... see! He's not smaller than you. Don't be so mean to him," she said. "His big personality makes up for any lack of height!"

"Abbie- it's weird to be talking about meeting the rest of the guys like this," I said on a serious note. "I mean- Christian and I might not work out. And even if we do, who's to say he even wants me to meet the rest of his band?"

"How will you not be able to meet the rest of the band?" Abbie challenged. "They're forever hanging around with each other! Mark, Ben and Paul are Christian's best mates. You'll meet them," she said firmly. She sounded really sure I would, as well!

"I can't think about that now," I said. "I've got Friday to think about first. If that doesn't go well, then I've had it."

"Friday'll be fantastic!" Abbie said, again in a sure tone. "You'll get on really well and have a fantastic time, I'm sure of it."

"But it's a long way away- 5 days! I just know I'm gonna work myself up into a really big worry about it!" I sighed.

"You'll be fine!" Abbie assured me. "Just try to keep your mind on other things and try to keep it at the back of your mind, if you can."

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Oh yeah- easy for you to say!" I laughed sarcastically. "You’re not going out with Christian from a1 on Friday night!"

"I know," she sighed. She sounded really disappointed, actually!

"So- erm- how's Danny?" I asked, reminding her she did have a boyfriend.

"He's fine," she said, a little subduely.

"Is everything ok between you two?" I asked, concerned. She's usually really enthusiastic about Danny!

"Oh yeah, everything's fine," she assured me.

"So...?"

"So- it's weird. I mean, you're going out with Christian from a1 on Friday and that's soooooo exciting! a1 are like, my favourite band and have been for ages! And you're gonna get close to them all, I know you are. Your life is gonna become so exciting! and just compared to that, Danny seems so un- exciting," she admitted.

"Oh, sweetheart!" I cried. "That's sooo not true! Danny's the best thing that's ever happened to you!"

"But I'd swap him for Ben any day, you know that," Abbie said.

"Really?" I said, amazed.

She nodded.

"But you don't even know Ben!" I cried. "He might be like, a total tosser or something!"

She hit me again. "Don't call Ben a tosser!" She scolded. "And he's not one- no way. He seems so nice and friendly and genuine. And he's gorgeous..."

"Abbie- Danny's all of those things," I insisted.

"Yeah, but Danny's not Ben. No-one's Ben except for Ben. I'd have given anything to have met him on the bus like you met Christian!"

"Er, Abbie, you hate buses even more than I do!" I laughed. "If you'd have been in my situation on Saturday, you would've got a cab home!"

"I might not have!" She argued. "If I'd been really tired like you said you were, I would've caught the bus."

"Ben's got a car, though. Christian said the guys had two cars between them at the ARMI house..."

"The what?" Abbie said, confused.

I laughed. She was doing a me!

"The ARMI house. That's where they all lived in London before Christian moved out," I said. "Well- Mark, Ben and Paul still live there, but Christian doesn't."

"Did he say what street it was on?" Abbie asked, cannily.

"No, he did not!!" I said, laughing. "What would you have done if he had? Drove over there and introduced yourself to Ben?"

"No!" Abbie said defiantly. "But I probably would have driven down that street a few times! And drove very slowly past the house to see if I could see any of the guys!"

We both laughed.

"So what's the deal with it being called the ARMI house?" She asked, as we turned into London. Now, it would start getting busy...

"Oh- Mark named it. Apparently, it's the first letters of all their surnames."

Abbie thought for a second, then she said, "oh yeah! That's really... weird."

"So, you know all their surnames?" I asked.

"Well- er- yeah," she said, making me sound dumb. "I kinda am obsessed with a1!"

"What are they, then?" I asked, interested.

"Well, the `A' is Ben Adams, the `R' is Mark Read, the `M' is Paul Marazzi and the `I' is Christian Ingebrigtsen," she explained.

"You'll have to get me to say that and spell it correctly!" I laughed, referring to Christian's surname.

"Uhuh. Especially if you're going to be Mrs Ingebrigtsen!" Abbie said, making me blush.

"Oh shut up!" I laughed.

"Out of interest, does he sound American when he talks?" Abbie suddenly asked. "'Cos he does in interviews."

I thought for a second. I suppose he did kind of have an American twang in his accent. I hadn't really noticed it whilst we'd been talking though. I suppose I'd been so busy concentrating on what we'd been talking about, I didn't have time to notice things like that.

"I guess..." I said.

Abbie laughed. "You were just too busy staring at him to notice that!"

I laughed, too. "That's soooo not true!"

Although, I did have to admit, on the bus I had stared at him a fair bit. Quite a lot, actually. Ok-loads! But I couldn't help it! He had gorgeous hair, gorgeous eyes, gorgeous lips, a gorgeous smile...

Ooooooh, Christian from a1 was gorgeous. And I was going out with him and it was I he fancied.

Oh my God!!!!

"You got any tests today?" Abbie asked me, changing the subject.

I shook my head. "Thank God, no. But I've got two essays to hand in on Friday," I said.

Abbie nodded. "I've got a test tomorrow- arraghhhh! I can't wait until we finish this course and we can actually get a real job."

"And earn money!" I agreed with her.

"Are you getting nervous about the exams, though?" Asked Abbie. "I mean, they're only 2 months away..."

"Oh, please don't remind me!" I groaned. "I'm getting really worried about them! God, if I fail these, I have to do the whole course again..."

"Don't talk about that!" Abbie cried. "I couldn't stand another two years of essays, and sitting through boring classes about what is actually in a filling..."

I laughed. "Oh God, Abbie! What do you learn about?!"

"No- don't worry. It's not all like that! It's certainly boring, though. I'd much rather actually be a dentist, instead of keep learning how to be one!"

"You have to pass the test first though, sweetie!" I warned her. "Get your "teeth examining" licence!"

"Hmmm... I'd like to examine Ben's teeth!" She suddenly murmured. "He's got such nice teeth, don't you think?"

"Abbie! You wanna do more than just examine his teeth!" I laughed.

She did, too! "Yeah, yeah," she said.

We were quite near the East London University now. Just another mile or so, and then we'd see the great building. Not that it was so great after going there for nearly two years of studying!

I was glad I wasn't living on campus anymore. Not that it was awful or anything- it's just I couldn't stand being there day and night. It was like being in a relaxed prison of lecturers!

And Abbie was having it so much better by living outside Uni, so much that, at the beginning of the last year, I'd decided to move out- the year I did teacher training.

The first year I'd studied at the University, I had to live on campus, and it hadn't been too bad. But when we did a year of teacher training in the second year, when we actually went to work as a student teacher in a school, I couldn't really live on campus anymore, so I moved into that horrible little apartment I now call home.

I can't wait to move. I really can't. I want to be in a nice cosy flat in London by the time I get my first job in September. IF I pass my tests in June, of course...

I thought about Uni today and it reminded me of something.

"Abbie- you're not gonna tell anyone about Christian, are you?" I asked anxiously. "Promise you won't."

"But Kate! Don't you wanna tell Emm and Karen? Robbie and Rosanna? I mean, I understand if you don't want me telling Danny- but what about everyone else?" Abbie said.

"Until I can be really sure that Christian is my... er..."

"Your boyfriend?" Abbie put in, smiling.

"Er... yeah," I said. Wow! Putting it like that, it sounded amazing.

Christian a1's my boyfriend.

Wow!

Well ok, he wasn't yet, but...

"Yeah, until that happens, I'd really like to keep everything quiet. If I tell the guys, they'll tell more people and soon, it'll be around Uni that I'm like, sleeping with him or something, and we haven't even gone out yet. Not properly," I said.

"Ok- ok. if you don't want me to tell, I won't," Abbie said.

"Don't even mention I have a date, ok? Then they'll just hound me to find out who it's with," I said.

Abbie laughed. "Yeah, that's true. Alright then, my lips are sealed."

"And no talking about Christian in front of the gang!" I warned her.

"But Kate!" Abbie whined. "I always talk about a1! You can't stop me talking about them!"

"I'm not saying that!" I said. "Just don't go on excessively about Christian, or they'll start to get suspicious."

"Like they're gonna guess you're going out with Christian from a1 on Friday night!" Abbie laughed.

"Ok, ok!" I laughed. "But just please- I want to tell them in my own time, ok?"

"Ok- I've already told you I won't say a word. As far as I'm concerned, you're still very sadly single," she said.

"Thank you!" I said, pretending to be offended.

We reached East London Uni then.

God, it was massive. I don't know how many students went here- probably in the region of 5- 6000! Quite big. Not the biggest in London I don't think, but one of the biggest. A lot of students lived here on campus, but of course, Abbie and I didn't. Abbie shared a house with two other girls called Debbie and Nicky, who also went here.

It was about 9 o'clock when Abbie parked in the student car park, and my first class was at 9.30am. So was Abbie's, so we decided to go and get a coffee from the canteen until then.

So, we left the car with our bags, Abbie locked it, and we made our way through the various buildings on campus until we reached the canteen. It was a separate building from where all the classes were held, and it's basically where we met up for coffees when we didn't have classes and were on campus, and also for when we had lunch and couldn't be bothered to drive into London. To be honest, it was so busy with the traffic at lunchtime and the cafes in London weren't up to much anyway, or were very expensive, so we basically ate in the canteen.

It was quite a big canteen. It was like this huge hall, with lots of small round tables strewn around, and then at the far end, a long counter where you could buy cold and hot drinks and food, which then you sat down and had. It was always busy with students and noisy from the chatter and the low pop music playing in the background, but that's what gave it such a warm and friendly atmosphere. It was such a relaxed place to go, which was why it was quite popular on campus.

Abbie swung the glass doors to the canteen open and we went in. Already it was busy, with students just sat around waiting for classes, drinking coffee or catching up on a late breakfast.

We went over to the counter and queued for coffee, before finding a table in the middle of the room where we could sit down.

"God! Another week here- I can't believe it," Abbie groaned as she sat down.

"Yeah, but if you think about it," I said, "how many more weeks do we have until we get that break before the exams? Not long. About 7 or 8 weeks."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm gonna be leaving!" Abbie said.

"Oh, I dunno. Won't you miss this place?" I asked.

Abbie shrugged. "Not really. Anyway, you'll soon be going to trendy wine bars with Christian like the Red Cube and stuff! Like the hell you'll miss this place!"

I laughed. "Can you really see me at the Red Cube? I'd be so star struck!"

"You'd have Christian. And the guys. Oh!" She suddenly gasped. "You could go clubbing with a1! Wow!"

"Abbie- what did I tell you? No talking about a1 whilst we're at Uni," I said, frowning.

"But Kate! We're the only ones here!" Abbie complained.

I happened to look up then.

"No we're not," I said.

I'd just seen Danny coming towards us, and because Abbie had her back to him, she didn't see him.

I smiled at him as he approached out table.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi!" He said back and Abbie looked up and saw him.

"Danny!" She exclaimed.

He leant down and gave her a quick kiss and a grin. "Hi- I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"What's up?" She asked, as he sat down with us.

"Do I have to have an excuse to see my girlfriend?" He grinned, as he put his arm around her and gave her a big kiss on the forehead. "I missed you."

"Danny- it's been two days!" Abbie laughed, but I think she was pleased he was here.

No matter how much she said she'd swap Danny for Ben, I don't think she would, really. She loves Danny so much- they're such a cute couple!

"But Saturday morning was such a long time ago!" He complained, giving her another kiss. "What've you been up to?" He asked, still talking only to her.

It was hard sometimes when I was just with them two. They were so into each other that it can be a bit uncomfortable just sitting there, looking like a Billy!

"Well- we went to the cinema yesterday, didn't we Kate?" Abbie said, turning to me, ironically bringing me into the conversation.

I nodded and Danny began talking as if there were two of us there for the first time. "Oh! What did you go and see?" He asked.

"Bridget Jones's Diary," Abbie said.

"It was really good," I put in.

"Lee and Marie went to see it and they said it was really funny," said Danny.

"It was! Really good," Abbie said.

"We'll have to go to the cinema again sometime. We haven't been in ages," Danny said to Abbie.

"True- we haven't. But that's only `cos you like evenings in more than going out!" She laughed.

"So do you!" He said, and they both laughed.

I was beginning to feel alienated again. I started drinking my coffee whilst the loved-up couple in front of me giggled at each other, knowing exactly what the other one was thinking.

Oh, I really want that kind of relationship with Christian! I thought to myself. A completely normal one where we're inseparable and do everything together and are totally in love. But we hadn't even been on a date, yet. I couldn't start thinking too far ahead. Besides, Christian was mega famous- how were we supposed to have a "normal" relationship? Well, I tried not to care. I just wanted a relationship with Christian! I just wanted to be as close with him as Abbie was with Danny. You look at Abbie and Danny and think: "they are sooo happy together. They are really right for each other."

I want people to think that when they see me and Christian.

Think- wow! What a cute, happy young couple! They look completely in love!

"So Kate- are you ok? How you doin'?" Danny suddenly asked, scattering my thoughts.

"Oh! Er... I'm fine," I said.

"Still no guy, yet?" He asked.

I looked down at the table. "Er... no," I lied.

"Never mind! You'll find someone soon, a great girl like you. I can set you up, if you like," he said.

My head shot up quickly. "No! No! It's ok- really. I'm fine. I like being single," I said hastily.

God! I do not want to go out with one of his mates whilst I've got Christian from a1 to go out with!

"Ok- whatever," he shrugged.

"I think Kate wants to find someone herself," Abbie said to Danny, winking at me.

"Ok- if that's her thang, whatever. It doesn't really concern me," he said. "As long as you don't keep pining over that arrogant prick Timothy Palmer, it's up to you, Kate."

I couldn't hold back a smile.

God, he was a prick.

Why hadn't I seen then, what I saw now? It would have saved so much heartache.

All my friends had been really good about it, though. Sticking up for me and saying Tim was a complete wanker, which he was.

A mean one, at that.

"Don't worry Danny, I'm over Tim," I said, half-lying.

"Good! What a waste of space, Kate," Danny advised. "He was such a bastard to you!"

"Still is," I muttered.

"God, I gotta go," Danny suddenly said, checking his watch. "I've got a class to get to."

He turned to Abbie. "I'll see you later ok JK?" He said, adjusting his baseball cap and getting up to go.

"Uhhh!" Abbie said, alarmed. "Kiss first!"

So he leaned down and they had a bit of a kiss before he picked up his rucksack, which he's slung down next to him when he'd sat down.

"See you later," he said to her and then he half waved at me as he walked away.

"Bye Kate!" He called.

"Bye!" I called back.

"God- I thought he was going to set me up with one of his weird mates or something, then!" I said to Abbie as soon as Danny was out of hearing distance.

"Don't be horrible! He hasn't got "weird mates"," Abbie defended.

"Yes he has!" I said firmly. "He's got that weird one who never takes that hood off! And that other one who thinks he's Eminem and the other one who likes Britney Spears songs."

I shuddered.

"What's wrong with liking Britney Spears? I like Britney Spears!" Abbie defended.

I gave her a look. "Abbie- he's a guy. You're a girl. Guys aren't supposed to like Britney Spears's songs, they're supposed to like Britney Spears."

"Ok- ok- so he is weird. But all the rest are ok. And Danny's not weird," Abbie said.

"Well, I know that. Anyway, I have a date already, remember?" I grinned.

"I thought we weren't supposed to talk about that!" Abbie grinned back.

Just then the bell went for classes, and Abbie and I both began gathering our things up. We both had different classes of course, as we were on different courses. We gathered up our bags, left the table and then chucked our empty paper cups into the bin.

A lot of people were leaving actually, to go to lessons. I said "bye" to Abbie and said I'd see her at 11am for a break in the canteen. Then I went off to my class. It wasn't too far away, just a couple of buildings.

I had three different classes that I attended actually, and I had 4 lessons of them a week. Length of classes varied. Each lesson taught a different aspect of teaching. There was a lot more to being a teacher than just the teaching. You had to be good with kids, too. A couple of girls in my classes were actually mothers, so that kind of helped!

I had my `proper' teaching class right now with my lecturer, Mr McRaney. He's not exactly the world's most friendliest guy, but I dealt with it.

On the way to class, I met up with Emm, one of my other best friends. It was really good, `cos she was training to be a teacher too, so she was in all of my lessons!

We caught up with all the action of the weekend, although of course, I did remain schuctum about Christian. I asked her how Noel, her boyfriend, was and she said they were fine. We chatted a lot until we got to class, but then we had to sit down and listen and take notes. I was usually really enthusiastic about my lessons and learning how to be a teacher, but how could I be today? When I was going out with Christian a1?

That whole class, I was in total Christian daydream land. I'm not usually that bad a dreamer, but today I was hopeless. God knows how many fantasies I had in that hour and a half! Loads and loads. Pretty explicit ones, too! I think Christian would have pretty embarrassed if he'd found out what I'd been thinking about!

I saw Abbie again at 11am for twenty minutes or so and we had a quick chat about how our morning lessons had been. Abbie's had been "dead boring" apparently and she was now starving. I was in too much of a fantasyland to think about food!

My next class lasted an hour and 10 minutes and was to do with teaching children, and how to deal with certain situations when they arose, stuff like that. The lecturer, Miss Short was much nicer than Mr McRaney and I got on much better with her. I got on best with her out of all my lecturers. Mrs Roberts, who taught the planning lessons and academic learning class was nice too, but Miss Short was younger and nearer to my age. She was just much easier to relate to.

Not that I paid much attention in her class, either.

I couldn't help it, ok?!!

Christian seemed so much more interesting than learning about kids at the moment.

God, was I gonna be this bad all week? I've gotta start concentrating, I warned myself! I can't lose concentration now. It's soooo close to my exams. It was such a relief when the bell went for lunch at half past 12. Now at least I had a bit of time to recuperate. An hour and a half, in fact.

I walked to the canteen with Emm, who seemed to notice I had other things on my mind.

"What's distracting ya?" She asked as we walked along.

"Huh?" I said, coming back from another phased-out moment.

She laughed. "Exactly my point! What or who, is on your mind?"

I couldn't help blushing. "No one," I said.

Oooops! Damn! Damn! Damn!

"Aha! It's a guy! Don't tell me you've been asked out!" She said excitedly.

God, how obvious could I be?

"No," I said.

"You have! Don't deny it! So who is it? Does he go here?" She questioned.

"I haven't been asked out," I lied to her.

"Oh Kate- c'mon! You've definitely met someone you really like. Unless it's Tim. Please tell me it's not Tim!"

"It's not Tim," I assured her, smiling.

"I bet it's Josh. You still fancy him, right?" Emm said.

Wow- yeah. I'd forgotten I liked him. He'd been my major crush before Christian had come into my life. He was really cute and he ate in the canteen every lunch, that's how I'd got to know him. But I hadn't spoken to him.

I shook my head. "I'm not saying!" I said.

We reached the canteen, and went in. It was really busy and we had to queue up for food. We both got pizza and chips and a coke, and then we went to go and sit with Abbie, who was already at the table with the rest of the gang.

I hung around with a gang of friends who I'd known since I got here. Some longer, as in Abbie and Emm's case. There was about 8 of us and we were all best mates, which was great. We did quite a few things together, too.

There was of course me, training to be a teacher, Abbie (King) training to be a dentist, Danny (Gray) training to be a lawyer, Emm (Davidson) training to be a teacher like me, Noel (Hughes), Emm's boyfriend, who was training to be a doctor, Karen (Walsh) who was training to be a journalist, Rosanna (Walker) who was training to be a vet, and lastly Robbie (Thompson) who was training to be an engineer.

They were all such good mates, and we always had lunch together everyday.

I hadn't seen Karen, Noel, Rosanna or Robbie today so I said hi to them as I sat down.

"Kate has a boyfriend!" Emm announced as she sat down.

Everyone stared at me, and Abbie gave me a "Oh! You've told her!" look.

I blushed. "I haven't. Emm's lying."

"Well- there is a guy. But she won't say who," Emm said.

"You said you were single and liked being single this morning!" Danny exclaimed. He was sat next to Abbie.

"I AM single. Emm's just exaggerating," I said.

"But there's definitely a guy on her mind! She's admitted to that!" Emm said.

"Yeah, but Kate's always got a guy on her mind!" Rosanna suddenly laughed. "It's probably Shane from Westlife, or someone like that!"

"Or Josh. I think it's Josh," Emm said, deciding.

"Have you asked him out yet, Kate?" Karen asked.

"No!" I said forcefully. "And I don't want to!"

"There's no need to be shy, Kate. He's really cute. I bet he'll say yes," Karen said.

"But-" I started.

"And guys like girls asking them out!" Karen declared. "Don't they?"

Robbie nodded in agreement at her. "Yep," he said, mouth full of chips.

"I prefer to do the running," Noel said, in his broad Welsh accent. "I think it's better that the guy asks the girl out."

"Yeah, but Kate could wait for ages before Josh says anything, if he ever does. She should just go and ask him out," Karen explained. "Go on Kate- what've you got to lose?"

But I wasn't listening anymore.

Something had distracted me from the conversation.

Tim had just walked in.