Not Pretty Enough (19 page)

CHAPTER 35

It’s the last day of winter term. The last double technology
before the Christmas holidays. Mr Vale is letting us watch a DVD in class
again.

It’s
The
Princess Bride
.

It seems right that we’ve come
full circle in exactly one year. But this time, I will be going home and trying
to forget Lloyd Layton exists, not hoping that he doesn’t forget me, like I was
last year.

How can I have been so stupid?

Debs, Ewan, and I pull our
chairs around the TV and wait while Mr Vale fumbles with the DVD player. For a
technology teacher, he is really bad with modern technology.

I see Lloyd on the other side of
the room. He’s deep in conversation with Darren. Probably talking cars again.
Or which girl to take advantage of next. I’m just lucky that I realised what an
asshole Lloyd is.

“Hey, leeches,” Leigh says to
us, pulling her chair up beside Ewan.

I groan inwardly.

“Did she just call us leeches?”
Debs whispers to me.

“Could you two go away?” Leigh
asks.

“No chance.” I smile at her.

If I can stand up to Lloyd
Layton, I can stand up to a little cow like Leigh Marlow.

“Fine,” she snorts, turning her
attention to Ewan. She slips her arm through his and leans her head on his
shoulder. “Ewaaaan, I need to ask you something.”

Ewan looks most unimpressed. I wonder
why he doesn’t just tell her to sod off.

“Ewaaaan,” she says again in one
of the most annoying voices I’ve ever heard. “As it’s Christmas, and nobody
wants to be alone at Christmas, will you go out with me?”

“Ha!” Ewan laughs before he can
stop himself.

My whole year just got
so
much better.

“Leigh,” Ewan says,
disentangling himself from her. “I would never in a million years go out with
someone who treats my two best friends the way you do.”

“But they’re horrible,” Leigh
whines.

Ewan then does something quite
out of character for him, because he’s usually too polite for his own good.

“Leave me alone, Leigh.” He gets
up, swings his chair around and sits back down, turning his back on her.

“Humph.” Leigh snorts like a
trapped pig, before stomping back to her own gang.

“I can’t believe you just did
that,” I say to Ewan.

“It’s not Leigh I like,” Ewan
says. He looks directly at Debs as he says it.

I
knew
it!

She smiles back at him so wide I
think her face might split.

He knows she likes him too.

“What do you say, Debs?” he asks
her. “There’s a new doughnut shop opening tomorrow in town, fancy catching a
movie and giving them a try?”

“I’d love to.”

I can tell she wants to kiss
him, but we’re in the middle of class surrounded by thirty other kids and Mr
Vale. It’s probably not a good idea here.

“So, what d’ya think, Chess? You
wouldn’t mind your two best friends giving it a go, would you?” Ewan asks.

I smile almost as wide as Debs.

“I’d be insulted if you didn’t,”
I tell them.

It’s not exactly the way I
pictured this term ending, but I’m so happy for them.

“And you,” Ewan turns to me
again. “You’re amazing. Don’t you ever let a prat like Lloyd Layton convince
you otherwise. You’re gorgeous, and one day you’ll find someone who deserves
you and likes you just for being you.”

I’m caught between blushing and
crying. It ends up a mixture of both. “Thank you.”

I’m so pleased for them. They
truly deserve each other, and I couldn’t be happier for them, even when they
walk to the buses that afternoon hand in hand and with a soppy smile on both
their faces.

As for me, I’m turning my back
on boys for a while. There are so much more important things in life, like
friends, and fun, and make-up, shopping, clothes and even (occasionally)
schoolwork.

You don’t need a boyfriend to
complete you, and you certainly don’t need one to make you popular, prettier,
or smarter. As long as you’re being yourself, then you’re perfect. I get that
now. I thought that if I could get Lloyd Layton to like me then I’d suddenly
become pretty and popular, but I’ve started to realise that pretty and popular
don’t matter. I don’t want to be popular because a boy likes me, I want to be
myself, and if other people like me or if they don’t, at least I will like
myself.

I don’t need to rush these boy
things. I have plenty of time for a boyfriend whenever one happens to come
along, and when he does, I won’t have to bend over backwards to get him to like
me. If it’s meant to be then he’ll like me anyway, even if I have green hair or
walk into a lamppost.

Besides, there’s always next
year.

.xxx. THE END .xxx.

Also by Jaimie Admans:

Afterlife Academy

Even being dead isn’t enough to get you out of maths class.

Dying wasn't on sixteen-year-old Riley Richardson's to-do list.
And now, not only is she dead, but she's stuck in a perpetual high school
nightmare. Worse still, she's stuck there with the geekiest, most annoying boy
in the history of the world, ever.

In a school where the geeks are popular and just about everything
is wrong, Riley has become an outcast. She begins a desperate quest to get back
home, but her once-perfect life starts to unravel into something not nearly as
great as she thought it was. And maybe death isn’t really that bad after all...

Welcome to Afterlife Academy, where horns are the norm, the
microwave is more intelligent than the teachers, and the pumpkins have a taste
for blood.

- - -

Afterlife Academy is a Young Adult paranormal romantic comedy,
suitable for approximately ages 14 and up.

Find it now on
:
Amazon.com
||
Amazon.co.uk

Kismetology

Finding the perfect man isn't easy. Especially when it's for
your mother...

Mothers. Can't live with them, can't live without them, can't
live three doors down the road without them interfering in every aspect of your
life.

Mackenzie Atkinson's mother has meddled in her love life once
too often and something has to be done. Mackenzie decides to turn the tables
and find love for her lonely mother. 

Her lonely and very fussy mother.

Surely finding an older gentleman looking for love won't be
that hard, right?

Wrong.

If you've ever thought that boys grow up, here's the problem: They
don't. Ever.

And Mackenzie is about to learn that the hard way.

Faced with a useless boyfriend, dressed up dogs, men who wear
welly boots on dates, men who shouldn't be allowed out in public, and men who
make reptiles seem like attractive company - will she ever find the perfect man
for her neurotic mother?

Find it now on:
Amazon.com
||
Amazon.co.uk

Creepy Christmas

Strange things are occurring in the neighbourhood. A mysterious
snowfall, one Santa too many, and eyes of coal that watch you wherever you go.

Ten-year-old Kaity is busy trying to get rid of her mum's
creepy new boyfriend and reunite her divorced parents, but her curiosity gets the
better of her when she meets the new mall Santa and his enchanting daughter
Blizzard. Can Kaity help them save Christmas from being destroyed by Anti-Claus
- a pretend Santa who is a permanent member of the naughty list?

It's Christmas in the village of Chelferry, but this year the
snowmen can move, the fairy won't stay on top of the Christmas tree, and if you
listen closely to the musical Christmas cards, you can hear the faint sound of
screaming over the Jingle Bells...

- - -

Creepy Christmas is a 50,000 word (approx 200 pages) novel
suitable for ages 8 and upwards.

A fun, festive, family read!

Find it now on:
Amazon.com
||
Amazon.co.uk

About the author:

Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an
awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening,
drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese &
onion crisps.

She has been writing for years but has never before plucked
up the courage to tell people.

She is the author of chick-lit romantic comedy Kismetology
and YA Paranormal romantic comedy Afterlife Academy. Not Pretty Enough is her
fourth novel and she hopes you enjoyed it. There are plenty more on the way!

Website:
http://www.jaimieadmans.com

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/be_the_spark

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/jaimieadmansbooks

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/jaimieadmans

Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/notprettyenough

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