Chapter 10 and 11 of Freshers

By this point, it seems like the novel is really stalling in Chapter 10

Lois and Daniel go out, they meet an ex of Daniels, she says he's got problems, she should get out of this one. Bounty Hunter are having a big gig to launch their album.... in Lampeter. Wow, the record label are really backing that then!

Cerys goes to have an abortion. Lois asks her if she's doing the right thing, apparently having forgotten that she along with everyone else last chapter, told her to get rid of it. But Cerys changes her mind anyway, and decides she wants to keep it, which is what she wanted to do last chapter and this was, even for this book, a thoroughly pointless conversation.

Hywel's mother emotionally bullies him into ditching Meleri and encouraging him to get a divorce. Isn't it kind of contradictory to be all holier than though about sex before marriage, and then encourage your son to divorce his wife after they've very definitely had sex? Nope, best not ask. She's also arranged with the university that he can have the rest of the year off and repeat his first year again because of his recent bereavement. I'm sure universities would not do that. Maybe grant an extension, but an entire academic year repeat seems extreme. Student bereavement isn't that rare a situation for a university. Or anyone.

In Chapter 11 Lois and Fflur get fired. But working in a supermarket was boring anyway, so it's not a big deal. It's not like they need to make money! Fflur decides to steal stuff from the supermarket, but Lois being our virginal good girl Mary Sue heroine just keeps a look-out. Which, I think would actually also make you culpable. Anyway, no need to worry about her finances because she already had another job playing piano, but she gives that up because the dance tutor was an 'old witch.' FEMINISM! Fflur and Lois both see a job in a cool student shop. But of course, that's only for one person. But Fflur lets Lois have it. God forbid there'd be any tension or reflection here on the competitveness of the job market! Then they go get cool sexy clothes for this Lampeter album launch. Fflur's behaviour at this point seems more like Cerys at the beginning, making me wonder if this chapter came from an earlier draft and was originally meant to be Cerys.

The big gig is in an big indoor space and a field. Then there's like two hundred people there! In all fairness, that's a quarter of Lampeter's student population. This then has more editor fail as Lois observes that 'it was obvious that Bounty Hunter were popular with the girls and the band of the moment.' Yet a paragraph later, they haven't actually performed yet, and their actual set involves the lead singer getting shitfaced, pissing (literally) on the audience before the band get into a fight onstage and start a riot in the crowd. Apparently this means the record label have cancelled the record deal. In reality I suspect the band members would have been arrested for public disorder, and likely sued by the record label for the damages and loss of sales, among other things.

Cerys's storyline meanwhile is on repeat. Marc wants her to get an abortion. She doesn't want to. She thinks that Marc will leave his wife once he sees their baby. She decides 'the only obstacle to her happiness was Marc's wife.' FFS, how could you not yet have worked this one out? Marc is using you and is never going to leave his wife. And apparently everyone in Old College is talking about this. Which is hardly surprising. They have sex in hotels on the seafront, they meet up on the seafront, SHE SITS IN HIS LECTURES WITH NO KNICKERS, and this is a small town. But they shouldn't be too worried. The main campus is on top of the hill!

Hywel's inconsequential plotline goes thus: He's not going to confront his mum, and plans to transfer to Swansea to be nearer home (which is Ammanford). He figures Meleri can transfer too, since they do geography there too. (this is chapter 11, and this is the most information we get about her!) He hasn't asked her about this, he just figures that fine. MARRIAGE! FEMINISM! Hywel decides to not hurt his mother, while grieving, and break up with Meleri. She's obviously upset by this, and Hywel's mum comforts her, leads her to the door, and then slams it on her. Hywel's mum knows a good divorce lawyer. WHY??? How very Christian. Meleri should just refuse a divorce, frankly, to frustrate Hywel's mum forever, because she is quite the emotional bully here, continuing this novel's obsession with bitches, witches and whores of female characters. Written by a woman, for a women's writing press.


Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9