The Chain (A Catherine Diary) - Stamfield. Complete

Chapter 49

49

'Shall we go somewhere a little more private', Susan suggested, 'it seems to be getting a little crowded around here'.

It had. Teenage boys were chasing girls around the garden throwing water at them, the girls were screaming in glee.

'I think that might be a good idea', Jack said

I stood with them, Susan held onto my hand and I was starting to get used to how tactile she was. As we passed a gaggle of screaming girls, a huge spray of water hit us and it stopped just as quickly.

Someone yelled 'sorry' and as I turned round I saw three or four boys running back into the house dragging a garden hose with them. Jack looked as though he was about to kill them and both myself and Susan simultaneously held his arm, firm but not tight, enough to let him know we didn't approve, certainly not enough to stop him if he was determined enough.

'Lets go upstairs I'll get us some towels', Susan said.

I turned around and saw that we weren't the only ones to have got wet, three girls behind us, who were obviously the intended target had been hit also, but we had managed to gain the main brunt of it.

We weaved and squeezed our way past people into the kitchen and then the hallway, me feeling conscious that my t-shirt was now see through and everyone could see my brazier. Jack was scouring the rooms for the perpetrators, without success. We made our way up the stairs, which were just as busy.

'Where's your parents?', I asked

'They agreed to the party, but didn't want to be around to see how bad their daughters could be', she said, as though it was a common thing, 'they're at my aunts for the night, they'll be back tomorrow to celebrate Janet's birthday'.

We got to the top of the stairs, Susan lead us through the last door on the landing, where she pulled out a key and unlocked it. I had to admit, that was the first time I had seen anyone have a lock on their bedroom in their own home. She stood aside, holding the door open so we could pass through, then closed and locked it.