The singstar night was a huge success, there were some wonderful renditions of things like daydream believer and bohemian rhapsody and there were some truly awful but amusing attempts at it’s tricky and barbie girl.

The night ended with everyone belting out Black Betty at full volume, if they hadn't stopped at ten the neighbours would surely have called noise complaints.

As they left to get their ride Jenny's mum took Jo aside, "Here is my card, call me tomorrow and we can talk about university applications."

Susan hadn't managed to warn her about this so the subject blindsided her, she stammered "but, I'm em, not going to uni."

"Oh, but you must, a talent like yours could be nurtured by a music degree."

She tried to hand the card back, "I can't afford it, I'm sorry."

"Nonsense, I'm on the scholarship board, if anyone deserves a full scholarship it is you. I have seen children with far less talent get them, and that is without my help!" She pushed the card away, "talk it over with your parents, even if you apply and don't get in, you lose nothing."

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Jo walked away with her head in the clouds.

"You okay?" Susan asked, "I meant to warn you but we got so caught up, I'm sorry."

Jo shook her head as if coming out of a daze, "no, it's okay, it's good, I think." She was still staring at the card clutched in her hand.

"Lucia, would you mind sitting in the front?" Susan asked her friend.

They got in the car and Lucia nattered away to Susan's father the whole way to Jo's house, the two in the back however, heard none of it, they were having their own whispered conversation about universities and dreams.

"I'm just going to walk Jo home dad, back in a minute."

She hooked her arm through Jo's and steered her home, when they got to the door she said, "I had a wonderful time tonight, thank you. Perhaps you and I could do something together sometime, just you and I?"

Jo smiled at her, "I could take you running? There are some nice easy trails through beautiful countryside nearby, we could take a picnic?"

Susan paused, "I would hold you back, I doubt I could run a single kilometer just now I'm so unfit."

"That's okay, we can run then walk a hundred paces at a time if you like, anything's a start."

Jo hugged her and made sure to hold on three mississippi's past when she thought she should let go.

"See you at school?" She said and waved as she walked away, Jo obviously wondering what had just happened.