You're the One That I Want(41)

‘But it’s not like that,’ I argued, getting ready to defend our boy/girl friendship once more, something I was very used to doing. Hoping that it wasn’t going to be made into a massive issue. I liked these girls and didn’t want there to be a question mark hanging over me and my loyalty every time I hung out with Ben. That’s what had led me to feel judged and isolated in the past – and I didn’t want history to start repeating itself yet again.

‘Shush, you,’ broke in Jennifer, interrupting my frantic thoughts. ‘She’s pulling your leg.’

‘Yep. I’ve seen a photo of your boyfriend … Phwoar!’ Pearl growled.

‘Thanks,’ I sighed.

‘Any brothers I should know about?’

‘Two!’

‘Like heaven to my ears!’ Pearl cackled.

‘Want a cuppa?’ asked Flo, moving towards our communal kitchen. ‘Kettle’s just boiled.’

‘Sounds fab. I’ll just go shower first, though.’ I felt stale and horrid from the previous night’s over-indulgence – I knew I still smelt of alcohol too, it hovered around me, prompting unexpected waves of nausea every time I caught a whiff of it.

I showered quickly and threw on a new pair of stripy purple and white pyjamas (I’d bought them especially for uni), guessing the day was going to be written off in terms of exploring the city, and left my hair wet – I couldn’t bear the thought of drying it in my hungover state, and didn’t even care that it would dry frizzy and wild.

‘Here you go, tea, two sugars,’ Flo beamed, handing me a mug as soon as I walked out of my room, back into the hallway.

‘Feeling better?’ asked Pearl, still standing in the same spot I’d left her.

‘Much.’

‘Fancy a chocolate Hobnob?’ she asked, pulling a massive packet from the pocket of her dark-blue dressing gown.

‘That is just what I need!’ I sighed, happily taking one.

‘I’ve got two mega packs,’ she grinned, swinging out her hip and showing me another packet hiding in her other pocket.

‘We’ve decided a girlie flick is in order,’ smiled Flo.

‘Yes, come join us in my little boudoir. We’re watching that new one with Billy Buskin in – Halo,’ Jennifer said, opening her bedroom door to reveal the den she’d created. Radiant red and aubergine-coloured fabric was hanging from the walls, hiding the dull white-painted

surfaces behind, and incense was burning, making it look like an Arabian haven. It was beautiful.

‘How have you managed to make it look so cool?’ I asked, mentally comparing it to my own bleak hideout. I thought I’d done a pretty good job personalizing it and making it my own, but Jennifer had shown me otherwise.

‘Mum made me pack a whole bunch of saris, just in case the perfect Indian boy turned up on campus …’ she chuckled. ‘I figured I might as well put them to good use instead, plus I was running out of space in my wardrobe.’

‘They look incredible!’

‘I’ll be frantically taking them down whenever she decides to come visit … and wearing them!’ she laughed. ‘Right, grab a space, girls,’ she said, gesturing towards the bed as she switched on her television and located the chosen DVD.

We scrambled onto her neatly made bed, which was lavishly covered in red silk sheets and embroidered cream pillows, and nestled ourselves into comfortable positions with our cups of tea cradled in our hands and Pearl’s chocolate Hobnobs temptingly placed out in front of us to nibble on.

That, at eighteen years old, was my first ever girlie afternoon. It’s bizarre to think that I’d gone that long without one. As we sighed at the romantic storyline between Sid Quest and Scarlett James (cooing over Billy Buskin’s charming ways), giggled awkwardly at the sex scenes (can anyone watch them in the company of others and not feel über weird?) and cried our eyes out uncontrollably at the ending (seriously, it’s so sad – how could they leave it there?), I realized how fun it was going to be living with the girls and being part of a girlie friendship group for once. Now, being with the boys had always been effortlessly comfortable, and I knew nothing would ever replace or better that, but the new bond that I felt growing was a whole new experience for me, and I liked it.

Robert came to visit us for two nights the following weekend – we didn’t quite manage to last the two weeks apart we’d loosely planned – something I was rather pleased about. It was nice to know that he hadn’t forgotten about me as soon as he got to Nottingham and was out of reach. We’d all survived Freshers’ Week and avoided any disasters, other than gaining splitting headaches from our raging hangovers – students could drink!