The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 284

Can’t wait for tonight, it’s going to be awesome. Bet Ipull before you x

Her bubbly, fun, text reminded me of what a laugh going outwith her used to be. I wondered if she remembered in the years to come, whenshe became so utterly domesticated and boring, how different she had once been.

Well, she wasn’t going to pull first this time. My mind wasmade up. I still had no idea if anything I did here changed the future but ifit did, then I was going to do my utmost to make it happen. I wasn’t doing itpurely for selfish reasons either. There was Gary to think about. Changingthings now would very probably save his life several years from now. Here was achance to clean up the mess I had made that day.

It was difficult for me to remember the precise details ofeverything that had happened on that night because from my starting point, itwas now thirteen years ago. Every year I went back in time, the memories grewmore and more hazy.

One thing I could remember with certainty about this nightwas that we had met the boys in O’Neill’s on George Street. I knew that hadn’tbeen the pub we had started in or anywhere else we had been, so I needed totext Kelly back to find out.

Remind me, when & where are we meeting again?

The reply came back swiftly:

In The Crown, 6.30! Don’t be late!

That’s right: we were meeting in one of my old stompingground. It had always been a favourite, a good, traditional pub down the alleynext to McDonald’s, where crowds of foreign tourists always seemed to gather.Fighting my way through them was always worth it because The Crown was a greatlittle hideaway, right in the centre of town.

Dutifully, I was there at 6.30pm, looking my best, which bymy 2025 standards was a million dollars. My body was getting better every dayand now, at the age of 25, I was at my absolute peak – fully developed with nota hint of aging.

I am pretty confident I also looked better than I had thefirst time around on this night out. I had spent the day shopping for clothes,coming back this time with a £300 dress from Debenhams, plus new shoes and abag.

I had also spent a further £90 getting my hair and nailsdone in a swanky salon down the High Street. I would not have been able toafford any of that last time.

If I was expecting compliments from Kelly on meeting up, Iwas to be disappointed. Unlike Phoebe and Lily who had been thrilled to see mein the dress from the Covered Market, Kelly’s reaction was the completeopposite. She was one of those who wanted to be queen bee, and I could seeright away her disapproval at me upstaging her.

“Nice dress,” she said begrudgingly as we met outside thepub, which was her sole comment on my outfit. She was heavily tarted up for anight on the pull. She had pouting red lips where she had gone overboard withthe lipstick and way too much make-up.

She was wearing the same short, all red outfit I rememberedshe always referred to as her pulling gear. The tight, red cotton hugged herslender behind, accentuating its shape whilst her curly, flame-red hair, whichmatched her dress, flowed down around her shoulders.

Kelly had a great figure. She had always been a good few poundslighter than me, and didn’t let me forget it, slipping in the odd referenceevery now and again.

Seeing her again and remembering all that had subsequentlyhappened made me question how good a friend she ever really was. Her barelyveiled displeasure at seeing how good I looked was typical of her. She wasdetermined to be the prettiest, slimmest and sexiest. That way she would alwaysget first pick of the men.

It was strange that this hadn’t bothered me so much at thetime anywhere near as much as it bothered me now. Perhaps I hadn’t noticed somuch in these youthful, more naïve times. Well, I was noticing now, and shewasn’t going to get the upper hand over me tonight.

“Come on, let’s get to the bar,” I said impatiently. Ineeded to be bold tonight and a little Dutch courage could only help.

“Cocktails?” I suggested.

“Go for it,” she replied.

A couple of Tequila Sunrises later, we headed downCornmarket Street and into George Street. We had tickets for a club which I hadno recollection of attending, but that didn’t open until 10pm. It was only8.30pm now, and not wanting to pre-empt anything, I asked Kelly where we shouldgo, curious to see if she would steer us towards our destiny.

“A lot of the places are ticket-only tonight,” she replied,“but I am pretty sure O’Neill’s isn’t.”

“Let’s try there, then,” I replied, allowing things toproceed along their natural course.

The place was rammed, largely with groups of single men andwomen and there were a lot more men than women. It was prime pulling potential.Of course, I already knew what was to come – Kelly didn’t.

“There’s some talent in here tonight,” remarked Kelly, “anda good male-to-female ratio! I’m definitely getting some tonight.”

She was such a tart in this era. It was strange seeing howdifferent she was, knowing how much she would change. It would be just a fewshort years before she would put all of this behind her, settle down, andbecome incredibly dull, ultimately disowning me over my casual ADHD joke onFacebook.

I wonder if settling down had been what she had reallywanted, or whether it was just something that happened to her. What changeswould she make if she had her chance over again? Would she choose the samepath?

I scanned the room, trying to spot Rob and Gary, but it wasextremely crowded. All I could remember for certain is that we had first metthem at the bar.

“My round,” proclaimed Kelly. “What are you having?”

“Tell you what, why don’t I get these?” I suggested. “Yousee if you can find us a table.”

I needed to take any opportunity to try and engineer thingsin my favour, and it was therefore essential I got to the bar before she did.

“Not much