The LBD Project
- Cover
- 1 - Moving Day
- 2 - Dear Diary
- 3 - Out Clubbing
- 4 - Bad Timing
- 5 - Unexpected Repercussions
- 6 - Just Good Friends?
- 7 - Surprises In The Night
- 8 - Caveat Emptor
- 9 - Hugs And Kisses
- 10 - Helpful Advice
- 11 - Shortcut Home
- 12 - More Helpful Advice
- 13 - Frogs And Princes
- 14 - Shooting Stars
- 15 - Acceptance
- 16 - 0 to 60 in 5.8 Seconds
- 17 - Epilogue
- Cast
- Comments
8 - Caveat Emptor
Helen bounded down the porch steps and dashed for the school-bus. It was a beautiful spring day, the sun was shining, the birds singing, and Helen knew what she was going to do.

Nathan and his court were in their usual rear seats. He looked up and smiled as she boarded.
She smiled back and the court broke into jeers and wolf-whistles. Her smile transformed into an uncontrollable yawn - her sleepless night catching up with her.
"Keeping your girlfriend up at night?"
"Looks like your girlfriend needs a night off!"
She'd resolved to ignore those kinds of crass comment, but the next one had her demanding the driver to stop and let her off. She fled the bus.
Standing alone on the pavement and, with Nathan's "She's NOT my girlfriend!" ringing in her ears, she broke down and cried and cried and cried.

Sensible and practical Helen dragged herself through the sentimental mush of Helen's brain, banged on the back of Helen's eyeballs and shouted to be heard above emotional wreck Helen, 'You need to go to school!'
The crying abated to sniffles. Helen looked around, no one had seen her outburst, her Mum and Dad had already left for work.
She needed a lift to school, but Mummy and Daddy were gone! The crying started again.
'God I hate myself when I'm this pitiful', sensible and practical Helen thought, 'Excuse me. EXCUSE ME! YOU - HAVE - A - CAR!!!'
The crying stopped with a final big sniff. Helen gazed at the car as if it were a space-ship. Sensible and practical Helen elbowed emotional wreck Helen out of the way and took control.
Helen sat at the wheel, she didn't know the way. Tears started to well up. 'Enough of that', sensible and practical Helen thought, and directed her hand to retrieve her tablet.
Helen started up the SimNav app and entered the school's address.
"Turn right, then, in half a mile, turn left", Simanna said in her electronic voice.
Helen looked right, wondering how she was going to drive through the kitchen and lounge. Her hand rotated the tablet 180 degrees on the passenger seat.
"Make a U turn, turn right, then in half a mile, turn left", Simanna corrected herself.
Helen reversed off the drive and proceeded towards the junction.

Helen could see the school bus in the distance. Emotional wreck Helen depressed the accelerator - Nathan was on that bus! Practical and sensible Helen eased off and slowed down, then took the emotional baggage that was Nathan, tucked it into a corner, and built a tall, sturdy wall around it.
As she drove past a hoarding advertising the water park, - emotional wreck Helen held up a picture of Nathan in his Speedos. Practical and sensible Helen grabbed it and built a wall around it as well, then, for good measure, chucked the one of him shirtless trimming the hedge over as well - Helen sighed.

Helen sat in her car in the school car park, looked in the mirror ... Nathan's baby blue eyes stared back at her. Sensible and practical Helen rounded those images up and built another wall. ... and blinked - she was a mess; her waterproof mascara quite clearly was not.
She repaired the damage and headed for registration, idly noting that there were some very nice cars parked here,

her plans in tatters.