Chapter 10 - The Wheels on the Bus

Holly sat down beside Matt. His front teeth were missing and he had a crack in his glasses, behind which the skin around his eye was purple and swollen. Apart from that he looked good. His suit was neat, his hair combed, his tie neatly done.
"Ey up, Hols," he said miserbaly as she sat on the tiny seat next to his. They were so closly squashed together that neither Holly nor Matt could properly breathe. There was more legroom on an Easyjet flight.
"So," said Holly, "do you want to tell me what happened?"

***

Jim got on the bus without effort and threw himself into a seat, turning to stare out of the window into the darkness. She had just hurried off. His date, Holly, had run away and jumped on another bus. Jim could see what was happening. He had no chance with Holly; there must, he reasoned, be a queue of honourable gentleman waiting for the chance to be with such a fine specimen of a woman and Matt appeared to be at the front. But how attractive she had looked rugby tackling people out of the way in her effort to reach him.
His thoughts were broken as Amandine sat down next to him.
"Coucou, Jim!" she said joyfully.
"Bonjaw, Amandine," replied Jim in his best French. "'Ow are vous zis soir?"
"Oh Jim," she answered, giggling and hitting him playfully with her onions. "Je am tres well, merci. Et vous, 'ow are you, Jim?"
"Unfortunatlee, je am not so bon. "
"Oh Jim, 'ow come?"
"Because," Jim continued in perfect French, "can je let vous dans une petite secret?" Amandine nodded in reply. "Je quite aime 'Olly, but it seems zat she is onely chazing Matt." And he shrugged in a very French manner.
"Oh," replied Amandine, the joy fading from her face. She pressed her moustace, which was peeling from her face, back into place and turned to look at Jim once more. "Jim, mon friend," she said, "je ne sink pas zat 'Olly iz afterr Matt."
"No, no, no, vous are just saying zat to make je feel betterr."
"No, Jim, je am not. Je truly sink zat vous 'ave un chance avec 'Olly. Je mean, why would elle go for Matt, oo iz nozing but a froggie English loserr? Oo won ze battle de 'Astings? Ve did. Zerefore 'e iz une loserr and zus 'Olly vould not go for 'im."
Jim looked at her silently.
"Winner."

***

"What I want to know," Matt told Holly, "is how did Simon know about C.S.D.S.? I did my utmost to prevent him finding out because I know the CU president's put a price on my head should my little venture go ahead. Another Christian dating service would really threaten the CU's monopoly. And with Simon's Geordie Mafia connections... Well, it was inevitable he'd be on my case."
"I can answer that one," said Holly. "It was Nadia."
"Why?"
Holly hesitated. Could she really tell him why? Could she let him know the truth about how she felt?
Suddenly the bus turned a sharp bend and Holly swung sideways with the force of the turn, squashing Matt against the cold window. They were so close Holly could feel his breath on her cheek. He looked into her eyes.
"Don't worry," Holly said, "we'll get her."

***

Holly and Matt were overwhelmed by the splendour of the Bay Hotel. The corridors were trimmed with gold, a fountain lit with red and blue lights bubbled and rich American and Sourthern English guests sat at small tables looking distastefully at the students passing by in their tuxedos and ball gowns.
"Oh, how revolting, Edward," one lady said to her husband. "Saint Andrews, eh? Isn't that where all the poor people go? Charles will most certainly be going to Oxford when he finishes at Harrow."
A group of Americans sat enthusiastically discussing the day's events.
"It was there," shouted a big one, jumping up and waving its arms. "Just beside a rock. I pointed my gun at it and shot but missed! I was so close to catching a real live haggis!"
"Gee, it's a shame you missed, Brad. A haggis would have been a great catch. Nevermind though, I'm sure you'll catch something during next week's leprechaun hunt in Ireland."
Well dressed hotel attendants ushered the ball guests towards a small door, where tickets where checked and the students continued down a narrow flight of stone steps and into a large, dark concrete room. Matt and Holly were the last ones to enter and overheard the manager of the hotel telling the bouncer to keep them out of sight of "the other clientelle" and ordering him to ensure they spent as much money as possible, before locking the door behind him as he left.
"They've put us in the basement, then," muttered Holly.
The DJ kicked off the night by playing Build me Buttercup and soon the dancefloor was swaying.
Holly was sat chatting with Matt and drinking a plastic glass of tapwater when Jim approached, his hand inside his jacket pocket ready to take out the prize that would win him Holly.
"Holly," he said, "can I have a word?"