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‘Yeah –oh.’
‘Well, I’ll speak to the teacher tomorrow. I will phone the school. I’m sure I can organise paying for your classes over the phone. When can you start?’
Katie put her phone down. ‘There’s a class every Thursday.’
‘Perfect, then you could join this week if I get it sorted out with the school tomorrow. How does that sound?’
Katie pursed her lips. ‘All right, I guess.’
Thea smiled. Now, she was getting somewhere. ‘Good.’
‘Toby wants to join too.’
Thea turned in her seat. ‘Really? Well, I’m sure I can arrange for you both to—’
‘No, I don’t!’
‘Yes, you do.’
‘I do not! I’ve got no interest whatsoever in that stupid drama class.’
‘That’s not what I heard,’ said Katie in a teasing voice.
‘What do you mean?’ Toby shot back.
Katie turned in her seat and grinned at her brother. ‘I heard you fancy Caitlin and she’s in the drama class.’
‘Well, you were misinformed,’ said Toby, frowning at her.
Katie mimicked him, ‘Well, you were misinformed.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘I think not. I’ve seen the way you look at her. My friend overheard you telling your best friend – oh, excuse me, youronlyfriend – that you like her.’
Thea got the impression that Toby was so used to being insulted by his sister – younger than him by two minutes – that it was now water off a duck’s back.
Toby heaved a sigh and said, ‘When you start the class, will you introduce me?’
‘You must be joking.’ Katie pulled a face. ‘Do you know who she is? She is, like, sooo popular. There’s no way she’d be interested in you.’
Thea looked at her, surprised she was being so mean. ‘That’s not very nice, Katie.’ She glanced at Toby, with his brown eyes, mop of wavy dark hair, and quiet, self-assured disposition. What Katie obviously didn’t see was that her brother was growing up into a good-looking young man. Although perhaps shedidsee it, and she didn’t want her brother getting in with her potential new friends first.
Thea knew what this was about. Although they had started at the high school in September, they hadn’t come up to the school with the friends from primary school they had known for years. They’d only been there a term before the summer holidays. Thea imagined that Katie was still trying to find her feet, navigating new friendships within already well-established little cliques.
Thea and her sister knew all about that. Thea had been lucky. When they’d left the Suffolk Coast and moved to London, she had only been nine. She’d had more time at primary school to make friends that she would go on to high school with, but her sister had had to start in secondary school. Jenna, being the more outgoing one, soon found her feet. Katie was more outgoing than Toby and so already had friends, but it seemed to Thea that she wanted to get in with the popular girl at school, called Caitlin.
Thea started the car. She said, ‘I guess you’re going to have to join the drama club, Toby.’
‘No!’ Katie shouted out.
Thea frowned. ‘But I thought you said—’
‘It was a joke, all right? If he goes, then I’m not joining. And that’s that!’ Katie put a pair of EarPods in her ears.
Thea heard Toby sigh heavily from the back seat. ‘Don’t worry, sis, I’m not joining the drama club.’
Winston woofed.
Thea breathed a sigh too. This was all so exhausting. She’d only been gone a day, and she was already missing the simplicity of her life in the flat. She was also missing work. Not having anything to do didn’t suit her. Perhaps there was more to avoiding taking annual leave from her job than just the issue of Miles not getting away for longer breaks.
She imagined that was why she’d fallen asleep during the day – it was boredom.
