Part 8 - Oooh, Mandy

Since Year Seven, there’d been a core of us who’d caught the train to school from Woy Woy, and for the first year or so, the guys sat with the guys, and the girls with the girls. Then the girls sorta thinned out – some moved, one changed schools, and another attempted suicide (the attention seeking kind, not the real kind), and Amanda started riding with us. By that time too, we’d slowed down on the wild stunts, like fruit fights, paper aeroplanes, and unscrewing seats and throwing them out the doors. And with her being the only girl who we had close contact with on a daily basis, pretty much every guy developed a crush on her, to varying degrees. Yes, me too, but it was a passing thing. I had more pressing concerns at Venturers (scouts aged 15-18), where I knew Anna outside of school, to pursue Amanda more than half-heartedly. Plus her going out with Nick for going on six months kinda settled the question.

For me at least. Jase, I wasn’t so sure about. He’d mentioned something at the Camp back before she hooked up with Nick at the Party the week after. He’d probably been afflicted worst of all of us, and then this chance had come along, and then disappeared. It was all cool now though. I think. But this free period had developed into a good time to hang out with a chick, and get her perspective on things.

‘So, how’re we gonna spend the next,’ Jase looked at his watch, a shiny silver surf-brand timepiece, ‘ 84 Minutes?’
‘Dude, I’m hungry. Let’s go for a drive.’ I whined.
‘Not Maccas Jase, I’m sick of it. Let’s go get something else,’ she said.
‘Uh, how’s Subway then?’
‘Dude, I don’t want to go all the way to Erina, I just want some food.’ Did I mention I was hungry? Cos I was hungry.
‘We don’t have to go all the way in, there’s a Subway in Gosford now.’ Amanda said.
‘Say what? Since when? Where is it?’
‘Sub-way in Gos-ford. Op-ened last week. Near the leagues club, on the main strip.’ She said, slow for the Hard-Of-Thin-king.
‘C’mon then, let’s go for a ride.’ Said Jase.

So we got up and headed across our minor quad, and as we went through the main quad, we ran into Mr. Snowdon. The Deputy. Head of Discipline. Who looked like Santa Claus, and acted like he’d lost the Naughty List. At least with Amanda heading the charge.

‘Where are you students off to now?’ he said gruffly.
‘Oh sir,’ Amanda gushed, ‘we’ve got a free period and we thought we’d head down to Gosford library for a bit of study.’ No full-blooded man could stand up to a teenage girl in full charm mode, though Mr. Snowdon made a half-hearted attempt.
‘What about the school library?’ he ventured.
‘well sir, we just came from there, it doesn’t really have what we need. In fact we’re looking for something a bit specific. Extension history, you know.’ She slid that word in like she was laying a reversal in Shithead. Bam. And we were out of there.