it.” He was on the main road now and I knew there wasn’t much further to go.
“No, neither would I. She’s still having a go at me for getting you that job. Speaking of which did you see Jerry?” I smiled thinking of it, Frank had rang him to let him know I was going to be there and must have given him a description of me because at the end of the night Jerry the Manager, had come over to introduce himself.
He also asked if I could start earlier due to the Dravens’ unexpected early arrival. The place had been packed tonight and there didn’t seem to be enough bar staff. I told him that wasn’t a problem and he looked thrilled. Added to that, he also looked tired and worn down. I wasn’t surprised with the night he must have had.
“Yeah he did, thanks for that. He asked if I could do a small shift, starting tomorrow.”
“That’s great but…” he shifted slightly in his seat, looking uncomfortable.
“But…?”
“But Libby is going to have kittens, I try and tell her that she worries too much about you but she can’t be reasoned with,” he said looking sympathetic to my cause.
“I know but I can handle it. Her heart's in the right place.” I didn’t like where the conversation was leading so I quickly changed it.
“So was the game on tonight?” Knowing that this would be enough to carry me home for the rest of the journey, only needing to make “umm” and “ah” noises in response.
Of course it worked.
Chapter 8 – First Night
When I had agreed to start work early I had been glad for something to do. There were only so many times I could sort out my room and I think Libby was sick of me moving furniture around. It was something I always did whenever I was restless, and unfortunately I hadn’t grown out of the annoying habit. In the summer holidays I used to do it so often that I could never find stuff.
RJ had rung me to give me the low down on what everyone thought about me, and she was happy to report that I was a success, especially with her brother. I winced at the thought.
“Yeah he wouldn’t shut up about you last night at Drew’s, I think my big bro has a bit of a crush!” she said laughing as though she had been teasing him about it all day.
“Oh, I think…I think he’s just being nice,” I tried but this didn’t sway her efforts.
“Trust me, there is being nice and THERE’S BEING NICE!” And thankfully she left it at that, going on for the rest of the conversation about the drummer. The band last night had been surprisingly good. RJ had only dragged me up once for the last song. She pushed her way to the front to make goo-goo eyes at the guy. It had worked as she got his number, much to Chaz's dismay.
We had arranged to meet up for the fresher’s day and travel together, which I was more than happy about. Her brother Jack was already starting his third year, so he was going to show us around. He was majoring in engineering, confessing to me last night that he was good with his hands. I felt a lot more at ease going with someone I knew and I was starting to feel really good about being here. I was generally an optimistic person by nature but I had to admit I hadn’t been optimistic about anything for a long time. I could feel myself lifting. My bad memories were not yet in the past but clouded and faded somehow. It was like it was all coming together. So when I rang my mother with my weekly call she could sense the change.
“You sound…cheery. Are you having fun over there? Is Libby taking care of you?” I don’t know why she asked me this last question, as she knew more often than not I was the one taking care of Libby. But I explained what I had been up to and described new friends, new sights, and well my new life in full. She beamed on the other side of the phone. I thought at one point she would start crying with happiness. By the end of the phone call I had a big cloud of guilt hanging over my head. I should have behaved better before now. It was unfair to have put my family through