Kit and Tully | Love or Music?

13 - Complicated Relationships

I can't believe my best friends have planned all this behind my back. Never even told me about it.

"I really wish you could move in with us, Kit," Felice says. "We both do."

Spike nods and reaches out to take my hand, but I jerk it away.

"Come on, Kit," he says. "Don't be like this. You'd be able to visit us every day if you want. It's only down the road from St Catherine's."

"Yeah," Felice tries to smile though she knows how gutted I am. "You can come back with me after class."

It's true we're allowed out in the afternoons, but class ends at 4.00 and we've to return in time for a roll call before supper at 6.00. Two short hours. It's not enough time to do anything and I can already imagine how it will play out. Felice will have other stuff on most days, and even if we do go to her house, there'll be barely time for a cup of tea and quick chat before I've to head back to St Catherine's.

And Spike. Spike will never be there. He'll be too busy getting involved with the Trinity students union, the entertainments committee and any other activist groups that throw him into the middle of the action, meeting all the cool, interesting people, all the stuff he loves that doesn't exist in Drimshanra.

"Tully. Does Tully know?"

"Why would Tully know?" Felice sounds genuinely perplexed. "This has nothing to do with him."

I don't know why I'm so relieved to hear that. Somehow I couldn't bear it if Tully had been in on it too, if he knew what was going on and said...nothing... hadn't bothered to tell me my two best friends were making plans behind my back.

"You should have told me sooner," I say. "I didn't even know you were thinking about this."

"There was no point," Felice shrugs. "It was just an idea, nothing definite until Spike got his results. Who knew if Dad would agree?"

"But he did." It's not a question and I can't keep the bitterness out of my voice. Of course Axel agreed. When does he ever deny Felice anything?

"Hey," Felice's tone softens. She moves to put an arm around me, but I shrug it off. "I'm not like you, Kit. I can't stay in St Catherine's. I feel trapped in boarding school. They don't let us do anything."

No, I think. It's a boarding school. That's the whole point. And that's exactly why my parents are happy to have me in St Catherine's and would hate to have me sharing a house with Felice and Spike.

"You know I only want to do art," Felice continues trying to wheedle her way around me. "Everything else, Irish, maths, French, just feels like such a waste of time. I'm never going to use any of it. It's different for you. You're academic and you need to get all those points to do law. If they accept my portfolio for art college, all I need is to scrape a pass. That's the deal I've made with Dad. He says he'll go along with the experiment, even pay for extra portfolio classes at the weekend. I'll be eighteen next year and Dad says if I screw it all up, it's on me. I can look after myself. 'Clear up my own mess' is how he put it."

A weak smile slips out. I can almost hear Axel saying it. "There's loads of stuff you're good at," I protest though I know this argument was lost before it ever began. "English, history, biology."

Felice shakes her head. "I'm so sick of it all. I just feel ready to move on but it seems like school never ends. Another year of boarding in St Catherine's is like torture. I've been kicked out of two schools already, and I'm still always in trouble."

That last bit does it. The anger rises in me, pushing down the hurt. Felice is full of shit. She's always in trouble because she goes looking for it. She loves being the wild child, the rebel, terrifying everyone with her nerve and audacity, her tattoo and blue hair.