Sugar Secrets…& Dramas Read online

  Sugar

  SECRETS …

  …& Dramas

  Mel Sparke

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  CHAPTER 1 MAKING PLANS

  CHAPTER 2 OH NO HE’S NOT

  CHAPTER 3 DECISIONS, DECISIONS

  CHAPTER 4 SWEET CINDERS

  CHAPTER 5 BREAK A LEG!

  CHAPTER 6 OH YES HE IS?

  CHAPTER 7 FAIRY TALE ENDING?

  CHAPTER 8 FIRST-NIGHT NERVES

  CHAPTER 9 GREAT EXPECTATIONS

  CHAPTER 10 DISTANT PUNTERS

  CHAPTER 11 PRINCE CHARMING

  CHAPTER 12 OH NO HE’S NOT. DEFINITELY

  CHAPTER 13 A CHANGE OF HEART

  CHAPTER 14 PUTTING ON A BRAVE FACE

  CHAPTER 15 ON A HIGH

  CHAPTER 16 CAT’S BIG NIGHT

  CHAPTER 17 …HAPPILY EVER AFTER

  CHAPTER 18 BACK DOWN TO EARTH

  CHAPTER 19 SNOG-ATHON

  CHAPTER 20 CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

  SOME SECRETS ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO KEEP TO YOURSELF!

  ES IT MEW YEAR, NEW YOU?

  SO, IS IT NEW YEAR, NEW YOU?

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  CHAPTER 1

  MAKING PLANS

  “What about a nice big pair of scissors?”

  “What kind of present idea is that, Matt?” asked Sonja.

  “It’s the perfect gift for Ollie - it means he could finally lose that Shaggy from Scooby Doo haircut of his.”

  “Oi - there’s nothing wrong with my hair!” protested Ollie Stanton.

  Kerry Bellamy reached up and stroked the straight, light-brown locks that flopped endearingly over her boyfriend’s handsome face.

  No, there’s definitely nothing wrong with his hair - or anything else, she thought to herself.

  “Or a new pair of trainers,” said Catrina Osgood, wrinkling her nose and pointing to Ollie’s battered footwear. “Those are well past their sell-by date.”

  “But these are my favourites!”

  “I know!” grinned Sonja, ignoring Ollie’s whingeing. “How about a life-sized, framed picture of Kerry that you can keep beside your bed and kiss last thing at night?”

  “Yeah!” Cat joined in, clapping her hands together. “Maya can take one of those corny, soft-focus photos like you see advertised in the back of magazines!”

  “No, Maya could not,” growled Maya from the comfort of the biggest bean bag in Matt’s den.

  Kerry fingered her infuriatingly unruly curls, thought of her sprinkling of freckles and laughed at the idea of being transformed by trick photography.

  “OK, so I appreciate your help,” she smiled at her mates, who were sprawled lazily at various points around the large basement room. “But I think I can sort out Ollie’s Christmas present myself. As for the photo, it’s not like I can really see myself as this doe-eyed, romantic figure, clutching a flower and done out all sepia-toned…”

  As Kerry jokingly struck a pose, her friends all had the same thought at once: with her chin tilted up and her red-brown hair tumbling down her back, she looked exactly like a doe-eyed, romantic figure.

  But that was the trouble - where everyone else saw a pretty girl, Kerry was convinced she was nothing next to the blonde, honey-toned beauty of her best friend Sonja Harvey. Or nowhere near the loveliness of Maya Joshi, whose Indian background gave her almond eyes to die for and dark hair so glossy that she could have advertised conditioners on the telly.

  “Well, I don’t know about that, Kerry,” Anna Michaels smiled from the comfort of the big sofa she was sharing with Joe Gladwin. “I think you’d look great. But I think it would be better if Santa brought Ollie a new alarm clock, considering the number of times he’s been late for his shift at the café recently.”

  Ollie clasped his hands to his chest and groaned as if Anna’s pointed words had hit their target.

  “Ouch! That’s not fair, Anna - you know it’s because my Vespa’s packed up a couple of times on the way to work.”

  Now it was time for all the others to groan.

  “Ollie, get rid of that stupid bike! It never works!” Matt Ryan teased him.

  “It does!” replied Ollie indignantly. “It’s working now…”

  “Yeah, but for how long?” laughed Sonja.

  “Anyway,” said Ollie, changing the subject, “I’ve told Kerry she doesn’t need to get me anything for Christmas. I’ve already got the best present in the world… which is her.”

  “Bleurrrgh!” Cat’s face contorted and she pretended to stick her fingers down her throat, while everyone else winced and pulled disgusted faces.

  “What?!” Ollie objected, blinking in mock innocence. “What have I said?”

  “That is sooo soppy!” Cat complained. “I can’t believe you said it in front of everyone, Ol.”

  “But it’s true,” grinned Ollie, knowing he’d wound his friends up.

  Kerry squirmed a little as he wrapped his arms around her; she was half delighted by what he’d just said and half flustered by such a public declaration.

  “That may well be, but do you have to tell everyone?” Sonja let out an exaggerated sigh and winked at Kerry to let her know she was only teasing.

  “Hey, guys, lay off him,” scolded Matt. “You wouldn’t be barfing if a girl had said that - you’d be all gooey-eyed and cooing about how wonderful it was. Anyway, I go along with what Ollie’s saying for me and Gaby too - I’m just happy to have her. You lot are just jealous because you’re not in love.”

  Gabrielle Adjani - who’d just padded down the stairs - caught the tail-end of the conversation. She let out a little squeal of embarrassment, then ran over and playfully punched Matt as she fell on to the bean bag beside him.

  “Crikey, you’ve changed,” Cat snickered at Matt. “A few months ago you’d have been the first one to scoff at any kind of smoochiness. Now look at you. A perfect picture of loved-upness. No offence to Gabrielle, but frankly, I’m waiting for the bubble to burst.”

  Cat immediately slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes bulging with the shock of what she’d just said. She wasn’t exactly known for her subtlety, but even she realised she was being tactless. It was the sort of thing she could usually get away with saying in front of Matt, but not when Gabrielle was there too. The horrified looks on everyone’s faces confirmed this.

  “I’m really sorry, Gaby,” Cat squirmed. “That just kind of slipped out. I didn’t mean it to sound so harsh. The truth is, I’ve never seen Matt look happier. I was just being my usual bitchy self.”

  “That’s OK, Cat,” Gabrielle answered generously. “Now that I finally know all about Matt’s stream of exes…” She turned and began her pretend punching again.

  “…I guess I can understand why you might think that way.”

  Matt gave his girlfriend a wobbly smile and almost looked like he actually deserved the thumping she was giving him. Although when he’d first met her, Matt had tried to reinvent himself as someone with a clean record when it came to relationships, Gabrielle was now well up to speed on his lurid past.

  At first, he’d just confessed to two ex-girlfriends - Cat, and Ollie’s twin sister - but soon after, he’d told her the whole truth. There were just too many girls in Winstead and the surrounding area who could land him in it at any time and Gabrielle deserved to hear the truth from him. Luckily, she’d taken it pretty well.

  “At least Winstead will be a safer place this year without Matt trying to charm Christmas kisses out of every girl that gets in his line of vision!” Sonja teased him, feeling it was safe to do so if Gabrielle didn’t have a problem with it. “What were you like at that Christmas Eve party we went to?”


  “You may mock,” he shot back, “but you’re no angel yourself, Ms Harvey. Didn’t you and Cat have a snogging contest at that party? Weren’t the two of you running around with plastic mistletoe all night, seeing who could get the most kisses?”

  “Hey, the only reason we started that was because you inspired us with your sterling snogging efforts,” Cat pointed out with a wicked smile on her face. “What was your score again -wasn’t it twelve different girls, beating your previous best of nine the year before?”

  Matt shuffled till his bean bag rustled. He knew when he was beaten.

  “Are you thinking of having a party here this year, Matt?” Joe butted in, keen to get the conversation back on an even keel. Once Cat got going, she could end up saying almost anything, and it usually got worse rather than better. She always found it hard to find the fine line between taking the mick and going too far.

  “God, no. Why would he?” snorted Cat. “He doesn’t need to have parties now that he’s an old married man. He only ever held them in the past so he could get his lips round a bit of totty.”

  “Actually, yes, Joe. I probably will have a bit of a bash, and you’ll all be invited,” Matt said, before adding pointedly, “Except Cat, that is.”

  “I doubt I would have been able to fit you in anyway,” Cat replied with a haughty tilt of her head. “What with one thing and another, my diary is virtually full from now until New Year.”

  “What about you, Ol?” joe asked. “Same old madness for you this Christmas?”

  “Too right. I know it’s not for another three weeks, but the pub’s getting busy already. I’ll be lucky if I get the chance to go to any parties, I’ll be too busy helping my parents out when I’m not working at the End.” OIlie worked for his uncle at the End-of-the-Line café and lived with his parents above The Swan pub.

  “Sounds ideal,” said Cat. “A party every night in your own house. No cabs to book, no worries about getting home, you just fall into bed upstairs ready for the next one tomorrow.”

  “Don’t you believe it,” said OIlie. “The whole thing is one big rush from start to finish. Christmas is supposed to be about families getting together and being nice, and we’re so stressed out we’re at each other’s throats by the end of it.”

  “Poo-ey! Me and Mum are like that all year round,” Cat said. “If anything, we’re worse at Christmas because we have to spend so much time together. That’s the worst thing about it -being forced to be nice to your family just because it’s Christmas. And failing. Miserably.”

  “Cheers, Cat,” said Sonja and gave her cousin a withering look. “That’s you crossed off my present list.”

  “I didn’t mean your side of the family - I’m talking about my God-awful mother,” Cat drawled. “And don’t pretend that you and your folks are looking forward to seeing her sour face at Christmas dinner round yours! It’s at times like this that I envy people like you, Anna. At least you’ve got your own place to escape to when you get sick of playing happy families.”

  Cat’s words struck a chord with Maya.

  “What about you, Anna?” she said, concerned. “What are you up to for Christmas?”

  Anna felt flustered as the focus of attention fell on her. So far she had hung back from the conversation. In fact, until now, she had managed to block out all thoughts of Christmas. She was dreading the whole event; it held so many bad memories for her.

  This time last year she had spent Christmas at her friend Lucy’s in Exeter, and while the family had made her feel welcome, Anna felt she was intruding the whole time she was there. And the year before… well, there hadn’t been much to be glad about back then.

  She stumbled over her words when she answered. “I… er, I d-don’t know, yet. I really haven’t decided. Christmas isn’t the best time for me, what with one thing and another.”

  Determined not to divulge any more and desperate to move the conversation on, she added quickly, “What about you, Maya - your family’s Hindu, isn’t it? What do you do at Christmas?”

  Maya realised that Anna didn’t want to talk, so she let the subject drop. “Actually, my family’s a bit of a muddle when it comes to religion; my dad’s Hindu, and Mum’s side’s Muslim and Christian. But neither of my parents are particularly religious. We just tend to have my Grandpa Naseem and my Nana Jean to visit and make it special that way.”

  “Sounds complicated,” said Anna.

  “It is,” agreed Maya, aware that Anna didn’t know about her parents’ unconventional marriage and the trouble it had caused.

  “How long is Nick shutting the End for, Ol?” Joe asked. “He hasn’t asked me about doing any shifts yet once term ends, and I thought he might have done by now.”

  “He reckons the caff and the record shop will be open until Christmas Eve, then they’ll both be closed until New Year’s Day,” replied Ollie.

  “So you’ll get a week off?” Cat said. “That’s not so bad. I thought Nick would be too mean to shut for that long!”

  “Well, it wouldn’t surprise me,” joked Ollie. “I can still see him changing his mind and deciding to open from Boxing Day onwards. Then me and Anna will be really hacked off.”

  If only you knew how wrong you were, Ol, Anna thought ruefully.

  The truth was, she wished the café could stay open all over Christmas. At least then she wouldn’t have time to get depressed about spending it on her own.

  CHAPTER 2

  OH NO HE’S NOT

  Anna picked up the phone and punched in the number she knew off by heart.

  The conversation she’d had about Christmas with the rest of the gang on Saturday night had been rattling around in her head ever since and she knew she had to do something about it.

  Mooching around on Christmas Day all alone in her tiny flat above the End-of-the-Line café just seemed too sad. She knew it was a long shot, but she was keeping her fingers crossed that Owen could come and keep her company…

  Absent-mindedly, Anna brushed a bit of dust off the top of the phone while she listened to the number register then begin to ring at the other end. Her face lit up when she heard her brother pick up.

  “Owen? Hi, it’s me. How are you?”

  “Hi, Anna! I’m great, how about you?”

  She felt the warm smile in her brother’s voice and immediately felt happier.

  “Yeah, I’m fine - up to my elbows in chip fat as usual,” she joked. “Look, I know we only spoke a few days ago, but I’ve been thinking about Christmas…”

  “Actually, me too. What have you got planned?”

  “Well, that’s just it,” Anna said. “Nothing. Which is why I’m phoning.”

  “I don’t suppose you’d consider coming home for Christmas?” Owen asked.

  She’d expected, but not hoped for, this particular suggestion. “I couldn’t, Owen. Not yet. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.”

  “Oh, Anna, please think about it,” he pleaded in a gentle tone. “Mum would love it if we were both there; it would make her year. Please don’t dismiss it just like that.”

  “So does that mean you’re definitely going to Mum’s?” asked Anna, disappointment in her voice.

  “Yeah, like always. I know it’s been years since Dad died, but I couldn’t just leave her on her own at this time of year.”

  Anna immediately felt guilty, even after all the pain her mother had caused her when she’d needed her most. But guilt wasn’t enough to drive her home.

  “Look, why don’t you think about it and let me or Mum know nearer the time?” Owen’s voice was pleading now. He really did want this year to be a Michaels’ family reunion.

  “I’m not sure, Owen,” Anna replied. “I know Mum and I are speaking again these days, but it’s not like we’re the best of pals all of a sudden. When we ring each other up the conversation’s still pretty stilted. I really don’t think I can bring myself to spend Christmas playing happy families; not after all that’s happened.”

  “I figured you might say that,
” said Owen. “I understand how you must feel, but I thought that with it being Christmas and everything… God, I sound like a proper Good Samaritan, don’t I?” he laughed down the line. “It’s OK, Anna, you can tell me to keep my nose out of it if you like…”

  “It’s all right,” Anna replied. “I don’t mind. I’ll think about it, OK?”

  “Sure. So what have you been up to since we last spoke - did you go to Matt’s on Saturday night?”

  “Yeah, it was fun.”

  “All the gang there?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Sonja there?”

  Anna grinned. She’d wondered how long it would be before Owen brought the subject round to Sonja.

  “Yes, Owen, Sonja was there. On her own and no doubt pining for you all evening.”

  “Don’t take the mick, I was only asking,” Owen said cheerfully. “I just wanted to know if she’s, well, OK and everything.”

  “What are you asking me for? You two speak to each other on the phone more than me and you do!” teased Anna. Then a thought struck her. “Actually, Owen, couldn’t you tell Mum you’re not going home just this once, because you’re coming to see Sonja instead? Mum could always go to Aunt Theresa’s or somebody’s. And that way, I’d get to spend some time with you and you’d get to see the love of your life.”

  Owen said nothing for a moment.

  He must be tempted! Anna hoped silently.

  “Anna, I love you, but I care about Mum too -and I owe it to her to be around at Christmas,” he sighed. “Sonja will be busy with her own family stuff anyway.”

  “OK,” said Anna in a small voice. She felt well and truly chastised by her big brother, even if he hadn’t meant it that way.

  “Anyway, what will you do if you don’t come to Mum’s? You won’t stay in that flat all on your own, will you?”

  “Oh, no,” Anna replied a little too quickly. “Don’t worry about me; there’ll be plenty going on around here on Christmas Day.”

  Only none of it will involve me, she thought, as a wave of loneliness hit her.

  Cat walked into the classroom at the college which was doubling up as the combined make-up and costume area for the Drama Department’s Christmas production of Cinderella, and began setting out her overloaded box of cosmetics. As usual, she was the first one there.