At least I could talk with Jenny about it. I hoped that it might take her mind off what was happening with Charlie. Which was basically nothing. I found her hiding in our dorm room again, which is where she'd taken to retreating when school was over. Jenny had always been the quieter of the pair of us and it wasn't unusual for her to retreat from social situations now and again, but this was ridiculous. If she kept it up any longer, then she'd be well on her way to becoming a hermit.

'Hey.' I forced a smile as I entered the room. It wouldn't do for me to come across as down and wallowing in my own problems when Jenny was suffering so much already.

She put down her phone. I guessed she was reading Chantelle's texts again. She didn't communicate with many people outside of school, so there was little chance she'd found some new friends somewhere. I pretended like I hadn't noticed to spare her the need to explain her activities.

Fake smiles appeared to be the latest trend because Jenny pulled one of her own. 'Were you with Gideon?' she asked.

'Yeah. Just for music. Nothing else.' I hastened to add. 'I saw Georgia on the way back.'

'And you didn't invite her to join us?'

'No. I think she's pretty pissed with me right now, as it happens.'

'What? Why?' Jenny sat up, interested at last in something other than wallowing in sadness.

'I sort of insulted her almost boyfriend. Well... Not sort of. I openly mocked him and suggested she was mentally unstable. Which she is, by the way.'

'Why would you do that?'

'It's Wyatt.'

'Oh!' Jenny exclaimed. She cleared her throat gently and checked herself. There was no hiding her astonishment. It was too late for that. Still, she tried to reason, 'Oh - well... he's not... I mean, he -'

'Precisely my point,' I said. 'He's no good for her, and she knows he's a total loser. But would she listen to me?'

'Beth,' Jenny said gently, 'if she genuinely likes him then that's up to her. We can't judge either of them for that.'

'I fully intend to judge,' I asserted. 'Not to her face, but I am going to judge the hell out of that decision until she sees sense. Wyatt is a moron. Georgia can do way better. A rock would be better!'

'That's not for us to decide. I don't really like Wyatt after what he did to you, but there's a chance that being with Georgia will help him settle. We should hope that she'll be happy and wish them both the best. I mean, she is our friend, isn't she?'

I hated when Jenny was right. It made it difficult for me to continue protesting the arrangement and insisting that I was right. Georgia was my friend and all I ever wanted for my friends was for them to be happy. That was why I was so angry at Charlie because he'd stolen away Jenny's smile. That was worth more to me than all the money in the world.

I supposed that if I came between Georgia and Wyatt, then I would be just as bad as Chantelle.

Fine.

It was going to be a total nightmare facing a smug Wyatt all the bloody time.

'All right. I'll try to play nice. Emphasis on the try.'

She laughed softly and my heart melted. It felt like forever since I'd heard her laugh with any sincerity. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to stay angry in her presence. Her sweetness and logic always won out in the end. Our parents always said that we complimented each other; that I brought out Jenny's confidence, and she tempered my overabundance of it. Sometimes I wished that we had been born sisters rather than destined to be roommates for a short time. I'd miss her desperately once we were both off on our individual paths wherever they would lead.

Dad would, too.

The door banged against the wall violently as it was flung open, and Lisa ran into the room. She raced into me with such force that I staggered a few steps. Not caring that she'd almost sent me to the ground, Lisa held tight around my waist and wailed, 'He's leaving!'

'Uh... who?' I asked.

'Gideon, obviously! I just overheard one of the teachers saying she got engaged to him over the holidays. She's transferring to a new school, and he's following her there!'

It surprised me that he hadn't seen fit to tell me that himself, but maybe he thought it would hurt my feelings. It wouldn't be the same around the school without him. I'd hoped that I might be able to continue my music lessons with him, that I might stand a chance in my exams and be able to carve out some sort of life using my talents thanks to influence. I was convinced that I wasn't in love with him. It had been a crush or short infatuation, but nothing any deeper. I knew that for certain because, disappointed though I might have been about my studies, I hoped that he would be happy in his new relationship.

People rarely wished that the object of their affection would run off with someone else.

'Have you said congratulations to him?' Jenny asked.

'No! I don't want him to go!' Lisa wailed. 'He's the hottest teacher we have! Who am I meant to look at now?'

I snorted softly with laughter. I didn't mean to, but Lisa was still so childish. She spent every music lesson staring dreamily at Gideon. Not that I could blame her. There were worse eyes to lose oneself in. At least I'd gotten over it. I trusted that Lisa would too, eventually. She wasn't even eighteen, yet. She had plenty of time to find someone else worthy of her attention and would; I knew, be just as devastated by men moving on time and again before she found the right guy.

'Lis', there's nothing you can do about it,' I said as I tried to pry her off. 'If he's going out with someone -'

'I thought you liked him, too,' Jenny said.

'I did. But I don't think it's realistic. I'm over it already.'

'What does realistic have to do with anything?' Lisa asked. 'Love isn't realistic! You are seriously the least romantic person I've ever met in my entire life!'

'You're not in love with him, either,' I said. 'You just want to get in his pants. That's not the same thing. Besides, you should be happy that he's found someone.'

'It's a shame you can't think that way about Georgia,' Jenny said.

'I know, I get it,' I said. 'I promised I'd try, didn't I?'

'Guys! Can't you see that this is the worst thing to happen in the history of school ever? We have to stop him!' Lisa whined.

'Or,' I suggested, 'you could go and watch the boys play football. Seeing them in shorts should help you get over it.'

Lisa stopped her sniffling and went all misty-eyed at the idea. 'Yeah... yeah that might help.'

'If only if it was that easy for everyone,' I muttered.

Jenny didn't hear me, or she was pretending not to. What Lisa had was just an infatuation. I was afraid to say it, but I thought Jenny might have really been in love with Charlie. It was hard to know when she wouldn't be vocal about her emotions, even to me. And we shared everything. At least, we used to.

I'd suspected an attraction between them, but this was dangerously close to true love, and that would make Charlie's prolonged absence even more agonising.