Page 46 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
As she drew level she recognised her — Bethany, Brenda’s teenaged daughter from the little convenience store. She stopped and lowered the passenger-side window.
“Hi — would you like a lift?”
The girl huffed and turned away. “No, thank you.”
Vicky hesitated. But she was reluctant to leave the girl standing there in the rain. And she wasn’t so far from her own adolescence that she couldn’t remember those days when everything and everyone seemed to be against you.
“I think you’ve missed the bus,” she said.
The only reply was a grunt.
“There won’t be another one for ages.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Vicky suppressed her amusement — she was quite sure she had been equally as rude in her day. “Look, I’m going into town. I can drop you off anywhere — it won’t be out of my way. You’re going to get soaked standing there.”
The girl hesitated, then grudgingly opened the passenger door.
“Stick your pack on the back seat,” Vicky suggested, keeping her voice bland.
Silence. Bethany climbed into the car and hugged the backpack on her lap as if it was going to try to get away.
“Seat belt?” Vicky prompted.
Another grunt — but at least she fastened the seat belt.
The traffic on the main A road was quite busy — a dozen cars passed before Vicky could slip into a gap. “Phew!” She laughed.“I thought we were going to be stuck there till Christmas. It’s like they’re afraid they’d choke on their chewing gum if they gave way for you.”
That produced a brief snigger.
Vicky tried a friendly smile. “It’s Bethany, isn’t it?”
That earned her one of those patented sardonic adolescent girl glances.
“Bez.”
“Oh . . . right. Bez.”
Bethany — Bez — turned her head away to look out of the window. This was going to be an entertaining drive!
For a while she concentrated on finding a place to slip into the outside lane to overtake a caravan.
“So, you’re off school today?” she asked.
Bez hunched into her shoulders. “I’m not going back to school.”
“Oh?”
“Mum wants me to finish my A levels and go to university.”
“And you don’t want to?”
“No.” Her pretty face creased into a dark scowl. “I’m not going to let her rule my life.”
“No — quite. Although... not doing something just because it’s what she wants you to do is... still kind of letting her rule your life. Just... backwards. Kind of.” She wasn’t sure if that made sense.
The girl rolled her eyes. “I suppose you’re going to tell me to go to university.”
