Amy was only fifteen minutes late when she knocked on Martha's door.
"I'm off, Mum! See you tomorrow."
"Does Amy want to come in for a cup of tea first?"
Martha raised her eyes at Amy, who said, "Hello, Mrs Carson. No, we're fine, we don't want to be late."
"Okay, well, don't rush home – we don't want you getting a speeding ticket like Martha's father."
"Thank you, dear. Have fun, girls!" said Martha's dad from the living room.
"We will," chorused Amy and Martha. Then they were out of the front door and at Amy's car. Martha put her bag in the back seat.
"I hope you've got a change of clothes in there," said Amy.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"Jeans and a sweater?"
"I'm wearing hot pants and a crop top underneath."
"I wish you weren't joking. Never mind – you can borrow something of mine."
When they got to Amy's, Martha agreed to a sequined strappy top and a jacket. Amy wore a little black dress.
"That's very restrained for you, Amy," said Martha, looking at the hem that touched Amy's knees.
"Don't worry, I've got these to pin it up with later," said Amy, brandishing a handful of safety pins. "Now you can dress like a tomboy, Martha, but you have to put on more make-up than just lip gloss!" Amy pulled the cork out of a bottle of Blue Nun and poured it into two mugs.
"This is warm," said Martha, taking a sip.
Amy gulped hers down and refilled her mug. "Yeah, it tastes better when it's cold, but if I put it on the windowsill, my dad would see it and throw a fit."
Amy pulled mascara, liquid eyeliner and some dark metallic eye shadow out of a drawer and pushed Martha in front of the mirror. Martha swigged some of the sweet wine from the mug and put on the make-up. Amy fast-forwarded the second side of Now That's What I Call Music 16 before flipping over the cassette. She looked at Martha in the mirror. "Better, but..." She came over and drew fine lines along Martha's bottom lashes, darkened the eyeshadow and applied another sweep of mascara. She looked down at Martha's Nike trainers. "It's a shame we're not the same shoe size."
"Thank goodness. I'd fall over if I wore those," said Martha, looking at Amy's two-inch heels.
"These are my sensible shoes!" Amy did a twirl as Tears for Fears blasted out. Martha drained the rest of her mug and danced with Amy. When they had finished the bottle, they checked the contents of their bags. Martha had money, keys, a mirror, lip gloss and a penknife.
"You have a penknife?" said Amy, peering into Martha's bag.
"It has a bottle opener."
"Okay. You win that one."
YOU ARE READING
The Keeper
RomanceEvery schoolgirl has crushes, but could a schoolgirl crush last a lifetime? When 17-year old Martha starts at a new school, she carries a glimmer of hope that this time will be different. She doesn't seek popularity, but rather a quiet space where s...
