Night Like That (gxg)

5. a first snog to end all first snogs

Eleven Years Ago

Ivy's first snog went something like this.

They were in secondary school. Miraculous as it was, both she and Chastity had managed to go to the same school. It had been such a marvelous thing. Being called to the same school in the probably rigged system that was the school selection? Who were they to question. Ivy occassionally liked to torture herself with thoughts of having never gone to the same secondary school. Watching their friendship fizzle out and then being lonely and plagued with the very idea that the love of her life slipped away. Alas, that is not the story here. This is the story of Ivy's first snog.

It was a particularly shinny Saturday and classes had just ended. Lunch was underway – their favourite, mind. Pilau with meat stew and steamed cabbage. The secret had to be in the egregious amount of oil used on everything; the unbreakable film at the top of the meat stew. They had decided it was a day for two fillings. One at the dinning hall to get acquinted with the laze of it all then the second was to be demolished in the hostels.

It was shaping up to being a good day because it had been one of those rare July days when it was warm instead of the usual ice cold. Posters had been thrown up promising mind blowing entertainment and so they had plans for the majority of it. Or not. Peer pressure was occasionally a bitch.

Back to their hostel rooms, plates filled into steaming heaps, they lounged on their beds, lazy topics renting the air. Their roomies, Shaz and Habibo were already changed into their track suits, debating whether they really needed to do their laundry.

"Ugh," Shaz complained, "so I was at comp lessons, bored out of my mind when I decided to google about first kisses." From any other, it would have been a random route in conversation but everyone was used to Shaz. She said just about anything and no one would wonder why there specifically.

"During class? Why?" Habibo inquired.

"I was bored?" Shaz shrugged as though that was a stupid question to ask. "Plus I wanted to see if I was too old. You know how those American movies like telling us we are supposed to have been kissed by 16."

"So?" Habibo inquired. "We are not Americans and we are in an all-girls boarding school. Unless you plan on kissing boys at funkies, I don't see why that should be your standard."

"I know," Shaz said as she placed her empty plate on the floor, laying on her bed like a star fish. "But, you know, I thought by now I'd at least have some snogging in place. Something to tell people."

"Kissing isn't all that," Habibo said seriously. This had everyone in momentary quiet as they turned to face her in shock. She shrugged. "I'm Muslim, not a prisoner."

"It's just... wow. I didn't expect that." Shaz said and both Chastity and Ivy agreed. "Power to you, I guess? Was he like your first boyfriend or something?"

"Nope. We were just curious and so we tried it. Would not recommend."

"Could be he was the lousy you needed to appreciate the second one," Ivy said sagely and both Shaz and Chastity agreed. "I mean, those American movies insist on that, right?"

Habibo disagreed. "Books insist on that. Movies have that perfect one in the end."

After that, they all went into some heavy afternoon nap courtesy of the self-indulgent food comma they'd given themselves. They'd been woken up by the ruckus happening outside. Both Shaz and Habibo then quickly got ready for the night filled with cheap entertainment, giving up on convincing either Chastity or Ivy joining them.

"I am Number Four is strictly still in theatres, you know," Habibo said sagely.

"Meaning by the time we go home 123movies will have us properly sorted." She'd snorted but left the two of them alone in the room.