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[Previous entry in this storyline. ]

Hearing her mother get up and proceed downstairs, Holly decides she has spent enough time musing over how close she and Xiulan came to breaching the conditions of Xiulan's being allowed to have sleepovers in the Hewson household. Of course, if things had gone any further beyond the rather delightful kiss, there is no reason Holly's parents would have automatically known, but for Holly it is the fact that she made such a huge promise with so much at stake and she found it very easy to get close to where, a few seconds more, she would have found herself breaking it without much reluctance at all.

She puts it out of her mind for now because there are more exciting things to consider: her first ever Gulliver Planet concert tomorrow evening!

Having changed out of her nightwear and put on something more suitable for public viewing shortly after returning to her bedroom, Holly presumes Xiulan has also had enough time to have exchanged a nightdress for something more presentable and so she knocks on Xiulan's door as she passes by.

Xiulan opens the door and Holly sees she has assumed correctly as Xiulan stands there in her trademark polo-shirt with a skirt. "Ready for brekkie?" she asks, to which Xiulan nods eagerly. The earlier incident is not forgotten but they choose to leave it tactfully in the background.

Downstairs, Jennifer Hewson is in the kitchen and is waiting for the kettle to boil. She has started to lay out a few things on the table for the rest of the household's breakfast but has only just begun. As Holly and Xiulan enter the kitchen, she turns and greets them with a smile. "Up early, girls? I've got used to you two sleeping in till at least nine-thirty, if not later."

Holly's eyes dart to Xiulan for a split second before she shrugs with a weak smile at her mother. "Excitement. Concert's only tomorrow now and we're having trouble sleeping cos we're so hyped about it."

"Well, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I've still got a bit to do before everything's ready," Jennifer says with a gesture to the barely prepared table.

"Can I make toasts for us, please, Mrs Jennifer?" Xiulan says and rushes to the corner of the worktop where the toaster is kept. She turns to look back at the two Hewson ladies. "I like making toasts! Gran says I make better toasts than all of Hong Kong!"

Jennifer chuckles to herself and makes a motion with her arm to indicate that Xiulan is free to do whatever she wants with regard to making toast. She knows from experience (and from Holly's accounts from Cookery lessons at St Tibb's) that Xiulan is quite a proficient cook in her own right and it amuses her that the young girl would take delight in making something so simple as toast, but she sees no harm in letting her crack on with this task if that is what she wants to do.

The kettle finishes boiling and Jennifer pours water into the teapot already waiting. Holly, meanwhile, has sat at the table and is staring ahead at nothing with her mind drifting back to what occurred in Xiulan's room.

"Early morning stares, dear?" Holly hears her mother's voice addressing her and is instantly snapped out of her thoughts. "Let's have a cuppa while the toast's being masterfully watched," Jennifer suggests.

"What? Oh, no! Just thinking, Mum..." Holly explains but she does not object when Jennifer places Holly's Radio 4 mug in front of her and begins pouring out some freshly-brewed tea.

Jennifer joins her daughter at the table with her own mug of tea while Xiulan stands over the toaster. "I know you're excited about the concert tomorrow, but speaking as your mother, I do want to express my worries. It's the first time you've been to a big city and left on your own without an adult you know. Well, okay, not exactly on your own. You'll have Claire and Xiulan with you. And your Dad will be not far away, but remember he won't be allowed into the venue without a ticket so you three'll basically be there by yourselves while you're inside. So..." She looks at Holly with an encouraging smile. "I'm relying on all three of you---but you especially, love---to be sensible and act like responsible grown-ups."

While giving this talk, Jennifer sees Holly increasingly begin to fidget on her chair and she recognizes this as a sign that Holly is close to voicing an objection so she holds up a hand to pre-empt any such interruption. "Now, I'm not saying you won't act sensibly, but I do remember what it was like to be young and going to my first music concert with friends. It's a brilliant time and you'll be excited and sometimes... just sometimes... things you'd normally think about or take care over, they slip your mind in the fun and heat of the moment and before you know it, things have gone further than you intended."

For a second or two, Holly wonders if her mother is aware of this morning's near-miss with the intimate moment she and Xiulan began but aborted before it got too far since what she is saying now could easily apply to that situation. But no, that's impossible, you silly! Holly upbraids herself. Mum's talking about the concert tomorrow, right?

"So... make sure all three of you have got your Dad's number on your phones so if anything---and I mean anything---happens, you contact him immediately," Jennifer continues. "If things get violent like a fight breaks out, if someone starts bothering you or harrassing you, if anyone gives you unwanted attention, if anyone tries to touch you in a place you don't want to be touched, if you think you've been pickpocketed, if anyone offers you drugs... or anything else that makes you uncomfortable, you get straight onto the phone to your father but you also look for a security guard for the venue and tell them, too. Okay?"

Holly nods assuredly. "Of course, Mum! We get told about this sort of thing at school, personal safety lessons and all that, you know?"

"That's good to know, love," Jennifer reaches out and pats Holly's hand tenderly, "but this is your old Mum's version and it's being given because she cares deeply about you and wants you to remember your first rock concert as a positive and to-keep-forever moment of your life."

"Oh, I will, I will!" Holly grins with excitement and is about to say more when Xiulan interrupts the moment.

"Toasts are ready!" Xiulan calls out and turns around to face Holly and Jennifer, holding two plates full of toasted sliced bread.

(Posed and rendered in Poser 12, clothes created in Marvelous Designer 9.5, postwork in PSP 2023.)
More Mettleham scenes: Kate's Exciting Life

Description
[Previous entry in this storyline. ]

Hearing her mother get up and proceed downstairs, Holly decides she has spent enough time musing over how close she and Xiulan came to breaching the conditions of Xiulan's being allowed to have sleepovers in the Hewson household. Of course, if things had gone any further beyond the rather delightful kiss, there is no reason Holly's parents would have automatically known, but for Holly it is the fact that she made such a huge promise with so much at stake and she found it very easy to get close to where, a few seconds more, she would have found herself breaking it without much reluctance at all.

She puts it out of her mind for now because there are more exciting things to consider: her first ever Gulliver Planet concert tomorrow evening!

Having changed out of her nightwear and put on something more suitable for public viewing shortly after returning to her bedroom, Holly presumes Xiulan has also had enough time to have exchanged a nightdress for something more presentable and so she knocks on Xiulan's door as she passes by.

Xiulan opens the door and Holly sees she has assumed correctly as Xiulan stands there in her trademark polo-shirt with a skirt. "Ready for brekkie?" she asks, to which Xiulan nods eagerly. The earlier incident is not forgotten but they choose to leave it tactfully in the background.

Downstairs, Jennifer Hewson is in the kitchen and is waiting for the kettle to boil. She has started to lay out a few things on the table for the rest of the household's breakfast but has only just begun. As Holly and Xiulan enter the kitchen, she turns and greets them with a smile. "Up early, girls? I've got used to you two sleeping in till at least nine-thirty, if not later."

Holly's eyes dart to Xiulan for a split second before she shrugs with a weak smile at her mother. "Excitement. Concert's only tomorrow now and we're having trouble sleeping cos we're so hyped about it."

"Well, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I've still got a bit to do before everything's ready," Jennifer says with a gesture to the barely prepared table.

"Can I make toasts for us, please, Mrs Jennifer?" Xiulan says and rushes to the corner of the worktop where the toaster is kept. She turns to look back at the two Hewson ladies. "I like making toasts! Gran says I make better toasts than all of Hong Kong!"

Jennifer chuckles to herself and makes a motion with her arm to indicate that Xiulan is free to do whatever she wants with regard to making toast. She knows from experience (and from Holly's accounts from Cookery lessons at St Tibb's) that Xiulan is quite a proficient cook in her own right and it amuses her that the young girl would take delight in making something so simple as toast, but she sees no harm in letting her crack on with this task if that is what she wants to do.

The kettle finishes boiling and Jennifer pours water into the teapot already waiting. Holly, meanwhile, has sat at the table and is staring ahead at nothing with her mind drifting back to what occurred in Xiulan's room.

"Early morning stares, dear?" Holly hears her mother's voice addressing her and is instantly snapped out of her thoughts. "Let's have a cuppa while the toast's being masterfully watched," Jennifer suggests.

"What? Oh, no! Just thinking, Mum..." Holly explains but she does not object when Jennifer places Holly's Radio 4 mug in front of her and begins pouring out some freshly-brewed tea.

Jennifer joins her daughter at the table with her own mug of tea while Xiulan stands over the toaster. "I know you're excited about the concert tomorrow, but speaking as your mother, I do want to express my worries. It's the first time you've been to a big city and left on your own without an adult you know. Well, okay, not exactly on your own. You'll have Claire and Xiulan with you. And your Dad will be not far away, but remember he won't be allowed into the venue without a ticket so you three'll basically be there by yourselves while you're inside. So..." She looks at Holly with an encouraging smile. "I'm relying on all three of you---but you especially, love---to be sensible and act like responsible grown-ups."

While giving this talk, Jennifer sees Holly increasingly begin to fidget on her chair and she recognizes this as a sign that Holly is close to voicing an objection so she holds up a hand to pre-empt any such interruption. "Now, I'm not saying you won't act sensibly, but I do remember what it was like to be young and going to my first music concert with friends. It's a brilliant time and you'll be excited and sometimes... just sometimes... things you'd normally think about or take care over, they slip your mind in the fun and heat of the moment and before you know it, things have gone further than you intended."

For a second or two, Holly wonders if her mother is aware of this morning's near-miss with the intimate moment she and Xiulan began but aborted before it got too far since what she is saying now could easily apply to that situation. But no, that's impossible, you silly! Holly upbraids herself. Mum's talking about the concert tomorrow, right?

"So... make sure all three of you have got your Dad's number on your phones so if anything---and I mean anything---happens, you contact him immediately," Jennifer continues. "If things get violent like a fight breaks out, if someone starts bothering you or harrassing you, if anyone gives you unwanted attention, if anyone tries to touch you in a place you don't want to be touched, if you think you've been pickpocketed, if anyone offers you drugs... or anything else that makes you uncomfortable, you get straight onto the phone to your father but you also look for a security guard for the venue and tell them, too. Okay?"

Holly nods assuredly. "Of course, Mum! We get told about this sort of thing at school, personal safety lessons and all that, you know?"

"That's good to know, love," Jennifer reaches out and pats Holly's hand tenderly, "but this is your old Mum's version and it's being given because she cares deeply about you and wants you to remember your first rock concert as a positive and to-keep-forever moment of your life."

"Oh, I will, I will!" Holly grins with excitement and is about to say more when Xiulan interrupts the moment.

"Toasts are ready!" Xiulan calls out and turns around to face Holly and Jennifer, holding two plates full of toasted sliced bread.

(Posed and rendered in Poser 12, clothes created in Marvelous Designer 9.5, postwork in PSP 2023.)
More Mettleham scenes: Kate's Exciting Life