Dear Nobody Read Online Free Page A

a professional photographer. I’ve been working on a commission to illustrate a mountaineering book. I climb too, of course, with Don .” ’ I put the letter down for a moment. My breath seemed to have left me. I blew out my lips and carried on. ‘ “ This has been a wonderful job for me, and is going to take up several more months, I should think. Yes, do come and see me. It would be lovely. With best wishes, Joan .” ’
    â€˜Joan!’
    â€˜What else could she have put? With love from Mummy?’
    I gazed down at the letter again. I’d been looking forward to sharing it with Helen. All day I’d imagined showing it to her.
    â€˜What d’you think?’ I asked her.
    â€˜I don’t like her.’ Helen took the letter from me again. She really was in a mood.
    â€˜You’ve never even met her.’
    â€˜I don’t like the way she calls you Christopher, for a start. What’s wrong with Chris? Christopher’s so formal, as if she’s never met you in her life. And then she goes and calls herself “Joan” at the end.’
    â€˜I thought that was brilliant. It’s a way of saying, our relationship is different now, let’s be friends.’
    â€˜Great!’ said Helen. ‘I’ll just disappear for eight years while you’re an annoying brat and let’s be friends now you’ve grown up.’
    I stared out of the window. I could feel my neck burning red. ‘Anything else you don’t like about her, while you’re at it?’
    â€˜I don’t like the way she goes on and on about being aphotographer and a climber and having commissions and all that.’
    â€˜She doesn’t go on and on.’
    â€˜She sounds like a show-off. She hasn’t said a thing about you. How’re your A–levels? How’s your dad? How’s Guy? Have you still got the cat? All she’s interested in is herself.’
    I took the letter back and folded it up slowly. I sat with it still in my hands, staring out at my own reflection and, beyond that, into the darkness.
    â€˜ “My dear Lady Disdain”,’ I muttered.
    â€˜She makes a point of saying she hasn’t got time to see you.’
    â€˜All right. All right.’
    â€˜You asked me. I’m only telling you because you asked me.’
    â€˜I wish I hadn’t shown it to you now.’
    Helen touched my hand. ‘I don’t think you should try to see her, Chris. You’ll get hurt. I’ve thought that all along.’
    â€˜That’s my business, isn’t it?’ The bus swung suddenly into the glare of house lights. I stood up. ‘I’ll come back with you.’
    â€˜You don’t have to.’
    â€˜I’ll come back with you.’
    We walked along in silence, holding hands. I felt angry and upset, as if we were on the verge of a row. I wish I knew what was going on in her head. I can’t fathom her sometimes. That’s what’s exciting about her, but she’s never like this usually. It was as if all the warmth had gone out of her. We’d had our first row last month, and even that hadn’t been like this. The first row had been my fault, I admit it. It had started when we had bumped into her best friend, Ruthlyn, and as she passed us she had said in a loud whisper, ‘Behave yourselves this time!’
    â€˜What’s she on about?’ I had asked. Ruthlyn’s the sort of girl who loves to embarrass people.
    â€˜What d’you think?’ Helen had teased.
    â€˜You never told her!’
    â€˜Of course I did.’
    I couldn’t believe that, you see. I felt betrayed. ‘Not everything?’
    â€˜She’s my best friend,’ Helen had said, as if that explained everything.
    â€˜What’s that got to do with us?’
    â€˜I bet you told your mates. All boys brag about what they do with their girl-friends.’
    I’d bragged often enough about nearly