Free The Code War by Ciaran Nagle Page B

fair. Totally illegal, of course, grabbing my hair, but the
referee's on the other side of the scrum watching their hooker, so
he can't see what Tarrant's doing. Anyway, the ball comes out and
someone kicks it into touch and then the whistle goes. We've won.
So I get back in the changing room and happen to look at myself in
the mirror and I see he's totally succeeded where I'd completely
failed. One-tooth Tarrant has managed to make me look amazing. It's
the best hairstyle I've ever had. I'm never going to wash my hair
again. So I have this big dilemma, do I go into Durham's changing
room to thank him or not?'
    While the boys' attention was
f ocused on Martin's story, Nancy's
thoughts tumbled over the earlier events of the evening.
    After Pete had finished, Nancy got
up from the bed, wrapped herself in her now-damp towel, excused
herself politely to Pete and slipped across the hall into the
shower room.
    There she soaked herself again in
the shower and made sure she was ready to go out and eat with the
boys.
    But how was she going to
disappoint Martin? He'd be bound to feel
left out. Not to mention frustrated. She'd have to find a way to
let him down gently.
    Returning to her room she gratefully found it empty and this time dressed
in a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. She completed her relaxed look
with a pair of casual seaside shoes and turned towards the mirror
to check her appearance.
    Then she ventured towards the lounge. And there was Martin looking
at her.
    Wanting to be called. And not
wanting.
    Part of the gang. And not part of the
gang.
    Smiling happily. And terrified of being
found out.
    In that instant, Nancy knew his
secret. She had to protect him.
    'Martin, I can't get the top off
my deodorant. Can you come and help? '
    And Martin glanced nervously at
his two mates, forced a smile onto his face and walked towards her.
Like a man facing the gallows.
    Nancy closed the door behind them.
Martin stood in the middle of the room, as nervous as a child in a
haunted castle.
    'Look…' he began.
    'It's all right,' whispered Nancy,
walking forward and putting her finger to his lips. 'I know. You're
gay. I won't tell.'
    Martin almost melted and sat
himself on the bed. 'I know I should tell them. Just come out with
it. One day I will. I'm just not ready yet. For now I just want to
pretend. Is that all right?'
    'Of course. Tell them when you
feel ready. Look, why don't we sit here for a bit and chat? How
about you tell me what it's like to be at university? I've never
been.'
    'OK, why not.' Martin sat back
against the wall. 'Well, you've just got
to hear about Professor Gibson and the striped cow…'
    As Martin embarked on his story, Nancy watched him tenderly.
Then she slipped off her shoes and went to sit beside him on the
bed. She drew her knees up to her chest and leant her weight
against the brawny scrum forward who didn't want her like that .
She giggled when he reached the bit about the sudden shower of rain
which exposed Professor Gibson's zebra creation. As he started to
tell her about the incident with the policeman and the frozen duck
she let her head fall against his shoulder and closed her
eyes.
    And just for a moment she felt a
yawning gap in her heart as she wondered, for the millionth time,
what it would be like to have a brother.
     
    Ten minutes later, Nancy stripped off while Martin looked the
other way. She wrapped the towel around her and returned to the
bathroom. It was important to keep up the pretence. The mirror, she
noticed, was clear and bore no marks except the faint outline of
where she had rubbed it with her hands earlier.
    She ran the shower for a minute and then turned it off. But as she
gathered up her things and prepared to leave she had a shock. The
mirror that was blank just a moment ago had something written on it
once again. It was the same capital letter R that had been there
before. But this time it was twice the size it had been previously
and the serifs, curves, bowl and stem were as