Angel Kiss - Laura Jane Cassidy [22]
As we entered through the doors at the front of the building we could see groups gathered round the twenty or more tables across the floor. Whispers of gossip and bursts of laughter filled the hall. I could see Mary Reynolds weaving through the tables, placing a small stack of answer sheets on each as she passed. Quizmaster Joe Clancy was standing on the stage, surveying his audience. I spotted Nick at one of the tables at the front. Another guy sat across from him. I recognized Colin’s red hair immediately. The minute I saw them I felt a bit nervous but I quickly got over it. This was too important to screw up.
‘There’s Margaret,’ said Mum, waving over at the primary school principal. ‘Is your team here yet?’
‘Yep. They’re over there,’ I said, pointing at Nick.
‘Oh, I see!’ said Mum, raising an eyebrow at me. ‘Good luck. And I hope you do well in the quiz too,’ she added, smirking.
I rolled my eyes at her before strolling over to Nick and Colin. Nick was looking gorgeous, and had clearly got some sleep since I last saw him. He looked at me, and there was a noticeable second of silence – that momentary beat that every girl strives for, which can only be achieved through a perfectly planned outfit.
‘Hi,’ he said as his eyes subtly scanned my body. ‘Colin, this is Jacki.’
‘We’ve already met,’ said Colin, looking up to smile at me. There were ink stains on his hand and he was doodling with a biro.
‘Oh, right. Take a seat.’ Nick pointed to the grey chair next to him before glancing around the hall and then he began texting furiously. I dropped my bag to the floor and settled down. Nick’s aftershave was almost overbearing, but so intoxicating that I wouldn’t have minded being suffocated by it. He was wearing denims and a Metallica T-shirt. A red hoodie hung across the back of his chair.
‘Four to a team, four to a team, twenty euro per table,’ shouted Joe from the stage. ‘Mary, will you see if you can get this to work?’ he said as he fumbled with the faulty microphone. Mary hurried up the wooden steps on to the stage. Joe stood beside a long table in the middle of the stage, where a chubby man was seated.
‘I didn’t think this would be your kind of scene, Nick,’ said Colin. ‘I was expecting to have to drag you here.’
‘Did you not know I was on our primary school quiz team?’ he joked, acting insulted.
‘Oh yeah, I forgot about that! But we’ll hardly win without a full team …’
‘I’ll text Chris and see what’s keeping him.’
‘When is David back?’ asked Colin, leaning back on his chair.
‘Tomorrow. I’ve told you, like, eight times,’ said Nick, without looking up from his phone. ‘Don’t worry, he got your comics or whatever it was you were looking for.’
‘Aw, savage. Did he get all the ones on the list? And did he get that DVD I asked for?’
‘I don’t know. I was only talking to him online for a few minutes.’
‘He’s so lucky. I’d literally kill to go to Japan.’ Colin picked up his phone and started texting.
‘Who’s David?’ I asked, wanting to get in on the conversation.
‘Our mate,’ said Colin. ‘His dad has businesses all over the place and is always going away. He had to go to some conference in Japan and David got to go with him. His dad is a bit of an asshole; David’s sound though. And his sister Carla is all right sometimes.’
‘He’s not an asshole,’ said Nick, dropping his phone down on the table. ‘Peter Mulvey is one of my dad’s best friends.’
‘Whatever,’ said Colin, turning to me and rolling his eyes.
‘Twenty euro, please,’ said the woman who had just arrived at our table.
Nick’s phone buzzed. He read the message and sighed. ‘Chris can’t come – he’s stuck in work. Looks like it’s just the three of us, so that’s going to be …’ Nick attempted the mathematics