Sugar Secrets…& Confessions Read online

  Sugar

  SECRETS …

  & Confessions

  Mel Sparke

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  CHAPTER 1 THE PHONE CALL

  CHAPTER 2 MATT’S BRILLIANT IDEA

  CHAPTER 3 MOVING ON

  CHAPTER 4 LISTENING IN

  CHAPTER 5 SONJA’S GROWING PROBLEM

  CHAPTER 6 DOUBLE STANDARDS

  CHAPTER 7 DEKE ON THE PROWL

  CHAPTER 8 UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

  CHAPTER 9 LIES, LIES. LIES

  CHAPTER 10 CAUGHT RED-HANDED

  CHAPTER 11 BRIEF ENCOUNTER

  CHAPTER 12 TRUE CONFESSIONS

  CHAPTER 13 CONFRONTATION

  CHAPTER 14 ROWS AND REMORSE

  CHAPTER 15 HIGHS AND LOWS

  CHAPTER 16 WAITING

  CHAPTER 17 MAKING PLANS

  CHAPTER 18 TIME TO TALK

  CHAPTER 19 MATT TO THE RESCUE

  CHAPTER 20 RESULT!

  CHAPTER 21 CARRY ON CAMPING

  ARE YOU A BEACH BABE?

  SO, ARE YOU A BEACH BABE?

  SOME SECRETS ARE JUST TOO GOOD TO KEEP TO YOURSELF!

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  CHAPTER 1

  THE PHONE CALL

  OIlie Stanton turned off the coffee machine for the day and found his gaze drawn to the bright sunshine outside the End-of-the-Line café. It was a warm Sunday afternoon out there, the sort that made him glad to be a part of life and everything that happened in it. It was, OIlie suddenly decided, the kind of day for doing something daft and not giving a damn if anyone saw.

  He started humming the tune to The Loud’s Waiting for the Day. Taking his blue and white J cloth, he began wiping down the chrome on the coffee machine, while bobbing up and down to the rhythm of the song. In his head The Loud was playing to a packed Wembley Stadium and OIlie was strutting across the vast stage in four grand’s worth of Gaultier combats and jacket, the power of his voice reverberating around the vast arena.

  “Waiting for the day, when you will be there…” Ollie turned and sang to his friends, who were lounging in their usual spot by the window, then took hold of a stainless steel sandwich platter from under the counter and began playing it like a guitar.

  Joe Gladwin turned, laughed and decided to join in, using the table as a makeshift drum kit, and tapping his hands on it in time to Ollie’s vocals.

  Others began singing, taking the little packets of sugar from the bowl and shaking them up and down, or banging nearby surfaces with cutlery or Coke cans in time to the tune they all knew off by heart.

  Soon Ollie was standing on a chair, gyrating his hips, his makeshift guitar held high above his head. As far as he was concerned, he was a rock star.

  Kerry Bellamy grinned at her boyfriend and gave him the thumbs up. “Nice one, Ol,” she laughed. “Just what we need to wind down after the last few weeks of hell.” She turned and nudged Sonja Harvey, urging her to join in with everyone else.

  Sonja looked up from the magazine she’d been staring at and gave Kerry a half-hearted smile. Then she looked down at her magazine again, lost in her own thoughts.

  She’s probably as knackered as me from all that studying, Kerry figured and felt a wave of relief wash over her at the thought of having no more A level exams to worry about.

  Anna Michaels wandered out from the kitchen to see what all the noise was about. Tensing slightly when she saw Ollie giving it loads from a chair, she quickly relaxed again when she scanned the café and realised only her friends were left.

  “It’s a good job we’re about to close,” she teased, her Marigolds covered in soap bubbles, “or you’d have cleared the place of customers by now! I could do with you lot on a Friday night when I want to get off home early. What’s the occasion?”

  Ollie turned and gave an exaggerated shrug. “No reason, I guess,” he shouted, breaking off from strumming his platter. “Just having a good time, you know…”

  “Helping us forget the strain of the last few weeks,” shouted Kerry above the din.

  “Yeah,” Joe agreed. “Getting us in the mood for a long, scorching summer.”

  “Or a wet, windy one,” said Matt Ryan, deadpan.

  Kerry sighed. “These exams have been the worst yet… like you’d expect from your A levels, I guess…” she added unnecessarily. She pushed her glasses further up her nose and giggled.

  Kerry knew she was stating the obvious - what with her, Joe and Sonja frantically cramming as much revision as possible into their lives recently, there hadn’t been much chance for them to let off steam. Now though, the only thing that Kerry had to think about was what she was going to wear each morning. That and her upcoming holiday to Ibiza with Ollie, the thought of which made her stomach lurch in a mixture of excitement and anticipation.

  As Anna retreated to the kitchen to finish clearing up, she heard the faint sound of the telephone ringing above the noise. Turning back, she picked up the wall phone by the jukebox and stuffed her rubber-gloved hand over her ear, screwing her face up to hear what the person at the end of the line was saying.

  “Ol, it’s for you!” she shouted at the top of her voice, waving the phone at him.

  Ollie leapt off his chair like a gazelle and bounded over to the phone, which he smilingly took from Anna.

  “Hell-lo…” he said chirpily and began doing a silly dance in front of his friends who had just noisily started on the chorus to Waiting… Then, as he listened to the voice at the other end of the line, Ollie suddenly stopped jigging around and the grin on his face turned to a look of astonishment. He motioned to the others to be quiet then stuck the index finger of his free hand into his ear and frowned. Everyone shut up and strained to hear his end of the conversation, listening for clues as to what the sudden seriousness was about.

  “Uh… yep,” they heard him say. “Oh. Really? … You’re kidding me, right?” Ollie ran his free hand through his already ruffled hair and looked boggle-eyed at his friends.

  “Really?” he said again, only this time half an octave higher. “Yeah, of course we would! … I can’t believe it. Are you sure this isn’t a wind-up? Yeah? Wow, that’s great! Uh… I’ll wait to hear from you then. Right. And, urn, thanks for calling.”

  Ollie placed the phone back on its cradle, punched the air and gave an almighty whoop. “You’ll never guess what…” he yelped, leaping the few strides back to the gang’s table in one, and clutching his head in shock.

  Everyone looked at him expectantly.

  “Come on, then,” Matt demanded impatiently. “You gonna tell us, or what?”

  “That was…” Ollie stopped for a moment and gulped. “It was only one of the promoters of the Dansby Music Festival!”

  Several heads nodded in recognition. Everyone in the gang knew about the event which was happening in a couple of weeks’ time. They’d spoken about it loads of times recently, gossiping about the big name acts that were headlining over the two days, or reading snippets out of the newspapers.

  “Yeah. So…?” prompted Matt.

  “Right, er… so, well,” Ollie carried on, stumbling over the words in his excitement, “this Saul guy heard us at the Battle of the Bands competition and… and, anyway, that was him on the phone and he only wants to book us for the festival. Can you believe it?!”

  Wide-eyed and flushed with anticipation, Ollie grabbed Joe by the shoulders and dragged him out of his seat. Exchanging a euphoric high-five, the pair of them began singing again, dancing round and round the café until the song deteriorated into laughing and whooping. They began bumping into tables and chairs, but they didn’t care because they felt as if they’d just won the Lotte
ry.

  “Ol, that’s amazing news!” beamed Matt, leaping up to join them. “Wow, this could finally be your big break.”

  Ollie checked himself for a moment and shook his head. “I tell you, Matt, I’m excited, but I’m gonna be a whole lot more realistic about this than I was about the Battle of the Bands competition. I mean, I thought we were going places when we got through to the final of that and look what happened then - the whole thing was a fix. Believe me, I’m gonna try and be a bit more grounded about this…”

  “So how come you’ve got a grin a mile wide on your face, buddy boy?” Matt joked, punching his friend gently in the ribs. “Anyway, if it hadn’t been for that competition, you would never have got this phone call, right? And for all you know, this might lead on to a record deal.”

  “Oh, God, please don’t say that, Matt,” Ollie cut in, his eyes wide. “You’re getting me all goosebumpy just at the thought of it.”

  “So much for not getting too excited,” laughed Kerry.

  “Can you imagine,” Catrina Osgood broke in, “before you know it, you might be on Top of the Pops. Can I do your make-up when it happens? Go on, Ol, pleeease.”

  “And I could be your official photographer,” Maya Joshi joined in, warming to the fantasy. “There to do your album covers, publicity shots…”

  “Hey, you lot, steady on!” Andy King, The Loud’s bassist, chuckled, the hairs on his neck standing on end at the very thought. “Let’s take it one step at a time, shall we?”

  “No, mate,” interrupted Matt. “Let’s celebrate! Hey, Anna - Cokes and crisps all round. Ollie’s treat.”

  “If I’m paying, it’s just one Coke and one packet of salt and vinegar to share, OK?” Ollie joked, ruffling Matt’s hair. Everyone in the café laughed.

  Everyone except Sonja. She didn’t join in with the fun. Sure, she’d smiled at Ollie’s news, she’d patted Joe on the back and said, “Well done.” But now she was doing what she had been for most of the afternoon: staring out of the window or at her magazine, with a faraway look on her face.

  CHAPTER 2

  MATT’S BRILLIANT IDEA

  I can’t believe how I’ve messed up, Sonja thought angrily. Everyone else is having a fabulous time because it’s the end of exams and I should be too. As it is, I’ve got nothing to celebrate. She stared at the unread magazine in front of her and wished she was anywhere but in the café right now.

  Sonja suddenly felt stupid for coming to her usual haunt with the others. She had thought it might lift her spirits a bit, maybe take her mind off her problem. But now she was here, and because it was obvious that everyone else was in such a good mood, she wished she had stayed at home. In her room. Alone.

  For the first time in her life Sonja felt she was drowning and it was a sensation that was completely alien to her. She had always been so sure about the path her life was going to take. Get good grades throughout school, go to university, get a First in Public Relations, get a good job with a flat and a nice car, have a career, a good time, loads of money, and a fab boyfriend (preferably Owen)…

  The plan in her head had never deviated far from that - there was never anything else to consider, like flunking school or deciding to go off travelling, the sort of stuff that a lot of other people her age did.

  Now, everything was different. The only certainty was that her plans were falling apart right before her eyes. She felt helpless to do anything to stop it. And doubly angry because of that.

  “Hey, Son, why the long face?”

  Matt interrupted Sonja’s brooding with a friendly kiss on the cheek and his most winning smile. Moments ago he had been dancing around the tables with the boys, singing cheerfully at the top of his voice. Then he’d spotted Sonja sort of smiling and joining in, but obviously miles away. She looked distracted and he figured he was just the person to make her snap out of it.

  “Uh, nothing to worry about, Matt, I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.” Sonja found herself fiddling nervously with her magazine as she spoke. flicking through the pages without actually taking in what was on them.

  “Great news about the band, isn’t it?” he grinned, sliding into the seat beside her and putting an arm round her shoulder.

  Sonja had a vague idea what he was talking about, though she hadn’t listened to much of the conversation that had gone on earlier. “Er, yeah, fabulous,” she said as lightly as possible. “Nice one.”

  “And I bet you’re glad your exams are over now, aren’t you?” continued Matt cheerfully. “It must be quite a relief not to have to wake up every morning worrying about what exam you’ve got or how well you did in the last one. Not that you ever let them get on top of you - you’re far too cool for that…”

  If only you knew, Sonja thought bitterly.

  “Hey, I’ve just had an idea,” said Matt suddenly, speaking to the rest of the group, and waving his arms up and down in an attempt to get everyone to shut up.

  “Hold the front page, guys, Mart’s having a thought!” Ollie shouted. “This is like the Millennium - it won’t happen again for another thousand years.”

  “Ha ha. As I was saying… why don’t we all pile down to the festival and make a weekend of it? We could take a tent - my old man’s got one in the garage somewhere - load up with sleeping bags… It’d be a right laugh. What d’you think?”

  “Matt, that’s about the best idea you’ve ever had,” said Ollie in mock astonishment.

  “It’s the only idea he’s ever had,” quipped Cat.

  “It is - though I love it, it’s brilliant.” Ollie was really animated now. He leapt up and down, his arms waving around like windmills. “We’ve got a massive tent somewhere at home too. I’m sure that between the two of them we could all squeeze in. We could pile into a couple of cars, drive down and make a big party of it. It’ll be great - a fantastic weekend away!”

  “You’re not working that weekend then, Ol?” Kerry prompted gently, keen to make sure Ollie didn’t get carried away only to find he had a shift or two at the End. After the animosity the recent Battle of the Bands competition had caused, with Ollie expecting time off work that wasn’t his to take, she didn’t want her boyfriend getting into trouble with his Uncle Nick or upsetting Anna again.

  “I don’t even need to look,” Ollie said confidently. “I’ve got that weekend off. I booked it ages ago because there’s a two-day bike fair in the city. I was going to go and get some parts for the Vespa. Not any more though. This has got to be a much better offer.”

  “What about you, Anna?” asked Kerry. “Are you working?”

  Anna went and peered at the work rota hanging on the wall.

  “I am on the Saturday,” she called, “and Nick’s down for Sunday. I could catch a train late on Saturday afternoon if someone could pick me up from the nearest station.”

  “No worries, I will. So are we all on then?” Matt demanded, slapping his hands on the Formica tabletop and looking expectantly around him.

  “Do they have electricity at these places?” Cat piped up innocently. “Only I’d need to take a hairdryer with me. And my skin purifier. And there’d be somewhere I could have a shower, wouldn’t there?”

  She looked blankly at the sea of faces who were now in various states of suppressed hysterics.

  “Cat, it’s not like a hotel,” Matt explained through a mouthful of giggles. “Heck - I doubt if it’ll even be like a proper camp site, you’ll be lucky if you get a saucepan of lukewarm water to wash in, let alone anything so fancy as a shower. Or if there is, it’ll be a cold one, in the open air, that you’ll be sharing with several hundred others.”

  “Sounds perfectly hideous,” replied Cat, curling her lip distastefully. “I suppose I’ll just have to make sure I don’t get dirty then. And I suppose I could tie my hair back and wear my oldest clothes and espadrilles…”

  “Let’s pray it doesn’t rain,” Ollie smirked, his mind wandering to the mud-engulfed music festivals he’d been to in the past, “or you’ll be wan
ting to come home as soon as you get there. What about you, Kez? D’you think you can square it with your parents and your Saturday job?”

  “I should think so, as long as I butter Mum and Dad up between now and then. And I’ve got a few weekdays lined up at the chemist over the summer, so I expect I can sort it so that I change a Saturday for one of those. How about you, Son?”

  Sonja didn’t answer. She was staring blankly at the back wall of the café. Matt poked her in the arm, making her jump.

  “Wh-what?” she said, her eyes scanning the group who were all watching her. “Uh. yeah, sure, whatever,” she replied, shuffling edgily in her seat.

  “Well, I hope you guys have a great time. Send me a postcard, won’t you?” Maya suddenly announced from the corner where she’d been sitting quietly.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” said Kerry, shooting a sympathetic look at Maya. “Your parents are going to love this one, aren’t they?”

  “Uh-huh.” The tone was rueful. “There’s no way they’re going to let me go camping in a field in the middle of nowhere with several thousand ravers, are they? I mean, come on, they’re doctors - and ones with overactive imaginations at that. As far as they’re concerned, the place’ll be crawling with drug pushers and rapists, desperate to get me hooked on something or attack me in my tent. They’ll never let me go. Not in a million years…”

  CHAPTER 3

  MOVING ON

  “Are we ready then?”

  Joe pulled open the driver’s door of his car, slid into the seat and waited for Ollie to climb in next to him. Having only recently passed his test, he still hadn’t quite got used to having a friend in the car with him, rather than his driving instructor or his dad. And it was weird not having someone telling him what to do, where to turn, pull in or overtake.

  But he loved his car. It gave him the freedom he needed and would be perfect for bombing up and down between Winstead and London when he went to university in October. Assuming I get the grades, Joe kept telling himself.