Somewhere Else

Chapter 9: Not Enough (i)

Two words. That's all. He doesn't even ask what I'm doing. Disappointed, I stuff my phone back into my pocket and turn back to the others.

Ludo is in the midst of offering a bottle of beer to Priscilla, who wrinkles her nose.

"No, thanks," she says, with a quick shake of her head. "I don't drink beer. It tastes horrible."

I stare at her.

Ludo groans. "Oh, yeah," he says. "I remember now. You're the boring one."

Priscilla sticks out her tongue at him. She doesn't look offended at all.

Ludo holds out the bottle to me instead. "You want a beer?"

My hand moves, out of sheer habit, to take the bottle from him. And then I clench my fist and let it drop onto the grass. "Sorry," I say, stretching my mouth into what I hope is an apologetic smile. "I'm one of the boring people too."

Priscilla lets out a whoop, and throws an arm around me. "Finally!" she exclaims. "A European who doesn't drink!"

I can only blink at her.

Ludo glances between us, then rolls his eyes. With a shrug, he pops the cap off the bottle and takes a swig for himself.

"You don't drink?" Zuzi asks me.

I purse my lips, uncomfortable with the way all of them are staring at me now, waiting for an answer. "Well... I do, actually. It's just that... I am... well, a little bit allergic to alcohol."

"Oh," Ludo says, "That sucks."

"So what happens when you drink?" Zuzi wants to know.

"I get a bad rash," I say. "It doesn't go away for a few days."

"Shit," Zuzi wrinkles her nose. "You'd better not drink, then."

Priscilla grins. "Don't worry," she tells me, "Us boring people have to stick together." Turning away briefly, she digs around in her bag and emerges with a brown bottle, which she holds up with a dramatic flourish, "I have something much better than alcohol here!"

I look at the label. There is English by the side of it. Probably imported. "Ginger ale?"

"Yep!" She holds the bottle out to me. "You want some? I can share."

"It's okay," I start to say, but she presses the bottle into my hand.

"Oh, don't be silly. You have to drink something. Don't worry, I have plenty." She flashes me another grin.

I stare at her for another moment before shrugging and taking the bottle from her. I smile back. "Okay. Thanks."

Once we've settled down into sipping our drinks, Priscilla throws her arm around me. "You know, you were always so quiet in class, I never knew what to say to you. That's why when I saw you at the cafe just now, I knew I had to come talk to you."

It takes me a moment before I find my tongue. "What? You wanted to talk to me?"

"Well, yeah," Priscilla shrugs. "You seemed cool."

"And standoffish," Zuzi adds, but she's smiling, so I don't take offence.

She's right, anyway.

"Well," I say, matching her candidness with my own, "I've always wanted to talk to you, too. But I never dared. You were always too busy talking to someone else."

"No!" Priscilla looks genuinely devastated. "You really should have."

Zuzi is laughing at us. "Oh, my God! You two are so cute."