Neither Mary nor Charlotte are looking forward to spending a week with nothing to do in Hastings, but when their paths cross, their seaside vacation becomes much more interesting. Years pass with their ups and downs, but eventually the pressures of life force them apart—can Mary escape from her humdrum life and persuade herself to get in touch again?
A love story with sweet and sad moments.
Caution: Young Adult, contains some harsh language.
Sample Text from Turning Point
Here we are again. Just like every other sodding year. Haven’s Holiday Park—pile of rickety wooden houses and crappy static caravans, one of those being the weather- worn shitheap the six of us are crammed into. ‘It’s traditional, innit?’ Bruce says— he’s Mum’s latest maaann, trying to make like he’s got any right to our family customs. B****y tosser. Anyway, here we all are, me ’n’ Jack taken out of school early, not that I’m too upset about that. Waste of time, school, especially with the so- called teachers I have. They gave up on me years ago, and I’ve given up on them.
We’ve been coming to Hastings as long as I can remember, the only holiday we ever take—it’s all we can afford. Truth be told, we can’t really afford it this time. The benefits disappear on booze and ciggies, but with Dad’s dodgy cash-in-hand schemes bringing in a little more, Mum reckoned we had enough for this holiday. A week of f**k all to do here in f*****g sunny f*****g Hastings. Kill me now. I’d sooner have stayed in Brent, but who says I had a choice?
Hastings again. Quaint little town, pretty in places, run down and shabby in others. Auntie Jean runs one of the hotels just off the sea front, Hotel Elegance it’s called.Three stars; I suppose that’s not bad… for Hastings. We’re staying in an apartment a few streets away, on Warrior Square, since the Elegance is packed to the rafters, and schools haven’t even broken up yet. State schools, I mean—I go to the Blackheath, and as with all private schools, summer starts a fortnight early. Mummy always says that lets us have better holidays, since they’re cheaper and less crowded, and we get to spend time somewhere nice before the charge of the chav brigade, as she puts it. Mind you, Hastings wouldn’t really be my first choice, but it has been a while since we’ve seen Auntie Jean. Still, it’s sunnier than central London, so I can work on that tan. And it’s only a week.
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These stories by L.N. Hunter first appeared, in slightly different forms, as:
- Hastings in Two for the Show (https://books2read.com/TheShowAnthology); and
- Maggie and Mary in Short Circuit #3 (https://short-edition.com/en/story/short-fiction/maggie-and-mary)
About L.N. Hunter
L.N. Hunter’s comic fantasy novel, The Feather and the Lamp, sits alongside works in anthologies such as Best of British Science Fiction 2022 and Ghostly, as well as several issues of Short Édition’s Short Circuit and the Horrifying Tales of Wonder podcast. There have also been papers in the IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, which are probably somewhat less relevant and definitely less entertaining. When not writing, L.N. occasionally masquerades as a software developer or can be found unwinding in a disorganised home in Carlisle, UK, along with two cats and a soulmate.
L.N. Hunter welcomes readers getting in touch via:
https://linktr.ee/l.n.hunter
https://www.facebook.com/L.N.Hunter.writer
