Page 19 of Ask Another Day

Holly turned to her mum, keen to reassure her that contrary to how she was actually feeling, she was OK.

‘Thanks, Mum, but Hannah has offered to take me to Scarborough tomorrow to find something. I was going to ask Sloane what the other students are wearing at Uni when she goes out with them. But I’ll get Hannah’s input instead.’

‘You’re a lucky girl I love Hannah so much. Anyone else, and I’d have taken your rebuttal as a personal slight,’ her mum teased, before rubbing Holly’s arms, then lightly kissing her forehead. She made to leave, but at the threshold she turned back. ‘You would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn’t you?’ she asked, her gaze assessing everything about Holly it could, from where she stood.

Holly had been primed to say she was fine. But something pushed her to open up to her mum. Maybe it was the look in her eye Holly knew would linger until she answered the question honestly, or maybe she’d just had enough of keeping her feelings to herself. Either way, before she could stop herself, she blurted out, ‘I’m actually a bit bummed.’

Reaching for the unassuming brown envelope on her desk, she passed it over to her mum.

Sandra opened it, quickly scanning the offer Holly had sadly tucked back inside. On receiving the envelope, her mum tensed up. But as she read, her shoulders relaxed. By the end she was beaming.

‘Oh Holly, this is wonderful. Why on earth would you be sad about this? And why is this the first I’m hearing about it?’

‘I wanted to surprise you and Dad, but I can’t - we can’t afford it.’

‘Leave it with me.’

‘But–’

‘No buts, Holly. Leave it with me.’

Before Holly could protest or explain her mum’s reaction was why she hadn’t mentioned anything, Sandra had gone.

*

‘You’re sure I should go for this?’ Holly asked for the third time as she stared at herself in the cubicle mirrors that wrapped around the walls in Topshop the following day. The floral silk dress nipped in at her chest and then fluttered down, sitting mid-thigh. It was shorter than dresses she’d usually wear, and the black heels Hannah had paired with it made her feel too tall, although she had to admit they did make her legs look good.

Hannah’s face appeared through the flimsy curtain.

‘Definitely. It’s from the Kate Moss range, and it’s on sale. You can’t not buy it, Holly!’

Running her hand over the smooth fabric, Holly smiled. And at half its usual price, it was an affordable option.

‘Sod it, you only turn 21 once, right?’

‘You won’t regret it, Holly. You look great,’ Hannah replied excitedly.

Their shopping trip had been far nicer than Holly had anticipated. She’d always got on with Hannah, but she’d been in the same school year as Luke, so they’d never hung out like this - just the two of them. Before Hannah had reached out, it had never even occurred to Holly to do things like this with her. She needed to do it more, she decided. Taking her Nokia N73 out of her bag, she snapped a photo of her reflection in the changing room mirror and sent it to Sloane. Outfit chosen, she texted as soon as the photo showed it had been delivered. Holly rarely sent photos on her phone. MMS messages weren’t included in her contract, so the 40p cost, added to her already expensive contract, would make her think twice. But today, she wanted to connect with Sloane so she ignored the niggling worry about wasting money.

As the cashier slipped the dress into a bag, her phone pinged with a message notification.

Sloane:

Cute

Where’s it from?

The relief at getting her approval was instant.

Holly:

Thanks ♥️

Topshop - and it’s in the sale!

Holly slipped her phone back inside her bag before pulling Hannah outside into the fresh, bright sunshine.

‘Thanks again for coming with me, Han.’