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“You never wanted to be a doctor or dentist like your parents?” Dad snagged a prawn cracker from the dish in the middle of the table and popped it whole into his mouth.
“Dad!”
He shrugged and turned back to Zak, waiting for his reply.
“Not really,” Zak replied. “I don’t ever want to be compared to either of them. I’d rather make my own path.”
I could see that Dad was impressed by his raised eyebrow and slight nod of his head. The fact that he was, and that he seemed to like Zak, was the best feeling. I remember Ana having a boyfriend, Alfie, in year ten, and her parents hated him. It wasn’t anything particularly serious because we were only fifteen, but they still made it difficult for her. In the end, he finished with her because she was never allowed out and when she was had to be home by eight-thirty. She was so sad most of the time when she should have been enjoying it.
“I can’t imagine doing anything so academic,” Maya said.
“Yeah, but software development isn’t easy,” I told her. “I’d never be able to write code.”
She screwed up her nose. “It’s easy once you know how.” She looked at Dad. “I certainly couldn’t run a bar or a pub. How on earth do you act pleasant all the time as well as making sure you have the right amounts of everything you need?”
“Same, the more you do the easier it is. As for being nice to people all the time, I’m not sure I am.”
“He’s right.” I laughed. “You should hear him talking to some of the reps. He’s really rude.”
“Yeah, because they deserve it,” he grumbled. “They’re a bunch of pushy tossers half the time.”
Zak chuckled and shoved more food into his mouth. Whether he’d had a snack or not earlier, he could seriously eat. He was on his second plateful of food, and I was glad Dad had ordered too much, as usual.
“What are your plans after we’ve eaten?” Dad asked. “Homework?”
I looked at Zak, knowing full well he hadn’t brought any books with him. “Maybe listen to some music or watch TV in my room, if that’s okay.”
Dad contemplated it while he chewed his food and, after glancing at Maya, nodded. “Yeah, no problem.”
Beaming at him I was startled when my phone pinged with a message. I looked down at it to see it was Ana’s mum.
I frowned at Zak. “It’s Ana’s mum.”
“Hermum?”
“Yeah.” Fear spiked because my friend’s parents only ever messaged any of us if we were in trouble, or they wanted to know ideas for Christmas presents.
I opened up the message and frowned as I read it.
Susan (Ana’s Mum)
Hi Maddy. Sorry to bother you but can I ask if Ana was at school today?
I read the message out, wondering why on earth she was asking.
“Was she?” Dad asked, pouring more wine into Maya’s glass.
“Yes. She was with you last lesson, wasn’t she?” I asked Zak.
“Yep. Definitely. She sat in front of me.” He peered at the text. “I wonder why she’s asking?”
I typed out a reply to say she was. “Should I call Ana?” I asked the three people watching me.
“Maybe wait until her mum replies,” Dad said.
“You don’t want to cause trouble between them.” Zak stroked a hand down my back. “Or is it normal for her to ask?”
I shook my head. “We only have each other’s parents numbers for emergencies, and they have ours for the same reason.”
