Another Life Altogether: A Novel - By Elaine Beale Page 0,150

him to know how bad I feel.”

Dizzy’s blinking eased. “I’ll definitely tell him,” she said.

A smile eased across Tracey’s face. “Thanks a lot. And, er … now that I’m saying this, I want to say I’m sorry for all the horrible things I said about you as well.” I was struck by the profound contrition in her voice and expression. I felt such warmth toward her. She might be hard-edged a lot of the time, but underneath she could be soft and caring, the kind of person you wanted as a best friend.

“Thanks, Tracey,” Dizzy said. The suspicious look fell completely from her face. A smile itched at the edges of her mouth.

“Yeah, well, don’t you forget to tell Malcolm that I want to say the same thing to him as well. I want him to know I mean it.” She finished pulling the wrapping off the chewing gum and popped it into her mouth. “Sure you don’t want a piece?” she said to Dizzy, offering her the packet again.

“Okay,” Dizzy said, moving closer to Tracey and taking a piece of gum.

“What are you up to, Tracey? Picking on Dizzy again?” It was Amanda. Normally, I watched out for her approach, but I’d been so taken aback by Tracey’s dramatic change of heart that I hadn’t noticed her walking up the street. She was almost at the bus stop now. I was surprised to see her carrying a black suitcase. It had silver buckles on the sides and looked heavy. Before she reached us, she put the suitcase on the ground, took a deep breath, then switched hands to lug it the last few steps.

“I’m not picking on anybody,” Tracey said gruffly.

“That’ll be the day,” Amanda said. When she reached us, she dropped the suitcase onto the ground next to my satchel; it hit the pavement with an enormous thud. Then, panting, she fell onto the bench, in the space between Tracey and me. “Hiya, Jesse,” she said.

“Hiya.” There on the bench her body was pushed against mine. I shuffled uncomfortably. “Where are you going?”

“Oh, that?” Amanda said, looking down at the suitcase as if she’d only just noticed it there. “I’m going away for the weekend, to Leeds. It’s a trip with school, with my drama class. We’re going to see a couple of plays.”

I frowned at the suitcase. It was huge—a small adolescent could have folded herself into it and there would still be room for several items of clothing.

“Oh, I know,” she said, giving the suitcase a little kick. “I’ve never been very good at packing. I end up taking everything except the kitchen sink. That’s right, isn’t it, Tracey?” She turned to her sister, giving her a gentle dig with her elbow.

“How the bloody hell would I know?” Tracey said, slapping Amanda away. “And why would I care? You can go away forever for all I mind.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not, am I? I’m going for a weekend, on a school trip.”

“Which plays are you going to see?” I asked.

“You know what, Jesse,” Amanda said, her eyes still on Tracey, “I don’t really remember.” Then she turned to me, smiling. “Something by Shakespeare, I think. I’ll tell you when I get back, all right?”

“All right,” I said, hoping and fearing that we could sit like this, pressed together, when she returned and told me about her trip.

When the bus arrived, I leaped up and grabbed Amanda’s suitcase. “I’ll carry it on for you,” I said.

“No, Jesse, really—”

“It’s all right.” As I lifted the suitcase, Amanda bent down to pick up my satchel. “No,” I said, dropping the suitcase and snatching the satchel from her grasp. For a second, I clung to it, and then, realizing how odd this behavior probably seemed, I eased my grip and tried to evoke a more casual attitude as I slung the strap across my shoulder.

Amanda laughed. “What’s wrong, Jesse? Carrying top-secret documents for the government or something?”

“No,” I said, my face burning as the weight of all my letters to Amanda hung there at my side. “I just … I just didn’t want you to strain yourself. It’s very heavy.”

“Come on, Jesse,” Tracey said, pushing past me to join the rest of the little crowd as they climbed onto the bus. “Keep messing about like that and you’re going to make us late.”

“Maybe it’s best if we take our own bags, eh?” Amanda leaned across me to grasp the suitcase’s handle. She hoisted it up and made her way over to