The Village, Chapter 1

There was nothing unusual about the village. The shop made sure to get everyone?s papers in for the morning, people would stop and chat at the garden gate and maybe buy a half dozen eggs, dropping a couple of pounds in the honesty box. If you went down to the pub everyone knew everyone and everyone was there and that was how it should be. There was a roaring fire in the winter, roasts on Sunday, pub quiz on Monday night, the folk musicians came in on Wednesday for a session and a free pitcher of beer as thanks for the tunes, and Saturday was Kev?s almost-world-famous karaoke. They weren?t unfriendly to newcomers either. When Ian and Barbara moved into the house next to the Fowler?s, you know, the one that used to be Terry and Julie?s son?s ? oh what was his name? It began with an M, Terry and Julie Strong, M Strong, you know like the actor?Martin? ...hold on, are you thinking of Mark Strong?Yes! That was it, Martin, who looks a bit like Mark Strong!No, he doesn?t,Yes he does, well, he did, anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Ian and Barbara moved into Mark, no, Martin?s old cottage and they were welcomed by everyone. Barbara even sang which improved Kev?s karaoke night no end! And their son Hugh?Hugh Bayley leaned on the drystone wall, feet frozen to the spot on the thin grassy verge where he and the other kids waited each day for the coach the school had hired to bring in the kids from the remoter villages in its catchment. His breath caught in the air and hung in billowing clouds as he (and the other kids from the village unlucky enough to not have parents willing to drive them into town) waited. Winter, Hugh had decided, after living in the village for a grand total of three months, was the worst. The old pipes in the house had frozen over again last night and the roads were so icy the coach was almost always late. Almost. If you had the temerity to think you could just get to the bus stop later in winter because the bus was always late then that would be, without fail, the one time the bus turned up on time. So Hugh and all the other long-suffering kids in the village had to wait outside in weak early morning light and often the freezing rain. Waiting for the fucking bus.?At least? thought Hugh as he stared over the road at the ice that had formed overnight in a pothole ?At least I get to wear reasonable clothes?. Hugh had joined the school in the lower sixth form and that (on top of being a guy) meant that he had been exempt from wearing the, frankly climatically inappropriate school uniform of pumps, tights, and a skirt the girls in the lower school had to wear. The look of having your miniskirt riding so high it barely covers the bum, on the older Year 11 girls, Hugh had to admit was a bit hot but it?s hard to look attractive when you?re trying to avoid hypothermia and frostbite at 7:30 in the morning. They all shivered collectively as the wind blew, subtracting any ambient heat and sucking the temperature firmly below zero.?Hey, Hugh!? Charlotte Burns, a tall, smiley wand of a person waved at him from the other end of the line against the low stone wall. He turned his head, smiled slightly and gave a little wave back (the solid maximum necessary social interaction anyone could reasonably expect before 9:00 am) and she took that as an invitation to come over with her two friends and give him a kiss on the cheek.?Oooh,? said Maisie, but the novelty had worn off. Charlotte had had a crush a mile high for Hugh from the first time she?d seen him back in late August and was determined to make him her boyfriend.?Hey Charlotte, hey Maisie, hey Lucy,? said Hugh. This was going to be a long day.?So you know what you said to me on Bonfire night..?? started Charlotte.?No??Hugh knew exactly what Charlotte was talking about. This had been Bodrum Escort her opening gambit for the last two weeks. Through the tiredness and annoyance, he had to admire her determination. None of the girls from his old school had really paid him much attention back in the city, let alone pursued him. Maybe they had all known each other too long. When you?ve all known each other since you were eleven or younger you sort of know everything there is to know. There?s no mystery. In the village, however, Hugh was fresh meat and Charlotte had made sure to mark him out as hers as soon as possible. Even if they weren?t going out. If anyone else tried to touch Hugh, they would likely end up very sorry indeed. This morning she was wearing her long straight brown hair loose down the back of her black puffer jacket. Hugh begrudgingly admitted that the blue skinny jeans were doing a good job of showing off her long shapely legs and she was wearing a dark ankle boot with a slight heel. She had a very pretty face with sparkling brown eyes and little dimples in her cheeks when she smiled, like just now.?Yes, you do, silly,? replied Charlotte, laughing and punching his shoulder, ?When I asked if you thought I was pretty and you said, 'Yes, you are,' and??There was a crashing splashing of icy puddles breaking and a deep vroom of a labouring diesel engine and a cheer went up from all the denizens of the curbside as Smokey drove the coach down the road.?Ooh, gotta go, um, bye!? said Charlotte as she, Maisie, and Lucy ran back to join her friends waiting at the front of the queue.Smokey was, everyone agreed, an absolute legend. He let you talk and play music or swap seats, his only rules were no smoking and nothing illegal. He was loved by every kid in the village and he would get that bus to school no matter what. There was a story that he had once been a Judo instructor and had fought Chuck Norris, but the second bit was mostly Harry Miller peddling the eternally hilarious Chuck Norris running gag. But there was a story of a time Smokey had found a kid, Fred Albright, had brought a knife onto the bus and he had legit thrown him off when Fred had threatened him with it.There was a cake sale today. Hugh found out after hearing a couple of Year 8s talking excitedly on the bus. Hugh?s old school had never had cake sales. 'Who would even buy the cake?' thought Hugh. 'Who would bother to bring it?' But here the kids had their 50p and 20p coins and were talking about what they were going to get and if there were going to be cupcakes again. The bus rolled along. The older kids were chatting about other, less boring things but Hugh knew that they wouldn?t have forgotten either, and probably had a pound or two to get a nice slice of the big cakes they sold too.***Hugh?s worst-case scenario day did not (as luck would have it) transpire that day. He managed to make his avoidance of Charlotte seem effortless and even kept out of the way of Steve Burrow who hated Hugh for being a toff and a boffin. Hugh had thought everyone had agreed that that sort of crap was not cool since at least Year 10. Nevertheless, Steve had peaked at fourteen and was damned if he was going to not at least try to bully the new kid.While at school, Hugh hung out with Chris and Jack as much as possible. He had met Chris in Maths and they had gotten along really well from the off. Jack was one of Chris? oldest friends but when the forms were swapped around during GCSEs they had ended up in different classes despite being in the same set for basically everything. Hugh had met Jack in Chemistry. Chris and Jack were very happy to hang out with Hugh, especially as it meant they could hang out together again and they spent lunch and most of their free periods together. Bodrum Escort Bayan To add to his blessings, Hugh had been glad to see that this was not a day when he had Psychology. He liked the subject and the teacher in it was good but it was the one class he shared with Charlotte Burns and he was seriously considering dropping the subject next year, even though he was predicted an A.?Yeah, but she is fit, though,? opined Jack philosophically through a sandwich at break. The cafeteria was packed (it being such a cold day outside) and Hugh, Jack, and Chris were in a corner that was technically put aside for sixth-formers. They had a couple of computers and the space was jealously guarded but it was just as noisy as anywhere else in the hall.?I mean, sure, she?s on the netball team, she?s gotta be...??Don?t be a prick Chris,? said Jack again, looking at Chris?s smug face, ?You know what I mean, she?s, like, really properly fit.??You ask her out, then,? replied Hugh with mild exasperation, ?I?m just not interested.??Well I don?t see why not,? replied Jack suffering from a severe deficit of sympathy for his friend being chased by objectively one of the hottest girls in the year. ?Mate, she is literally, like, she?s basically begging you.??I?m not interested, ok? Jeez.??I just don?t get it, Bayley, what?s your problem???Hey, Hugh, do you think you could set me up with Maisie? You know...??Yes, Chris, I know. And no, I?m not doing it.??Oh, come on. I don?t even want you to set me up with like Charlotte. At least ask out Maisie for me???You ask her out.?"No way.??Why not???Chris, you?re just scared of her because she punched you in the arm at Hallowe?en and gave you a dead arm for like an hour and...?Just then Jack?s eyes wandered and Hugh and Chris followed them to see Nicole Fowler -or at least- the long curling blonde hair, bronze puffer jacket and shapely arse and legs wrapped in the tight pale blue skinny jeans of Nicole Fowler.?Lol,? commented Chris adroitly as he and Hugh turned back as Jack continued watching Nicole -sandwich forgotten- for a good fifteen seconds. Jack sighed, apparently to himself and tuned back to see Hugh and Chris grinning at him.?What? What, fuck off,? said Jack defensively, going red at the ears. ?No, no, I don?t care. Whatever. Fuck off.?The other two let Jack cool off a bit. Chris said, ?Hugh, have you done the homework for Friday yet???What, the calculus stuff? Didn?t we get that yesterday???Yeah, but you know how they are. We?ll get more tomorrow.??I?ve been snowed under with Economics coursework.?Chris pulled a face. ?Eugh I forgot you did Economics. Why do I even like you, Bayley???Seriously?? replied Hugh, ?Chris, you do Philosophy.??And?? shot Chris with mock defensiveness, ?it?s cool, I like it. I got given a copy of the Matrix.??I think you?ll find that Physics is objectively the best subject,? interjected Jack.?Fuck off, Jack,? replied Chris, ?everyone knows Physics is just applied Maths.??Yeah, Maths forever!? added Hugh, giving Chris a high-five.***?So Hugh, are you an arse guy or a boobs guy??Hugh was walking down the corridor after Economics with Nora. He liked Nora, she was fun, fit and usually hung out with the boys because she thought they were ?less drama?.?Ummm, I sort of like both?? replied Hugh.?Yeah, but if you had to choose like one: like if you had to choose between like a girl with no arse but big boobs or a girl with small boobs but a big arse, which would you choose???Umm, I think it would depend on what they were like??Nora sighed and Hugh could never tell if she was fishing or not. ?That doesn?t matter here, Hugh. Which one???But I like both!? Hugh protested.?Fuckin? hell, Hugh, answer the fucking question.??Fine,? said Hugh. ?Boobs, I guess.?Nora Escort Bodrum smiled. ?So you like boobs more? Is that why you don?t want to go out with Charlotte???What the fuck, Nora? No! Like, I think she?s got nice, uh, tits? Uh...? defended Hugh, going red in the face and feeling increasingly uncomfortable downstairs, ?I, I just don?t fancy her.?Nora smiled. Hugh liked it when she smiled but he didn?t feel like it was a ?good-things-for-Hugh? smile.?I?ve never heard you swear before,? she said in a sing-song voice.?I swear. Just not a lot,? replied Hugh defensively.?Oh yeah? I thought you were boring???Wow, ouch, Nora.??Yeah, I thought you were boring and that was why you?d go out with Charlotte.??I?m not going to go out with Charlotte. Jeez.??Yeah, she is pretty vapid,? replied Nora, ?I?d judge you if you did go out with her.??I don?t think she?s vapid, Nora. I think she?s nice.??Yeah, I know you think her boobs are nice.?- twitch -?That?s not what I meant. I mean: she?s a nice person, but I just don?t want to go out with her.? Hugh decided to try and flip the script: ?What about you Nora???What do you mean, what about me???I dunno, like, do you prefer a nice ass or? I dunno, a strong chest???Oh, cute arse definitely,? winked Nora. Hugh looked at her smiling and tried to ignore her cleavage.-twitch -?Well, see you later,? she sang. They had reached the end of the corridor which opened up into a large, low-ceilinged atrium and Nora sped off towards the Languages department. Not before, perhaps accidentally, slapping Hugh on the arse.? twitch -?Hey, Hugh!? It was Jack. Hugh exhaled, smiled, and walked over; glad to be free of the confusion of the previous conversation. Chris came up behind them holding a big slice of cake. ?They?ve got coffee cake and carrot cake!? he said with a grin, ?love cake sales.??What were you chatting to Nora about?? asked Jack.?Oh, nothing really; she asked me if I liked asses or boobs more and thought that me like, liking boobs more was the reason I won?t go out with Charlotte.??And is it?? asked Jack.?No Jack, of course not,? replied Hugh.?Yeah Jack, our Hugh?s pure of heart,? chimed in Chris, ?he?d rather shag Nora.?Jack snorted.?What the hell Chris?? shot Hugh, going red.?Mate, you?ve been hard since your conversation with Nora. I was following you, just dipped back to get cake and there you were chatting with Jack with a bit of a stiffy. Now I know our Jack?s not much in the looks department-??-Hey!??So I knew it wasn?t because of him but I heard what you and Nora had been chatting about and I bet she noticed too.??What? you think so?? said Hugh, a bit panicky.?Yeah, but don?t worry. Nora?s a flirt and a tease, she won?t judge you for it.??So you?re not gonna shag Charlotte now?? teased Jack.?No. Jeez, Jack. When did I say I was going to do her???You don?t have to go out with someone to do them,? observed Jack.?He wants to shag Nora,? insisted Chris.?Yeah, but that?s never going to happen,? said Jack flatly, ?So you might as well do Charlotte.??Jesus Jack. Come on, let's go to Chemistry.? Hugh sighed resignedly, his cock still, uncomfortably, refusing to go down.?Hugh, relax. It?s lunch now. We?ve got like an hour ?till Chemistry. Let?s find somewhere where we can eat our lunch and Chris can mainline coffee cake,? soothed Jack.?Sounds good to me,? replied Chris, who had, as if by magic, acquired more cake.***In fact, Hugh was pretty free of Charlotte Burns (besides Psychology and intrusive sex fantasies) until Tuesday next week when there was a knock on the door of the house. His mum answered it.?Oh hello.??Hello Mrs Bayley, is Hugh in???Yes, he is. Who should I say..???Maisie,? said Maisie.?And Lucy Millard, Mrs Bayley,? added Lucy.?And Maisie Millard,? added Maisie glowering at Lucy.?Oh Maisie and Lucy, of course. Maisie, how?s your Mum getting along with the choir???Oh very well, Mrs Bayley,? said Maisie smiling a little.?Please, call me Barbara,? said Mrs Bayley as she ushered the girls in out of the cold, ?do you want a cup of tea, squash, lemonade??