Panicked.
Oh My God.
Did she kiss him?????
FRESHMAN PARENTS' ONLINE FORUM: ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
DS tells me his Academic Mother is dressing him up as a condom for Raisin Weekend. A condom!!! Is this allowed?
My DD says her Academic Father has been prepping their Raisin receipt for weeks. She’s been asked if she can carry a 15kg weight for 300m. Sounds like this year’s events are going to be wild!.
My YP tried to explain all this to me. Sorry. A St Andrews tradition, I believe?
Yes. Freshers have academic parents from the third year who are meant to show them the ropes in term 1. Raisin weekend is when the Freshers give their Academic parents gifts to say thank you (Traditionally a bag of raisins, thus Raisin Weekend). On Sunday, the fathers give the Freshers a raisin receipt to tie to their gown and take around town on a pub crawl. On Monday, the Academic mothers dress them up. It all comesto a climax in Lower College Lawn when there’s a massive foam fight and drunken revelries. Your YP will love it. It’s a real St A’s rite of passage!
Sounds crazy!
Chapter 10
HEATHER
‘Youkissedhim?’
Heather pulls the phone from her ear to dampen the shriek of disbelief. It’s easy to understand her friend’s surprise: Claire is calling to field Heather’s availability during half term when she will be in Edinburgh conducting repairs and essential maintenance on the flat she rents out near the Grassmarket. She is clearly expecting to discuss diary availability around Heather’s work commitments or potentially an appointment for a smear test or a mammogram. She is not, Heather knows, expecting to hear that her childhood friend was (potentially) making bad romantic choices and breaking her own romanticcode of conduct which, incidentally, has kept Heather safe from heartache for the past twelve years.
Despite numerous compelling reasons for reticence, Claire’s excitement is palpable.
‘Ahhhhhh. What was it like? Was it dreamy? Was he like all handsy and passionate? Was it like being young again? Oh my. I can remember being kissed like that once upon a time. Geez.’
Something about Claire’s heightened tone makes Heather wonder about admonishing her friend for her enthusiasm. Surely, she should be more muted after eighteen years of marriage?
But Heather doesn’t allow the thought to percolate. The only thing she can focus on is the ball of hot acid in her stomach and the anxiety coursing through her veins. If she were speaking on an old-fashioned, conventional phone right now, she’d be twisting the cable like crazy around her index finger. Instead, she prunes the basil plant on her windowsill, brutally severing wilted leaves with the sharp edge of her thumbnail.
‘Well. The thing is. I don’t know for certain that Ididkiss him,’ she says.
There’s a pause down the line as Claire considers this new information.
‘You can’t remember? Heather! That's wild!’ The excitement in her voice increases a notch, and Heather winces at the high pitch. Her head throbs as though a maraca band is rehearsing behind her eyes.
And there’s a strange bruise on her shoulder.
Plus she can’t find her scarf.
‘The thing is … I sense I could have.’
And should she add that she most definitelywantedto kiss him?
‘Yousenseyou could have kissed him?’ Claire’s voice echoes over the line.
