This will make more sense if you've read Chapter 1. The initial three chapters introduce the characters, and no intimacy will happen until chapter four when they are over eighteen. The series will include first-time and group sex but also includes mentions of suicide and attempted rape; if that upsets you, I suggest you don't start.
Chapter 2
After the excitement of my first week at a new school, the next few weeks flew by with no dramas. Monday and Friday nights were homework, followed by judo training, and Tuesday was revision work. I believed in revising when you were taught something, so it stuck. Just like judo or taekwondo moves, repeating them constantly made them perfect or better. Doing the same with schoolwork should mean the same, shouldn't it? I certainly hoped so; then, come exams, it would be a piece of piss and, if not that exactly, at least not an absolute ballache. Wednesday was now jujitsu, which I was enjoying, and even Wayne seemed to be getting the hang of it, although, after the first few sessions, he could hardly walk. Taekwondo was on Tuesday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Friday evenings were schoolwork and revision, as were Saturday mornings. Sunday was 'my' time when I could hang out with friends, assuming schoolwork was all complete.
A typical Sunday consisted of me going around Dafydd's house and having a cup of tea there; we were typically joined by Isolde and sometimes any of Lisa, Lucy and Claire. Occasionally, we'd meet at Dafydd's and then walk to a coffee shop for a cake. I flirted with the girls, who all flirted back; it was all done innocently. We all knew exams were the priority this year; if things developed after that, they would.
Christmas was soon upon us. None of us had much money, but I got a CD each for the girls. I got a couple of Terry Pratchett books for Dafydd; like me, he was a big fan. My parents, sister Alice and I flew to Sweden to spend time with my grandparents. Christmas with snow is just so much more festive. Once we were back, it was straight into our mock exams, so most of the holidays were spent with my head in textbooks or doing old exam questions.
May started looming towards us, as did the first exams. Tensions at school gradually built, especially amongst those who suddenly realised in early April that they only had four weeks to revise! No shit, Sherlock! I was feeling confident; I just hoped it wasn't misplaced. I'd certainly put the hours and effort in, so it wouldn't be for want of trying. We then had a week's half-term break, halfway through the exams. We were all determined to do our best, so we only met for about ninety minutes in the coffee shop daily to get some fresh air and reset our minds. It became a daily ritual at 3 pm each afternoon, and we all looked forward to it. Exams over, I turned 16 at the end of June but was never much of a party animal. Dafydd and I went to Southampton to watch a film at the multiplex and then to an Italian restaurant for dinner. We were both mentally tired but confident we'd done well. We'd find out in mid-August whether those marking the papers agreed.
I flew to Sweden in July to spend three weeks with my grandparents near Karlstad. I invited Dafydd and Craig to join me, and they both accepted. We flew to Stockholm and then caught a train to Karlstad, where my grandfather met us. I showed them around the area for the next three weeks, and we went hiking and cycling. My grandfather had a small boat, and he'd taught me to sail, so we also went out on that a few times. I wasn't experienced enough to take them alone, but my grandfather always sought an excuse to go out, and Craig and Dafydd loved it.
We arrived home towards the end of July, and I had two weeks at home before heading to Glasgow for a week-long taekwondo camp run by the British Taekwondo Association. Whilst there, I was assessed and passed my second dan black belt. After that, I took the train to Oban on the west coast of Scotland before catching the ferry to Craignure on the Isle of Mull to visit my uncle Tom.
Uncle Tom lived on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with his wife Fiona and was a former paratrooper. He now had a small farm with some rare breed sheep, a hobby; he also did some IT consultancy when he needed the extra money. I often spent several weeks in the summer holidays with him and his wife, helping them out and learning so much about living off the land: building shelters, trapping and skinning rabbits, making fires, and, of course, herding sheep. For the latter, "learning" mainly involved chasing them while they just returned to where they were initially, looking at me like I was some mad two-legged dog—all excellent stuff for a boy growing up who loved the outdoors.
My uncle met me in his old Land Rover and we set off for his farm in the north of the island. The first order of the day was phoning home to see if my results had come through the post; they had, and my Mum hadn't opened them yet. I waited patiently as she did, "Well?" I asked.
"A* in Maths, Physics, Computing, French and Spanish," she began.
"A in English, Chemistry, Business Studies and History, and a B in Biology! Well done, we're so proud of you!"
I sat down on a chair and clenched my fists.
"Thanks! All that hard work was worth it. I'm not surprised by Biology; it was a bugger of an exam." I then told her how the week had gone and that I'd achieved the 2
nd
Dan black belt, which she promised to pass on to Dad.
"See you in a couple of weeks," I said as I hung up. Uncle Tom put the kettle on so we could have a cup of tea and catch up. He had some dry stone walling he needed repairing, so we'd be up on the hills the next few days doing that. We also planned a few hikes around the area.
"Some Peregrine Falcons are nesting in the quarry," he said. "The chicks are nearly ready to fledge, so we'll look tomorrow before they do. Then we'll crack on with that wall."
After unpacking, we went out, and he let me drive the Land Rover across the fields to see what was needed with the wall. The stones were all there; they only needed to be sorted into the correct size and carefully put back in place. The gap was about 10m wide, and he'd put some temporary fencing to stop the sheep from escaping. He'd shown me how to repair a wall before, so hopefully, I'd be useful after a few hours of re-training. After that, I drove us back to the farm. I only crunched a couple of gear changes, and he theatrically put his hands over his ears every time.
"I blame the clutch!" I smiled at him. "It's too grabby."
"I blame the nut between the steering wheel and the seat!" he responded.
Aunt Fiona had prepared some lamb chops (homegrown) and vegetables for dinner, and we all tucked in. Uncle Tom gave me a San Migual as a treat for doing so well in my exams and for getting my 2
nd
Dan. They then gave me my belated birthday present. I spent most Summers visiting so I usually had to wait for a present, but I didn't want anything at home and material things, while nice, weren't the most important things to me. I thanked them and opened it; inside was a pocketknife with a fire-starting module, some CDs and T-shirts. We spent the evening chatting and then watching some TV series they had both got into before heading to bed.
The next day, uncle Tom and I set off after breakfast, walking across the farm and then up through a wood on the side of the mountain above their farm. It was pretty steep in places, but we made good time. After about a five-mile trek, we reached the disused quarry on the side of the mountain and quietly crept to the edge to look for the falcons.
"There, do you see them? Just below that ledge," uncle Tom whispered.
I scanned where he was pointing, and just then, one of the adults returned with what looked like a pigeon.
"Yes, I see them. Looks like three chicks? I don't think they will be there much longer; they have their flight feathers." We watched them for about 30 minutes and then set off around the edge.
