Free Girl on the Platform by Josephine Cox Page B

their mobiles than he ever learned from experience.’
    Pete wasn’t listening. He had been stretching his neck to catch sight of the girl on the bench. ‘What did you say?’
    ‘What’s up with you?’ Mark gave him a kick. ‘You’re not even listening, are you?’
    Pete didn’t answer. He was still looking at the girl, and though every minute took him further away, he had managed to get a good look at her. Even though her long, dark hair hid part of her face, he had still seen enough to suspect that she was unhappy.
    He had known prettier girls, and this one was not beautiful by any means. But she wasn’t plain, and she had a kind of endearing quality, which had drawn him to her. From what he could see, she had a small, shapely figure, a lovely full mouth, and pretty eyes, which looked up only once, to check the monitor for train arrivals. The rest of the time she had been looking down at the ground, head bent and deep in thought.
    She had not seen him, and he was glad about that, because she might have been upset to see him staring at her. In that split secondwhen she did look up, his heart turned somersaults. No other girl had ever affected him like that.
    ‘PETE!’ Mark shook him by the shoulder. ‘Get a grip! You’ve done nothing but stare at that girl. What’s so special about her anyway?’
    Pete shrugged. ‘Nothing in particular,suppose.’ He didn’t want to tell Mark how he felt. ‘She just caught my eye, that’s all.’
    ‘Forget her! There’ll be so many girls in London, we won’t know which way to turn. Anyway…that girl back there, well, she looked a bit too miserable for my liking. I prefer women with a bit more life to them. A bit of fun, that’s what we want.’
    He gave Pete another kick. ‘Am I right, or am I right?’
    Pete nodded. ‘You’re right!’
    The train had swung away and he could not see the girl any more. ‘I see what you mean…I don’t suppose I should be wasting time over one lonely girl. This is our night out.’ He tried to push her out of his mind. ‘What’s one girl compared to what London might have to offer?’
    Mark laughed out loud. ‘ Now you’re talking!’
    Excited and full of plans for the evening, Mark chatted on.
    Pete nodded, saying yes and no where needed, but try as he might, he could not ignore the image in his mind. Truth was, the girl on the platform had really got to him.

Chapter Two
    For the next hour Pete and Mark were busy making plans for the evening. ‘I reckon we should go to Soho,’ Mark suggested. ‘Eric Peters says it’s where all the best night clubs are.’
    ‘How does he know?’
    ‘He got to know London pretty well when he was on a course there, plus his mates took him to London for his stag-night last year. They stayed at some place near Soho, and they partied all night! Apparently, the clubs were well lively, and all the girls were out for a good time.’
    Pete liked the idea of that. ‘All right then. Like I said, after the theatre, we’ll head for the clubs. Okay?’ After seeing the girl on the platform he needed to clear his mind.
    ‘Great!’ Then Mark had another idea. ‘Why don’t we give the theatre a miss, and go straight to the clubs?’
    ‘No. We’ll go and see the show like we planned. There’ll be time enough for the clubs,’ Pete told him.
    ‘Yes, but we’ve got to find somewhere to stay the night. By the time we’ve done that and then gone to the show, there won’t be much time left for clubbing, will there?’ Mark was disappointed. ‘Why do you want to see Joseph anyway?’
    Pete explained, ‘Because my dad gave us the tickets so we could see the show. Anyway, I thought you wanted to see it? If I remember rightly, it was you who watched the talent competition on TV from start to finish. You were the one who voted for that Lee bloke to win, and now you’ve got the chance to see him on stage. So what’s the problem?’
    ‘I’ve never been to a musical before.’
    ‘Yes, and now you