AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The captain had been watching Petra all night, Nicole noticed. “I need to get something from my hut. Shanti, will you come with me?” She flicked a glance in Petra and Sinjin’s direction.
“Sure,” Shanti said, picking up on the inference. “Party’s moving to our hut, everybody.”
“Captain?” Duff asked.
Sinjin glanced furtively at Petra. “Nah. Catch you blokes later.”
Sinjin and Petra were alone.
“So.”
“So.”
“Nice night.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Just so we’re clear, you’ve got a, um, a … a …”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. Just, y’know, making sure.”
Petra looked up to the moon as if appealing to its grace. She liked this one and wanted more, but she was afraid there was no hope of that.
“Sorry, I just … So you used to be a guy. J. T. Woodland. Of Boyz Will B Boyz.”
“Yes.” “Right.”
“It’s okay. I can tell you’re freaked out.”
Petra started to get up. Sinjin took her wrist gently. “Well, yeah. But mostly because you used to be in Boyz Will B Boyz. That’s unbelievable! I mean, you played Top of the Pops!”
Petra allowed a small smile. He had surprised her. That didn’t happen often. She sat down again. “Should I tell you the story?”
“Yeah.”
“How much should I tell you?”
“Everything.”
She did, and when she finished Sinjin nodded, taking it all in. “Blimey. Your manager sounds like a right bastard.”
“Now it’s your turn,” Petra said. “What about you?”
“Me?” Sinjin thought for a moment. He wasn’t good with disclosure. And he had nothing to compare to Petra’s tale. What if she thought he was shallow or boring? Unworthy? He wasn’t used to being taken off guard, but Petra made him feel both comfortable and nervous at the same time, as if he knew he was safe from the elimination round but he wanted to do his best and impress anyway. More than anyone he had ever met, he wanted her to like him. Because he really, really liked her.
“I grew up in an orphanage in London. Horrible place.”
“Really?”
Sinjin nodded. “Mmm. Saffron Hill.”
Petra raised an eyebrow. “Saffron … Hill?”
“Yes, Saffron Hill. And a terrible place it was. Made us work all the day, never got enough food. Mr. Bumble — the headmaster — used to beat us.”
“Sounds like you had a dickens of a time.”
