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W for Winterview Chapter 17

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“So,” said Bea as she joined them on the bus, “How did it go?”

“How did what go?” asked Bonnibel, feigning ignorance.

“Y’know, last night,” replied Bea.

“I knew it,” said Bonnibel as Bea sat down, “I knew you lot were behind this.”

“Behind what?” asked Bea.

“You asked Brendan to go out with me,” she replied, looking stern.

“No way, Princess,” said Lady, “We had no idea he was going to ask you out.”

“Lady, he told me,” replied Bonnie. Then her stern look broke into a smile and she laughed, “Look, I appreciate the match-making but I’m okay, really.”

“LSP told us you were lonely,” Fina burst out. Bonnibel blinked a few times at this.

“Lonely?” she repeated, “Where’d she get that idea?”

“I don’t know,” replied Fina, “She just said something about the stages of loneliness. Said that’s why you zoned out sometimes.”

“No, I’m not lonely,” she said, “I just suddenly zone out. Always have. My parents used to tell me, when I was a kid, that if I kept my mouth open any longer a bug would fly in an make itself at home.” Lady giggled.

“My mum always says, ‘If you’ve got the time to sit around and stare off into space, you can wash the dishes,” she added, “Or something like that.”

“But speaking of LSP,” said Bonnie, changing the subject, “Isn’t she coming with us?”

“No, she texted me last night,” replied Lady, “Said she had to go somewhere with her parents. So, this friend of yours you mentioned, will they be joining us?”

“I think so,” replied Bonnie, “I called her to make sure and she said she’d meet us at the café.”

“Sweet,” said Lady, “You’re pretty secretive about this one. Any reason?”

“Not really,” smiled Bonnibel.

They got off outside the bus station and walked in through the sliding doors.

“What do you all want to do after we’ve been to the café?” asked Bonnibel.

“We could go to the arcade,” suggested Fina.

“I’ll second that,” added Bea.

“Maybe Jake will be working today,” said Lady.

“Mmhmm,” smiled Bea, throwing her a knowing sideways glance.

“Oh shh, Bea,” Lady replied good-naturedly.

“Have you told him you like him yet?” asked Bonnibel.

“I’m working on it,” said Lady, “Just, none of you say a word, okay?”

“Cross our hearts,” replied Fina.

“Good,” said Lady as they left the bus station and began to make their way up the busy high street. At the top of the street was a circular plaza with a strange metal structure taking up most of its centre. It consisted of curving arcs and circles coiling around one another. Apparently this was what passed for modern art these days.

A crowd was gathered around the structure but it was not the metalwork they were admiring. Just in front it was a cordoned off area marked by a rope. Inside the roped area were four men. Two of them were perfectly balanced on the third while the fourth one watched, waiting for his cue. In front of the four acrobats was a metal bar balanced on two glass bottles. In the centre of the bar was a wodge of cotton that was designed to be lit when it was time for the next act.

The four girls joined the thronging crowd. One of the men began clapping, asking the audience to join in to cheer them on for the next part of the act. The girls joined in, chanting along with the crowd as one of the men stepped forward, psyching himself up for going under the now burning bar.

The girls watched for several minutes before Bea checked her watch.

“When did your friend say she’d meet us?” she asked.

“At around half eleven,” replied Bonnibel.

“We’d better get going then,” said Bea, “It’s nearly twenty past.” The girls left the crowd and went down a side street which led to a large shopping complex. The café was on the very top floor, just underneath the large glass dome made up of large hexagonal glass panes, giving it the appearance of an enormous transparent beehive. In neon green letters above the café were the words, ‘The Looney Bean.’ The café itself was brightly lit with a vibrant colour scheme and small polished tables. The girls sat down at one of the tables and Bonnibel dragged over an extra couple of chairs. As she sat down her phone rang. She pulled it out and put it to her ear.

“Hey there,” she said.

“I’ve just reached the shopping centre,” came the reply, “Are you already in the café?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait for you at the top of the stairs,” said Bonnibel, “I’ll see ya soon.” She turned to the others.

“I’ll be back in a minute, kay?” she asked before getting up and heading for the top of the escalator.

“Who do you think she invited?” asked Fina.

“I don’t know, she never said,” replied Lady.

Bonnibel leant on the railing, watching the people on the floor below. The shopping centre was bustling but that was hardly surprising on a Saturday. At last she spotted a familiar figure. She was wearing a plaid shirt and ripped jeans and had a black leather bag slung over her shoulder. As she reached the escalator she looked up and smiled when she spotted Bonnibel.

Bea dropped her fork and made to get up when she saw Marceline reach the top of the escalator but Lady put out a hand to stop her as she saw Bonnibel take a step towards her.

“Hey Bonnie,” said Marceline as she reached her.

“Hey Marcy,” Bonnibel smiled before pulling Marceline into a hug. Marceline returned the embrace. As she stepped back Bonnibel noticed there were dark circles under Marceline’s eyes and she sounded a little tired.

“Are you all right?” Bonnibel asked, resting a hand gently on Marceline’s face, “When did you last sleep?” Marceline chuckled.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said airily, “I’m okay. So,” she looked over at the table, “You sure they’re okay with all this?”

“Absolutely,” smiled Bonnibel as she led Marceline over to the table where they joined the others. Both Lady and Bea had managed to disguise their surprise and unease but Fina still had her mouth half open. Lady was the first to speak.

“Hello, Marceline,” she said.

“Hi,” Marceline replied awkwardly. Lady nudged Fina under the table. “So, see anything you like?” Fina asked, gesturing to the menus which lay on the table. Bonnibel handed one to Marceline.

A few minutes later the waiter came to take their order.

“So, when did you guys make up?” asked Fina.

“Umm, a couple of weeks ago,” replied Marceline, “I wanted to apologise and…” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, and Marceline came to my rescue,” added Bonnibel. She told the girls about what had happened in the library with Thomas and his two cronies.

“I’m really glad you two are friends,” smiled Lady.

“Yeah,” agreed Bea, albeit a little hesitantly. A few minutes later the waiter returned with their coffee on a tin tray.

“And whose is the espresso?” he asked.

“Mine,” replied Marceline. He set the small cup down in front of her before leaving, taking the tray with him.

At last the subject turned to the upcoming summer exams. With just over a month to go, revising had started in earnest. Back home Bonnibel’s ring binder was almost overflowing with the copious amount of notes she had made in the last few weeks. “I’m so behind on geography, it’s unreal,” said Bea, “Maybe I should start trying to make audio notes.”

“Those don’t help me much,” said Fina, “I have to read it to get it into my head. I’m not looking forward to the maths exam. How about you, Marceline?” Marceline shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ll just wing it,” she said, “Same as usual.”

“Aren’t you worried about your grades?” asked Bonnibel.

“Not really,” replied Marceline, “When I get out of school, I want to do something involving music.”

“What kind of something?” asked Fina.

“Not sure yet,” replied Marceline, “Anything really.”

They sat, watching the shoppers bustling to and fro, weighed down by any number of bags. As the sun rose higher in the sky the air beneath the dome began to heat up. The girls packed up their things and paid the bill before leaving for a cooler part of the building.

“We were thinking of going to the games arcade,” said Bonnibel, “Do you want to come with us?”

“Sure,” replied Marceline.

The arcade was out near the river and it took the girls nearly twenty minutes to reach it. On one side of the arcade was an old abandoned shopping centre which looked as though it had suffered some fire damage in the past and on the other side was a fish and chip shop. The arcade was starkly different in comparison to its drab neighbours. The signs were vibrant and colourful and there were lights all around the doors and windows. Inside the arcade games machines lined every wall and still more formed the centrepiece of the large room. Lights flashed on every surface and the place was alive with the hum and buzz of machinery mixed with the laughs and jostling of the gaming crowd. There were penny falls machines, racing games, shoot ‘em ups and many more. Lady spotted a familiar blonde haired young man behind the counter and made a beeline for the counter. Meanwhile Bea challenged Fina to a racing game.

“What do you want to play?” Bonnibel asked Marceline. Marceline looked around. Her eyes came to rest on a basketball game which stood in the corner.

“Wanna shoot some hoops?” she asked.

They approached the old looking game. Bonnibel made to take out her purse but Marceline stayed her hand.

“First game’s on me,” she smiled, flashing her a grin. The machine buzzed when Marceline put in the coins and a moment later several basketballs were released. And so the game began. Before long it became apparent that this was far from Marceline’s first time playing. But Bonnibel wasn’t about to make it easy. She picked up the pace, lobbing the large orange ball at the hoop before stooping to collect another.

“You’re not bad,” said Marceline between throws.

“Neither are you,” Bonnie replied.

After the game was over Bonnibel dragged Marceline over to the dance games. She grinned at Bonnie.

“May I have this dance, Princess?” she asked. Before long they were laughing as they danced along to the music. Lady watched them from the counter.

“They’ve changed, haven’t they?” observed Jake.

“Thankfully for the better,” replied Lady, “I’ll admit I didn’t expect this to happen. But I’m glad it did.”

“Yeah, better than them arguing,” said Jake, “That girl that Marceline hung around with before. I was always having to break those two up.”

“Was that Van Rach?” asked Lady. Jake shook his head.

“I don’t know,” he replied, “I never caught her name.”

After some time Bonnibel and Marceline leapt off the dance machine.

“Okay, you beat me fair and square,” smiled Marceline, “Now it’s my turn.” She led her over to a shoot ‘em up game. “Welcome to my world.”

As the clock struck five the girls said goodbye to Jake before leaving the arcade.

“I think I’m going to go home now,” said Marceline, “I’ve got a few things to catch up on.”

“I’ll walk with you to the bus stop,” offered Bonnibel. Marceline smiled.

“You sure?” she asked. Bonnibel nodded.

Bea watched as the two set off.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” she asked.

“They’ll be fine,” Lady replied.

“You seem rather certain,” Bea observed.

“Call it intuition,” replied Lady, “But I think this can only be a good thing. I didn’t get any strange vibes off her or anything. She really seemed to mean it.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Bea.

* * *

“Thanks for inviting me along,” smiled Marceline as they walked along.

“No problem,” replied Bonnibel, “It was really fun.” Bonnibel hesitated for a moment.

“Marcy, there’s something I wanted to ask you,” she said.

“Fire away,” replied Marceline.

“A couple of days ago by friends tried to set me up with a guy,” explained Bonnibel, “They don’t know. Do you think I should come out to them? Do you think they’d be okay with it?”

“I think so,” smiled Marceline, “Lady definitely will. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t okay with it with all those campaigns she does for equal rights. And I’m sure Bea, Lily and Fina will be fine too. Besides, might stop the matchmaking, right?” She smiled.

“Yeah,” said Bonnibel, “I’ll do it then.”

“Do your parents know yet?” asked Marceline. Bonnibel shook her head.

“Them, I’m nowhere near as sure about,” she conceded. Marceline nodded.

“I understand,” she said.

They reached the bus stop. “Make sure you get some sleep, okay,” said Bonnibel as Marceline made to get on.

“I will,” she called over her shoulder. Bonnibel watched the bus drive away before heading back to re-join the others.
Lookie look, this fanfic is back from the dead at last. In this chapter we begin to see the beginnings of a developing friendship. But could it bloom into something more. And is Lady right to be optimistic? Or is Bea being more realistic?

Front Cover: Creation Trilogy Book 1: W for Winterview
Previous Chapter: W for Winterview Chapter 16
Next Chapter: W for Winterview Chapter 18
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Sayroan14's avatar
Nooooooo!!! I got so sucked into it, I can't wait till the next one😂