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to choose a song on the jukebox,
as waiters and waitresses whizzed through the throng on rollerskates, holding
platters of nachos, burgers and fries above their heads. Marie was right. For
an underage venue, this place was pretty cool.
     Marie returned with two enormous milkshakes and soon
after a waitress appeared to take their food order. After she left, a slight
awkwardness sprung up between the girls, which seemed to be enhanced by the
starting chords of a love-song blaring slushily from the jukebox. They slurped
quietly for a moment.
    Raegan was suddenly aware of how much she didn’t know about
the girl sitting across the table. Their revelations in the jewellery shop had
brought them together but now seemed useless – she could hardly start the
evening off with a conversation about their dead parents! Fortunately it wasn’t
long before Marie broke the silence.
    ‘God, it’s good to be out of the house! All this revision
has been doing my head in.’
    ‘Must be awesome to have a break from school, though,’
Raegan replied with a smile.
    ‘I wish. Dad wants me in the shop for like, the whole of our
spring break. Oh my days, he means well, but I can’t stand that place.’
    ‘How come? It’s nice, I think.’
Raegan picked the strawberry off the side of her glass and popped it into her
mouth.
    ‘Oh, it’s alright, I suppose. I’m just not that bothered
about jewellery – I mean,   I wear it, but who
cares how a diamond is cut? Then I feel bad, because it means a lot to Dad but…
I find it such a snore. Do you know what I mean?’
    ‘Totally. My mum was really into
art – she worked in a gallery – but I don’t get it.’ Raegan gestured at a jokey
abstract hanging nearby, which was a white canvas with bright, intermittent
bursts of colour, like fireworks on clouds. ‘You see, look at that. Mum
probably would have said it was ‘important’, a ‘retelling of sunset’, or
something. To me, it looks...well… like a load of random blobs.’
    Marie looked at the painting blankly, tilting her head from
side to side as if trying to find some hidden meaning – before finally
admitting defeat, shaking her head, puzzled. The ice broken, the two girls
laughed.
    ‘But seriously,’ Raegan continued, ‘you should talk to your
dad. Maybe if you found another job,   something you’re actually interested in, then he’d understand?’
     ‘It’s just difficult, since we lost my mam.’ Marie
said the last part very quickly. ‘He has no one to talk to about this stuff. It
was their shop… it’s kind of all we have left of her.’ She looked off into the
distance, lost in thought.
    ‘He needs me. And I want to be there for him. But I want
time for my own stuff too. Oh, sometimes I just wish -‘
    She stopped midsentence and without warning her eyes
hardened, focusing on something out of Raegan’s view. 
    ‘What?’ Raegan asked, shifting in her seat and scanning the
crowd. ‘What’s up?’
    ‘Don’t look!’ Marie remonstrated, so sharply that Raegan
immediately turned back.  ‘Sorry. I’ll tell you a minute.’
    Tensely, Marie leaned forward as if to place her glass on
the table, motioning for Raegan to do the same.
    ‘He’s here.’ She hissed. ‘Dafydd. My ex.   Crap!’
    ‘Oh no,’ Raegan whispered back. ‘Where?’
    ‘Over there. No, don’t look yet! Now, turn your head to the
right. Not so fast or it’ll be really obvious! He’s at the edge of the dance
floor, the one in the pink shirt.’
    Raegan inclined her head slightly and glanced out from underneath
her eyelashes. She clocked him straight away. Wearing a baby pink shirt,
low-riding jeans and pointed brown shoes, he obviously thought a lot of
himself. Raegan had to admit that he was good-looking: stocky, muscular,
with dark curly hair and big brown eyes. But the waves of arrogance rolling off
him made her lip curl.
    ‘He looks good, doesn’t he? Creep.’ Marie pushed her plate of fries away untouched, colour rising in