Over and Over

Chapter Eleven

Eleven

Monday morning found my head full of fluff.  I just couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything.  Every time I tried to focus my mind wandered off to thoughts about Mathew and what we had done on the weekend.  I smiled to myself as I sat at the breakfast table idly pushing my cornflakes around in the bowl and wondering what Mathew was eating this morning.

“You ok sweetheart?”

My mum sat down at the table beside me, coffee cup in hand.  She took a sip and looked at me over the rim.

“Never been better.”

“I’ve seen that look before.  Was the date that good?”

“Mum!” I said in whine then looked at her sincere eyes and decided to fess up.  “Yes it was.  I can’t stop thinking about him.”

“Ah puppy love.  Ain't it grand?”

I shovelled a spoonful of cornflakes into my mouth to hide my smile.  I had heard once that love was actually a virus.  It infected you causing symptoms like hot flushes, inability to concentrate and euphoria.  But slowly the body recovered and after six weeks things went back to normal.  It was bunkum and I knew it.  True love was never constant.  It waxed and waned like the phases of the moon.  But it was always there and at times it shone almost as brightly as the sun.  Was that what I was feeling now?  I smirked to myself.  It’s only been one date.  But it felt like love.

“Well it must be good,” said my mum.  “You’ve been staring at that bowl of cereal for five minutes with a silly look on your face.  Hurry up or you’ll be late for school.

And I nearly missed the bus.  I had to run for it.  Arriving breathless, I plonked myself down next to Michelle.  She took one look at me and burst out laughing.

“Wow.  Was he that good?”

I scowled at her and glanced around the bus.  No one was listening.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that in the four years that we have been catching this bus together you have never been late once.  In fact you are always here about half an hour before the bus.  This morning you look like you just got out of bed.  Only one thing does that to people.”

I punched her on the arm.

“I’m just late that’s all.”

She looked down at my feet.

“Late with your shoes untied?  At least you managed to get them in the right feet I suppose.”

I blushed and hurriedly tied my loose shoelaces.  I hadn’t even realised that they were undone.  When I say back Michelle was grinning like the cat that had swallowed the canary.

“Spill girl,” she said simply.

I looked around again and lowered my voice.

“Well, we saw the new Sandra Bullock movie.”

“Ah so it’s Sandra you’ve flipped over.”

“No!”  A younger kid in front of us looked around at my raised voice.  I scowled a warning at him.  He stuck his tongue out then went back to talking with his friend.

“I mean no,” I said in a whisper.  “It’s defiantly Mathew.”

Michelle’s eyes flashed and she smiled a wicked smile.

“So how far did you go?”

The prude in me rose up and wanted to scold her.  I pushed it away.  Now was the time to be a schoolgirl.

“Just first base.  It was only a first date.”

“Pffft!  First base!  I did that with Steven behind the lockers at school.  Surely you went further than that?”

“No first base was plenty.  There’ll be lots of times for other stuff.  WE don’t have to rush.”

She looked at me sideways.

“You know sometimes you sound just like my grandma.”