Chapter 1:

The posters had gone up a week ago, in shop windows and on telegraph poles all over the small rural town of Oakhills: ` Arturo Fellini Presents - The Greatest Travelling Fairground In The Nation!` This was written in big blocky letters above a spectacular panorama of fairground rides, carnival attractions, clowns` brightly painted faces and a special discount offer if you went on the first night. Fellini`s Fairground came every year to Oakhills on its tour of the country, adding a little colour and excitement as the nights drew in and summer became a memory.

This year, Natalie Dayne was looking forward to the fair`s arrival more than usual. She told herself - and her best friend Frances Kemp - that it was because `school was a drag and her Mum was a nag,` laughing as she said it.

But Fran knew better. She and Natalie had been close for most of their lives: Fran guessed Natalie`s strange mood had more to do with Todd Wilson than with schoolwork. Todd was seventeen, a year older than Natalie, and hung around with the regular crowd - which included Natalie and Fran - in the study block at Oakhills Senior, and at Tony`s Pizzeria, their traditional meeting places. Both girls had known Todd since kindergarten, and had enjoyed and valued his friendship. But just lately, at least where Natalie was concerned, Todd`s friendship was becoming rather more serious.

" Will you be going tonight?" Fran wondered. She was sitting opposite Natalie in Andy`s Coffee Shop on the Main Street. The two girls usually met here to catch up on gossip before walking together to school. Fran had noticed Natalie gazing through the window, she thought at the dazzling Fellini Fairground poster tacked to the telegraph pole outside.

" Nat - " Fran repeated, realising her friend was miles away.

" Huh? Sorry, I was miles away..."

Fran chuckled - and chuckled again at Natalie`s frown of puzzlement. " I asked if you`d be going to the carnival tonight."

" Oh. Um, I guess so." Natalie pushed her fingers through her long fair hair and sipped at her coffee. It was a gesture that had become a habit, one that Natalie did without even thinking.

" Do you want to tell me about it?" Fran asked.

Natalie`s green eyes flicked up to stare hard into her friend`s face. There was no fooling Fran, Natalie knew that, and smiled inwardly at Fran`s offer to help. She`s like a bright little bird, Natalie thought, noting Fran`s thin, sharp features, her intelligent and sensitive brown eyes and her short-cut straight hair, black and glossy as a raven`s plumage.

" It`s Todd, isn`t it?" Fran`s voice was quieter now, more earnest; the gentle teasing had gone out of it.

Natalie nodded and shrugged, as though the whole thing was no problem at all.

" What is it with boys? How come they start looking at you differently, all of a sudden?"

" You`d grumble if they didn`t," Fran observed. " You should be flattered that boys are starting to see you as a woman now, Nat, and not as a little girl..."

" They`re seeing you as a woman too - "

Fran hitched one shoulder as if to say, well that`s beside the point.

" But I don`t just mean that," Natalie went on. " I mean, sure, Todd realises too that we`re not kids any more. But he`s getting so serious, so intense, like he wants a friendship to become a long-term relationship."

" What`s wrong with that? Lots of us would love to have a steady boyfriend - "

" But not me!" Natalie`s temper flared and a sudden brightness flashed in her eyes.

" Back off Nat, I`m not your enemy!" Fran put up her hands as though she was surrendering. Natalie gave a tired and apologetic smile.

" Sorry Fran, I don`t mean to shout at you. It`s just that Todd has started paying me lots of attention, asking how I am, sitting beside me at lunch...You`ve noticed, haven`t you? It`s not just me being paranoid?"

" I`ve noticed," Fran said. " But don`t you want to date Todd, even once? Things might be fine."

" It`s like he wants to own me, Fran. I can`t stand being...Oh, I don`t know - coddled, smothered. I feel like I`m suffocating in this boring little town!"

Natalie`s voice had risen again, so that several people at nearby tables glanced up. One middle-aged man smiled, but the woman sitting with him looked decidedly disapproving.

Natalie`s face flushed, more with anger than embarrassment.

" Is that the only reason?" Fran asked quietly.

" Why would there be another?" Natalie replied defensively. Then she looked away, picked up her cup and took small, careful sips at the hot coffee.

She wondered if Fran knew that, yes, there was another reason...Todd was very fond of her, and she had to admit that, deep down, she did not dislike him. But what he would offer - all he could offer - if dating developed into a romance, and that romance flowered into love - was a nice little house and a nice little car, and a couple of well-behaved nice little kids. A safe, comfortable, ordinary little life...

But what I want, Natalie thought, as frustration burned through her, is a chance to live my own life: a chance to find out what I can do, and what I can be...I don`t want to be old before I`ve enjoyed being young!

These were deep feelings, and very private ones. Natalie wasn`t sure she understood them herself, properly, let alone be able to explain them to Fran.

Without warning, tears sparkled in her eyes, surprising her.

" Ouch, coffee`s hot," she muttered, as Fran`s expression showed concern.

Then Natalie put the cup down and stood up.

" We`re late," she announced. " Let`s get going."

And Fran didn`t argue, following her friend even though they weren`t late at all.

*

It was a lovely sunny autumn morning. There had been an early mist, but two hours of glittering sunshine had burned it away to leave the day clear and almost warm.

It`s as if October's trying to trick us, Natalie thought idly, pretending the summer`s still here...But the falling leaves give the game away. They tell us winter`s not far off, really, Mr Trickster!

" You`re smiling again," Fran observed. " That`s good to see."

Natalie grinned and gave her friend a hug. " I don`t deserve you, Fran. You put up with so much from me!"

" Likewise," Fran said, as they turned into the school gates. The fine morning meant that dozens of students had gathered on the spacious front lawns of the campus, instead of hanging around in the corridors and classrooms. Natalie and Fran spied out a particular group and made their way towards it.

Jilly Bright was the first to see them and wave. Fran waved back, but then frowned as other kids - ten, twenty, fifty of them - began waving too.

" What have I done to be so popular all of a sudden?"

Natalie laughed: she`d glanced over her shoulder and seen the big trucks and caravans labouring along the road into town.

" I don`t want to dent your ego, Fran - but I don`t think we`re causing all the excitement..."

The noise of powerful engines swiftly grew louder, as Natalie and Fran joined the group; Natalie deliberately and carefully standing some yards away from Todd.

" It`s party time!" whooped Jilly, waving madly at the procession of vehicles. One or two drivers grinned back at her. " Oooo, all those lovely fairground boys!" She hugged herself and her eyes closed as her imagination went wild.

" You`ve already got a boyfriend." Rebecca Standish told her rather primly. " I`m sure Paul wouldn`t be very pleased to hear you talking like this."

Jilly poked her tongue at Rebecca, before turning back to wave even more enthusiastically at the convoy.

Natalie was wrapped up in the spectacle too. The school bell sounded from the main building, but nobody seemed to take notice of it. Everyone was thinking about the fun they`d be having that evening, when the fairground had set up and opened.

" Would you like to go, Nat? I`d be happy to take you..."

Natalie had failed to notice Todd moving closer. Now he was standing right beside her, so close his arm was brushing against hers.

" Um - well Todd - I - "

Natalie looked for Fran, but her friend had picked up her schoolbag and gone. Desperately she turned to stare at the passing trucks again - anything to avoid the awkwardness of answering Todd`s question.

" You get a giant-size candyfloss as part of the deal," Todd chuckled.

" Todd - I - "

Then her voice faltered and fell away. Suddenly it was as though Todd was not there at all. Instead, Natalie`s gaze was fixed on the rider of a rather noisy blue motorbike which was speeding ahead of a huge silver caravan at the end of the convoy.

The rider was young, seventeen or eighteen, and wore no crash helmet, so that Natalie could see he had long, wavy black hair that streamed back in the breeze. His black leather jacket was partly unzipped, and well-defined muscles showed beneath his dark cotton T-shirt.

He saw Natalie staring, and gave her a jaunty wave.

" Nat - " Todd said hopelessly.

But Natalie wasn`t listening. A little thrill like electricity rippled through her as she watched the handsomest boy she`d ever seen accelerate away and disappear from sight.

*

Chapter 2:

" My Mum thought the place was `seedy`," Natalie confessed, as she and Fran walked along Eastbank Street towards the fairground that evening. She giggled.

" It`s a funny word, don`t you think?"

Fran`s dark eyebrows knitted and she frowned. She took things like the meanings of words very seriously, but Natalie was in a light-hearted mood and had only just mentioned it to make conversation..

" I mean," Natalie went on, interrupting Fran`s reflections, " she`s trying to suggest the place is run-down, and that the people there are not to be trusted..."

" My mother says the same thing about Dad`s snooker club," Fran said.

Natalie`s cheery smile faded a little. " I think mothers are frightened of places sometimes, even though they`ve never been to them...Anyway, it doesn`t look run-down to me."

But it did, Fran thought, look a little battered after a summer on the road. The fairground had been set up in a place that was still called Willetts` Field, even though Old Man Willetts had died years ago, and his farm was now the site of a proposed housing development. Until that development went ahead - which it might still do, Fran mused, despite much local protest - Willetts` Field was open land with Stock Wood and then countryside beyond.

The sound of hurdy-gurdy and disco music had been growing louder, so that now, as the girls reached the fringes of the fair, conversation became well-nigh impossible. Natalie`s sparkling mood returned and she forgot all about her mother`s warnings to `take care` and `not to talk to any strangers` and `avoid rides which don`t look safe`. She had a pocketful of money to spend (she`d been saving from her allowance for over a month for this!), and had been looking forward to having this good time for ages.

Besides, Natalie thought very secretly, maybe I`ll meet that boy I saw earlier. And, in trying to picture him, found her pulse was starting to race.

The trouble was, of course, that Fran absolutely hated fast rides, and games where you tried to pitch a pingpong ball into a jar to win a goldfish. The rides made her sick, and the games she thought were `fixed` and a waste of money. Natalie believed that, if Fran wasn`t careful, she`d turn into a replica of her mother.

" Look, Fran - the Big Wheel!"

Beyond a large rainbow-coloured tent, a huge spoked wheel rose high into the air. It was decorated with flashing lights, though because the sky had not yet darkened, these couldn`t be seen to best effect. Thin screams and shrieks of excitement trickled down from riders on the wheel. Some of them were waving, to nobody in particular.

" Shall we go..." Natalie began, before noticing Fran`s face and giving up on the idea.

They pressed on, coming around the side of the tent to an area of stalls, including the ball-in-the-bottle stall, the hoopla stall, a coconut shy, and a rife range. To their left was the dodgems` rink, while between stood a candyfloss kiosk.

Fran treated for the candyfloss, handing the mass of pink sugar gossamer to Natalie as though in apology for being such a stick-in-the-mud. To show she was still friends, Natalie grinned, buried her face in the pink mass, and came away with candyfloss tufts stuck to her lips and nose.

Both girls laughed uproariously - but a moment later Natalie felt foolish as the regular crowd appeared, tousle-haired from riding the dodgems.

" Hiya Nat!" Jilly whooped, her face flushed and her eyes twinkling. " Hey, you`re growing a moustache I see," she teased. " It suits you."

" Oh ha-very-ha," Natalie replied, picking flecks of candyfloss from her face. Jilly chuckled as her boyfriend Paul draped an arm casually over her shoulder.

" I`d like to grow one," he said, winking out of Jilly`s sight, " but she says if I do she won`t kiss me ever again....Not that she kisses me much now, anyway..."

Natalie, Fran, and the rest of the crowd went `Aw, shame!` in sympathy. Jilly made a grimace, turned into Paul`s arms and kissed him deeply. Natalie saw the boy`s eyes open wider in surprise and pleasure...Before she noticed Todd gazing at her darkly in the background.

The moment lost its warmth and friendliness for Natalie, then. Almost irritably she said, " Well, what`re we going to do now, guys? Fran told me she`d like to try out the roller coaster..."

" Dream on," Fran answered, visibly trembling at the thought of it.

" Let`s go back home and do some schoolwork, then."

Natalie sounded so serious that everyone stared at her, before Paul gave a guffaw of amusement and pushed Natalie playfully on the shoulder.

" Good gag, Nat...Look, while we make up our minds, let`s try out the coconut shy or rifle range. I`ll win you a cuddly teddy, Jilly, my only true love..."

" You already are a cuddly teddy," Jilly replied, kissing Paul once more.

Fran groaned. " I can`t stand this sloppy stuff...I think I`m going to be sick!"

" Save it for the roller coaster," Natalie quipped, as she led the way over to the coconut shy...

Fran, as it turned out, missed with every ball. Natalie herself almost knocked over a coconut, which wobbled but did not fall. Jilly wasn`t interested in having a turn, so it developed into a kind of competition between Paul and Todd - who were both trying to show off in front of the girls.

Natalie grew bored with this very quickly. As Paul put more coins down for another round, Natalie`s gaze began to wander...

The sun had set now behind the trees in Stock Wood, and the sky was deepening through violet to that wonderful regal blue which always made Natalie`s heart lift. A single bright star was shining high up, twinkling crazily as the evening cooled. The big wheel was a slowly turning galaxy of gaudy lights; while the rest of the fairground resembled a miniature city of flashing colours and a chaos of sounds. The deliciously savoury smell of frying onions from the hot dog stand wafted in the breeze, prompting Natalie`s mouth to water as she searched for its source...

Her eyes scanned across, pausing as she reached the dodgem rink. A ride was just starting, and she was intrigued to see someone stepping from car to car, collecting the fares. By the glow of the glimmering, flickering bulbs, she was able to make out the figure`s rather long dark hair and the gleam of his black leather jacket -

And with a jolt of recognition Natalie knew it was the boy she`d seen on the motorbike that afternoon.

She found herself staring, open-mouthed, as the boy picked up the last of the fares and swung himself athletically away from the dodgem, easily avoiding the jerkily-moving beetle-like cars to reach the edge of the rink.

He leaned back casually against the wooden barrier, flicking a strand of hair from his eyes - then turning his head to look in Natalie`s direction.

Natalie found herself unexpectedly flustered; frozen with confusion; caught like a moth pinned by the boy`s gaze. Her pulse was beating strongly in her head, and she realised that was holding her breath - wondering what he was going to do...And whether he might, perhaps, come over...

A loud chorus of shouts behind her signalled the end of the contest. Natalie looked round to see the stall holder handing Paul a garish pink elephant, which he passed over to Jilly with pride.

Todd, who`d lost the match, grumbled about the coconut shy being rigged. His eyes, as they met Natalie`s, were sparking with anger.

" OK Paul," he growled, " let`s see what you can do with an air rifle."

Jilly mentioned she was hungry, and Fran looked fed up, but Todd had something to prove and hustled them over. He stepped across to Natalie and put his arm around her waist.

" I`ve practised with my Dad`s Police Special," he confided, grinning. " Taylor won`t stand a chance."

The boys loaded the soft lead slugs into the rifles, and took aim. Paul fired without taking things too seriously, the pellets tinging into the metal backstop behind the paper targets.

Todd lined up the sights very carefully, squeezed the trigger - and missed, the slug bouncing off the backstop to fall with a tiny clatter to the floor.

He tutted, fired again, and missed a second time...

Someone standing beside Natalie picked up one of the unused rifles, broke it open and filled it with slugs.

Natalie became aware of the dry ozone smell of the dodgem cars, mixed in with a faint spicy aftershave and a dusty scent of scuffed leather. She turned slowly hardly daring to believe it could be him...

But it was him, standing right next to her so that his presence was almost overwhelming.

Natalie felt as though she was melting away, just like a candyfloss had done in her mouth.

This is stupid...I`m behaving like a silly little girl, she told herself sternly, as the boy, seemingly without even trying, fired off the six lead pellets and hit the target all six times, dead centre.

*

Chapter 3:

Crack-crack-crack, crack-crack-crack...In her imagination, Natalie watched the little lead pellets strike home once more, and smiled at the effortless ease with which the boy had done it. She remembered the look on Todd`s face, and the way Paul had smiled and said, `Hey, good shooting, pal...` And in her mind`s eye, Natalie watched the man at the stall hand the boy a horrible china cat, which he passed across to Todd. `Give it to your girl,` the boy told Todd, before walking away to disappear among the crowd...

Natalie came back to the present moment and glanced at the cat on her bedroom windowsill. It really was awful - cheap and cheerful, her mother had called it - grey and white with a thick glaze and empty, staring eyes painted a bright orange-yellow. Normally, Todd would have dumped it in the nearest trash bin: and even if he had offered it to Natalie, she would either have refused - or dumped it herself in the trash!

But now it was, in a strange sort of way, a treasured possession - her first contact with the boy from the fair. She knew deep down why he`d given it to Todd, and why Todd then had been forced to hand it to Natalie...

It`s boys playing games, she thought to herself, pleased to be at the centre of them. It`s just boys playing their games...

Mrs Dayne yelled from the bottom of the stairs. " Natalie! Do you know what the time is?"

" Yes Mum," Natalie called back, glancing at the clock and realising she hadn`t. She had spent the past twenty minutes daydreaming - daydreaming about him - and now she`d missed Fran at Andy`s Coffee Shop, and if she didn`t rush, was going to be late at school as well.

Luckily, she always packed her schoolbag the night before. Snatching it up from beside her desk, Natalie grabbed her blue Naf Naf jacket from its hook on the door, and hurried down the stairs. Mrs Dayne, her lips pursed disapprovingly, had already opened the front door.

Natalie dashed by, then stopped, back-stepped, and kissed her mother warmly on the cheek.

" You stay out too late," Mrs Dayne commented, though not sourly, as Natalie smiled at her. " Now you`ll have to run all the way!"

" It`ll keep me fit...Love you, Mum."

" I love you too, Nat," she said, and watched her daughter to the end of the street and out of sight.

*

If Natalie had run the entire mile to Oakhills Senior, she would certainly have missed first bell. Luckily, Paul had been cruising by in his car and offered her a lift. He worked as a mechanic at `The MotorShop`, a garage just along the road from the school campus, and usually turned up at the end of the day to meet Jilly after lessons. Natalie liked Paul Taylor a lot: he was an honest and friendly kind of guy, desperately in love with Jilly, with not an ounce of harm inside him.

" Good time last night," he said chattily, as they turned into Milverton Road. Oakhills Senior was halfway down, just opposite the park.

" Yeah, it was fun," Natalie agreed. She was idly watching kids straggling in ones and twos and small groups through the school gates. Checking her wristwatch, she saw the early bell was still ten minutes away.

" I hope," Paul said cheekily, " you`ve dumped that gross cat Todd gave you in the trash..."

Natalie looked at him and chuckled. " Actually it`s on the mantel, next to the identical one I bought my Mum for her birthday."

" Oops!" Paul chewed his lip, until he realised Natalie was teasing. He down-shifted the gears and brought the car to a halt just before the school entrance. " Give Jilly my love - and have a nice day, Nat!" Paul called, as Natalie climbed from the car and gave him a wave.

She made her way through the busy, echoing corridors to the bank of lockers outside the senior students` study block. Jilly had arrived there a minute before, and was now carefully touching up her lipstick, gazing critically at herself in the mirror fixed to the inside of her locker door.

Natalie smiled warmly at the serious way Jilly was applying the lipstick. She had loved makeup and jewellery for as long as Natalie could remember, and wore lots of it - much to the disapproval of Mrs Simpkins, the school Principal, and many of her teachers. But Jilly was Jilly, and that was that. Natalie admired the way her friend was determined to be herself; something that Natalie couldn`t always achieve.

" Mirror, mirror on the wall," Natalie muttered. Jilly glanced at her friend`s reflection in the little mirror and grinned.

" I`ve got to look great for my public," Jilly chuckled, popping the lipstick back in its case, then plumping up her long blonde curls. She turned, hands on hips. " Do you think it`s my shade."

" Anything`s your shade, Jill," Natalie replied sincerely. " You look gorgeous."

" I think `Sunset Red` would suit you too, Nat."

" Um..." Natalie frowned. " I don`t really think I`m very interested in painting myself up..."

A mischievous glint appeared in Jilly`s blue eyes. " Maybe you will be - very soon."

Natalie looked round to see what had caught Jilly`s attention. For a second she wasn`t sure - but then realised with a shock that the fairground boy, with quite a crowd of other travelling kids, was coming along the corridor.

She felt herself flush and grow hot, and hoped Jilly hadn`t noticed.

" What a hunk," Jilly said, arching her eyebrows and nudging Natalie with her elbow. " Wasn`t he the boy who won you that dreadful china cat last night?"

" He - I - er - "

" I hope you didn`t throw it away," Jilly went on, holding back a fit of giggles.

" He`d be very offended - and probably wouldn`t want to speak to you ever again!"

By now the boy had caught sight of Natalie standing by the lockers. He said something to his crowd of friends, then sauntered over towards her with a younger boy by his side. Natalie noticed the strong resemblance at once, and guessed they were brothers.

He smiled as he approached, so that Natalie found herself flustered and thrown into confusion. Part of her wished that Jilly would just disappear, so that she could talk to him alone...But on the other hand, she needed Jilly to be there for moral support - and in case Natalie herself couldn`t think of anything to say to him.

Even as she tried to bring her whirling thoughts under control, the boy and his brother walked over, both smiling easily and naturally.

" Hi girls. We`re hoping you can help us," the older boy said. Jilly folded her arms and gazed appraisingly. He was wearing the same scuffed black leather jacket as last night, plus a tight pair of much-washed pale blue denims and a dazzling white cotton shirt. He looked so handsome; and as Natalie caught a whiff of his musky aftershave, she thought she would faint with excitement.

This is ridiculous, she told herself severely. You`re acting like a lovesick adolescent - pull yourself together!

" What`s your problem?" Jilly wondered, as Natalie found herself tongue-tied.

" Well..." The boy tousled his younger brother`s hair. " You`ve probably guessed we`re from Fellini`s Travelling Fairground - "

" Oh, I think my friend Natalie`s noticed."

Natalie turned to Jilly, her eyes blazing. The teasing was getting just a bit too serious now.

The boy went on. " My kid brother Danny here, and some of my friends - " he gestured with his thumb over his shoulder, " still need legally to go to school. But since we`re on the road, that`s not possible. So, wherever we stop Danny has to pick up some textbooks and work assignments...I just thought I`d come over with him today to sort things out."

Jilly nodded. " Okay. Well you`ll need to go to Mrs Simpkins` office - she`s the Principal." She half-turned and pointed. " Down to the end of the corridor, then left, and it`s the third door on the right."

" Thanks."

" I`m Jilly Bright, by the way." Jilly offered her most beaming smile. " And you`re...?"

" Oh, Nick Scace. Pleased to meet you."

Nick held out his hand and shook Jilly`s. A flash of green envy rushed through Natalie in that moment - only to be swept away again as Nick looked straight into Natalie`s eyes.

" And who`s your friend?"

" She`s - " Jilly began. But Natalie cut her short.

" I`m Natalie Dayne. We met at the fair last night..."

" At the rifle range." Nick smiled. " Yeah, I remember you...Hope you liked the cat."

" She lurved it," Jilly interrupted, and she and Nick laughed as Natalie struggled to make the right reply...But she was still lost in the depths of his gaze. Nick`s eyes were a rich, deep brown with a sparkling gloss. Chestnut eyes, Natalie thought, noticing then that the colour lightened towards amber at the edges. Normally she felt herself to be a good judge of character: but the light in Nick`s eyes was dark and mysterious, telling her little.

Does he like me? she thought. Was he thinking of me last night? Is that why he`s come over now...Because of me?

The first wave of surprise and turmoil was passing. Natalie felt her composure returning, and was about to ask Nick about his life with the fair -

When there was a sudden clamour back along the corridor. Kids were suddenly shouting, and a scuffle seemed to have broken out.

" Uh oh, looks like trouble," Nick said. He turned and ran towards the crowd, with Danny a couple of paces behind him.

The registration bell rang loudly nearby. Natalie and Jilly glanced at one another. Then Jilly shook her head.

" Oh no, I`m not missing this for the world."

She hurried towards the gathering crowd in the corridor, with Natalie right beside her.

One of the fairground kids had got into a fight with an Oakhills boy. Even at first glance, Natalie could tell it was serious. Both boys had fists flying, and the Oakhills kid had blood on his mouth. Some of his companions were yelling him on to attack, though the shouting died away as Nick waded in and pulled the two boys apart.

" Cut it out!" he commanded.

The Oakhills boy took a swing at him. Nick weaved his head aside, and then with what looked like effortless ease, threw the boy backwards against the lockers.

" And what is going on here!" a new voice bellowed. Heads turned. Natalie recognised Mr Brady, one of the P.E. staff, striding up the corridor to sort things out. He immediately faced up to Nick.

" I will not have you travelling people causing trouble on - "

" It wasn`t him, Mr Brady," Natalie said, quite quietly, but cutting through the teacher`s booming voice. " Nick stopped the fight, and this lad - " she pointed to the subdued Oakhills pupil, " this lad tried to punch him."

The bluster faded from Mr Brady`s face. He knew Natalie Dayne to be an honest girl, and had no choice but to trust her version of things. Even so, he felt he couldn`t let the matter rest just there.

" I know your face now, son," he said to Nick, jabbing a finger at him. " And if there`s any more trouble from you or your crew, it`s you I`ll be holding responsible!"

" Fine," Nick said softly. He was controlling his temper, but the fury in his eyes was obvious, and Natalie noticed his powerful muscles bunching in his arms. She hoped Brady didn`t push the point any further.

" Right, the bell`s gone, so let`s see you getting to your form rooms...Hustle, people, hustle!" Brady barked, as the crowd began to disperse.

Nick let himself relax. He took a step over to Natalie and smiled.

" Thanks for standing up for me."

She shrugged. " No problem. Any time."

And the moment might have ended there, as Nick began to turn away - then paused and faced Natalie once more.

" Hey, um, you probably don`t know that those cats come in pairs...Why not drop over tonight and let me win you another one."

There were a dozen reasons why not. Natalie had promised Fran she`d call round, then there were the usual round of chores Natalie undertook to help her mother, and she had at least three homework assignments to finish off...

But she laughed anyway and nodded acceptance.

" Thank you, Nick," she said. " I`d love that."

*

Chapter 4:

Natalie knew at once that her mother had been crying. Although she`d hidden it well - washed, made herself up, and composed herself for her daughter`s return from school, Mrs Dayne`s eyes looked weary and drained. Nor did she respond with her usual smile when she asked Natalie what kind of a day she`d had.

" It`s Dad, isn`t it?" Natalie asked, not bothering to answer her mother`s question.

" The project has been extended. Rob`s going to be away at least another two weeks."

" Oh, Mum..." Natalie dropped her schoolbag down on the kitchen floor and gave her mother a hug. Robert Dayne worked for a large electronics company based in the city. His work often took him away on business trips, and those trips were sometimes longer than he, his wife or Natalie wanted or had planned for. What troubled Natalie most of all was that her mother seemed to be taking the news badly - and it was getting worse each time it happened.

" Never mind." Mrs Dayne eased away from Natalie, squeezed her shoulders, and sniffed. " It can`t be helped...And it`s money in the bank, after all."

Natalie sighed softly. This was what appeared to be most important to her parents; having `money in the bank`, `being secure`, `building up our nest egg for a rainy day.` Didn`t they understand, Natalie thought, that life happens now, so why waste it by fearing the unknown future?

" Tell you what," Natalie said, " tomorrow I`ll go over to the video shop and choose a movie - what about a weepy romance? - and I`ll cook us a meal, and we can have chocolates and a bottle of wine, and..."

Mrs Dayne laughed as the glint of tears returned to her eyes. " You`re an angel, Nat. That will be wonderful...But tomorrow, you say? Why not tonight?" She grinned crookedly. " I`m not doing anything special..."

For a moment Natalie was caught off balance. She had more or less promised Nick that she`d turn up at the fairground. If she didn`t go, maybe he`d take that as a sign she wasn`t interested. And, she admitted to herself with a secret smile, I am interested. I`m very, very interested.

" Um, Mum, I, uh, I need to go over to the Library tonight. I have this English assignment to finish and the books I need are reference only. I must get it done..."

This was the story she`d told to Fran, also, as well as the rest of the gang. And although she didn`t like to tell the lie, something inside her wanted her feelings for Nick Scace to be kept a secret.

" That`s okay." Mrs Dayne nodded understandingly. " Your schoolwork comes first, which is as it should be. We`ll make it a date for tomorrow, then."

" Tomorrow," Natalie promised, hugging her mother warmly once more, before she hurried upstairs to shower and change...

Nick would think she was too eager, Natalie thought, if she turned up at the fairground as soon as it opened. So, after calling in at Andy`s for an Espresso and some sandwiches, Natalie went to the park with her diary, sat on a bench by the river under the whispering leaves of a willow tree, and started to write...

`October 4th, 5.20 p.m.: I `m not sure what it is about N.S. that makes me feel the way I do...Fran, no doubt, would call it a silly schoolgirl crush - And I can`t begin to think what Mum would say if she found out! But I don`t see what`s wrong with liking him. It`s not as if he`s that much older than me...And just because he travels with the fair doesn`t mean he shouldn`t be trusted. I guess Mum has got it into her head that because she thinks fairgrounds are `seedy`, then automatically she wouldn`t take to N. Fran, I know, would worry for me about my school work, my exams - but it`s all under control: I promise it is! As for Todd, he`d just be jealous and nasty if he discovered I was going out with N.S...But I`m not going out with him! That`s the ridiculous thing. I`ve seen him twice, spoken to him once, but here I am thinking something important is going on...Thinking I`m falling for him.

` And if he does, will I jump at the chance? But what if he wants more than my company? How will I feel about things then...`

A gust of wind swept across the open spaces of the park and rushed through the willow leaves, tossing Natalie`s hair and fluttering the pages of the diary. Coming back to herself, she smiled to realise that, although she was writing plenty, really she was saying very little. Taking up her pen, she scribbled:

` Life is all about living it - not writing about it! Catch you later, Diary, bye...`

She tucked her most secret and valuable book in her canvas shoulderbag, fastened her long hair back with a simple silver clip, and walked eagerly - but not too eagerly - towards the fairground.

Once again, the sky was clear and fresh and blue. And once again, as Natalie wandered among the stalls and the rides, she caught sight of the bright star she`d noticed the night before. I wish, she thought, I wish upon this star tonight...Then she shrugged and sighed, not knowing what she wished: and besides, the words of the rhyme she`d heard as a child escaped her. You`re not a child any more, Natalie, she told herself. You don`t need a star to wish by, if you want to live your own life...

Her route through the fairground brought her at last to the dodgem ride. She`d expected to find Nick there, and was disappointed when she saw another boy collecting the fares, stepping from car to car as confidently as Nick had done. She glanced around, hoping to catch sight of him, but in the end was forced to ask the dodgem-boy if Nick Scace was anywhere about.

The boy, who was very thin and bony faced, looked Natalie up and down before answering. He smelt of cigarette smoke, and Natalie disliked him at once.

" Scace?" the kid said, " he`s busy. But if you want a free dodgem ride, hop on and I`ll look the other way."

Natalie felt herself tensing as the boy smiled at her - no, leered at her, she realised. Her expression became cold and determined.

" No, I don`t want a free ride, thanks. I need to speak to Nick, and I`d be obliged if you`d tell me where he is.`

The kid`s grin faded. He sniffed and shrugged and pointed a grimy finger towards a group of caravans on the edge of the fair. " He`s repairing some broken dodgem cars - over there...But I shouldn`t disturb him," the boy called as Natalie walked smartly away. " Nick doesn`t like distractions while he`s working!"

Natalie found it amazing how the noise of the fairground died away when she had turned a corner into the little `village` of caravans. All at once she seemed to be far away from the life and laughter of the fair, moving through this dark and rather unfamiliar place.

She spotted Nick almost at once, working with another boy under the harsh light of a spotlamp clamped to a block-and-tackle rigged up on a stand. A dodgem car lay on its side, its black underbelly showing. Nick was squatting beside it, straining to loosen a bolt with a hand-wrench. Natalie stayed back in the shadows, watching him. Nick had stripped off his familiar leather jacket, and was wearing just a sleeveless black T-shirt and and old pair of oilstained jeans. As he struggled with the bolt, the muscles in his shoulders and arms strained and bulged, gleaming with sweat.

Suddenly the wrench slipped, clattering against metal. Nick swore under his breath and stood up. He glanced at his hand, wiped sweat from his forehead, and kicked the dodgem car in a sudden show of temper. Natalie noticed the dark chest hair showing above the top of his T-shirt, and her stomach tightened.

Nick`s companion, a very fat boy with a friendly face, laughed and slapped Nick on the back, and told him you needed patience with machines, just like you did with girls...

Natalie stepped from the shadows, startling both of the boys.

" Hi, Nick," she said quietly. " I, uh, I said I`d come over tonight..."

The fat boy glanced sideways at Nick, looking surprised and envious at the same time. But Nick`s expression never changed. The anger he`d shown at the stubborn metal bolt seemed to be directed at Natalie too. She began to feel rather foolish to be standing here, unsure now of just what to say.

" Yeah." Nick sucked at the soft skin between the thumb and index finger of his left hand. " You did say you`d come over..."

" You`ve cut yourself," Natalie said. She stepped across to him and took hold of his hand in both of hers. Nick`s skin was deeply tanned from long days out in the summer sun, and darkened further by oil and dust from the dodgem car. Natalie`s hands looked so pale and small in comparison...And she noticed too that they were shaking slightly, as she held him. He smelled of oil, and sweat, and the same dry musk she had noticed before, so that she hardly dared to look in his eyes, for fear of what he would read in hers.

" It`s nothing," Nick said, " just a cut."

" You should get it seen to."

He took his hand away from her. " Yeah, well I`m too busy for that. Can`t you see how busy I am?"

Something in his tone did make her look up at him, then. Natalie frowned to see his face full of coldness towards her - coldness, and almost hatred, she thought.

A fragile thread broke inside her. Natalie stood for a few moments as tears brimmed up into her eyes.

" Nick," she stammered, her voice crumbling into a sob. " Nick - "

Then she turned and hurried away as the hurt crashed through her.

She ran from the stand of caravans, stumbling out into the noise and lights of the fairground. Everything was a mystery to Natalie in that moment: why, she asked herself, why did he treat me like that? What have I done to make him hate me?

Tears had half blinded her. She bumped into a large man in an overcoat, mumbled an apology, and blundered on, looking for the exit.

Suddenly she heard someone calling her name. Confused and shaking, Natalie stopped and swiped at the tears burning in her eyes.

Just up ahead, Jilly and Paul, Todd and Rebecca Standish had caught sight of her. Jilly`s usually cheerful smile was fading as she saw the state that Natalie was in. Rebecca`s pinched face was smirking nastily, while Todd simply looked disapproving.

" Nat..." Jilly said in concern. " Are you all right? We thought you were studying tonight..."

And before she could reply, Todd added, " Not true, Natalie - was it?"

*

Natalie found herself making up a ridiculous story about how she`d lost an earring here last night: the pair and been a present from her Aunt May, and she simply had to come back to look for it...

Whether her friends believed her or not was of no concern to Natalie. With Jilly still trying to comfort her, Natalie turned from the group and ran home. For once, she was grateful - and not worried - to see that her mother had fallen asleep in front of the TV. This gave Natalie the chance to sneak upstairs and freshen up, washing away her tears...

But deep in the night, she woke, crying once more. For years she had liked to sleep with her bedroom curtains open, except in the winter. And now, as she sniffled and thought about what had happened with Nick that evening, she saw her star, low in the southwest, flashing and flaring like a diamond.

I wish, she whispered to herself...I wish, I wish, I wish never to see Nick Scace again!

Next morning, the memory of the evening before had left a hollow feeling in Natalie`s stomach. Despite her night`s sleep, she felt weary and washed out. Mrs Dayne realised it too, and commented on the dark shadows beneath Natalie`s eyes.

" I hope you`re not studying too hard," she said with concern. " All work and no play..." Mrs Dayne smiled. " I`d even rather you visited that awful fairground again, if it means you get a much-needed break."

" Maybe I`ll go to the movies instead," Natalie answered. She gave a weak smile.

" All of a sudden I`m not really bothered about the fair..."

What did bother her, Natalie realised as she walked to school, was that Todd or the mean-minded Rebecca Standish would spread the word of her lie. Because that`s what I did, Natalie told herself severely, I lied, just to sneak away and see Nick again...And look what good it did me!

She felt indignant, as well as upset, as she walked into Andy`s Coffee Shop and found Fran waiting for her.

" Problem?" Fran wondered, as Natalie came over to their usual table with her coffee. She plonked a chocolate bar down in front of Fran`s cup, hoping she would take it as a peace offering...

" Yes," Natalie said, determined to be honest with Fran, at least. " Problem..." And she told Fran the whole story, sparing nothing.

" What`s so difficult," Natalie concluded, ten minutes later, " is that while I don`t ever want to set eyes on Nick Scace again, part of me is just dying to see him. It`s crazy - I hardly know him, and yet I was so upset when he turned me away last night..."

" Maybe," Fran said, " you`re attracted to the mystery of him. A tall, dark, handsome stranger rides into town - he seems so exotic and exciting: utterly different from the ordinary, boring boys you usually meet in Oakhills!"

Natalie giggled, even though she was sure Fran was being serious. " Why Fran, I do believe you`re attracted to him too!"

Fran sipped her coffee primly. " Absolutely not," she said, though her cheeks had reddened slightly. " Anyway, Nick is hardly likely to look at me with you standing by my side...Oh, I`m sorry Nat, that was very tactless."

Natalie reached out and stroked Fran`s hair. " No need to apologise. There was nothing between me and Nick Scace, and now there never will be. If you want him, you can jolly well have him!"

The girls finished their coffee and went on to school. Natalie felt glad to have confided in Fran, and to know that their friendship was still safe.

They saw the disturbance at once, as they turned into the main gates of Oakhills Senior. A group of at least thirty kids had gathered together in a clump - and by the yells and whistles and cheering going on, a fight had broken out.

Natalie and Fran were top-year students at the Senior, and had the responsibility of setting a good example. Fran gave Natalie a worried look, then both of them hurried towards the jostling crowd.

Upon reaching it, Natalie pushed her way through, lifting her voice above the noise, shouting for the kids to stop scrapping. She forced a path to the front, in time to see Danny Scace take a punch to his face that slammed him to the floor.

His opponent, Carl Peters, an older and much bigger boy, loomed over Danny with his lips drawn back and his fists clenched, ready to strike again.

Natalie stepped in front of him, putting herself between Peters and Danny.

" You stop this right now, Carl," Natalie commanded. Peters spat at the floor between her feet.

" Get outa my way, Dayne, or - "

" Or what? You`ll punch a girl in the face, as well as a boy younger and smaller than yourself ? That`d be brave of you, wouldn`t it!"

" Look out," called someone from the crowd, " Basher Brady`s on the prowl!"

Mr Brady, the duty teacher for that day, was running briskly towards the trouble. Kids started to scatter at once, including Peters.

Natalie grabbed at his arm. " Oh no you don`t - "

" Let go of me!" Peters snatched his arm free and jabbed a vicious finger at Danny, who was picking himself up off the ground. " None of this would have started," he snarled, " if this kid and his gypsy friends hadn`t started stealing things out of our lockers!"

*

Chapter 5:

Natalie had never seen Mrs Simpkins so cross. Sometimes the Principal lost her temper and yelled at individuals, groups - or even the whole school on occasions. But today, as everybody sat in one of Oakhills Senior`s special assemblies, Mrs Simpkins` temper showed itself as quiet fury and a deep, deep disgust over what had happened.

After Peters accused Danny of stealing, Natalie and Fran reported the matter to Mr Brady, who `made it official`. It didn`t take long to discover that several lockers had been prised open, and money, jewellery and other personal belongings taken.

Mr Buck, the Deputy Head at the school, called all the fairground children together and made them turn out their bags: not a single stolen item had been found. That didn`t stop Peters suggesting that `the thieving gypsies` had hidden the stuff somewhere...But Natalie`s opinion was that Carl Peters, like all small-minded people, simply didn`t like folks who were different in any way.

Mrs Simpkins, standing on the stage in the main school hall, asked for two things. First, that the thieves, whoever they were, should come forward and own up to their wrongdoing - Or, at the very least, return the stolen property. Secondly, she didn`t want the students to jump to hasty conclusions when it came to laying blame.

" Things have been taken," she said in a quiet, understanding, but somehow rather frightening tone, " and I will do all I can to get to the root of the matter. But for any one of us to accuse another person without evidence is as great a crime as the stealing itself..."

Natalie hoped that, somewhere in the hall, Carl Peters was burning up with shame right now.

After a few more words, Mrs Simpkins dismissed the assembly. Everyone walked quietly away from the hall, the buzz of conversation not starting up until people were well down the corridor.

Natalie went to her English lesson. Because of the assembly, there was only fifteen minutes of it left to go. Mrs Jacobs decided that, instead of trying to fit an hour`s discussion into that time, the class could read or begin writing-up their next homework assignment.

Natalie thought briefly about making an entry in her diary. She`d packed it the night before, intending to note down every detail of the wonderful evening she`d expected to have with Nick. Looking at the scuffed, plain blue cover of the notebook, Natalie sighed deeply. She wondered for the hundredth time why Nick had behaved as he did: what reason could there have been for him being so cold towards her? Maybe, she thought, she`d given him the wrong signals. Natalie knew from experience - and she and Fran had talked about it often enough - that boys often got the wrong idea from things girls said. Sometimes they wanted too much, too quickly. But I didn`t suggest anything, Natalie reflected. I didn`t lead Nick on in any way...

She felt the hot tears rising in her eyes again, and rubbed them impatiently away. Boys! Natalie said to herself. They`re not worth the trouble!

Then she found herself smiling to recall her first brief meeting with Nick Scace; remembering the mischievous, almost insolent smile on his face as he`d scored six bullseyes at the rifle range. And the expression on Todd`s face afterwards! To look at him you`d think Nick had flown inthe air, or lifted a truck with his bare hands...

Natalie chuckled, thinking again about Nick`s hands; those large, powerful, capable hands. She saw him in her mind`s eye struggling with the wrench, his face screwed up in determination, his strong arms glinting with sweat...And she wondered what it would be like to have those arms around her, and those hands stroking her hair, drawing her closer to Nick`s mouth, his lips slightly opened...

" Natalie Dayne!"

Natalie jolted awake, blushing not because her attention had wandered, but because of what she`d been thinking.

Mrs Jacobs was gazing at her curiously - until her face cleared and she smiled.

" I hope the daydream was a good one," she said, smiling just a little accusingly.

" Because you can`t afford to waste time, you know..."

Natalie smiled back, knowing the teacher was not passing judgements. " I know Mrs Jacobs, Sorry...And yes," Natalie added with a twinkle in her eyes, " the daydream was great."

*

Although the students in Natalie`s year had their own study block, which included an area with a coffee machine and comfortable chairs, everyone at Oakhills Senior ate their lunch in the Refectory, just next door to the hall. It was a pleasant modern building, with a stylishly angled roof and walls composed almost entirely of large glass panels - so that, wherever you sat, you got a fine view of the campus grounds or the park.

Natalie bought herself some sandwiches, ultra thin pastrami on wholemeal bread, plus a salad and a carton of natural yoghurt, and walked with her tray to the table where she usually sat to eat. She hesitated as she approached, because Todd and Rebecca Standish were already there. But Jilly and Fran had seen her and were waving: Natalie smiled cheerfully and decided to make the best of it.

She unloaded her tray, and propped it against the wall.

" You okay?" Fran asked at once, doing her usual mother hen routine, Natalie thought a little irritably. Then immediately afterwards she felt sorry: Fran was only showing concern, as Natalie herself would have done if Fran had been the one who was upset.

She shrugged, tugged the foil lid off the carton, and began spooning up the creamy, slightly sourish yoghurt.

" I`m all right. Thanks, Fran."

" Well I don`t know how you do it..." Rebecca was staring across the table, right at Natalie, with a butter-wouldn`t-melt expression on her thin-featured face. She always wore her hair brushed back and gathered up into a knot at the back. Natalie could imagine her in forty years time, a withered old spinster, looking almost exactly the same.

" Do what, Becky?" Natalie asked, with infinite patience. She knew she was walking into one of Rebecca`s silly little traps, but right at that moment she simply didn`t care.

" Well, I mean, go out to the fair and do your studying, all in the same evening..."

The look of sweet hate on Rebecca`s face made Natalie want to smack it, hard. She took a deep breath, and hung on to her temper.

" You seem to have managed it."

" Oh," Rebecca sniffed with a superior air. " I was up to date with my assignments by last weekend. Besides, Todd asked me especially to go with him last night."

" Cosy," Natalie replied, watching the colour rise into Todd Wilson`s cheeks.

" It was." Rebecca`s smile became even sweeter, so that Natalie felt the urge to tip what was left of her yoghurt all over Rebecca`s head. " We had a great time, didn`t we Todd?"

Todd, caught in the middle, was not sure quite what to do, it seemed. He sort of nodded and kind of grunted in agreement. Natalie wanted to chuckle at the whole sorry episode. She didn`t know what game Todd was playing, but remained convinced it was a game...Perhaps, to get her, Todd was playing her off against Rebecca. Well, Natalie thought, fat chance. If Todd was going to be that childish, he`d ruined any interest in him Natalie might have had - now, or ever!

Natalie was still wondering on this point when a shrill whistle blast cut the air, startling everyone. Heads turned - and Natalie`s breath caught in her throat. Nick was standing near the entrance to the Refectory, the whistle in his hand. Beside him was the fat, friendly-looking boy she`d seen him with last night; plus half a dozen of the fairground children.

Natalie`s heart was beating faster, and she felt a strange churning in her stomach that was wonderful but a little frightening too. He`s so handsome, she found herself thinking; so tall, so proud...

But Nick was obviously angry, too. When he was sure he had everybody`s attention, he spoke up in a loud, clear voice.

" There`s no need for me to introduce myself," Nick said. " You know who I am, who my friends are, and why we`re here...There`s a thief among you. That`s fine. The kind of town you live in doesn`t much bother me...But what does bother me is when someone accuses my kid brother of stealing: that`s an insult to all of us, to all the folk who work hard at the fair for your entertainment. I`m telling you - every single one of you..." And Nick pointed, letting his finger pan across the crowd, " Danny Scace is no thief. If anyone thinks differently, let him come and say so, face to face..."

The echoes of Nick`s ringing voice hung in the air, slowly fading.

" Wow!" breathed Jilly. " What about that!"

" He`s coming this way!" Rebecca`s voice was barely more than a squeak.

Natalie`s mind whirled as she saw Nick walking closer. Then a hundred tangled thoughts crashed through her mind. What does he want? - What do I say to him? - Does my hair look okay? But I never worry about my hair!...

" Natalie," Nick said, his face and voice calm and grateful, quite different from last night.

" It`s Nat to her friends," Rebecca piped up. But no-one was listening to her. Everybody`s eyes were fixed on Nick Scace. He looked, Natalie now thought, almost arrogant - But then she understood that the outward face was hiding someone else; somebody who had to deal with accusations and small-mindedness often; somebody sensitive; somebody who needed and valued his friends.

" Um - " Natalie said. It felt like she`d swallowed feathers: her throat was suddenly dry. Fran pushed a glass of water in Natalie`s direction. Natalie gulped it thankfully.

" Nick, I - "

" I just wanted to thank you for jumping in to help Danny like that..."

" I`d have done the same for anyone."

" I know." Nick smiled, showing strong white teeth. He stood with his his right leg slightly forward, crooked at the knee, his weight on his left. His thumbs were hooked into the pockets of his tight bluejeans, but now his right hand reached towards Natalie, the fist clenched. He held it out to her until, understanding, Natalie opened her palm beneath it.

Nick uncurled his fingers and a small metal object dropped into her hand. She stared at it curiously, then beamed up at him.

" It`s a lucky token - get you any free ride you like at Arturo Fellini`s Fairground and Travelling Show..." Nick`s broad smiled faded slightly. " We need to talk." And for some reason he flicked a glance at Rebecca. " There are a few things I need to get cleared up."

Natalie found herself nodding dumbly, her mood swinging around so fast it made her feel dizzy.

" Mmm...Smile that smile again," Jilly said cheekily to Nick. " You`re making my toes curl..."

Nick was about to offer some witty reply, when a meaty hand clamped itself over his shoulder and yanked him round.

Mr Brady had walked over, a mean look stamped on his face. He jabbed his finger towards Nick at eye level.

" I warned you, Scace, if there was any more trouble - "

" One of your students started the trouble, Mr Brady," Nick replied reasonably. " I just came over to thank Natalie for stopping it."

" If your lot hadn`t been up to mischief, there would have been no trouble," Brady growled.

Natalie saw the muscles in Nick`s arms tightening.

" What do you mean by that?" Nick asked. His voice had gone very quiet, as Mrs Simpkins` did when she was furious. Natalie felt the tension in the air. She reached out and touched Nick`s arm.

" Nick - leave it."

" It`s fine, Natalie," Nick said, glancing at her, then back to Brady. " I was just asking the guy what he meant by the comment he made..."

" Not `that guy`." Brady`s jabbing finger prodded stiffly into Nick`s chest. " It`s `Mr Brady` or `Sir` to you. Got that, Scace."

Nick chuckled with deliberate insolence, and the fine thread of Brady`s temper snapped.

He drew back his big fist and launched a punch at Nick. Effortlessly, Nick dodged aside. Brady, carried by the momentum of his action, toppled forward off balance and crashed into Natalie`s table. Plates, cups, cutlery flew everywhere: and Natalie was delighted to see her yoghurt pot spin up into the air and splatter Brady`s face.

The teacher bellowed like an enraged bull. He swung round, his balled fists flailing. Nick was easily able to weave out of the way.

What troubled Natalie was that Brady`s control had completely gone. He obviously bore Nick a grudge, and felt that he had to settle it now...But Brady paused as Nick`s friend, the fat boy, moved up beside his friend.

" Mac does bench-presses with two-hundred pound weights," Nick said in the momentary silence. " And he`s my very, very best pal..."

The insolent smile was back on Nick`s face. Natalie could almost hear Brady`s mind weighing his chances - but it did not take him long to back down.

" You haven`t heard the last of this," he hissed venomously at Nick. " Now I`m going to call Security - and you`d better be out of here when they arrive!"

He pushed rudely past Nick, who watched him go with a sneer on his face.

" Thanks Mac," Nick said to his companion. Then he turned to Natalie.

" That man`s got a little mind but a big mouth."

" Tell me about it," Natalie quipped, and they both laughed. Natalie realised that something which was broken between them had healed again: she didn`t know what, and she didn`t know why. But she was glad - so very glad - that this had happened.

Nick reached out and uncurled Natalie`s fingers gently. " Don`t lose that token, you hear? And I`ll see you tonight?"

It sounded like a question Natalie nodded, with no hesitation at all.

" Tonight," she mouthed with her lips, so that only Nick could see.

Chapter 6:

Luckily, Natalie thought, Mrs Simpkins was more open minded than Brady had been. The `post mortem`, as Natalie called it, didn`t take long. Brady had gone straight to the Principal to complain about `Scace`s thuggish behaviour`, but after Natalie had told her side of things, Mrs Simpkins looked thoughtful.

" And there are plenty of witnesses to what happened," Natalie added with some passion. " Nick didn`t do anything wrong!"

Mrs Simpkins smiled at the heat in Natalie`s voice. She nodded understandingly.

" Calm down. I don`t plan to start blaming Nick Scace - nor anyone, come to that. My only concern is to clear up this terrible stealing business, and to make sure my school runs normally until the travellers leave town..."

Mention of that sent a pang through Natalie`s chest. It was clear to her, now, how she felt about Nick, and the thought that he`d be gone, out of her life, in just two short weeks made her want to cry.

Mrs Simpkins noticed the change in Natalie`s expression; the bright light of loss in her eyes.

" I don`t plan to make the mistake of accusing Danny Scace or any of the travelling children in this matter," Mrs Simpkins explained. " But I do want you to realise," she went on, " that these people live very different lives from us. They have different values, a different culture - "

" They`re human beings, like us," Natalie said, " and they don`t deserve to be treated badly any more than we do!"

Mrs Simpkins` eyebrows lifted a little; in surprise, and with some admiration for Natalie`s defence of the travellers. She pushed her spectacles farther up on the bridge of her nose, and picked up her pen.

" Point taken," she said brightly. " But take care, Natalie; that`s all I`m asking you to do."

*

Living in Oakhills, Natalie had grown used to the fact that news travelled faster than traffic from street to street. By the time she arrived home from school, Mrs Dayne had heard all about the incident at lunchtime. She glanced up as Natalie came through to the lounge, her expression changing as she caught sight of Fran right behind her.

" Oh, Fran - "

" I thought Fran might stop for some tea," Natalie said. She`d anticipated her mother`s mood, and had made this offer to Fran in Maths, last lesson.

" Well that`s fine..." Mrs Dayne smiled warmly in Fran`s direction. " You`re welcome to eat with us anytime, of course."

She put down her magazine and made to stand. Natalie held up both hands. " No Mum, you sit there and relax. I`ll go and put some fresh coffee on to percolate while I sort out what we can eat."

" I was planning stirfry chicken," Mrs Dayne said. " To go with our weepy film..." Natalie gave a pale smile. " Um...Well, I`ll do the stirfry, anyway...Come on, Fran," she added, taking Fran by the arm and whisking her away to the kitchen.

" And what," Fran wondered above the clatter of pots, " was all that about?" She blinked at the sight of Natalie`s intense expression.

" Fran, I`ve got a favour to ask you...A really big favour...Maybe the biggest..."

" I`m not doing your Maths homework for you, if that`s what you want!"

Natalie frowned. "No, not that...Listen, I just know Mum`s going to stop me seeing Nick tonight - Don`t argue," Natalie added, as Fran opened her mouth to reply. " I know my mother, and I know that she`s been listening to gossip about what happened today. She thinks Nick`s a troublemaker, and will try to persuade me to stay home. If Mum had her way, she`d see me married to Todd Wilson, or some other `nice` boy, before I could say `knife`. Well it`s my life, and I won`t be pushed around."

" Then why not just tell her how you feel?" Fran wondered. Her pretty face seemed troubled. " I know what you want, Nat: you want me to lie for you. You want me to say that I need some help with an assignment, and can you come over tonight so we can work on it together..."

" It`s only a little lie," Natalie began.

" No," Fran said sternly, " it`s a big lie, Nat, because I`d be lying to your mother. And if you feel the need to tell your mother lies, then goodness knows where it will all end."

Natalie hung her head in shame, her long hair slipping down from where she`d hooked it back behind her ears. She felt her face burning with humiliation, and with guilt for asking Fran this favour.

" He`ll be gone by the end of next week," she murmured softly, not looking up. " It will all be over by then..."

Fran moved forward and touched her fingers to Natalie`s chin, lifting her head to stare her right in the eye.

" Is seeing him that important to you?" Fran asked.

Natalie blinked back tears. " If Mum stopped me, I`d find it hard to forgive her," was her answer.

Fran drew in her breath, then let it out in a great sigh.

" Just this once," she decided. " I`ll lie for you just this once..."

" Then I`m on my own," Natalie said, in a small voice.

Fran gave her friend a warm hug.

" Never that, Natalie," she said. " You`ll never be on your own..."

*

The plan went more smoothly than Natalie deserved, Fran said later, in her room. Both of Fran`s parents were teachers. Mrs Kemp had a parents` evening that night, while Fran`s father, a lecturer at the university in nearby Clayton, would not be home for some hours.

Natalie showered, took time to brush out her hair `til it shone, and decided to wear it loose. She ironed the clothes she`s smuggled out in her schoolbag, causing Fran`s eyebrows to lift as she wriggled into a black miniskirt, which she wore with a dark blue mohair sweater.

" Well I hope you`re not going on the dodgems dressed like that!"

Natalie laughed, pleased with the reaction she`d caused.

" No one complained when I wore this outfit to the summer dance," she reminded her friend.

Fran muttered a reply Natalie failed to catch, then said, " Well I hope he makes as much effort."

Natalie grinned, realising that, at the prospect of seeing Nick again, she didn`t mind one way or the other.

*

She felt slightly apprehensive on the way to the fairground, in case Todd or Jilly or the rest of the gang were around. But Natalie didn`t see any of them. They`d probably gone down the Pizzeria tonight, she guessed; or else given it a miss and stayed at home.

Natalie walked through the ranks of banners which marked the entrance to the fairground, and was delighted to see that Nick was there waiting for her. She noticed how his eyes moved up and down her body, and felt a tingle to have him looking at her that way. He waved, and Natalie waved back, chuckling to herself to see that he was dressed in his usual T-shirt, jeans and leather jacket. In her mind she heard Fran saying, `I told you so!` and waggling a knowing finger.

" Hi," she said brightly.

" You look great," Nick said.

Natalie tossed her hair and beamed - but the mood crashed a moment later as Nick took her hand and said, " Come and take a look at my baby!"

Natalie felt stunned as Nick lead her past the rifle range, around the dodgem car rink and the whirlygig, to the caravan village. Once again in his presence she was confused and upset...And her indignation was growing. She tried to pull away.

" Nick," she said severely, " I`m not going to - "

They came around the corner. Nick let go of her hand, moved behind her and squeezed her arms, high up near the shoulder.

" What d`you think? Gorgeous, isn`t she," he whispered, close to her ear.

Standing there in the glare of a spotlight clamped to the caravan door was Nick`s blue motorbike. It glittered like some exotic insect, every piece of chrome highly polished, the mirrors glaring like eyes. Natalie could see the tiny moving reflection of the big wheel in the smooth swell of the bike`s petrol tank.

" I cleaned it up specially," Nick explained, " so we could go for a ride."

Natalie turned in his arms. She could feel the laughter bubbling up inside her.

" There`s no way," she told him, " that I`m riding on your motorbike dressed like this!"

Nick looked her up and down again. " I wouldn`t mind," he said wickedly.

" But I would!" Natalie insisted. He had eased very close to her, so that Natalie could smell the leather of his jacket, and the faint sweetness of mint on his breath...All of this was mixed in with the strange, distant, wonderful metallic electrical smell of the fairground itself. It made her feel light-headed, so that her breath fluttered in her chest: and it made her feel alive, more alive than she`d ever been before.

Nick lifted his hand and brushed a strand of Natalie`s gold hair away from her face. His other arm moved down to encircle her waist. Now, with a gentle pressure, he pulled her against him, so that Natalie had to tilt her face up to look in his eyes...

And those eyes burned into her, filled with silent questions. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, on the tip of her nose, his hair tickling her cheek. Then, as she expected, as she wanted, his lips found hers.

The kiss was long and deep, and Natalie held her breath the whole time. Like a little startled deer, she felt too terrified to do anything except let it happen. She had never been kissed like this before, and it seemed - very oddly - as though she was being swept away in a river, but at the same time set free to soar through the sky...

It was only as Nick`s hand moved downwards from her waist that she struggled free of him and pushed him back, at arm`s length.

" Um, sorry," he said, seeming flustered. Then he grinned, his mouth glistening after the kiss. " I wanted to take you somewhere special tonight, for a meal. To say thank you for helping Danny out."

Natalie pushed her fingers back through her hair and, to show they were equals, looked Nick up and down before answering.

" That would be wonderful," she told him. " But there`s still no way you`re getting me on that motorbike of yours!"

The light changed suddenly as the caravan door opened, swinging the spotlamp away. Mac`s silhouette filled the doorway.

" Hello young lovers!" he chuckled, as he waddled down the steps to the ground.

" Got a problem...?"

*

Mac`s car was old and battered-looking, but inside it was clean and tidy, and Nick reassured Natalie that Mac kept the engine beautifully tuned.

They cruised away from the fairground and Oakhills along the ridge road. It was the first time that Natalie had ever been driven out on a date by a boy. The few boyfriends she`d had in earlier years were too young to drive then. And Todd - she`d been out with him a couple of times (nothing serious) - had not been allowed to use his father`s car. Natalie didn`t know whether it was because `Chuck` Wilson was very possessive about it, or because, being a local police officer, he didn`t like inexperienced drivers out on the road. All Natalie remembered was Todd getting cross and embarrassed whenever the subject was raised...

But it was a very different thing with Nick. He handled the car like an expert, seeming confident and comfortable with his driving. After the sunny autumn day, the evening was cool but not cold: and for a while, Nick drove with the driver`s window down, his elbow resting easily on the ledge of the door.

" Where are we going?" Natalie wondered idly.

Nick glanced across at her and smiled. " Do you know a village called Riverdale?"

She nodded, then her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. " You`re not taking me to `The Mill House`? Nick, the food costs a fortune there! You can`t afford it, surely, because - "

His expression darkened slightly. " Because I don`t wear posh clothes or work in an office?" he said, his eyes cooling. " Because I have dirt under my fingernails and drive my friend`s beat-up Ford?...Because I`m a gypsy?"

The words stung Natalie, bringing a spark of pain to her eyes. Nick pretended to ignore it, staring fixedly ahead at the road.

" I didn`t say that," she insisted. " I was going to say, because you must have plenty of other things to spend your money on, rather than me - your motorbike, for instance."

" Yeah, maybe...But if I take a girl out I like to give her a good time. Though I guess if it`s true, you won`t be impressed anyway..."

Natalie frowned. " If what`s true? What are you talking about, Nick?"

" Forget it," he said shortly. But now Natalie`s temper was up, and she sensed that things had been going on behind her back.

" No," she told him, " I won`t forget it. Has somebody been talking about me? Who? What have they said?"

Nick sighed and, spotting a parking place overlooking the valley, he pulled in and turned off the engine.

" Tell me, Nick," Natalie demanded gently.

" Well," he began, slowly, unsurely. " That first night I saw you - down at the rifle range - I thought you were gorgeous..."

Natalie felt pleased and flattered. Small spots of colour came to her cheeks, and she wanted to laugh and put her arms around him. But Nick was still talking quietly and seriously, so she held back.

" After I won you the cat - "

" A treasured possession," she couldn`t resist adding: Nick gave a brief half-smile.

" Well after that, I had a word with your girl friend - "

" Fran?"

" Um, no - taller girl, skinny..."

Natalie thought for a moment, then realised who he meant - as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.

" Anyway, she said that you were loaded with money, and only went out with boys who could afford you - "

That little vixen! Natalie thought evilly. Wait `til I see her, I`ll -

" Apart from that, she said you had this thing going with Todd..." Nick looked at Natalie and his eyes were deep. " But I`ve never let competition with other guys put me off, you know..."

Natalie reached out and held Nick`s hand. " Let me tell you a couple of things," she said. " First, Rebecca Standish is a mean, jealous, twisted little snake! She`s been after Todd herself for months: they`re sort of going out together, though I know Todd has this thing for me...But I`m not interested in him, really I`m not. And I don`t know what devious game Rebecca is playing, but you can be sure she`s only thinking of herself...

" Second," Natalie continued. " You don`t need to impress me by taking me somewhere expensive. I`m not `loaded with money`, and if I go out with a boy it`s because I like him - "

" And third?" Nick wondered. He was smiling now, and Natalie felt the tension had eased between them.

" Third," she said, making her voice as lazy and sweet as spilled honey, " I really enjoyed that kiss back at the caravan..."

Nick flicked off the car`s headlights.

" In that case..." he said. And by the blue-glass glow of the darkening sky, his hands moved forward to caress her.

*

Natalie couldn`t help but chuckle to see Mac`s battered car parked beside fancy four-wheel drive jeeps, Jaguars and BMWs. Nick glanced down at his T-shirt. " If they insist on a tie, I`m sunk," he said.

" Don`t worry, they don`t care how you dress."

He nodded, reassured. Natalie slipped her arm through his as they walked from the car park towards the imposing floodlit Eighteenth Century facade of the converted mill house. The old mill wheel had been restored, although now it was turned by a hidden electric motor, rather than the force of the stream. Water splashed tranquilly off the wheel-paddles, the drops glittering like gemstones in the beams of many-coloured spotlights. Above the moss-covered roof of the restaurant, the autumn stars blazed, while a thin moon hung tangled in the branches of a century-old beech tree.

Natalie looked for - and found - her wishing star, winking exotically in the dark. She realised she needed it after all, and for a moment she was tempted to let her imagination fly. But then she stopped herself, because, at that moment, what she really wished for could never come about.

Inside the restaurant, Natalie and Nick were shown to their seats at a quiet corner table. One or two people gazed disapprovingly in their direction, she noticed, but that didn`t embarrass her. In fact, it was just the opposite. She felt closer to Nick now than she had ever done.

The menu came, and the wine menu, and Natalie saw the panic on Nick`s face.

" It`s all in French!" he whispered worriedly. " What`re we going to do?"

" I know a roadside truckers` cafe out towards Clayton," Natalie replied, and until she laughed, Nick firmly believed she was serious.

" Don`t worry, Nick, I know some French...And anyway, this is nothing special. " She pointed. " Look, the vegetable soup comes with croutons. They`re pieces of fried bread...And here, lardons, are scraps of bacon fat..."

Nick laughed. " I leave those on the side of my breakfast plate every day!"

" Hm, but I don`t: no fryup up for me - I`ve got my figure to watch!"

" I`ve got your figure to watch too," Nick said. Natalie gave him a mock-disapproving glance.

" Enough of that," she said sternly, as Mrs Simpkins might have done. " Let`s order, I`m starved..."

Actually, Natalie felt quite full after the stirfry she`d cooked earlier. But at seeing the pleasure and pride on Nick`s face as he ordered wine and, with Natalie`s help, the food, she knew she couldn`t let him down. It pleased her as much as surprised her to realise that, under the tough-guy image he showed to the world, Nick was caring and not nearly as self-assured as he made out.

They ate a light starter of whipped eggs baked in pannikins with a watercress garnish. Then, for the main course, Natalie chose coins of lean pork in a sweet wine sauce, and fresh baby corns and mange tout, while Nick went for a steak.

While Natalie picked at her vegetables, she watched Nick attack his food with relish. He ate, she thought, in the same way he drove Mac`s car, or shot an air rifle - or kissed a girl: completely, involving himself fully in the moment. He lives for every second, whatever that second might bring...Rain or sun, laughter or tears, Nick`s alive with it. He loves life, Natalie told herself. He holds life in his hands and feels its texture...

Nick reached for his wine, took a deep gulp, then noticed her as he put his glass back down. He smiled, and Natalie smiled warmly back, not revealing anything of the feelings surging inside her.

I`m falling in love with him, a little voice said in her mind. If I let myself, I will fall head over heels in love with Nick Scace...But do I want to? Natalie asked. Do I dare to? I wish - I wish - I wish...

And once again, Natalie didn`t know what she wished.

Nick finished his wine and reached for the bottle.

" Do you think you should?" Natalie said, before she could stop herself.

" What?"

" Um, have another drink...You are driving, after all."

" You sound like a school teacher." Nick said it light-heartedly, but there was something in his tone that warned Natalie to back off: something which said, you don`t own me; you don`t know anything about me. Don`t push it.

And Natalie wondered, then, how she could feel so close to another person, yet remain so distant from him.

Apart from that one incident, the evening might have been perfect...And was perfect, until Natalie was half way through her lemon sorbet dessert.

Nick had been telling her a string of hilarious stories about his friends at the fair, including the time Mac had tried to go on a diet for a bet. Nobody saw him eat anything for a week - but he seemed to be losing no weight. Then it was discovered he had a secret stash of food in the boot of his car. So Nick and a couple of his pals decided that Nick would hide in the boot, scaring Mac half to death when he tried to sneak a snack...

Nick was leaning forward as he spoke, gesturing with his hands and imitating Mac`s way of speaking, which had Natalie in stitches, her eyes squeezed closed with laughter...

So it was a good few seconds later before she realised he had fallen silent, his expression hard now, and hostile.

" Nick..."

Natalie looked over her shoulder, following Nick`s gaze - In time to see Mr Brady and his wife being shown to the table opposite.

*

Chapter 7:

" But he didn`t even say anything!" Natalie persisted, as Nick slammed the car into lower gear when they approached a tight turn in the road.

" Yeah," Nick muttered, wrenching hard on the wheel. Natalie felt the rear of the car sliding a little on the road gravel, the tyres squealing. " But it`s what he was thinking that bugs me!"

" How can you know what he was thinking - Oh, what`s the use!"

Coming out of the bend, Nick banged his fist on the horn at a cyclist meandering away from the verge. In the wing mirror, as the car whooshed past, Natalie saw the cyclist shaking his fist after them.

" Slow down, Nick, you`ll have the car in the hedge."

" Is that what you think?" he replied savagely, jamming his foot on the accelerator pedal and sending the car streaking down towards Oakhills.

Boys, she thought as she tried to shut out the world spinning by. Just boys playing their games again...

To her relief, Nick eased off as they passed the town limits.

" I`ll drive you home," he offered.

" Oh, er, no," Natalie spoke up quickly, causing Nick to glance at her suspiciously.

" Why not, you are going home, I presume?"

" Yes - but - "

" But you`re ashamed for your folks to meet me, right?"

Natalie sighed, shaking her head slowly at Nick`s touchiness.

" If you must know, I lied to my Mum about tonight. I told her I was studying at Fran`s house."

" Would you have lied if you`d been dating Todd?" Nick wanted to know.

Natalie felt the anger rushing through her, and might have said things she`d later regret - If a flashing red-and-blue light hadn`t suddenly caught their attention.

" Great," Nick groaned. " The cops. That`s all I need."

He flicked the indicator and moved in to the kerbside. Natalie saw the muscles of Nick`s jawline tightening and flexing as he watched in the rearview mirror.

The police car came up slowly behind the car, and one of the officers climbed out.

Natalie`s heart sank - It was Chuck Wilson, Todd`s father.

Wilson was a big, bulky man who wore his officer`s peaked cap pulled down low, so that his eyes were in shadow. In his younger years, Chuck Wilson had been into bodybuilding, and once had won a national competition. Now, after too long crusing the streets of Oakhills, his paunch had grown, together with his temper. Most kids Natalie knew disliked Wilson for his badgering, bullying ways.

Wilson tapped the window on the driver`s side with a knuckle.

Natalie saw the anger start to burn in Nick`s face. She touched his hand as it clenched hard around the steering wheel.

" Nick, just stay calm. Yelling at Wilson won`t help us any..."

Nick wound the window down and stared up at the cop.

" ID and driver`s licence," Wilson said, then sniffed. " Please," he added, grudgingly.

Nick slipped a slim wallet from an inside pocket of his jacket, flicked out his papers and passed them to Wilson, who made a point of studying them for a long time.

" This your car, Mr Scace?" the officer wanted to know.

" No. It belongs to a friend, Edward MacDonald."

" And you`re driving it with his permission?"

Natalie became terrified that Nick would reply with some smart answer which would really touch off Wilson`s temper. It pleased her that he remained calm, and answered reasonably enough. " Mac said I could use his car to take out my girl..."

Natalie felt a warm glow of pleasure spread through her on hearing Nick`s words. It was as though a light bulb had been switched on inside, filling her with a new fondness for Nick, a wonderful sense of closeness to him. And she wanted to squeeze him then, to hold him tightly, to thank him...If only Chuck Wilson would finish his questioning and go...

" Can I ask where you were earlier this evening, Mr Scace?" Wilson said.

" Yeah, we went up to The Mill House at Riverdale."

There was a silence; and Natalie could almost hear Wilson`s suspicious mind working. He`d be looking at the condition of the car, staring hard at Nick`s worn jeans and leather jacket, and he`d be thinking what Nick said was a lie...Because only folks with money went to The Mill House. Only decent folks...You never found a gypsy kid there.

" Would you step out of the car, please, Mr Scace?" Wilson asked politely.

The temperature seemed to drop by ten degrees.

" Why`s that?"

" Because I`m asking you."

" But why are you asking me?" Nick wanted to know.

" Get out of the car..."

Nick hesitated a fraction longer than Wilson`s patience could tolerate. He yanked the door open, and Natalie could see the man`s left hand close into a big, beefy fist.

She also saw Nick tensing, ready to react - and without even thinking about it, stepped smartly from the car on the passenger side and gave Chuck Wilson she sweetest, friendliest smile she could summon.

" Hello, Mr Wilson. Has there been some trouble?"

Wilson`s face registered surprise, then intense disapproval. And, as Natalie walked around the front of the car, that disapproval increased as he caught sight of her short skirt. Natalie knew she was already in very deep, very hot water with her mother anyway: telling the truth now could hardly make matters worse.

" Natalie..." Wilson`s voice faltered, and Nick grinned to see the big cop lost for words.

" Tell him, Nat," he said.

" Nick`s not lying, Mr Wilson. We`ve been to The Mill House together tonight. In fact, Nick was just driving me home...If you don`t believe us, our waiter at the restaurant was called Jacques. I`m sure he`ll remember us."

" Does your mother know you`re out?" Wilson asked her. Natalie arched her eyebrows.

" What a strange question...But you haven`t answered mine. Was there some trouble in town?"

" Oakhills Senior was broken into earlier this evening." Wilson looked pointedly at Nick. " Some things were taken, and there was petty vandalism. Mindless stuff."

" Well that lets us off." Nick beamed. " I`d have been about half way through my T-bone when it happened!"

The blood came up into Wilson`s face, then, and his partner, on seeing it, climbed out of the patrol car.

" We`d like you to come with us down to the station."

" As soon as I see Natalie safe home - "

" I said, now - So move it!"

Wilson reached out and gripped Nick`s arm. Nick instantly snatched it away and looked as though he was ready to land a punch in the man`s sneering mouth.

Natalie gasped out, " Nick, no - " She leaped forward and pushed herself between the two men.

" It would be a bad mistake, Nick," she told him, her voice trembling. " It would ruin the next ten days..."

The muscles in Nick`s jaws slowly relaxed, but he continued to glare at Wilson for a long time, until his eyes moved away and looked at Natalie.

" I don`t like being ordered about," he said quietly, so that the two cops could not hear. " But I do it for you - because you`re special."

" Nick..." Natalie breathed. There was so much to say, in that moment; so much she wanted and needed to find out about him.

But the moment passed. Nick eased away from her and walked towards the patrol car, with Natalie, and then Chuck Wilson, following closely behind.

*

It turned out that Nick`s two glasses of wine at the restaurant put him just below the legal limit for driving. And while Natalie was deeply relieved about that, it seemed to make Chuck Wilson all the more determined to blame Nick in some way for what had happened at the school.

Natalie herself was asked to make a short statement, which backed up Nick`s version of events. When she stepped out of the interview room, she found that a number of Nick`s friends had also been brought in for questioning. Mac gave her a wry, but cheery, wave - and had the tact not to ask what had become of his car. Leading Natalie across to a rather short and stocky, but very imposing man, Mac introduced Natalie to Arturo Fellini, the owner of the fair.

" Pleased to meet you, sir." Fellini took Natalie`s fingers in his own pudgy hand, delighting and surprising her by lifting them to his lips and kissing them gently.

" And I`m very happy to meet you," Fellini said, his voice lightly spiced with an accent that Natalie guessed must be Italian. The man smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with a genuine pleasure that they`d met. But Natalie could see tiredness there too, and sadness, as though this kind of thing happened often.

" I`m sorry about all of this trouble, Mr Fellini," Natalie said, putting her thoughts into words. " I can`t believe that any of you broke into the school..."

Fellini shrugged heavily. " Well, as I say to the police officers, we have nothing to hide. They can come and take a look whenever they like - And when they find nothing at the fair, I am so pleased I give them a free hot-dog, eh?"

He chuckled at his little joke, so that Natalie felt drawn to the man`s good humour in the face of these difficulties.

A side door opened and Chuck Wilson came through. He`d taken off his cap, so that Natalie saw, just fleetingly, Tood`s face reflected in his father`s. A picture of what Todd would look like in another thirty years flashed across her mind, and Natalie gave a long, deep sigh in the hope it wouldn`t be so.

Wilson walked over to Natalie and hooked his thumbs in his belt. His big beer gut stuck out towards her.

" We checked with The Mill House and the waiter there remembered you." He said it with a vague note of disappointment. Natalie stared at him steadily. " So I guess you and your new boyfriend are off the hook, for the moment. At least as far as the break-in is concerned...."

Wilson must have seen the slight frown appear on Natalie`s face. He smirked, indicating with his eyes at someone or something behind her.

Natalie glanced round, then looked back at Wilson.

" Thanks Mr Wilson," she said with a bitter sarcasm. " Thanks a lot."

And she spun away from him and walked across to her parents.

*

When they were in this mood, there was just no arguing with them. It wasn`t even possible to speak out in her own defence, Natalie found. So she just sat quietly in the back of the car, while her father and mother raged. She remembered it had been like this years ago, when she`d been a little girl and dropped chocolate ice cream on her dress, or used her mother`s lipstick without asking. She thought, here they are, telling me how grown-up and mature I should be - when they`re grumbling and snapping like a couple of bad-tempered kids!

Natalie`s mother had taken the approach of being hurt, because she`d been deceived. How Natalie could lie about going to Fran`s - and then go off with some strange boy, she couldn`t imagine!

Robert Dayne, who`d been able to cut his business trip short and come home, simply seethed at the thought of what `that lad` might have done to his daughter.

" Because they only want one thing, you know," he told her sternly. " Boys like that do not want to know you for your sparkling conversation!"

" What do you mean, `boys like that`?" she asked, having kept her silence long enough. " You don`t know anything about Nick - "

" Exactly," Mr Dayne replied.

" So how can you judge him?" Natalie said. Her mother turned and glared.

" Don`t you dare answer your father back like that!" Then her face crumpled and the tears came. " Oh Natalie, this is so unlike you..." she sobbed.

Natalie plumped back in her seat, folded her arms and gazed crossly out of the window.

Yes, she said to herself, it is so unlike me...Which is why I`m enjoying myself with Nick so much...

*

Next morning, Oakhills Senior seemed changed - partly by the thick autumn mist that lay wrapped around the town, but also by the atmosphere of suspicion that lingered right through the day. Oakhills had always been a quiet place: there was a little crime, but never anything serious. Certainly the school had never been burgled for as far back as anyone could remember. Natalie had half expected Mrs Simpkins to call another emergency assembly, but either the Principal stayed in her office all morning, or else was off campus, maybe talking to the police.

At breaktime, Natalie made her way to the study block for coffee. In her heart of hearts she wanted to skip the next study period and go to the fairground to find Nick. She had not seen him once they`d parted at the police station: each had been taken to a different interview room and questioned separately. Then, with the arrival of her parents, Natalie had had no opportunity to talk to Nick again that night. So far, coming to school had been a waste of time. All she`d done was stare through the window, remembering the meal they`d enjoyed, recalling the way Nick had kissed her...And daydreaming of what might follow as their relationship grew.

It was easy for Natalie to lose herself in thought this way - but not so easy to face her friends when the time came, though she was determined to do so. If she showed any hint of shame, Natalie knew that people like Rebecca Standish would move in for the kill right away.

She took her coffee and a sandwich up to the leisure area, where she found the regular crowd waiting. A few girls she didn`t know too well looked at her oddly; perhaps with contempt, or maybe it was envy, Natalie didn`t know. She went over to her usual corner, summoning up a smile as she did so.

" Hi," she said brightly, as she tore the seal off her sandwich pack.

" Well?" Jilly said. She was eating from a bag of doughnuts, and offered the bag up to Natalie. " You can have one of the jammy ones if you tell us all the juicy details!"

Natalie chuckled. Jilly had not an ounce of malice in her, and really just wanted some girl-talk. But with Rebecca sitting frostily beside her, and now, as Todd joined them with his can of cola, Natalie knew the time was not right.

" Maybe later," Natalie suggested. " Come over one evenuing and we`ll swap stories."

Jilly cast a half glance sideways at Rebecca, and winked in Natalie`s direction.

" Sure, good idea. Do you want a doughnut anyway?"

" Uh, no thanks...My diet."

" I didn`t think gypsy boys cared what their women looked like."

For a moment, there was an utter stillness and silence. Natalie could not believe Rebecca would say something like that; something so cheap, so mean.

Then she felt a white fury rushing through her, a fury that took her totally by surprise and overwhelmed her in a second.

With a shriek of total rage, Natalie flung herself forwards across the table, grabbed a double handful of Rebecca`s long hair, and dragged her up out of her seat. Paper cups toppled, spilling coffee, Coke and fruit juice. Rebecca`s flailing arms sent Jilly`s bag of doughnuts flying across the room.

" Cat fight!" Natalie heard someone say, realising she was doing the stupidest thing possible. But Standish deserved it, a different voice inside her said: she deserved everything she got. First, for spreading the rumour to Nick that Natalie was dating Todd, and by insulting both Natalie and Nick with her cruel comments. Natalie`s long dislike of Rebecca had come to a head in that second, and now, more than simple anger, she felt a great sense of relief that she didn`t have to try any more...She could stop treating Rebecca to yet another chance.

Rebecca`s left hand swung round and her fingernails raked Natalie`s cheek. Natalie yelled with the pain, delivering an open-handed slap to the side of Rebecca`s face that caused her eyes to snap open in shock.

Then Todd was there, tearing Natalie`s other hand free from Rebecca`s hair, before pulling Rebecca away. Fran dived in and pushed Natalie back, then took her forearm firmly and led her away to the washroom.

Inside the washroom it was cool and quiet and private.

Natalie stood in the middle of the floor, trembling uncontrollably. Fran fussed with some paper towels, holding them under the cold water tap, then bringing them over to dab against Natalie`s cheek.

" She`s drawn blood," Fran tutted. Natalie winced at the cool touch of the towels, then gently took them from Fran and held them against the wound.

" Well," Natalie said, her voice sounding fluttery and faint, " that`s made the day less boring!"

She felt strange, and understood she was shocked by her outburst. Fran reached out to tidy Natalie`s mussed hair, but Natalie shook her head and took a step back.

" I`m okay Fran, really. Just let me calm down, I`ll be all right in a minute."

" Then?" Fran wondered, thinking of the trouble that was likely to follow.

" Then I`m going to Andy`s Coffee Shop to work a few things out..." She looked hopefully at Fran -

And Fran smiled, nodding agreement. " Just for you, Nat, I`ll break my own rules and miss a study period...I`ll get Jilly to sign out for us."

*

Fran very wisely just let Natalie talk, and for that Natalie was deeply grateful. She brought Fran up to date with what had happened last night, but also said more than she`d ever done about the way she felt - and not just about Nick.

" I just know what people will think," Natalie went on. " That I lashed out at Rebecca because of Nick`s influence - believing that he`s changed me somehow for the worse."

" But?" Fran said gently.

" But it`s not Nick. It`s this town, Fran. It`s this suffocating little town! I feel so closed in, like I`m trapped in a cage. All Nick`s done is to teach me there`s life out there beyond Oakhills..."

" So what are you going to do about it?" Fran wondered. Natalie`s face showed puzzlement and confusion for a moment - and then both to her own surprise and Fran`s, she burst into tears.

Fran immediately came round to comfort Natalie as she sobbed; and Andy, who was passing by to clear crockery, paused and looked concerned.

" Is my coffee that bad?"

Natalie gazed up at him through tears and tried a smile. " No, it`s just me...I`m that bad..."

Andy frowned again, and Fran said, " We`ll have two more coffees, please Andy, just to show how much we like them..."

After the man had gone, Fran gave Natalie a squeeze. " Hey, come on. This isn`t like you."

" That`s what my Dad said last night: he said, getting involved with that kind of boy isn`t like you...And he`s right, Fran. And I`m frightened, because I don`t think I know who I am any more...I`ve never had feelings like this before..."

" We`re growing up," Fran pointed out. " We`re changing, leaving childhood behind. Maybe your parents find that harder to accept than you do, Nat. You`re their little girl. When they look at you, they see you with pigtails, wearing your High School uniform - "

" Ugh," Natalie said, " those pigtails!"

" Or they see you at kindergarten, or in babyhood...What they don`t see so easily is Natalie Dayne, grown into a woman. Because they know, deep down, that when you`ve grown up, you`ll leave them for a life of your own. And that scares them, Nat. It scares all parents who love their children."

Andy brought the fresh coffees over. Fran gave him a grateful smile.

" You should be a magazine agony aunt," Natalie told her. She took out a tissue and