ONE: Late Again (dedicated to MirandaW)

--

Nora checked her pink playboy watch for what must have been the seventh time that second. Tyler was late again.

Tapping her foot and twiddling her thumbs, Nora groaned. Always late. Maybe I should just go home, she thought restlessly. Picking up her things, she walked out the school of the door to see Tyler across the road with Skinny's older brother, Mac.

She shook her head in disbelief. Tyler had stood her up. For basketball.

'Nora!' called Tyler. He ran over and looked shocked to see her annoyed and upset. 'What's up?' he asked her. Tyler attempted to put his hand round her waist, but she pushed him away.

'Leave me alone, Tyler,' she told him.

'Christ, woman! What's with you today?' Tyler almost shouted at her in desperation for her to listen to him.

'Do you even know what "today" is?' Nora had stopped walking and faced him, an aggravated expression painted on her face.

'Umm… Tuesday?' Tyler asked. Nora glared at him. 'Oh, God! Tuesday!'

'Yes, Tuesday,' Nora said, and walked off away from him. Part of her wanted to stay and see what he had to say and accept his apology without question, but it was the second week running he'd forgotten to meet her after school for a practice dance together with Miles. She was sick of it.

Tyler watched her walk away, knowing that she'll call or come see him later about it, and when she was totally out of vision, jogged back over to Mac.

--

Nora ran straight up to her room and started beating up her pillow in anger.

'Sweetie? What's wrong?' asked her mother. Nora replied with a muffled scream into her pillow which probably didn't want to be a pillow anymore. Especially Nora's.

'Okay. I'll come back later.'

--

Tyler collapsed on his bed and his little sister came straight into the room.

'Knock!' he moaned.

She left the room and knocked.

'What?'

'Somebody wants to see you!'

Tyler groaned again and sat up. He wasn't in the mood to see anyone, but when he saw Nora in his doorway, that thought vanished from his mind.

'Give us a bit, will you?' Nora asked his little sister, and she ran away downstairs shouting, 'Tyler's got a girlfriend!'

Nora closed the door and placed herself on the edge of her bed.

'Listen…' Tyler began. 'About forgetting practice… I'm sorry; you know what with what happened with Skinny and everything it just went through me and… I'm sorry, ya know?'

Nora was almost laughing at him.

'What?' he asked her. She burst into a fit of giggles.

'I came to say sorry for having a go at you, not for you to apologise to me!' Nora lay back on his bed, still laughing so much her sides hurt. Tyler just seemed a little stunned.

'Okay, you, that was not funny. I've just been made out to be a fool. Nora Clarke, you can be a real cow you know that?'

With that, he dived on top of her and started tickling her side until she was crying.

'That, Miss Clarke, is called payback, or revenge, from a transfer.'