Why Don't I Like Girls Anymore?

Saturday 26th March

4pm

I haven't had any time to write from getting off the train to now. Let's go through the entire itinerary.

As soon as I got off the train I noticed a bored looking man holding a sign with 'Simon Leyland' written on it. Obviously I was getting a taxi to my dad's house.

The guy driving, who I think was called Trevor, tried to make conversation with me but most of my answered consisted of 'Yes' or 'No'. This was because I was simply too preoccupied with what was going on outside of my window.

Everything mesmerized me. The hustle and bustle of the city, the never-ending traffic, the giant shops, people in business suits, people hailing taxis, red double-decker buses, people my age hanging around in groups, the advert signs, the grimy roads, the fast pace that felt so unnatural to me. Everything - or at least as much as I could take in during the one small journey.

Soon we were stopping near Camden outside of a posh looking apartment building. There was a man waiting on the pavement, looking at the taxi.

It was my dad.

I got out of the taxi, got my suitcase, and thanked Trevor. My dad fished out some money from his wallet and paid him before he drove off. Then he smiled at me.

'Simon, I'm so glad to see you.' His words didn't sound forced, but I didn't think that they could be true. I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded and looked up at the building.

'We're in the middle, but there's a lift, so no worries with your luggage.' He said after following the direction of my eyes. Then he offered to take my suitcase.

'Thank you.' I managed to say and he smiled warmly, as though he was waiting for me to say something to accept him. He walked towards the front of the building briskly and I followed. The hallway at the bottom of the building was clean and well looked after, so I could tell these apartments were expensive. We got into a big, silver lift and reached my dad's floor.

I felt so nervous - I was about to meet dad's new family. I felt like an intruder. I still couldn't quite bring myself to look at my dad, let alone his new family. I could feel the anger creeping unbidden into my heart.

I didn't want to mess this up though, no matter how angry I still was at my dad. Mum herself wanted me to see him, to get along, so I would do it for her sake, not his.

It turned out that his girlfriend, Vanessa and her son, Jay, weren't home yet so I couldn't meet them straight away. After my Dad explained this I felt so relieved. At least I could explore the apartment and unpack before all the awkward greetings.

My room was the spare room, so it wasn't very decorated. However, I was fortunate enough to have a big chest of drawers, a double bed and a desk with a computer. My dad explained that there was nowhere else for the computer to go, but I wasn't complaining - I could e-mail Julian as much as I wanted.

After my dad left the room, mumbling something about a phone call, I sat down on the plain white bed and sighed. Then, habitually, I started writing.

Only a short time of freedom before I'll meet Vanessa and Jay. I'm trying to figure out what they'll be like from their names. Vanessa reminds me of the gold-digger type, all blonde hair, shiny lips and big fake smiles. A voice like syrup but a heart like steel. Not someone I'd ever get along with.

Jay sounds completely different to Vanessa. Jay should belong to someone confident but not loud, popular but still down to earth. Someone kind and intelligent. Someone who will make this whole thing a lot more bearable for me. I hope. Even if he isn't like that, I'm strangely looking forward to meeting him.

I've just finished unpacking two weeks worth of clothes, toiletries, some books and other necessities I'll need. Now I'm writing again, seeming as there's nothing else to do and I'd rather not go and find my dad.

I've just heard a jingle of keys in a door, presumably the front door. It's just been opened and eventually closed.

'I'm home!'

I guess this must be Vanessa...

6.30pm

I guessed right, Vanessa had returned home first. I decided that finding her would be better than her going in my room. At least I could escape back to my room after wards if I couldn’t handle her.

I took a deep breath and barged out of my room. She didn’t see me at first, because she was rootling through her large canvas bag for something, but what I saw of her wasn’t what I had been expecting at all.

She had brown, curly hair with natural highlights from the sun. Her skin was tanned but it looked naturally so and her clothes weren’t that of a gold-digger. She was wearing earth toned clothes and wooden bracelets on her wrist. She looked like the type of person who was into scented candles and yoga. She didn’t seem much like my dad’s type at all.

She looked up and I saw that her eyes were a rich brown colour, which added to her down to earth look. She smiled brightly when she saw me.

‘You must be Simon! I’m Vanessa. John hadn’t told me when you’d be here!’ her voice was bright and breezy, like a lazy summer day, and her smile wasn’t false at all – she actually looked pleased to see me. I couldn’t help but smile back.

‘Um, I hope I’m not any bother…’ I began awkwardly, not expecting her to be so nice and she shook her head vehemently.

‘No, not at all. I’ve always wanted to meet you!’ she said, truth alight in her eyes. ‘I’ll make sure you feel at home and if you want I can show you around London!’ Her voice was enthusiastic and it felt mean to decline the offer so I nodded.

‘Great! Have you been to London before?’

‘I haven’t, actually…’

‘Well, there’s so much you need to see… The London Eye… the Imax cinema…’ She found a pen and small notepad in her bag and began to write things down, still mumbling as she wrote. I just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Obviously Vanessa wasn’t going to let the fact that I was her partner’s ex wife’s son get her down. She was actually pleased to meet me.

After making a hurried list we sat down on the dark brown leather sofa in the lounge part of the main apartment and had a chat about various things. I found out that Vanessa is an interior designer, she is thirty-six (my dad is forty so they’re close in age at least) and she had Jay from a previous relationship. I could tell she really loved Jay, because her eyes were full of adoration and pride whenever she mentioned him.

I didn’t find out much about Jay but Vanessa said, just before we stopped talking (she’s busy getting dinner ready now – I can tell by the smell of lasagna wafting into my room) that he’d be home in time for dinner to meet me. That’ll be in about half an hour, I guess.

What will he be like?