Page 84 of Christmas at the Movies
‘Mummy’s back,’ Geraldine announced, handing the baby to Sarah.
Nick’s wispy blonde hair stuck straight up, making him look like he had a quiff. His serious blue eyes searched Sarah’s face as she cradled him close.
Inhaling the delicious scent of her freshly bathed son, Sarah felt her breasts tingle and her milk let down, leaving damp circles on her shirt. ‘I missed you, little guy,’ she whispered, smiling down at him.
Nick blinked his blue eyes, and then, for the first time ever, he smiled back.
Chapter 9
Present Day
On Wednesday after school, Nick and Julia were huddled together at a table in the library. Julia was writing in a notebook, while Nick shaded in a drawing of a cruel half-lizard, half-alien villain who bore a striking resemblance to Damon Carter.
He and Julia had been meeting in the library twice a week after school, on the days her brother’s football training was on. They had nearly finished planning out the first volume of their manga. Together, they had invented a character named Kayda who could transform into a fire-breathing dragon.
‘So, I was thinking,’ said Julia, looking up from her notebook. ‘The goodies can escape by finding a portal to another dimension. But time stands still in the real world, so the baddie’s still waiting for them when they come back.’
Nick quickly sketched out a scene, showing Kayda tearing open a portal into another realm with her dragon claws.
‘Give her longer fangs.’ Julia offered Nick a Haribo sweet from a bag hidden in her blazer pocket. (Snacks were strictly forbidden in the library.)
‘Maybe they should stay in the other dimension, where they’re safe,’ said Nick, erasing the dragon’s fangs.
Julia chewed on a fizzy cola bottle as she thought. ‘No – they’ve got to go back and fight, of course.’
‘Hey, that’s really good.’ Nick turned around and saw his maths teacher standing behind them. Mr Wu must have been on library duty. ‘May I?’
Nick handed Mr Wu the sketchpad as Julia quickly hid the sweets.
The teacher studied their work. ‘This is very impressive. Maybe the two of you should set up a manga club. My wife’s an illustrator. She used to work on manga – I’m sure she’d be happy to give you some tips.’
Nick and Julia exchanged grins.
‘That would be cool, Mr Wu,’ said Julia.
Nick and Julia returned to the new dimension they were creating. They were so in the flow that they didn’t notice how quickly the time had passed.
‘There you are!’ exclaimed Adam, coming into the library, wearing his muddy football kit. It wasn’t obvious that he and Julia were twins, because her fair hair had been dyed black. If you looked closely, though, you could see that they had the same wide blue eyes, button noses and pale skin. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’
‘Sorry,’ said Julia. ‘I lost track of time.’
Nick’s heart sank when he saw that Julia’s brother was with Damon Carter and a few other boys from the football team.
Damon’s eyes gleamed with malice as he sauntered over to their table. He was eating a bag of crisps and when he finished, he threw the packet at Nick. ‘Well, well, well. Isn’t this sweet? Two little freaks having a play date.’
Nick sat frozen with dread.
Damon snatched Nick’s drawing. ‘Look at this!’ he crowed, waving it around. ‘He’s drawing CARTOONS! What a baby.’
‘Give that back,’ said Nick, trying to grab the drawing.
‘Make me!’ taunted Damon. He held the paper higher, laughing as Nick jumped up and tried to get it back. It was no use – the other boy was much bigger than him.
‘Give it back to him,’ demanded Julia, her voice even.
‘I will if you ask me nicely,’ said Damon.
‘Please can I have it back,’ pleaded Nick, willing himself not to cry.
