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The Girl She Was

Pantera Presserschienen am01.07.2020
'She'd long ago stopped wondering whether anyone would find out what she'd done. It was in the past, and Layla didn't dwell on the past.' At the cafe in the small town of Glasswater Bay where she works after school, seventeen-year-old Layla enters into a volatile relationship with her married boss. Twenty years later, she receives a message from her former boss's wife. As Layla relives the events from her youth that have shaped her present, her past starts to infiltrate her life in a way she can no longer ignore. She's run from her town, her friends and the memory of what she's done. Now she must face them all.

Rebecca Freeborn, the author of Hot Pursuit (2018) and Misconception (2019) has been writing since the age of 12. At her home in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, she writes before the sun comes up. By day, she works as a communications and content editor for the South Australian Government. Rebecca lives with her husband, three kids, a dog, a cat and a horse and spends her moments of spare time reading novels and feminist articles and compulsively checking Facebook. The Girl She Was is Rebecca's third novel.mehr
Verfügbare Formate
TaschenbuchKartoniert, Paperback
EUR18,50

Produkt

Klappentext'She'd long ago stopped wondering whether anyone would find out what she'd done. It was in the past, and Layla didn't dwell on the past.' At the cafe in the small town of Glasswater Bay where she works after school, seventeen-year-old Layla enters into a volatile relationship with her married boss. Twenty years later, she receives a message from her former boss's wife. As Layla relives the events from her youth that have shaped her present, her past starts to infiltrate her life in a way she can no longer ignore. She's run from her town, her friends and the memory of what she's done. Now she must face them all.

Rebecca Freeborn, the author of Hot Pursuit (2018) and Misconception (2019) has been writing since the age of 12. At her home in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, she writes before the sun comes up. By day, she works as a communications and content editor for the South Australian Government. Rebecca lives with her husband, three kids, a dog, a cat and a horse and spends her moments of spare time reading novels and feminist articles and compulsively checking Facebook. The Girl She Was is Rebecca's third novel.
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9780648508441
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatEPUB
Erscheinungsjahr2020
Erscheinungsdatum01.07.2020
Seiten290 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Dateigrösse1117
Artikel-Nr.11934222
Rubriken
Genre9200

Inhalt/Kritik

Leseprobe


THEN

Sweet sixteen and never been kissed. God, I was such a cliché. Except that I was seventeen, which made it even more pathetic.

Sitting here against the wall at the Glasswater Bay High School social, watching as half my classmates coupled up and began to sway awkwardly on the dance floor: a wallflower, Grandma would say. The blue, purple and white lights from the rotating disco ball overhead didn t reach the bench where I was, so I could sit in gloomy anonymity, the paper plate balanced on my lap littered with pastry crumbs. My gaze flicked irresistibly to my friend Shona, whose lips were locked with her new boyfriend s, their pelvises fused together, his hands clutching her bum.

Renee bumped into me as she plonked down on the bench beside me. Why don t they ever play decent music at these things?

If they played Magic Dirt or Regurgitator, I might actually enjoy a social for once, I agreed. I don t know why we bother coming.

Well, for that. Renee threw an arm out towards Shona and Daniel. Look at them. Practically dry-rooting.

They ll be rooting for real later on. I laughed to cover up the sting of this fact. I d had an unspoken and unrequited crush on Daniel for the last year. But considering I d never done anything about it, let alone told my two best friends, I could hardly be angry with Shona for asking him to the social. So now she was pashing my one true love while I watched like a creepy weirdo in the darkness.

We need to find you a guy, Renee said. I bet you could hook up with anyone here. You look totally hot tonight.

I glanced down at my black dress that I spent half my wages on last week. The bodice would ve looked sexy on any of my classmates, but my almost-flat chest made me look like a twelve-year-old pretending to be a high-class escort. I was what was charmingly known as a late bloomer , confirmed by the lack of romantic interest throughout my high school years.

Renee was sweet to say so, but I knew how I really looked.

It s not like we re inundated with options, I said, ignoring the fact that none of the boys here even knew I was alive. Glasswater s a dive full of pigs and losers.

Her eyes scanned the room. What about Sam? He s cute.

I screwed up my nose. His idea of humour is telling the whole class how many times he wanked on the weekend.

OK, who else? I know, Rasheed! He s hot in a nerdy kind of way.

Rasheed s nice, but we ve got nothing in common.

You re both brainiacs, Renee pointed out. And you both like reading. Maybe he could read your lips. She chuckled.

I couldn t help laughing. Thanks, but I think I d rather wait for the right guy.

Renee gave me a wry smile. Babe, you know I love you to death, but if I leave it up to you, you ll never make a move on anyone. Do you really want to start uni next year having never kissed a guy? She glanced over her shoulder. Look, he s over there by himself. I ll go talk to him.

No, Renee, don t. I tried to restrain my friend, but she d already escaped, sidling between the gyrating couples until she reached Rasheed.

My face burned as she spoke to him. Rasheed was nice and all, and good looking too, with his golden skin and long-lashed dark eyes, but he was even more self-conscious than I was. I d rarely seen him speak outside of being the first to answer all the teacher s questions in Biology. But Renee had a point about popping my kissing cherry before I finished school. The older I got, the more I felt like a giant loser. But doing it with Rasheed? No doubt he d never kissed anyone either. He probably wouldn t even come over.

He was coming over.

Renee was clutching his hand and grinning at me in triumph as she delivered my prize. He looked embarrassed to the point of physical pain. I almost felt sorry for him, until I remembered that Renee had just told him I liked him and now I was about to be rejected by a guy I wasn t even interested in to begin with. Renee deposited him on the bench beside me.

You kids have fun! She winked at me. I m going to get a Coke.

Humiliation fizzed in my belly as she sashayed away. I darted a glance at Rasheed. Hey.

Hey. He shifted uncomfortably, as if he was trying to move further away from me without being too obvious. We both stared straight ahead as the ballad ended and was replaced with an energetic Destiny s Child number. The guys peeled away from the dance floor in a wave while the girls whooped with glee and formed circles to shake their manes and wiggle their hips. I tried to think of something to say to Rasheed, but my mind was blank, and the longer we sat there, not talking, the more the discomfort swelled in my throat.

Read any good books lately? I finally managed to squeak.

Sorry? Rasheed leant closer to hear my voice over the music. His cologne smelt nice - spicy and woody. I repeated my question, and to my surprise his face lit up. Yeah, I ve just finished Assassin s Apprentice by Robin Hobb - have you read it?

Sorry, I haven t heard of it.

It s an epic fantasy. Do you read much fantasy?

Uh, no, not really. So much for having something in common.

We resumed our uneasy silence and stared out into the crowd. I spotted Renee gesturing at me from where she was dancing with Shona, giving me the what are you waiting for? signal. I frowned and shook my head at her. An early eighties song came on and there was a cry of joy from the dance floor. The night was almost over, and I wanted to be up there with my friends, dancing and having fun, but instead I was stuck here with Rasheed, vying for the position of Lord Mayor of Awkward Town.

Then Rasheed said something I couldn t make out, and as I moved closer to hear him better, he launched forwards and our teeth clashed. He drew back a little, mumbled an apology and then his mouth was on mine again. For a few seconds, I was frozen, then his tongue was in my mouth and I was trying to kiss him back, but our teeth kept knocking together and it was all very, well, wet. Was this really what I d been waiting for all this time?

Just as I was wondering how I could politely break contact, there came the sound of whooping over the metallic synth-pop music. Rasheed drew away, smiling shyly. On the edge of the dance floor, Renee and Shona were clapping and cheering. My face flushed hot and I shuffled away from Rasheed, tugging my dress down over my thighs and wishing I could wipe my mouth. Renee swooped in and took my hand, pulling me to my feet.

Come to the ladies with me. She threw a smile over her shoulder at Rasheed as she led me towards the toilets. Shona fell in beside me.

As soon as the doors closed behind us, they both threw their arms around me and jumped up and down. I laughed. You guys are more excited about this than I am.

Layla Flynn, the tongue-wrestling champion! Shona declared.

So, how was it? Renee asked as we turned to the mirror to reapply our lipstick.

It was bloody gross, I said. I can t believe you actually enjoy doing that.

Oh, I love kissing! Renee enthused.

It gets better. Shona inspected her teeth in the mirror. It s like sex. The first time sucks, but the next time is better, and by the third you can t get enough.

I stared down into the sink. Both my friends had lost their virginity when they were fifteen, and I was still going on about how yucky boys were. Renee bumped her elbow into me gently. You know what, Rasheed s probably just a crap kisser.

I guess it wasn t that bad, I lied. I just don t really like him that way.

At least you ve done it now, Shona said. You ll be bonking before you know it.

Speaking of which, Renee said, is bonking on your agenda tonight, Shona?

Well, Daniel s taking me to Bruiser s party after this, so we ll see what happens. But I have precautions! Shona plucked a string of at least five condoms from her make-up case and unfurled them with a flick of her wrist.

They burst into giggles, and the ache in my belly grew. It s not as if I was anything more to Daniel than a cardboard cut-out beside my hot friends, but the idea that Shona was probably going to have sex with him in the back of his car tonight made me shrink inside a little.

Shona snapped her case closed. Let s go, bitches.

The music had stopped and the lights were on when we emerged from the toilets. Students milled around in small groups, saying goodbye or finding out who was going to Bruiser s party. Shona made a beeline for Daniel, who was chatting with his mates, and Renee and I trailed behind her. Just as...
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Autor

Rebecca Freeborn, the author of Hot Pursuit (2018) and Misconception (2019) has been writing since the age of 12. At her home in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, she writes before the sun comes up. By day, she works as a communications and content editor for the South Australian Government.

Rebecca lives with her husband, three kids, a dog, a cat and a horse and spends her moments of spare time reading novels and feminist articles and compulsively checking Facebook.

The Girl She Was is Rebecca's third novel.