[alli55]

Ten days last summer


Sunday 6th August 2017


When Dad and Jenny inspected my foot, they told me that it looked a lot better.

“We’ll see how you go to start with this morning, but I reckon you’ll be okay, so long as we don’t do too much walking about!” Dad told me.

By the time we were ready to go, it was drizzling. But, actually, that kind of made our decision on what to do a bit easier.

“Why don’t we go to the cinema?” Jenny suggested. “We can find a film for everyone, and that way Holly won’t have to be on her feet all day!”

Trying to pick a film that two sixteen-year-olds, a six-year-old and a four-year-old might all like is nearly impossible! Obviously, Zack and Gracie had to be the main consideration. Me and Holly knew that, and were happy enough just to be getting off the site!

In the end we settled on ‘The Emoji Movie’, and set off for the nearest multiplex.

A word of advice, everyone: don’t bother watching that film!

We all came out of the film rather disappointed. Even Gracie and Zack, who usually love anything animated! I think they didn’t really follow what was going on. As the for rest of us … well!

We went to a nearby McDonalds for lunch, and then wondered what to do next. Dad sent me out to check on the weather; it was raining steadily now.

We’d seen a Bowlplex on our way to the cinema, so we decided to go there and take the littlies for their first bowling experience.

That was way more fun!

Being careful of my foot, I dispensed with any run-up, but it didn’t make much difference to my bowling. It was still rubbish! Freya’s not much better, but benefitted from getting a strike at one point and beat me easily. Dad’s not great either, but beat both of us; Jenny, though, is something of a bowling demon and she got 158!

The best fun, though, was watching the littlies take their turns! Gracie used the ramp to push her ball down, but wasn’t tall enough, so Dad had to hold her up. The first time, she didn’t hold onto the ball while he was lifting her into position, so it just rolled off of its own volition! She was so annoyed, she ran down the lane after it to fetch it back! Me and Freya were creased up! After a couple of goes we had a system that worked. Freya held the ball in place, Dad lifted Gracie up, and she gave the ball a push. So long as it knocked down something, anything, Gracie was happy!

Zack, meanwhile, was determined that he was old enough and strong enough not to need the babyish ramp! He wasn’t, of course; but he also wasn’t giving in easily. He developed a radical technique of placing the ball down, laying down behind it and pushing it with both hands. What people on the other lanes thought, I have no idea; but it kept me and Freya giggling all afternoon!

By the time we’d finished bowling, the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. Good! That meant we should be able to go to the hang-out later!

Just after seven, we arrived at the hang-out. Both Freya and I were a little disappointed to see that the person we were most looking for wasn’t there. TeeJay was still at her athletics, so I would have to wait a bit longer to find out how she’d done; Caitlin wasn’t there either, but, when Freya asked, no-one knew why or where she was.

Michael and Becca had only been down for the weekend, so they’d both gone home. The others, however, were all there. Alice came over and took Holly off to meet Marcie, while I wandered over to join Amber and Hannah. The boys were hanging out together, probably talking football again.

We talked for a while, before Amber asked me, “What do you reckon, would everyone be up for another go at the Truth game?”

“What’s that?” Hannah asked, so we explained what we’d done on previous evenings.

“But we haven’t got Caitlin’s app!” I pointed out.

“Don’t worry,” Amber replied, “I’ve downloaded one. I don’t know if it’s the same one, but it doesn’t matter really, does it?”

We decided to ask whether everyone wanted to play, so Amber called everyone’s attention and popped the question, so to speak.

I’m not sure Beckett was very keen on the idea, but everyone else said they’d like to play, so we formed a circle. Amber set up the app and announced the first question.

‘What is the worst fear you have in life?’

“Losing Jake,” she said straightaway.

“That’s not happening!” Jake told her from across the circle.

I remembered what Jake had told me the previous evening. He really was a caring, protective brother to Amber. It made me like him even more!

“Without wishing to sound the same,” I said, “for me it is the idea of living without Holly. I just couldn’t imagine that!”

“Same!” said Holly. “If anything ever happened to Freya, I’d want to die as well, rather than go on living without her!”

Gosh! Holly was never usually as open as that about her feelings! I leant across and hugged her. A chorus of ‘aww’s went up from the other girls.

I don’t know what made me say that, but I meant every word! The possibility of life without Freya was just too awful to contemplate!

Marcie’s answer lightened the mood a bit.

“It’s not that I don’t love my brother, but my worst fear is heights. I’m absolutely terrified of them. I don’t even like looking out of my bedroom window at home, if it’s open, because I think I’m going to fall out!”

“Arsenal losing to Tottenham!” said Beckett.

Jake laughed and said, “Also not happening!” He then told us that his worst fear was falling down the stairs and breaking his neck. “I actually fell down them when I was 7, from about two-thirds of the way up. I didn’t do any real damage to myself, but it scared the crap out of me!”

Alice’s worst fear was being caught in a burning building; Hannah said she was scared of having to walk home on her own after dark. Both entirely sensible fears, I thought.

Amber passed the phone to me and I tapped up the next question.

‘What is your most romantic dream?’

I thought for a moment. Was my fireman dream appropriate, I wondered. I decided it was, and shared it with the group. Holly giggled as soon as I started telling it, since she knew what was coming! When I’d finished, I noticed Amber was blushing. Oh dear, I’d forgotten how much younger she was than the rest of us. Maybe I shouldn’t have told that story!

Holly then told us about her dream of being swept off her feet by a handsome young man and taken to his private tropical island to be wooed. I’d heard that one before, but the other girls lapped it up!

Marcie revealed that she had always dreamed of being a real-life Cinderella, rescued from her ordinary life by a handsome prince. As she finished, she turned to Jake and said, “Don’t you dare say ‘not happening’!” We all laughed.

This question was clearly going to be more difficult for the boys, so it was no surprise when Beckett struggled to answer.

“Um, I suppose, falling in love with a pretty girl,” he said, and we let him off the hook.

“Meeting the right girl and getting close to her,” Jake said.

Was it my imagination, or was he looking at me when he said that? My heart fluttered.

Alice was much more forthcoming! “So, right, I have this dream where I’m in a boat at sea and it’s really rough. There’s a boat with some people in it; it varies, but there’s always a good-looking boy amongst the people! Then I realise that I’m in a lifeboat, and it’s me that’s rescuing these people. So, I get them onto the lifeboat, and save them from drowning, and the boy is so grateful he hugs me and gives me a kiss. When we get back to the shore, he gives me his number, and then later, I don’t know when exactly, we meet up and fall in love!”

We loved that story!

“Mine’s a bit the same as Freya’s,” Hannah admitted, “but more falling in love with my rescuer than having wild sex!” She laughed as Freya blushed.

What was it about us girls and being rescued? I was sure Freya would have a theory!

Amber revealed that she dreamt of marrying a man who would look after her, protect her, and always love her.

After what Jake hold told me yesterday, I knew that Amber’s was no romantic dream. She had been hurt by her Dad walking out, and I realised that it would take a lot of effort on her part before she would be able to trust any future partner not to do the same. My heart went out to her, and it made me admire Jake even more for the way he was always there for Amber.

I passed the phone to Holly, ready for her to get the next question.

Freya gave me Amber’s phone and I tapped the screen. I couldn’t believe the question that came up! I showed it to Freya and watched her eyes widen in surprise.

I read the question to myself a second time, just to make sure: ‘What sex positions have you tried?’. It couldn’t ask that! Not with Amber there! Actually, not anyway! Then I remembered mine and Caitlin’s game where she’d put it on the adult setting. My guess was that Amber had accidentally done the same.

“What setting did you put it on?” I asked her.

“It didn’t ask for a setting!” she replied.

“Okay, everyone,” I told them all, “we’re going to have to be a bit careful with the questions! I think some of them will be inappropriate, so just use your common sense. Maybe, if you’re not sure, ask someone else what they think. The one Holly just got is definitely inappropriate!”

Freya handed the phone back to me and told me to bring up another question. This time it was fine, though it would be quite embarrassing for some of us!

‘Who do you think is the cutest person here?’

I wasn’t best pleased that I had to go first, mind you!

Freya looked at me and said, “Don’t say me!”

“I wasn’t going to,” I retorted, “you’re not cute! You’re fabulous, but you’re not cute!”

“Why, thank-you!” she replied, with more than a hint of sarcasm.

I was genuinely struggling with this question, but in the end selected Hannah. Possibly because she and Alice reminded me of the two of us. Hannah blushed.

Marcie embarrassed her brother by telling us he could be really cute when he wanted to and that was why she was choosing him. He punched her playfully on the arm, before also nominating Hannah.

Jake chose Freya, which made her blush, and Alice became the third person to nominate her younger sister.

Hannah was in the throes of explaining why she was going to choose two people, when we felt raindrops. It very quickly became a downpour. I handed Amber her phone as everyone began running back to their caravans.

Unfortunately, because of my foot, I couldn’t run, so by the time we got back, me and Freya looked like two drowned rats!

“My goodness, look what the cat’s dragged in!” said Dad, unsympathetically, when we came through the door.

We went to our room and changed out of our sodden clothes, putting our pyjamas on. We returned to the main living area and snuggled up to Dad, for warmth mainly.