“How come you got invited to a braai at Makuti Park? How do you know the Owens?”
Lauren says it like she suspects I’ve spread this rumour in order to improve my status in the world. Like I’ve finally realised I’ll never attain Somebody status by simply getting good marks in class, because the concept that I wouldn’t aspire to be a Somebody doesn’t exist in her universe.
This is seriously bugging her. Miss Nobody Tessa, who’s taken to pushing her bike across the road in the middle of large groups and keeping her hat pulled down over her eyes in the hope that she’ll be all the more invisible has shaken the social grapevine and got Lauren Collingwood keeping pace with her along the gravel track to the playground, trying to start a conversation with her. Lauren doesn’t bother herself with Nobodies as a rule.
“Gill teaches me riding. And I help her exercise her horses.”
This last statement isn’t strictly true, but I like to think that by having lessons on First Foxtrot I’m helping to exercise her.
Lauren starts sniggering so she can encourage me to feel appropriately silly.
“I expect you’ll get to eat caviar there.”
She says ‘caviar’ as if she has an extremely hot potato in her mouth, then she comes over all sly and goes, “She teaches you riding? I thought you knew how to ride, Tessa.”
Now I know full well I’m being mocked, and that I shouldn’t take the bait and shouldn’t feel this need to explain myself to someone who, frankly, doesn’t care, but I do anyway.
“Oh yes, I can ride a horse in all paces, but there’s so much more technique to it…”
“Oh Tessa! All this time saying you know how to ride. You won’t admit that you can’t!”
She gives Jess an elbow in the ribs and Jess gives her one of those looks that fires daggers, but daggers bounce off Lauren. Her cocksure, spiteful face is radiating her delight with the situation.
All right, Miss Collingwood. Get this.
“I had champagne at the Christmas party there. And caviar. Did you know that caviar is fish eggs?”
Now all I have to do is keep a straight face while Jess is making a face that’s both amazed and offended, and rightly so.
“You never told me you’d had…”
I haven’t. I grab her by the hand and pull her away, leaving Lauren with her mouth all twisted round the words, “Fish eggs? Yuk!” and wondering how come she never knew I hobnobbed with the Owens at Christmas too. Well, Gill’s my friend and I’ve known her for three years now, so why not? And Nathan too. Well, not really. You could say I’ve known of Nathan for nearly three years.