It's Not A Game Of Chance When It Comes To Love

Chapter 23

“Stay off the drugs!” I called after her.

She didn’t respond, but Mel, who I’d asked to wait upstairs whilst I talked to my mum, came traipsing down the stairs. She sat next to me on the sofa, twiddling her thumbs almost awkwardly. “Do you want to go shopping or something?” She suggested.

I thought about it for a second. I hadn’t been shopping for ages and having a job now, meant that I had a lot more money to spend. Normally when I shopped, I was looking rather than buying whilst Mel would come out with millions of bags. “Sure.” It was only about four, and because it was Thursday, I didn’t have to work. It gave us lots of time to look around.

When we arrived in the heart of Sheffield, we began browsing the many shops on offer. “So your mum stuck to her promise then? She’s really going to give up the drugs?” Mel inquired.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Were you eavesdropping?” I asked. She confirmed it when she blushed slightly, but I wasn’t bothered. I just chuckled at her sheepish expression. I still answered her question though. “Yeah, she thinks she can do it.”

“Do you think she can do it?”

I was stumped slightly there. “If she believes in herself then so do I.” I stated confidently. Part of me believed that statement, whilst half of me knew I didn’t really believe she could do it. I knew how hooked she was on them. How would she avoid those substances long enough for them to conduct a test and do the results?

“She’ll do better if you have that much confidence in her.” Mel appraised me, making me feel slightly better. As long as I didn’t express how doubtful I was, it might inspire my mum to try harder.

We dropped that subject then, deciding not to ruin a plain shopping trip by ruminating over such trivial things.

“I was talking to Ben yesterday.” Mel casually let slip, but I could see the excitement behind her cool exterior. When Mel’s previous boyfriend (not including Zack), James, had moved away, she had set her sights on Ben. That had been on the first day back at school, but apparently she hadn’t gotten over that yet and was still excited by the prospect of speaking to him.

“Really?” I asked, smiling at her as I waited for her to unload all the details.

“He said he was impressed by how I stood up to Leonie.” I hadn’t even realised he was in my science class, but now I thought about it, I knew he sat in the front left corner. “He said that we should go to the movie’s or something sometime.”

My smile made way for a full blown grin then. “So have you made any arrangements?” I checked. Like with Matt and Lydia, I was happy for Mel to have a good love life, even if I didn’t.

She nodded vigorously, her face alight with joy. “We’re going to the cinema on Sunday.”

“I’m happy for you!” I announced. “A much better choice than Zack.” I teased.

She chuckled. “Zack was definitely a mistake.” She agreed. “He was quite good in the bedroom though. You missed out a bit there.”

“More like on the dining table.” I taunted. She flushed, obviously having forgotten that Matt and I witnessed that. I winced then as I realised what she had implied. “And I’d rather not, thanks. Zack’s an arsehole.” When he’d tried to pressure me into sleeping with him, it had been the final straw for me and although I’d still been with him when I found him cheating on me, I’d been seriously considering breaking up with him.

“You are getting a bit old without having done it though.” Mel pointed out. “You’re missing out on a great experience.” She winked at me.