What about us? Read Online Free

laughed as I found myself getting excited at the prospect of a whole day just
waiting to be spent; not only with him, but a day out too.  To be honest, I
didn’t care where we went, although a day by the sea sounded lovely; I hadn’t
been for years.
    “The seaside!” I said
decisively.
    He beamed at me, clearly
pleased with my choice.

Chapter
three
     
    We caught the tube
to London Bridge, crammed in with all the morning commuters and because of the
squeeze I could press my face into his shoulder.  His clothes had a strange,
unpleasant odour that I couldn’t quite place
and it bothered me.  But as I moved closer to his neck, I found he smelt nice,
in a soapy, scrubbed way.  It was only a few stops and when we arrived, we got
separated as a great mass of people poured out onto the platform, making for
the escalators.  But we soon found each other again and went hand in hand to
the mainline station to catch a train to Margate.
    As we were paying for the
tickets, we were told that the train was already at the platform.  Jack grabbed
my hand and we ran, getting on board only seconds before it pulled out.  Then laughing
at nothing, we threw ourselves into some empty seats, still holding hands.  Every
now and then he gave a little squeeze and smiled at me.
    We watched the world speed by
and with each stop we got further away from my life.  The blocks of flats got
fewer and then there were more houses and then more trees and more sky.  I
suppose there was just more space, really.  It made me feel free, as though I’d
left all my responsibilities a long way behind.  It was a nice feeling and not
one that I was in anyway used to.
    The stations got smaller and
the people looked different, more outdoorsy.  Because now the rush hour had
been and gone, like us these people were going to places more leisurely,
perhaps for reasons other than work.  It was also more social; people were being
met as they got off the train and there was lots of chattering and laughing.  Seeing
everyone so cheerful seemed to give our day out a boost.  I now had a whole new
world to watch.  Jack had a good imagination, almost better than mine and we
made up funny stories for many of the people we could see, setting us off in
fits of uncontrollable laughter.
    As we got off the train in
Margate, I breathed in deeply and tasted the tangy sea air.  I honestly
couldn’t remember the last time I’d been by the sea.  It was a long time ago;
probably a school trip, because I don’t remember a holiday with Mum.  I must
have laughed, because Jack turned to me, amused but puzzled.
    “This just feels so nice.” I said
and could see from his eyes that he understood.  I didn’t need to explain
anything and that felt good too.
    We spent some time wandering
along the High Street and down some of the narrow roads.  Everything was so
close to the sea-front, that every now and then we’d come across it and it was
always a nice surprise.  We played games in an amusement arcade and then went
tenpin bowling, something I’d never done before.  I seemed to be quite good at
it, or maybe I was just lucky, but either way it was brilliant.  Everything we
did that morning was fun.  With Jack I could just relax and enjoy myself in a
way I’d never been able to before.
    We bought fish and chips for
lunch and ate it sitting on a bench looking out to sea.  Despite the notices
saying not to feed them, we held up bits up for the seagulls, envying their
agility as they swooped down to take them from our fingers.
    As the tide went out, we rolled
up our trousers, took off our shoes and wandered along at the water’s edge,
letting the sand puddle around our feet as the water dragged at the beach. 
Other times we pulled faces and laughed as wet mud squidged up between our toes. 
We didn’t talk about real life, almost as though there was an unspoken
agreement to leave it all behind, if only for a few hours.  He must have had
his reasons, as much as I had