Cruel Summer Read Free Page A

mumble half sentences as the
LOVE
overrode basic speech,
but, however it had happened, everyone except them had instantly known that they were made for each other.
    They didn’t kiss until the end of the first series. Ryan had been there for that. It was on a starlit garden swing at Liv Hewitt’s fifteenth birthday party. Katie had been upset
because there was a misunderstanding about something (Ryan couldn’t remember what, but, needless to say, at the time it had seemed HUGE) and Ben had been comforting her.
     
    Series Two.
In the second series, fate had intervened to keep the young lovers apart. As every TV scriptwriter knows, if you get the romantic leads together too soon
all the sexual frisson dies and there’s nowhere for the characters to go. In this case ‘fate’ had been two sets of well-meaning but meddling parents. Obviously, in the grand
tradition of young love, the obstacles had been overcome and by the time they sat their finals, Katie and Ben were officially together.
     
    Series Three.
But plain sailing doesn’t make for very good TV. There have to be bumps in the road. For some reason, Katie and Ben had decided to call time on
their relationship the Christmas of Year Twelve. Ryan vividly remembered Katie’s red, puffy eyes that night as Ben held her under the mistletoe – no kisses for them, only tears. Ryan
had never understood why they’d broken up when they were so perfect together.
     
    Series Four.
In order to move the plot forward, Ben had been paired with Janey – an odd couple at best – and they had been together until the night of the
ball . . . the night when she . . .
     
    Well, we all know how that went
, Ryan mused.
    Now, here they were for the summer special reunion, and Ryan couldn’t
wait
to see what twists were in store for Katie, the beautiful redhead, and her handsome ex. Whatever
happened, it was destined to be must-see TV.
     
    The others arrived just as Katie and Ryan were finishing lunch. It was so weird; the second Ryan went somewhere sunny, his body started demanding tuna toasties and chocolate
milk – so that was just what they’d had. Then, Katie washed the dishes while he leafed through the
Mindprobe
script. He was staring at the page, but failing to see the words;
Janey was on his mind again.
    Perhaps, on the verge of their reunion, this was the first time he’d properly confronted the lingering sadness, unresolved questions and general
weirdness
of the whole affair.
Last summer had been so awful, he hadn’t been able to get out of Telscombe Cliffs fast enough. He’d thrown himself into his reinvention spin-off series. After all, it was his story, not
Janey’s.
    But now, even with the hot kiss of the sun on his skin, he couldn’t get Janey out of his head. He thought back to the funeral. God, that had been a miserable day. Granted, funerals
aren’t meant to be a LOL-fest, but he hadn’t been at all steeled for the wave of grief that had greeted him like a black tide at that chapel. The memories were black and white, because
the day had been black and white. Black clothes in the white chapel. A black coffin covered with white flowers.
    The friends had gone as a group. In fact, it was the last time – save for his reunion with Katie last night – that he’d seen any of them. They’d sat at the back of the
church to allow Janey’s family the best seats. Edgar Allan Poe once described the death of a beautiful woman as ‘the most poetical topic in the world’ and Janey’s death had
certainly fit the bill: an event so startling, so scandalous, almost all of Year Thirteen had attended. It had been a full house, standing room only. Janey’s funeral – the hottest
ticket in Telscombe Cliffs.
    Ryan had sat with Katie, holding her hand throughout. That day had been especially awful for her. After what had gone down at the prom, the judgement had been almost palpable. The whispering
from their classmates hadn’t helped.
‘She’s got some