18: Kissing
Despite Rose's warning for George not to get into trouble, when the party got into full swing and a big group of Cherubs from the eighth floor arrived, some of whom George was certain he'd never even seen before, things were definitely starting to get out of hand. A big group of grey shirt lads had taken offence to Beatrice firmly telling them that it was fizzy pop only for them, no booze, and had vented their frustration by barricading themselves in someone's room and taking turns to pee in the bathtub. George laughed when he heard at first, but some people seemed to be freaking out so George abandoned the situation and drifted up the corridor towards the furthest end, nearer his bedroom, where the crowd was thinnest.
"Hey, George," Bianca said, standing next to Kimberley holding a white plastic cup as he walked over. "What's going on down there?"
George shook his head. "It's nuts," he said. "I'm not really sure but it's best avoided."
"Thanks again for inviting me today, it was amazing," Bianca went on. She'd changed out of her warm clothes from earlier into a Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt tucked into a pair of denim shorts, and her hair was down again, falling on her shoulders.
"No problem," George said, leaning up against the wall and sipping his lager. "It didn't get too crazy in the end, which was good."
Bianca smiled at him.
"Have you seen Letty? She said to wait here for her," Kimberley cut in.
George shrugged. "Not seen her for ages. She was with Beatrice earlier, so anything could be happening."
Bianca laughed and Kimberley rolled her eyes.
"Birthday crunches!" Rex yelled, spotting George up the corridor and running over, feinting a punch at George's arm and, when he tried to dodge it, punching his thigh instead.
"Dead leg!" Rex said happily as George hopped on one leg and rubbed the bruised area. "Too slow, Knight."
"Thanks so much," George said, trying to land a punch on Rex in return but Rex was too quick for him.
"Get real," Rex taunted, before noticing Kimberley and Bianca standing there. He reached out and snatched Kimberley's drink out of her hand and sniffed it suspiciously.
"Is this booze?" he asked. "You're definitely not allowed this."
"Give it back," Kimberley complained. "It's my first one and you seem pretty smashed, you hypocrite."
Rex laughed and held the cup higher. "No way, this is confiscated now. Come and get it if you want it."
Kimberley didn't want to rise to his bait and just glowered at him, but George managed to take a step behind Rex and grab the cup out of his grip. Half of it sloshed all over Rex's shirt and George's arm as he returned it to Kimberley.
"Thanks for nothing," Rex said, looking down at his stained shirt.
"You were the one acting like a baby," George said, unapologetically. Bianca sniggered, and Rex saw the funny side.
"Come on, let's get another drink," Rex announced, putting his arm around George's shoulders and steering him away. When they'd taken a few paces down the corridor, Rex stuck his head close to George's and breathed beery breath all over him.
"Bianca is looking fit tonight," he said, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the music and the crowd.
"Yeah," George agreed, and Rex squeezed his shoulders tighter.
"You gonna make a move?" he asked, and George stared at him.
"Nah, she isn't into me like that," George said.
Rex scoffed. "I just spent all day watching her laugh at your feeble jokes."
George hadn't really thought about it. Bianca was funny, smart and he got on well with her, but she was just one of his mates.
"Nah, I don't want to mess things up," George concluded.
Rex turned and looked at him. "What is there to mess up?" he asked, looking at George like he was an idiot. "She blatantly fancies you and you want to sit there ignoring her?"
"I told you, she doesn't fancy me," George protested.
They reached the table with the booze and Rex grabbed a couple of cans out of a box. "George, I've had more girlfriends than you'll probably ever have - no offence."
"Offence taken," George replied, pulling the ring pull on his can.
"Whatever, I'm trying to help you, here. Listen to my expertise."
George was pretty sure Rex was just trying to wind him up and shook his head again. "I'm not listening to you," George told him. "You're delusional."
"Your loss," Rex said, letting go of George. "Do whatever you want."
He flounced off into the crowd to talk to someone else he'd spotted, and George felt alone as he stood there and drank the first two inches of his drink.
"Georgey!" Letty squealed, appearing from nowhere and pulling him into a hug, almost making him spill his drink. "Where've you been?"
"Around," George said. "Kimberley is looking for you, you know."
"I know, I'm going up there in a minute," Letty said, tugging Jemima's sleeve and giggling. "I think I've had slightly too many rum and cokes."
"Definitely seems like it," George said, feeling like the one sober person at the party.
"She's a mess," Jemima admitted as Letty started spinning around on the spot. Jemima had to grab her to stop her. "Come on, let's go and see Kimberley."
Bianca and Kimberley were still hanging out together when Jemima dragged Letty over with George in tow.
"What's going on?" Kimberley asked, but Letty had a fit of the giggles again and could barely stand.
"Too much rum," George concluded. "Normally she's more sensible than this."
"Winning the racing must have gone to her head," Bianca said, and Jemima nodded in agreement.
"No wonder I'm the only one they gave a black shirt to," Jemima said. "Nobody else can be responsible."
"I heard you only got a black shirt because you went crying to Zara about how unfair it was that they were recommending George," Bianca said, cattily.
Jemima reared up. "I got my shirt for my outstanding mission performance," she said, glaring at Bianca. "I can hand out punishments, you know."
Bianca shrugged. "Black shirts have to get a white shirt to sign off on the punishment," she pointed out. "You can't punish me for telling the truth."
Letty was helpless with laughter now, and after a second of uncomfortable tension, Jemima turned and marched off.
"That was awesome," George said admiringly to Bianca. "She's had such a stick up her arse since she got her black shirt, it was about time someone stood up to her."
Bianca smiled modestly and sipped her drink.
Letty managed to straighten up for a second and gave George a hard shove towards Bianca.
"Hey, what was that for?" George said, bumping into Bianca.
"Just kiss her already, you muppet," Letty said, shaking her head. "Boys are so dumb."
Nervously, George looked back at Bianca to see her reaction, but Bianca was still smiling at him. He felt a big rush as he leant forwards and kissed her and she kissed him back, putting her hand on his waist. Letty and Kimberley let out a big cheer and Letty smacked him on the back.
"Let's give the lovers some privacy," Kimberley said, taking Letty's hand and leading her away before she got the giggles again. George didn't care; he kept kissing Bianca and stepped into a more comfortable position, holding her waist too. She slid her hand under his shirt and up his back, digging her fingers in a little. George came up for air and grinned at her.
"Letty's right," Bianca giggled. "You are a muppet."
George laughed and pushed her against the wall and kissed her again.
It was gone midnight when a loud ripple went through the crowd and Kimberley appeared, looking for George, who'd been hanging with Bianca the rest of the night.
"George," Kimberley said urgently. "Beatrice has completely lost it, can you come?"
George was feeling pleasantly drunk and the excitement of kissing Bianca had put him in an undentable good mood. "Yeah," he said, kissing Bianca once more before following Kimberley. He pushed through the crowd of Cherubs, mostly sweaty and all crowding into one room, and they were so tightly packed that Kimberley was struggling to push back through.
"Come on," George said, sticking his arm out and barging a younger girl out of the way. "Make way."
They got to the front of the crowd, which was pressed up by the big window which overlooked the front of campus and the fountain. George saw a pair of legs sticking through the window and when he looked closer, realised that Beatrice was hanging half out of the window, her hair crazy.
"What are you doing?" George asked, alarmed.
"Someone bet me I couldn't abseil down the building," she announced, pointing to a length of rope that she'd tied to the window frame.
"We're on the seventh floor," George said, astonished. "You'll fall and die if you do something this stupid."
"No way, I know what I'm doing," Beatrice said, tying a knot in the rope around her waist as she pulled herself back in. "All I need is for you to hold the rope and let me down slowly."
"No chance," George said flatly. "I'm not getting involved."
"Oh come on, George, it'll be fun," she pouted. "I'm tied on securely, there's no way I can die."
"You've been drinking and it's really dangerous," George said. "Seriously, don't do it."
"I heard someone needed a big, strong man," Rex announced as he arrived on the scene, elbowing one of the spectators in the face accidentally. Rex was tall enough to move through the crowd more easily and Beatrice grinned when she saw him.
"Rex, hold this rope tightly and let me down slowly," she said, giving him the coil of rope.
"Aye aye," Rex said, and before George could react Beatrice had ducked out of the window and was leaning over the edge of the building. There was a sudden rush of rope moving when Beatrice jumped out and George practically had a heart attack, but the loops of rope she'd put around the bed frame kicked in and Rex held the other end so she didn't go far. The crowd rushed forward to see what was going on and George felt bodies pressing into him as he peered out of the window at Beatrice, her feet planted on the outside of the building. She took one hand off the rope and waved at them all.
"She's gone out!" someone yelled from behind George, and the pressure of the crowd lessened as people rushed back into the corridor, making for the stairs to watch from outside. George stayed where he was, watching Rex gently letting the rope play out as Beatrice inched her way down the outside of the building. It was freezing out there and George could see her breath condensing as the first Cherubs from the party started spilling out from the building to watch.
Beatrice managed to get past the sixth floor and was halfway down the fifth when the massive commotion attracted attention and George spotted Instructor Yeboah sticking his head out of a window further down the building.
"What in God's name?" he yelled, his head swivelling around until he spotted Beatrice. "You, stay there," he shouted, pulling his head back in, but Beatrice kept moving, slowly passing the next row of windows, the Cherubs below cheering and chanting her name. She gave them another wave, but a gust of cold wind hit her at the same moment and, with only one hand to steady her, she swung on the rope for a moment, making Rex grunt and everyone below gasp.
"She'll definitely die if she falls from this height," Kimberley said nervously next to George.
"She's an idiot," George said. "Now the staff know what she's doing she'll probably get kicked out of CHERUB for trying this."
A handful of staff appeared beneath Beatrice as she reached the fourth floor. Nobody quite seemed to know what to do, but as George watched, a huge hand landed on his shoulder.
"You two," Yeboah barked at George and Rex. He was wearing a t-shirt with a big hole in the side and boxer shorts with bare feet. "Hold the rope exactly where it is."
Rex seemed inclined to ignore him, but Yeboah fixed him with a terrifying stare. "You move another inch and you're in heavy drill for a month," Yeboah spat, and Rex froze.
"George, brace the rope here," Yeboah said, pointing to a tense section of rope that was tied to the window frame. George grabbed it without hesitating, and Yeboah positioned himself in the window frame and looked down at Beatrice.
"Don't move," he bellowed at her. She looked up at him and another gust of wind caught her, sending her swinging in an arc across the side of the building and attracting another gasp.
Yeboah took hold of the rope by the window and started hauling it in, hand over hand. George picked up the slack as it came in, struggling to keep up with Yeboah's pace, and in less than a minute he'd dragged Beatrice back up the side of the building. When she reached the window frame he hooked an arm under her shoulders and pulled her into the room, throwing her onto the bed.
"Bloody idiot," he said, slamming the window shut. "In the morning I'm going straight to the chairwoman." He looked at George and Rex. "Make sure she doesn't even think about anything else."