Yesterday

"I know what happened yesterday..."

James Armstrong wasn't entirely happy.

He knew he was considered to be very good company. He knew that most girls considered him to be highly attractive, and that they couldn't help stare at him. And that they wanted to go out with him. In fact, when he did ask someone out they often kept saying how lucky they were. It was a boost to his ego, which he was sure never got too big.

And then there was Lynda Day.

She had been recently named as Editor of the new Junior Gazette. A top-mark student, and an academic high flier. And she wasn't all that bad looks wise. He had naturally assumed that she would be overjoyed to be going out with him.

So why wasn't that the case?

It wasn't the norm for him. He normally didn't have to work this hard in a 'relationship.' Lynda was making him work in this. It was interesting to say the least, different and quite enjoyable. Or at least it wasn't annoying him as much as fawning females did.

Didn't mean he was entirely happy with her spending most of her time on the phone.

He had come over to surprise her. Her parents were out for the evening, and he knew she'd be home alone. So he had the idea of going round to her house and watching a video with her. He had thought she would like it, and he was right.

The evening had started well, that was until the phone went. Lynda immediately went to it. James groaned. It was a habit of hers that he never liked, and would never like. He had moved on the couch as she returned with the phone in her hand.

"Kenny you're the one who insisted I have a night off now what is the matter?" She always got straight to the point in her phone calls James noted. Unusually he didn't like it. He had hoped that their own phone calls would be perhaps just a little bit more. Lynda didn't really go in for that though, and he had long decided that with Lynda Day he would take what he could get.

"No I didn't tell him to do that. That's ridiculous," this call didn't seem to be the most pleasing one. "Put him on." There was a pause, "Kenny I'm not asking you I'm telling you. Put. Him. On." There was another pause, longer now. "At last, just what do you think you're doing!" James was glad that he wasn't the one Lynda was angry at. He listened to the conversation quietly, assuming that it was Colin making another dodgy deal, or Frazz making up rubbish horoscopes. Actually as long as it wasn't a certain person, James wasn't all that worried about the call cutting into their date.

Then he heard the one name he did not want to hear.

"Spike you're being a complete KD plus about this. Yes I did call you that and I'll call you it again if I have to." James waited sourly for the phone call to end. "Well I am a bit busy right now Spike, I can't come running down to yell at you in person." James smirked, glad to know he was held slightly about the paper, at least where Spike and the paper was concerned. "Yes I am with James." Lynda smiled apologetically over at him then frowned at the conversation taking place on the phone.

"No you can not come round." Another pause which found James sitting bolt upright, as near to the phone as Lynda would allow him. "Because I say so Spike. No James is not too old for me." Lynda was frowning again "Well you would say that Thompson. Because you are obsessed." James was confused for a moment, then he remembered that Spike was the one who had a crush on Lynda.

"Fine Spike, just finish the article and you can do whatever you like as long as you don't disturb me" There was another pause. The annoyed look on Lynda's face softened a little bit. "Oh right...well...get Sarah to help you then." One last pause and then, "bye Spike" Lynda hung up the phone.

"That was Spike I take it" James asked, focusing his attention on the television set. Lynda n nodded once.

"He's a KD verging into a KD plus. I'm trying to remember why I haven't kicked him off the paper yet. Then I remember he actually gets hold of some interesting stories." She spoke matter of factly, something that no-one else would have picked anything up on. But there was something there.

And it wasn't something that made James more confident about this, unusual for him, relationship. His mind wandered while they continued to watch the video. He noticed Lynda denying him being too old for her to Spike. Maybe he wasn't too old for her, but she seemed to be a bit too young for him. He thought about it carefully. She couldn't get into the pubs that he and his friends choose to go to sometimes. She was still at school, and he seemed to be the only one he knew dating a school kid. And, to James this seemed to be the one point he couldn't help think about, there was the problem of Spike.

In every single conversation that they did manage to have, his name always seemed to pop up. In anger, in neutral tones, even in fondness his name always showed up. And, sad and petty as it may seem, James hated it. He knew there was something going on there, even if Lynda chose to ignore it. He knew that if he and Lynda weren't dating, something would be going on with her and Spike. And when he really thought about it, he didn't seem all that bothered about the 'relationship' he had with Lynda. It wasn't as though she was doing much to keep it working. He was doing all the work. And he didn't need to. There was that girl in his class...the one with the shiny black hair. His mind was made up

"Lynda?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"You...you know this relationship we've got going right now?"

"Yes. I believe we're using it right now aren't we? Or was that just a figment of my imagination?" James sighed inwardly. Lynda could be too smart for her own good sometimes.

"Yes Lynda. Well," he paused, wording this in a way that would finish the relationship but wouldn't make Lynda yell at him. "I think we should slow it down a bit." Off her look he added "Well you see, I have this thing on Venn diagrams coming up and I really think I should concentrate on my classes. And to do that..I can't see you."

There was a long silence. "Oh." Lynda finally said.

"Yeah..so I think that maybe I should go." James added, wanting to get out quickly. He had learned that a speechless Lynda was not a good thing. He moved over to the video player and took his tape. "So yeah. Erm, goodbye I suppose"

"I suppose" Lynda echoed, not really paying attention. James moved to the door and stood there for a second, debating whether or not to go back and explain things better. He chose the latter. He paused only for one second more.

"Bye."

The door slammed closed behind him.

"I was dumped wasn't I?"