Page 83 of Lessons in Life

‘Are you all right?’ The boy with the camera from the mill was suddenly at her side, taking her arm gently and leading her away from the bus-stop horde.

‘Oh, hello!’ Eloise said brightly. Too brightly. ‘I don’t really know the geography of the town centre. I’m trying to find a taxi. I believe I should be looking for a rank?’

‘You’re going in totally the wrong direction,’ the boy said. ‘You need to be up at the railway station. Come on, I’ll walk you there; you look as if you’re about to be eaten alive by this lot.’

‘Oh, that is so kind,’ Eloise said gratefully, doing an about-turn as she followed him. ‘I’m Eloise,’ she added.

‘I know exactly who you are,’ he said without smiling.

‘It’s Junayd, isn’t it? I believe you’ve been at the Regent Rooms this evening?’

He nodded. ‘I saw you there.’

‘Oh? Really?’

‘You looked out of your depth.’

‘I think I was really. I’m not convinced I’ll repeat the experience.’ And then, worried that the boy might think her snobbish, above herself, added, ‘I rather enjoyed myself though.’

He laughed out loud at that. ‘You looked as if you were about to be executed, to be honest.’

‘Really? Oh dear. I’ll try harder next time. If thereisa next time.’

‘You look very different tonight from when you scared my thrush away.’

‘Oh, I’m so sorry about that. Yes, I’ve been with Janice from the mill – this is her dress.’

‘She’s OK, is Janice. She’ll speak to me when others won’t.’

‘Who won’t speak to you?’

‘Oh, Eloise, come on, you must know your dad’s workers from Pakistan are looked down upon by the rest of the shop floor.’

‘I can’t imagine why,’ Eloise said hotly.

‘You can’t?’ The boy gave a bark of laughter. ‘Come on, Eloise. “Ovver ’ere, tekking what’s ours! Tekking our jobs? Foreigners? Eating all that curry muck?”’ The boy adopted a broad Yorkshire accent totally at odds with his appearance. He might be wearing Levi’s and a shirt, but his dark good looks were very different from the pale-skinned, fair-haired Yorkshire-born youths they were now walking round and through. ‘So, tell me about your camera. Your photography.’

‘I’m just starting, really. Granny bought me the camera as a late birthday present.’

‘It’s a good one. You must know that.’ Junayd smiled down at her.

‘Oh, I do, but I’m going to need some lessons on its finer points. So, what were you doing at the Regent Rooms this evening?’

‘I’ve become pretty good friends with the editor of theMidhope Examiner’s son.’

‘Oh?’

‘We met doing A levels at night school. David had been at the boys’ grammar school, messed about, failed all his exams and his dad said he’d have to retake them at night school, which he did. He’s at Bradford University now, training to be an optician. Anyway, when David’s dad is short of a photographer – and so many from theExaminerare off on holiday at the moment – I get a note through the door asking me to step in. There was some celebration going on at the Regent Rooms this evening, so I went along with the features writer and took a load of pictures.’

‘Oh? And did you pass your exams too?’

‘I’ve another couple of years to do. Starting from scratch and doing them part-time takes a lot longer than simply doing resits.’

‘That must be dreadfully hard, working in the carding shed all day and then off to do A levels at night?’

‘My dad’s convinced I’m going to be an engineer or even a doctor.’

‘And you’re not?’

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