Free Independent Jenny by Sarah Louise Smith Page B

asleep.

Chapter Fifteen
     
    My alarm went off at 5am and within minutes I was surprisingly alert. For the first time in ages, I was excited about something. A week away from work and the happy couples and families I had to face every day, reminding me of my own miserable mess. A week away from Ross, and away from this town where every girl I saw in the street could be one of the girls he betrayed me with. Even time away from Aiden and the way I was feeling about him seemed like a good idea. I could forget all this drama for a while, escape to a tranquil place, and clear my mind.
    I ruffled the fur on Wentworth’s head and he wagged his tail then rolled onto his back so that I could rub his tummy.
    “We’re going on holiday,” I told him quietly. “An adventure. We’re going to have lots of fun.”
    I got up, peered into the spare room and put the light on. Hayley groaned and stretched as I told her it was time to get up. We went through the motions – me upbeat and enthusiastic, Hayley grumpy and sleepy – getting dressed, sipping hot coffee, loading the car. I offered to drive first, knowing she wouldn’t want to, and before I knew it we were on our way and munching sweets.
    Hayley had put together a playlist on her iPod of nineties songs so that we could reminisce about our teen angst, and the so-called love of her life. We talked about our fellow students, about our parents back then, about our teachers and the things we were interested in. It all seemed so long ago, but somehow the music bought it back to life and a tiny part of me was curious to see how Guy and Will had turned out, although I was still fairly confident we wouldn’t find them when we got there.
    We stopped regularly for a wee break. I’d give Wentworth a little stroll and then we’d get back into the car, taking it in turns to drive; Hayley speeding along as fast as she could and making me nervous a few times when she got too close to the car in front. She drove like I did when I first passed my test – kind of erratically and without using her mirrors nearly enough. I hoped my airbag was working, as I could be relying on it to save my life sometime before I returned to Bath.
    We bought expensive, dry, pre-packed sandwiches for lunch. I babbled on about my continuous cycle of feeling hurt, feeling angry, feeling okay, crushing on Aiden, then feeling hurt again. Hayley listened, gave sympathy and said nice things, but her mind was elsewhere and for a brief moment I wished I’d come away with Shane instead; he’d have told me to get over it and have some fun. I heard his voice inside my head and decided to stop wallowing. I was coming away to relax, not to contemplate the disaster that was my love life back at home.
    I stopped moaning and we rode along in silence for a while, Hayley driving and me resting my head on the back of my seat. One thing we did have in common was our love of musicals, and we both sang along happily to a bunch of show tunes from my iPod. It lifted my spirits and I promised myself that this week away would be all about clearing my head and contemplating the future instead of dwelling on the past few weeks.
    “I’ve just had a great idea for a new business venture,” Hayley said suddenly, pausing the music. I turned to look at her.
    “Yes?”
    “Period survival kits.”
    “What?”
    “Or maybe I’ll call them PMS Survival Kits.”
    “Okay, and what will they contain?”
    “Chocolate, of course. A hot water bottle. Bubble bath. Tampons.”
    “Couldn’t you just buy all those things individually?”
    “Well, yes, but maybe they could be cheaper in a bundle.”
    “But who would buy it?”
    “Women, of course! It could be a great stocking filler at Christmas.”
    “You think people would buy them? Seriously?”
    Actually, my mother probably would buy me something like that for Christmas.
    “I could go on Dragon’s Den ,” Hayley continued, ignoring my lack of enthusiasm.
    “Yeah, go right ahead,” I