Downshire is a
relatively small English county but like a pocket battleship it packs a lot in,
a short but beautiful coastline, a channel port, the Ancient forests of
Dancingdean and Pepperstock, the craggy ridges and manmade lakes of the
Pepperstock Hills National Park, the rolling hills of the Downshire Downs, the
beautiful Finchbottom Vale and farm land as far as the eye can see from the
Trotwood’s and the Grace’s in the south to the home of the Downshire Light
infantry, Nettlefield, and their affluent neighbour’s, Roespring and Tipton in
the north but our story takes place in the southern town off Abbottsford which
was the biggest in Downshire, its administrative capital and the seat of the Downshire
government.
It was also a Cathedral City, home to Abbottsford
Town football club and a place of learning thanks to the Downshire University.
It was the seventh day
of Shrovetide, shrove Friday also known as kissing Friday or Nippy Hug Day.
In bygone days the men
of Leicestershire could demand a kiss from any woman of his choice on that day
and by custom and if she was to refuse he could then pinch her bottom.
But after World War Two
it quite understandably fell out of favour so in 21st century Downshire
Kissing Friday no longer applied or is even remembered for that matter.
Two of the first-year English
students at the University were lifelong friends Joshua Aldridge and Henrietta
Perkins who had been so since preschool and even their parents were the best of
friends, so no one batted an eyelid when they both wanted to study the same
subject at the same University after all they had mirrored each other their
whole lives.
They were also study
buddies and had always helped each other with research and revision so it was
no surprise to find them studying at the Learning Resource Centre or the Library
and it was on the seventh day of Shrovetide that they had been most of the day
at the LRC when the two BFF’s went to the coffee shop for a break.
Once they had their
drinks they sat on one of the comfy sofas and turned their attention to their
respective tablets, Josh opened Twitter while Etta looked at the BBC news feed
“It says here that its
Kissing Friday” she said
“Really?” he retorted
and leant in to read the article and he was suddenly aware of her smell, a hint
of fruit in her hair, coconut on her skin and the subtle fragrance of her
perfume.
“Wow” he said, and she
turned to look at him “Kissing Friday, well I don’t mind if I do”
And then he kissed her
mouth and to his delight she kissed him back, and when it ended he exclaimed
“OMG what just
happened”
“I don’t know” she
replied “But please make it happen again”
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