Spring 1999

Kelly hadn’t even been sure she wanted a party.  Her mother had insisted.  “Your problem is, you’re still acting like you did three years ago.  It’s time to spread your wings a little.”

“We’re definitely inviting Susie and them, right?” asked Rachel, who’d come over to help with the guest list.  She was sitting bolt upright at the dining room table, swinging her legs back and forth.

Kelly frowned.  “I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on!” said her mother, who was sorting through a box in the corner, “We’re renting the church hall, remember?  You can invite as many people as you like!”

“It’s just, last time I went to something with Susie, she picked a massive fight with someone and spent the rest of the night crying in the toilets.”

“Well, maybe that’s what you need!  A bit of drama!  Things can’t be safe all the time, you know!”

Kelly nodded.  She heard this a lot.  She needed a bit of excitement in her life.  She couldn’t spend every afternoon staring at the computer- there was a whole world out there.  She was about to turn fifteen, not ten.  “OK.  Let’s invite Susie.”

*

“It’s important not to judge a book by its cover,” the boy was telling her.  Kelly had run into him while she was getting a drink.  “For instance, when you looked at me, you might have thought, oh, Chelsea T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms- he probably spends all day sitting on the sofa watching football.  But someone’s fashion choices don’t necessarily dictate their lifestyle.  So judging me like that would be your first mistake.”

“Right,” said Kelly.  She didn’t recognise this boy, but she thought she remembered him coming in with some boys from Rachel’s class.  The party was even more packed than they’d expected.

“People should be allowed to wear what they want.”

Kelly didn’t remember saying otherwise.  “But you do like football, right?”

The boy rolled his eyes.  “Yes, but it’s not the only thing in my life.  People always assume that you can only keep one thought in your head at a time.  It’s moronic.”  The boy (his name was Jamie, Kelly suddenly remembered) looked down at his plastic cup in disgust.  “You need to think outside the box.  There’s a lot more to life than you see on TV.”

“I see,” said Kelly.

*

Whenever she and Jamie were together- at the cinema, in McDonalds, going for a walk in the park- Kelly always felt a bit uncomfortable, as if she was constantly waiting to be prodded in the stomach.  “He challenges you,” her mother explained, “That’s a good thing.”

“What do you think of this?” asked Jamie one day, pointing at the computer screen and raising his eyebrow.  They were at hers this time.  They were at hers quite a lot, actually.  Kelly’s mother was delighted that she finally had a real boyfriend.

Kelly looked at the screen.  AOL user Tony192234 says, “Why do people bleach there hair?  Look if ur blonde u need to accept that ur not as intelligent as otha people, and dyin it blonde is even stupider.”  What do you think?

Kelly, who had blonde hair, frowned.  She didn’t want to think about why Jamie might have drawn her attention to this.

“Just thought it was interesting,” said Jamie sweetly.  It was as if he’d read her mind.  “So, what do you think?”

Kelly took a deep breath.  “I don’t know why they put it up on the news screen like that.  It’s not as if it’s something that people can have a debate over- it’s just a dumb thing to say.”

“So you don’t think they should print any opinions you don’t agree with?”

“It’s not exactly an…”

Jamie sighed.  “I just think it’s important not to live in a bubble.”  And then he clicked the link so that he could read about Tony192234’s views in detail.

(To be continued.)