Mates, Dates and Great Escapes Read online

  Also available by Cathy Hopkins

  The MATES, DATES series

  1. Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras

  2. Mates, Dates and Cosmic Kisses

  3. Mates, Dates and Portobello Princesses

  4. Mates, Dates and Sleepover Secrets

  5. Mates, Dates and Sole Survivors

  6. Mates, Dates and Mad Mistakes

  7. Mates, Dates and Pulling Power

  8. Mates, Dates and Tempting Trouble

  9. Mates, Dates and Great Escapes

  10. Mates, Dates and Chocolate Cheats

  11. Mates, Dates and Diamond Destiny

  12. Mates, Dates and Sizzling Summers

  Companion Books:

  Mates, Dates Guide to Life

  Mates, Dates and You

  Mates, Dates Journal

  The TRUTH, DARE, KISS OR PROMISE series

  1. White Lies and Barefaced Truths

  2. Pop Princess

  3. Teen Queens and Has-Beens

  4. Starstruck

  5. Double Dare

  6. Midsummer Meltdown

  7. Love Lottery

  8. All Mates Together

  The CINNAMON GIRL series

  1. This Way to Paradise

  2. Starting Over

  Find out more at www.piccadillypress.co.uk

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  PICCADILLY PRESS • LONDON

  Thanks to Brenda Gardner, Yasemin Uçar and the ever fab team at Piccadilly. Also to Rosemary Bromley at Juvenilia. And to Steve Lovering for being such a patient listening ear when working out outlines, and for accompanying me to Florence to research the locations in the book (although I don’t think he minded too much). Also to Laura Denham for good advice for overcoming fear of flying. And to Scott Brenman, Edward Jeffrey, Olivia McDonnell, Alice Elwes and Natalie Reeves for giving me the low-down on school trips from a teen’s point of view. And big thanks to all the lovely readers out there who buy the books and send me their letters and e-mails.

  First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Piccadilly Press Ltd.,

  5 Castle Road, London NW1 8PR

  This edition published 2007

  Text copyright © Cathy Hopkins, 2004, 2007

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

  The right of Cathy Hopkins to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN: 978 1 85340 935 6 (trade paperback)

  eBook ISBN: 978 1 84812 173 7

  3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  Printed in the UK by CPI Bookmarque, Croydon, CR0 4TD

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  Chapter 1

  Turning Scarlet

  A light above the surgery door flashed on and a few people in the waiting room looked up expectantly.

  ‘Mrs Harper,’ called the nurse at the reception desk. ‘Go on through.’

  A blonde lady who had been sitting next to us got up and made her way through to the surgery.

  ‘Let’s get out of here, Lucy,’ said Nesta. ‘I thought you were joking.’

  ‘Yeah. Seems a bit drastic to me,’ said TJ looking about nervously. ‘Giving blood is not my idea of a fun way to spend Saturday morning.’

  ‘I know, but hey, drastic situation, drastic measures,’ I said. ‘And I’m not asking any of you to do it. I think it’s a good idea regardless of my problem and why I first suggested coming here. It may save a life.’

  Izzie pointed at a poster on the wall. ‘Yeah,’ she said, ‘it’s a way of giving something back to the community. Says there that only six per cent of people donate blood.’

  Nesta put her hands into the prayer position. ‘St Lucy and St Izzie, out to save the world. No way I’m doing it. Can’t we just put a quid in the donation box instead?’

  We were sitting in the waiting room at the blood donor clinic. I’d seen the poster outside the Tube on the way home from school last night and dragged my mates in here this morning. Save a Life by Donating Blood, the poster read. Save my life, I thought as I had a brainwave. It could be the answer to the curse that follows me everywhere I go. Blushing. Giving blood could be the solution. One pint less, one pint less to blush with. The girls thought I’d gone barking mad and laughed their heads off when I told them. I guess it was a bit bonkers to think that it would solve my blushing problem, but I got to thinking that even if it was a daft idea, giving blood can save a life (as the poster said), so no harm done and I’d manage to do a good deed in the bargain.

  ‘And I don’t think blushing is a problem,’ said TJ. ‘I think it’s sweet when you turn pink.’

  Yeah right, I thought. I know different. It makes me look like a kid and it’s embarrassing and a half. I blush so easily at the maddest things. Like if anyone says any word with the slightest sexual connotation, I turn purple. Like in biology last Wednesday, we were doing the reproductive behaviour of frogs. Frogs! How unsexy are they? But in the course of the lesson, our teacher, Miss Aspinall, said reproductive organs and, baboom, I turned scarlet. I hate it. It’s not like I’m a prude or even really embarrassed, but some out of control part of me has decided that if I hear a sexual word or I’m talking to a boy I fancy, blood will flood to my face. It’s weird – if I’m in the dark and no one’s looking at me, I’m fine. I can hear anything, watch anything, the rudest most disgusting thing, and I know I won’t blush, but, if the lights are up or people are looking at me, I turn pink at anything. Of course, my brother Lal is well aware of the fact and uses any excuse to get me going. Like last night he said, ‘Pubic hair’, turned to me and waited with a great stupid grin on his face. I could have thumped him. Course, I turned red on cue. How pathetic is that? I can’t control it. No way am I embarrassed by pubic hair. Everybody gets it. But say the words and look me in the eye and off I go. Pink, red, scarlet. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  ‘Next,’ called the nurse at the reception desk.

  I stood up and walked towards her.

  ‘Name?’ she asked.

  ‘Lucy Lovering.’

  ‘Age?’

  ‘Fourteen. Fifteen in May.’

  The nurse peered over her glasses. ‘Not old enough,’ she said and looked beyond me at the waiting queue. ‘Next.’

  Not old enough. Story of my life, I thought as I went back to join the others. Nesta, Izzie and TJ. My mates. My mates that are all the same age as me, but look like they’re eighteen, whereas I look like I only just crawled out of junior school. Nesta’s five foot seven, TJ’s five foot seven and Izzie has had a spurt of growing recently and is the tallest of all of us at five foot eight. Me, I’ve had my own growing spurt too, bringing me up to the grand height of five feet. Woopedoop. Not. It causes no end of trouble, like if we ever want to go and see an adult film. They all sail in, no questions asked at the cinema ticket counter, then they get to me and it’s no go. Last time we tried it, Izzie was ahead of me in the queue. ‘Can’t let your little sister through,’ the sales person said to Izzie and everyone
in the foyer turned and stared at me. I could have died, and went bright red as usual. Well, my mates might look older than me, taller than me, they might be ahead of the game in many areas, but there’s one major part of growing up where I may just pip them all to the post.

  Blushing Tips

  Wear pale make-up, although this can also make you look ill. Nesta

  Only go out in the dark (bit limiting, but it is an option). Lucy

  What you resist persists, so if you stop fighting it and even announce when it’s going to happen – ‘I’m going to go red’ – it will probably go away. Izzie

  Um. Wear very bright red lipstick; that way when you blush, your face will match your lips. OK. Not my best idea. I dunno. I think it’s sweet when people blush. TJ

  P.S.: Donating blood isn’t going to help one bit. Dr Watts (TJ’s mum)

  Chapter 2

  Be Prepared

  We were back at Izzie’s when I brought the subject up. We were up in her bedroom and she was on the internet on her favourite astrology site, downloading our horoscopes for February.

  ‘Hey Nesta, this is true,’ said Izzie scanning the print out of Leo. ‘Says you’re in for some foreign travel.’

  ‘And for you and TJ,’ said Nesta. ‘Our school trip to Florence.’

  ‘I know. I can’t wait,’ said Izzie. ‘Mum’s been plying me with books about the place. She’s all for me getting a bit of culture smulture – art galleries, taking in the talent of centuries gone by.’

  ‘I was thinking about a different kind of talent,’ said Nesta, ‘like all those gorgeous Italian boys. I’ve been brushing up on my Italian so I’ll be able to chat to them in their language.’

  ‘And you could all pass as Italians,’ I said. Unlike me with my short blond hair, Nesta, TJ and Izzie have got long dark hair. I could just see them swanning through the streets of Florence, looking cool in big black sunglasses. ‘The local boys won’t know what’s hit them.’

  ‘I thought you’d be through with Italian boys after he who shall not be named,’ said Izzie.

  Nesta flicked her hair back. ‘You mean Luke? He was a minor blip. Not all boys are like him.’

  I noticed that TJ looked uncomfortable and was staring at the floor. Luke De Biasi. Love rat extraordinaire and the first boy to almost split us up as friends. He was going out with Nesta, then declared undying passion for TJ, who I think did genuinely fall in love with him. It got a bit messy for a time. Nesta was devastated; TJ was confused as hell. I took sides with Nesta and Izzie took sides with TJ. It was horrible. In the end, we all decided that losing our friendship over a boy, a boy who told lies no less, wasn’t worth it and he got dumped. I think it affected TJ more than she lets on though. I think she really thought that Luke was her soulmate. Nesta’s not a soulmate kind of girl. She collects boys’ hearts like other girls collect handbags. She wants to experience as many as possible she says and, with her stunning exotic looks (she’s half-Italian, half-Jamaican), she’s never short of admirers.

  ‘What does mine say?’ asked TJ.

  Izzie looked at the screen. ‘Hhmmrn. Sagittarius. New horizons will open up to you.’

  ‘It will be my first time in Italy, so I guess that counts as a new horizon,’ she said.

  Izzie looked at me sympathetically. ‘I wish you were coming Luce,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah,’ said TJ. ‘Isn’t there any way? I heard there are a couple of places left. Apparently Alice Riley and Georgia Watson have dropped out.’

  I shook my head. ‘No chance. My family can’t afford a bus ride to Scunthorpe at the moment, never mind a trip to Italy. What does my horoscope say, Iz?’

  Izzie punched in a few keys and brought up the horoscope for Gemini. ‘Oh. Hhmm. Sounds ambiguous. Something you have been considering for a time is about to come to a head and you have to decide which way you want to play it. Dunno. What do you think that means?’

  ‘Tony,’ I said.

  I’ve been dating Nesta’s older brother on and off for a while now, and lately we’ve settled into being a proper couple. Regular dates. Regular phone calls. Regular snogging sessions on the sofa when our parents are out. I first saw him crossing the road in Highgate outside his school. Cute, dark, wide gorgeous mouth. It was love at first sight. The reason I wouldn’t let things get serious before now was because he always wanted to take things further – further in the sense of from the sitting room and in to the bedroom. I didn’t feel ready, plus he may be the love of my life, but I’m not blind. He can get any girl he wants and he likes a challenge. I’ve been a challenge as I’ve been fending him off. It wasn’t my intention to get so involved at this stage in my life. I wanted to be like Nesta and play the field a bit. I’m not fifteen yet and thought there would be plenty of time for serious relationships later, but you can’t help who you fall in love with. Along came Tony and it all started happening. Still is all happening. But he’s three years older than me; he wants to sleep with me and he’s not going to wait forever.

  ‘What do you mean? Tony?’ asked Nesta.

  ‘Well, I do really really like him, so I’m thinking about going to number ten.’

  TJ looked up from one of Izzie’s books that she had her nose in. ‘Number ten?’ she asked. ‘You’re going to see the Prime Minister with Tony?’

  I laughed. Sometimes I think TJ is on another planet. ‘No, dummy. As in go all the way.’

  ‘All the way? Wow,’ said Nesta. ‘Woah.’

  Izzie turned away from her computer. ‘This is a bit sudden,’ she said. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. No. I mean, why not? And it’s not really sudden. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. You have to do it sometime and I’ve known Tony a long time now and we really do like each other . . .’

  ‘Yeah, but you always said you didn’t want to rush things,’ said Izzie.

  ‘But we haven’t,’ I protested. ‘We’ve been going together for ages now. So why not do what he wants? I have to get it over with sometime.’

  ‘Yeah, but with Tony?’ said Nesta, making a disgusted face.

  ‘And you make it sound like a chore,’ said Izzie, ‘saying you have to do it sometime. Like it’s on a must do list. Must clean bedroom, must do homework, must have sex with boyfriend.’

  I sighed. I couldn’t deny that it did feel a bit like that. Like an exam looming in the future. I can’t say I was looking forward to it that much, as I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it. It was bad enough worrying if I was an OK kisser, but everybody has to do it sooner or later so why not with someone I like as much as Tony?

  ‘When?’asked TJ.

  ‘I don’t know. I haven’t totally decided, I mean . . . I haven’t even told him that I’m thinking about it.’

  ‘Where?’ asked Izzie.

  ‘Where? I don’t know. Give me a break. I told you, I haven’t decided definitely. I wanted to talk to you guys first.’

  ‘Well I don’t think you should,’ said Nesta. ‘You’re not even fifteen yet, and he’s eighteen.’

  ‘Yeah, but if she is thinking about it,’ said Izzie turning to Nesta, ‘she has to be ready. Like she doesn’t want her mum finding her and lover boy in the nudie pants on the sitting room sofa. She’d have a fit.’

  ‘Er, excuse me,’ I said. ‘I am in the room here.’

  Izzie turned back to me. ‘But seriously, Lucy,’ she said. ‘Have you really thought this through?’

  ‘Yes and no. The time and the place maybe not, but with love how can you plan it? Surely the right moment will present itself. We’ll just know it and if we’re in a place where it’s OK, then . . .’

  Nesta folded her arms. ‘No,’ she said. ‘You’re too young.’

  Izzie snorted. ‘You sound like my mum,’ she said, then put on a voice like the queen. ‘Lucy Lovering. You’re far too young.’

  ‘Yeah, but Lucy, you are,’ said Nesta. ‘I read somewhere that the average age that most people lose their virginity is seventeen.’

  ‘So?’ I said. �
�Who wants to be average? Anyway, I read in one of mum’s magazines that a quarter of teenagers have lost their virginity by the time they’re fifteen. So there. I think you’re just saying I shouldn’t because you want to be the first.’

  ‘Am not. I don’t want to do it until I’ve been with someone for ages and I really, really love them.’

  ‘But I do love Tony.’

  ‘I agree with Nesta,’ said Izzie. ‘Really Luce, you’re not old enough. I think you’re doing it just to keep him happy.’

  I sighed. ‘Here we go again. I’m so sick of hearing that, not old enough. It’s the story of my life. Not old enough. Not old enough. Why shouldn’t I do it? Why not? It’s not like I haven’t known Tony for ages and why shouldn’t I want to make him happy? He does loads of things for me . . .’

  ‘Condoms,’ interrupted TJ.

  ‘What about them?’ I asked.

  ‘You’ll need them if you do it. Have you got any?’

  ‘No. Why?’

  ‘D’oh. Safe sex, dummy, and you need protection from STDs.’

  ‘What are they?’ I asked.

  ‘Sexually transmitted diseases,’ said TJ. She’s our local medical expert. Both her parents are doctors, so she picks up loads of information about diseases and stuff. ‘My mum said that loads of people she sees at her surgery who have had unprotected sex get chlamydia.’

  ‘What’s chlamydia?’ I asked. ‘Sounds like a posh girl’s name – like Lady Chlamydia Armstrong Wotnot.’

  TJ laughed. ‘Yeah, but it’s not a name. It’s a disease which is very common, apparently has few side effects so many people don’t even realise that they’ve got it, but if untreated it can lead to infertility.’

  ‘Chlamydia, condoms, STDs, unwanted pregnancies,’ I said. ‘What happened to romance?’

  Nesta sighed. ‘See,’ she said. ‘Head in the clouds.’

  ‘Yeah. You have to be responsible,’ said TJ. ‘You don’t want to get pregnant.’

  ‘Since when did you lot become such . . . such killjoys?’ I asked, as the rosy glow around my fantasy began to fade.