throat. Bloody hell, was this what happened when you got old? Neat nostalgia.
She swallowed down hard as Diana said, âI got them out of the loft when I joined Oldschooltieâjust for old timesâ sake. I wonder how everyone is now.â
âLook at these,â said Carol, peering at the rows of faces. âGod, I havenât thought about herâoh, look, Mrs Devine, the PE teacherâand Mr Bailey.â
âI was thinking on the drive over hereâit would be great to see everyone again. What about if we tried to organise a reunion? I mean how hard can it be? People do it all the time. It would be great.â
Carol, halfway through a mouthful of Baileys, spluttered. âAre you sure greatâs the word youâre looking for, Diana? I can understand what you mean but it would be loads of work and not everyone grew up to be a vicar, you know. What about Sandy Lewis? You remember?â
âWho could forget?â
âPotential axe-murdering psychopath if ever I met one. Do you remember when he burned the cricket pavilion down? Caught red-handed, petrol can, matches, swore blind he hadnât done it.â
âHe probably wonât come. I doubt they can get Oldschooltie.com in Broadmoor; and besides, heâs an extreme example and you know it.â
âHow about Harry Longman? Put away for fraud? Kate Lynwood, shoplifting and passing dud chequesâ¦â She pointed out the faces in the picture.
âAll rightâdonât be so negative, so not everyone turned out a saint,â said Diana, âbut theyâre not all nutters and conmen either. I was thinking school reunion here, not Britainâs most wanted. Once I started seeing all those names on the register at Oldschooltie curiosity got the better of me. And then I fished out the photosâand since then I keep wondering what theyâre all up to, what they look like, how theyâre all doing.â
âYou always were so nosy,â Carol said. âDonât mind me. Actually, it does sound like a nice idea. What had you got in mind? Invite people from our year?â
Diana pulled a thinking face. âI donât know. Iâve only re ally just thought about it. We could start there. Would you pitch in?â
âPitch in?â said Carol. âI smell an ambush. And what is this âpitch inâ, Di, Enid Blytonâs Famous Five?â
âIt is going to be a lot of work and I donât re ally fancy doing it on my own. We could both contact people and stuff.â
Carol nodded. âOK.â
âWhat about if we tried to get the drama group back together?â
âThe drama group?â said Carol in amazement.
âUh-huh, why not? Itâs a great idea. The last tour was so good. How about one last time with feeling, do something, maybe a read through and invite the rest of the class, too. Itâll be twenty years ago this July.â
âA read-through of what?â Carol asked incredulously.
âWell, Macbeth would seem the natural choice.â
âYou canât be serious. A reunion is going to be tough enough. I was thinking more about where weâd hold it.â
Diana looked affronted. âWe wouldnât haveto learn it or anything, just do a read-through of the highlights. You know, witches, murder, madness, suicide, trees moving, ghost, Macduff, the endâitâd be great. We could invite everyone else who was interested from school to come along and watch us.â Diana paused, waiting until Carol looked up. âIâm sure Gareth will be there.â
âSorry?â Carol felt a little rush of heat and then cursed herself for being so silly.
âGareth.â
âWhat do you mean, Gareth? â
âOh, come on. Donât play the innocent with me. Gareth Howard, boy wonder. The Gareth Howard. Heâs on the website, which re ally took me by surprise. He always used to be so cool, I couldnât