All of the original situations in this story are mine, the rest is the intellectual property of Maddy. Cat is a fictional character, any similarities to anyone living or dead is purely my warped mind in action.
After everything we had done yesterday it was no surprise that we all had a lie in this morning, even Gran was late to rise today. I followed her into the kitchen to try and help her with breakfast but I got shooed straight out again.
It must have been 11am by the time I was ready to do something, I decided to roll over to Drew's place and see if I could pick the wheels up or if I was lucky to hang out with him and his friends for a little while. I was about to get my bike out when I realised just how stupid that would be, I mean where was I supposed to put the wheels when I rode back? That left only one option.....
Rollerblades! As I clipped the bindings and grabbed my pads I was rather glad I had grown out of the Barbie set a couple of years ago, if I hadn't then I would most definitely be walking. There was no way that Warsop was ready for a bright pink rollerblader just yet.
Once I was all padded up and on my way I felt like everyone was watching me even though it was a quiet day and only a few people around, weird. I speeded up as best I could, I'm no blading expert afterall, at speed the best I can manage is almost stable.
I got to Drew's place and was forced to shed a wrist guard, I tried but there was no way I could open the gate with it on. I waited for someone to answer the door and eventually it was opened by a girl that I guessed was his sister.
“Hello?”she said.
“Hi you must be Drew's sister.”
“That's me, and you are?”
“I'm Cat, Drew said he was leaving me some stuff so I came by to pick it up. Is he around?” I said peering through the door open behind her hoping to see Drew.
“I thought he would have told you, he's riding the regionals up in Harrogate today, actually he's probably finished by now. The race was at 10.”
I silently cursed myself, he had mentioned it but I hadn't remembered. If I had I might have tried to join them today, it would have been good just to watch.
“Oh ok,” I said, “are you here on your own then?”
Drew's sister sighed and said, “I can take care of myself you know, anyway I've got Debbie, my exchange partner and Brit's sister to keep me company.”
“Sorry, Drew told me you were on the exchange too, but I forgot.”
“Anyway, I think Dad left a note about the wheels somewhere around here,” she said.
“Ah, here it is. Give me a second and I'll go get them out of the garage. Cool blades by the way, I always wanted to have a try.”
“Thanks errr...”
“It's Jules.”
“Thanks Jules. If you want you can have a try with my stuff sometimes although I'm not sure the boots will fit you.”
“That's ok Cat. Thanks for the offer though.”
She disappeared into the house while I waited on the doorstep for her to come back, instead opened the garage door from the inside and emerged with a pair of very shiny wheels complete with tyres.
“That can't be right,” I stated, “I'm supposed to be getting a set of Drew's hand-me-downs, those look new, then there's the tyres. ”
“According to the note these are the ones. The reason they look like new is because Drew had it drilled into him to look after his stuff by Mum, although it looks like someone has given these a bit of a polish. Then we weren't sure if you knew where to get decent tyres so Dad stuck a set on for you.”
I took the the wheels and admired them like they were precious.
“Your family is just too much.”
Jules looked at me like she knew something I didn't. I was just about to leave when she called me back.
“Cat, I think I'll hear how Drew did before they get back, why don't you leave me your number and when I hear something I'll let you know.”
“That would be really cool Jules.” I scribbled Gran's phone number down and handed it back to her.
I grabbed all of my things together and bladed off with a wheel under each arm.
It was a good job that I stayed stable on the way back, with the load I was carrying if I had lost my balance something would have got damaged, either me or my new wheels. I wanted to keep them and me out of harm's way.
First thing I did when I got back to Gran's was to display my prizes to Mum and Dad.
“Drew wasn't in, but I did get the wheels he left.”
“I thought you were getting Drew's old wheels? Those look brand new to me,” said Dad.
“That was my thought too but Jules, that's his sister, says that they just took really good care of all their kit.”
“I suppose that makes sense, I might have to give Mr Bond a call though.” I hadn't thought Dad would react quite like this, it's not like we're hard up or anything, we can afford a nice car and we do go abroad for our holidays, but he is proud.
“He's not in at the moment, he's up in Harrogate with Drew, he's racing today.” Maybe he would have forgotten about it by the time he managed to talk to Drew's dad, I doubted that was going to happen but it was worth clinging onto.
The aroma of a roast dinner drifted in from the kitchen.
“Dinner won't be on the table for almost an hour so you've got time for a ride,” my mother said.
“Thanks Mum, you're a mind reader,” I replied.
I got my bike out and looked at my current wheels, not too shabby but the new ones would be a vast improvement. I really would have liked to have tested them out but there was no way to switch them over now, the front would be easy but I didn't have the time or the tool to do the back wheel.
My ride really blew the cobwebs away, roller blading is fun but this is much better, as I wasn't riding against a clock I had time to think about all kinds of things and I still got back before dinner was served.
We were tucking into the roast beast and veggies when the phone rang, as it was Gran's house she insisted on answering it herself. So naturally the call wasn't for her.
“Catrina, the call is for you,” she said.
I finished my mouthful and took the receiver from her.
“Hello, who is this please?”
“Hi Cat? It's Jules.” She sounded excitable.
“Hi Jules, wassup?”
“It's Drew, he's only gone and won the regionals.”
“You're kidding?”
“What possible reason would I have to joke about that? He won!” Jules countered.
I turned to Mum and Dad, “You're not going to believe this, Drew won, he's regional champion!” I jigged around.
“Anyway,” Jules said bringing me back to the point.
“Sorry Jules.”
“We're having a surprise party for him later on, a private do at the Peters place and you just made the guest list. Get there around teatime, the password is 'marijuana', don't be late.”
“Mari... Yeah right, I may be daft but I'm not stupid enough to say that, not now with my parents in the next room and definitely not for Mad's mum.”
“Awww, the look on Mrs P's face would have been priceless.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. I'll see you later Jules.”
I returned to the dinner table and filled Mum and Dad in on the details as we finished our meal, although I decided not to mention Jules' bogus password. It had been 2pm when we started to eat and that didn't give me much time to get ready so I skipped dessert, and apple crumble is one of my favourites too.
Now I faced the ultimate party dilemma, what's a girl to wear? Eeek, I didn't even find out the dress code and I hadn't got time to go and find out so I had to work it out for myself. Last thing I wanted to do was turn up in a sweater and jeans and find everyone else dressed to the nines. If it was me I would probably want to be casual, but my parents would want me all dressed up and we know who would win that contest.
So smart it was, but how smart and more importantly had I packed anything smart enough? I started tearing through the things I had left in my bags, now I remembered Mum telling me to make sure I had something dressy in case we went out to eat. I hoped I had listened even if I had no memory of it.
I glanced at my watch, bad idea, it said, “You're going to be late!” So I ignored it and carried on searching.
I was running out of things to check and beginning to get worked up. That was when Mum came to the rescue.
“I think these might help,” Mum said as she pushed the door open. She was holding an ankle length cotton skirt and a short sleeved top. Not the most sophisticated outfit I'd ever worn but certainly smart enough for the party.
“How? Why?” I asked.
“I know you too well, I knew you wouldn't remember to bring anything remotely dressy so I put a few things in my case.”
“Aah, I'm so glad you did.”
Once I had changed that only left the makeup to do. One of Sylv's tips was to keep it subtle until I was older so I only went with a little bit of eye makeup, a dab of blusher and a pale lip gloss. I couldn't afford to spend the rest of the afternoon there.
I grabbed a pair of canvas slip-ons and rushed downstairs.
“Calm down love,” said Gran, “your Dad's going to drive you over. Just make sure you have everything – got your purse, got clean underwear in case you get hit by a bus?”
“Graan,” I whined.
“Sorry dear, pardon my little joke. Now don't be too late and have fun. Oh and make sure you give Drew a congratulatory hug from me.”
“Will do Gran,” I said as I walked out of the door.
Dad dropped me off outside the Peters place and insisted I call for my ride home, we were only a couple of roads away but I knew better than to try and walk home alone after dark. As I approached the door I noticed the curtains of the front window twitching and I had just got to the step when the front door opened a few inches.
“What's the password?”
“Give it up Jules, it's not going to happen,” I said.
“I'm sorry for being childish, but I've been in a silly mood today and I couldn't resist it,” she replied. “Come on in, hang your jacket up and if you go to the kitchen Mrs Peters will find something for you to do.”
I did as requested and found that the kitchen was a hive of activity with Mad's mum at the centre like a queen bee. She seemed to be preparing all of the food while everyone else was transferring it to the dining room.
“Afternoon Cat, glad you could make it, with Ally away and Bernie somewhere we're a little bit short of numbers. You know what they say, the more the merrier.”
I nodded, it seemed to me like she was in her element doing things like this.
“Your top is very pretty and I see you've remembered to wear a certain garment this time!” she said winking as she handed me a tray of dips to transport.
I blushed and said quietly, “Yes aunt Carol.”
I knew she had heard me by her giggle but I was pretty sure that no one else had, good job too, I would rather not be explaining that one again.
We were almost done when the front door opened and took most of us by surprise, Maddy and her exchange parter entered followed by Drew's dad. The girls flew upstairs to change while he looked for Mad's parents.
“Hi Carol, are we there yet?” he said.
“Pretty much,” she replied, handing Rhod a plate of something to take through. “Does Drew know what's going on yet?”
“He knows that something is up but he hasn't got a clue what, he still thinks we're going out somewhere. So where is everyone else?”
“This is it, Ally and Bernie plus exchange parters are no shows. I think we've got enough people to keep the party swinging though.”
“ok, as we are killing time is there anything that I can do to help?”
“No, I'm pretty sure that we've got everything covered, that's the last of the food to go on the table. Ah drinks, John is stuck sorting things out through there so can you put the bottles of pop up on the side and get the cartons of fruit juice from the fridge? They should be on the door,” Mrs Peters said.
“Easily done,” Drew's dad said as he completed his task.
Now everything else was ready we were just waiting on Maddy and Sabrina to be.
“Maddy, aren't you ready yet?” Mr Peters called up the stairs.
“Ten minutes Dad,” came the reply.
“I think I better go back out to the car. I'll wait the ten minutes then I'll send Drew to find out where the girls have got to,” Drew's dad said.
As he went outside Sabrina came down so that just left Maddy, we were still waiting when we saw movement from the car and knew that Drew was coming to the door.
“Will someone go and find out what's keeping our daughter?”Mrs Peters asked.
“I'll go,” I said, thinking it was best a girl go in case she needed help with a zip or a clasp or something.
I knocked on the bedroom door. “Come on Maddy, Drew's at the door and we can't keep him waiting.”
“ok Cat,” she replied and opened the door.
When I was downstairs I wasn't under-dressed but Maddy had made an extra special effort and next to her I felt like I was. I could feel the green-eyed monster within me wishing I could look that good but now was not the time.
"Hang on a mo, the girls are almost ready," said Mrs P.
“C'mon, we can't keep him waiting any longer,” I said and lead her down.
Seeing that everyone was in position Mrs P. fiddled with then opened the door.
"SURPRISE!"
The look on Drew's face was absolutely priceless, you would have thought with all that waiting he would have thought that something was up but he hadn't had a clue! I think it was almost too much for him.
As we tucked into the marvelous spread Mrs P had laid on Drew tried to tell us what had happened during the race but he didn't get much of a look in with Maddy, Brit and Sab doing most of the talking for him. I think in the end he gave up and let them tell the story over and over again, it was a story that took a lot of telling, especially the end bit. I couldn't imagine that I would have helped another rider if I had been in Drew's position, then again what were the chances of me riding anything more serious than a 10 mile time trial? I still wished I could have been there though.
At some point during the evening I did get to chat to Drew. Maddy Brit and Sab were right there with him but that was no big deal. I asked a few things from one cyclist (loosely speaking anyway) to another, then I could have told them about my Alton Towers trip but I was more interested in what they had done.
When I found out what time they had left I realised there was no way even if I had been invited that I could have made their trip. After my long day yesterday there was no way I could have been up at stupid o'clock this morning.
“So what did you get up to once Drew had finished being heroic and victorious?” I asked all four of them which made him blush and the girls smile.
“We went up onto Ilkley Moor..”
At that point a mystery tune appeared in my head, distracting me.
“...Cat, you still with us,” asked Maddy seeing I wasn't really listening.
“Yeah sorry, got this tune stuck in my head,” I replied.
Maddy giggled and Drew smiled, they both started to hum a tune - the one in my head, Brit and Sab recognised it too because they turned to each other and shrugged.
“I will never figure this country,” drawled Brit.(Well it was a drawl to me.)
“Here's a scary thought for you, somewhere in the US, maybe even in Virginia there are songs that we will find as strange as they think ours are,” I reasoned.
Brit and Sab looked at each other again, this time with a definite plan, they might not know any strange songs now, but I got the impression that they would find something by the time that the gang made their journey stateside.
I had missed some of the earlier conversation when I got distracted and I was about to ask what they had been saying when someone grabbed Drew and thrust a phone into his hands. I should have guessed that it was his mum, she was the only notable person missing. I was tempted to eavesdrop and maybe even see if I could speak to her as I was probably the only one who hadn't met her, but this was Drew's night not mine.
Maddy and I shared a couple of jokes then I went back to the buffet table to see if anything was left, I had the last of the salad and a few bits and pieces. Maddy's mum had just started clearing things away, I felt the need to help, so I pitched in and took some things back to the kitchen.
“You don't need to do that, I was just moving a few bits, we'll get everyone to do a proper clear up later on.”
“It's ok Mrs P. I want to do something useful,” I replied.
“There's no need luv, you're here as a guest the same as everyone else.”
“Am I? I've been on the scene less than two weeks and here I am just as if I'm Drew's best friend or something when the truth is I only got invited because Ally and Bernie aren't here and Jules only remembered me because happened to go pick up the wheels.” I hadn't realised the weight that had been on my mind until it came bubbling to the surface.
“What rot,” Mrs P. said, “You're here because Drew likes you, so does Maddy, so do I, time has got nothing to do with it. And for your information if Jules hadn't called you I would have.”
“Really?”
“Definitely, now pick your chin up off your chest, give your aunt Carol a hug and get back in there and enjoy what's left of the evening.”
“Yes auntie,” I said grinning, no way I could feel down now. I did just what she said spending the rest of the evening with Drew and the gang. When the party finally broke up I finished what I started earlier and helped with operation clear up, I tried to call Dad to arrange my lift home but Mad's dad stopped me.
“No point getting your Dad out, you should be able to get a lift with Rhod and Sylv and if they can't fit you in then I'll walk you home myself, it's only about a quarter of a mile,” he said.
That made sense so I latched on to Rhod and his exchange partner Dan and when they left I followed.
“So where's your car?” I asked Rhod.
“You mean the two-tone tricycle?” Dan replied with a laugh.
“Huh?”
“You'll see for yourself soon enough,” Rhod sighed.
Pretty soon I knew exactly what he meant, Sylv was just unlocking each door from the inside, Citroen 2CVs don't have central locking, in fact they don't have much of anything apart from a certain charm.
I turned to Rhod and said, “I don't see what you're complaining about, 2CVs are classic cars.”
“If mum had gone for a Triumph Spitfire or MGB I could live with it, even an original Mini, they're real classics, this is just two motorbikes bolted together with an upturned pram over the top,” Rhod stated.
“I wouldn't mind.”
“If you had to go home in it you would, 3 hours of big road noise would soon change your mind.”
“That journey only takes 2 hours,” I replied.
“Not in one of these it doesn't, the sooner mum gets something less embarrassing the better,” Rhod said.
“Something you can be seen in outside the school gates?” suggested Dan.
“Darn straight,” Rhod answered.
“Hey that's my line,” said Dan.
Well we did all fit in the car, me in the back with Rhod and and some empty dishes, then Dan in the passenger seat next to Sylv. When she started it up I remarked that it sounded a bit like a cross between a lawnmower and a go-kart.
“At least a lawnmower does something useful,” said Rhod.
Dan mumbled, “And a go-kart is fun to ride.”
“You know my rules lads, don't insult Charlie while we're in her, you know it upsets her,” Sylv countered.
“Sorry mum.” Was Rhod's reply.
No more was said about the car on the short journey back to Gran's. Sylv asked how I was getting used to my new style and Rhod wanted to know what my plans were for the coming week. With a journey as short as this there wasn't really time to talk about much more than that.
They dropped me outside Gran's and like any worried parent Sylv didn't pull off until I was safely inside. Despite the fact that we had all had a late start Mum and Dad insisted that I go to bed at a more normal time tonight to “try and get back into a routine” I didn't even get to give them the full story of Drew's ride. Oh well, plenty of time for that tomorrow.
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