Breaking Her Rules

Chapter 40

Dan's girlfriend Jen is pretty in an alternative kind of way, with dark hair and creamy pale skin and a tattoo up her thigh. When she meets me she pulls me into a hug and tells me how much Dan has told her about me, which makes me like her straight away.

I notice Mum is in her study drinking wine as we walk down the hall to the kitchen. Dad stands up to shake Jen's hand, and she beams at him when he compliments the artwork on her leg.

Because the Two Soap Dolls gig is an all ages event, there's no alcohol on the premises, so Dan has started drinking now to warm himself up for it. We're catching the bus in, and he's worried he'll sober up on the ride, so he's chugging back a couple of beers, even while Dad watches.

Jen tells me she isn't a big drinker, which makes me feel awkward as I sip on my tequila sunrise that Dad made for me, but she tells me that she's used to being around big drinkers.

'I work at Clydesdale, the bar in the city,' she says. 'I'm not a bartender, I work in promotions and marketing. Mostly I just stand at the door looking pretty and selling drunk people entry tickets, but during the day I'm in the marketing team.'

'So how did you meet Dan, then?' I ask her.

She glances up at Dan, who is talking to Dad. 'He was one of the drunk people I sold an entry ticket to,' she laughs.

'I wasn't that drunk,' Dan protests.

'Mark, our bouncer, was this close to not letting you in,' Jen says cheekily, holding up her thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart.

'Only because he was jealous because he could see you liked me,' Dan says, grabbing Jen around the waist and planting a kiss on her cheek. He looks at me and winks, and I roll my eyes.

'Now, Em,' Dan says. 'I've been having a chat to Mike Elmhirst, who is incidentally coming tonight, and he was saying that you and Lucas are back on friendly terms.'

Even Dad pricks up his ears at this. He turns to me. 'You and Lucas talking to each other again? No way.'

'Dad!' I say. 'It's none of your business.'

Dan finishes the last of his beer and glances at his watch. 'Bus in ten minutes, we should get going.'

'You meeting everyone else in there?' Dad asks.

'Yeah,' I say. I swallow the last mouthful of my drink, which is very strong, and then stand up, grabbing my bag from the counter.

I'm wearing faded, ripped high-waisted jean shorts and a band singlet and denim jacket. The shorts keep riding up so I pull them down when I stand up, and look in my bag to make sure that I've got my tickets.

'I'll still be out when you guys get home,' Dad says. 'I'm working at the theatre tonight, I need to be backstage. But if you need anything you can call your mother.'

Dan and I exchange looks, as if we'd ever call our mother for help, but say our goodbyes and walk out the front door with Jen.

It's a five-minute walk to the bus stop, and the whole time Dan sings a Two Soap Dolls song, out of tune, while Jen laughs and tells him to stop. We wait at the bus stop and when we get on we recognise a few other Hilverton students, also heading into the city for the show.

The bus ride is only about twenty minutes, but the alcohol starts catching up to Dan and his singing gets louder, joined by a few other Hilverton boys who are just as keen as us to see the band.

Jen and I sit together and she asks me about my mum, because she says she saw her once in a magazine about female entrepreneurs. I just laugh at that and tell her that my mum is very good at her job, which is true. There's not much else to say.