Chapter 21

..The supermarket wasn’t very crowded that Tuesday. Bette had promised Kit to do some shopping, so here she was. She had a basketball practice later that afternoon and for the first time she didn’t look forward to it. It wasn’t the game, it was more the fact that she would see Candace again. She didn’t know the girl very well, but she was aware of the fact that the brunette never gave up. Surely, she would come up with another opportunity for Bette to join her and her friends when they went out. Needless to say, Bette wouldn’t feel comfortable if these people were only the slightest bit like Candace. She knew she had to be more sociable, but she wasn’t desperate.

..She almost flinched when she saw a happy couple debating which tooth paste they should take. Just take both, Bette thought. And then: That will never be us. That will never be ms Kennard and me.

..Why were the holidays lasting so damn long? The days used to be over before they even started and now they were crawling. Of course, she used to read books all day and had wished several times for there to be more hours in a day, just so she could read more. But now that she was looking forward to school and seeing ms Kennard again, of course time had to work counter-productive. She blocked the thought from her mind – every flash of Ms Kennards face was just too painful to experience, every thought of her being, her kindness, her gentleness, her beauty, her Tinaness.

..She quickly glanced at the woman who came beside her, absorbed in the paper she was holding, not noticing her. It was just curiousity that got the better of her, but when she recognised the woman, her eyes almost fell out of their sockets and if she would have been eating something, she would have choked on it. It was ms Kennard.

..Just at that moment, the stunning blonde looked up. A light filled her eyes as she recognised Bette. They twinkled again, like they used to.

.."Oh… I’m so sorry," Bette hastily said. "I didn’t follow you or something – honestly! I didn’t know you were going to be here. I’m just going to leave, I am sure you want me to leave, if someone sees us and thinks we are shopping together they might-"