122 Red roses - pink roses

It’s September. Will is visiting his gran again.

‘It’s a lovely day, Will,’ she says. ‘Let’s have our coffee on the balcony.’

Will and his gran are sitting on the balcony in the sun, when suddenly Will hears a guitar.

‘Listen!’ he says. ‘That’s a guitar. Where’s it coming from?’ He stands up and looks around, but he cannot see the guitar.

‘Excuse me, Gran,’ he says. ‘I - er - back soon!’ And he runs out of the apartment.

Will runs along the corridor. Where is the guitar? And who is playing it?

He stops outside an apartment and listens. Nothing.‘Perhaps it’s outside,’ he thinks. ‘Perhaps she’s on her balcony.’

So he goes down in the elevator and goes outside.

Upstairs, Anna takes her guitar and goes inside. She closes the door to the balcony.

‘That’s it for today,’ she thinks.

Will looks at all the balconies, but he cannot see or hear a guitar.
He goes back to his gran’s apartment.

‘Are you all right, dear?’ she says.
‘Yes thanks, Gran,’ says Will. ‘It’s just - oh, it’s not important. Well, it is important, but . . .’
And Will tells Gran about the girl with the guitar.

A week later, Anna is coming home. She can see a young man near the apartment building, and he is carrying a bunch of roses - pink roses today. But he is not looking, and he does not see her.

Anna walks more quickly. But when she gets to the building, there is nobody there.

She gets into the elevator. There is nobody in the elevator, but she can smell roses - beautiful pink roses.

One day Anna comes home and finds Gran at the door of the building with a lot of bags.

‘Oh, can I help you?’ she says. ‘Can I carry something?’

‘Thank you very much,’ says Gran.

At the apartment, Gran says, ‘Come in, dear. Would you like some coffee?’

‘Oh — that’s very nice of you,’ says Anna. ‘I’m new here, and I don’t know anybody in the building.’

‘What do you do?’ asks Gran.

‘I’m a music student,’ says Anna.

Gran brings some coffee into the room.

‘These are lovely apartments, aren’t they?’ says Anna.

‘Oh yes,’ says Gran. ‘I like it here very much.’ She tells Anna about her apartment, and about Charlton. Later Anna gets up.

‘I must go now,’ she says. ‘Thank you for the coffee.’

‘Goodbye, dear,’ says Gran, and Anna goes out.

‘What a nice girl,’ Gran thinks. ‘But - just a minute. A music student - perhaps she’s the girl with the guitar! I can ask her over one day when Will comes. No I can’t - I don’t know the number of her apartment!’

Later that week Vicki talks to Anna. ‘I’m having a party on Saturday,’ she says. ‘Can you come?’

‘Yes, of course!’ says Anna. ‘Your parties are always wonderful.’

Vicki calls her brother. ‘Come to my party on Saturday, James,’ she says, ‘and bring some friends.’

On Saturday, James and his friends arrive at Vicki’s house.

‘Hi, Vicki,’ says James. ‘Meet my friends. This is Tom, and Daniel - and Will.’

Just then, Vicki’s phone rings.

‘I’m sorry, Vicki,’ says Anna. ‘I can’t come to your party, because I’m not feeling well.’

‘Oh Anna! I’m sorry, too,’ says Vicki. ‘Well, stay in bed, and get better soon.’

Vicki’s party is wonderful. Will meets Natalie, and Jane, and Katie. But he does not meet Anna.