Free Hunky Dory by Jean Ure Page A

Microdot? Cos if it’s her, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
    â€œIt wasn’t her! I just said, it was Will.”
    â€œYeah? Well, I’ve seen the word, I know how it’s spelt. It’s spelt giggle-o.”
    I said, “It may be spelt giggle-o, but that’s not the way it’s said.”
    Even then he had to challenge me. “How do you know? You’d never even heard it before you got it off me!”
    I said, “I know cos I’m capable of learning. I listen when people tell me things. I don’t just go arguing on!”
    I might as well have saved my breath, all the notice he took.
    â€œG-I-G! Like what people do in clubs…they do gigs . Yeah? Gigs. Not jigs . You ever heard of anyone going to a jig? Course you haven’t, cos they don’t! They go to gigs. G-I-G… gig. ”
    I didn’t know what to say to that. In the end I told him to just shut up and accept that he was wrong.
    â€œSame like you always are. Like you were with Prendergast. You’re just not reliable,” I said. “Like oh, yes, I’ll be round to help you dig, no problem! I’ll be there. And then you go off helping someone walk their dog and don’t even bother telling me.”
    â€œI did tell you!”
    â€œ Afterwards. Not much point telling someone afterwards. ”
    â€œYeah, well, I’ll be helping her again this evening,” said Aaran. “And I’m telling you now, so’s you’ll know.”
    I said, “Must get a lot of exercise, that dog.”
    â€œNeeds it,” said Aaron. “It’s a big dog. Cross between a wolfhound and a Great Dane.”
    So far it’s been a cross between about six different breeds. German Shepherd, Pyrenean mountain dog, bulldog, St Bernard…it’s probably a Yorkshire terrier.
    â€œGuess I’d better tell the Herb you’re not coming,” I said.
    Aaron said, “Yeah, an’ while you’re about it you can tell her I don’t want her bashing me no more!”
    I couldn’t remember that she ever had bashed him, but he reminded me that last time he had come to helpdig she had hit him on the head with her trowel.
    â€œAnd she swore. It’s not right, girls swearing. She’s not very fem’nine,” said Aaron. “I wouldn’t go and help her with her dog!”
    â€œShe wouldn’t need you to,” I said. “She could manage by herself.”
    â€œYeah, being all butch and belligerent,” said Aaron.
    I wasn’t sure that I liked him calling the Herb butch and belligerent. I mean, she is —but so what?
    â€œSophy’s more like a reg’lar girl.”
    â€œLike a Barbie doll,” I said.
    It was at that point the bell rang and we had to go into class, which was probably just as well. I’d hate to quarrel with my best mate over anything as silly as a girl .
    I just read through what I wrote. I didn’t actually mean that girls are silly, just that it would be silly to quarrel over them. That’s all.
    The Herb came round after tea wearing her boiler suit, all ready to dig. I told her that Aaron wouldn’t be coming. She said, “I s’ppose he’s helping the tiny little helpless dwarf thing walk her massive great dog that she can’t manage on account of being so flimsy .”
    I said, “Yeah. I dunno what he sees in her. He’s gone all macho and protective.”
    â€œPathetic!”
    â€œIt is,” I said. “It is pathetic.”
    â€œHope you don’t ever get like that.”
    I said, “Me? No way!”
    â€œYou’d better not,” said the Herb.
    â€œI won’t!”
    There was a bit of a silence then she said, “So we gonna dig, or what?”
    â€œMaybe we ought to go up the park,” I said. “Take Polly and Jack.”
    â€œBut what about the hole?”
    I told her that one night off wouldn’t hurt.