Pins and Needles
YOU South Africa|19 March 2020
She was the most beautiful girl in the world – what a pity they didn’t meet in less embarrassing circumstances
CATHERINE YOUNG
Pins and Needles

LIFE just wasn’t fair, Joe decided gloomily. He’d always suspected it, but now he knew for certain. Because if life was fair he wouldn’t be sitting on the 8.35am train just minutes from a crucial job interview, with the most beautiful girl in the world opposite him and a head totally empty of witty chat-up lines. And such an acute case of pins and needles in his left foot that he was completely unable to move.

Perhaps just a little twiddle of the toes? He tried.

“Aaargh,” he croaked, trying to turn the sound into a cough. Oh, this was a disaster! He had to get off this train at the next stop. He was pushed for time, and he couldn’t see stuffy old Mr Pickett of Pickett, Reid and Murphy Ltd taking a sympathetic view of lateness due to pins and needles.

The station was looming now. Once again Joe tried to stand, and once again the movement set off an explosion of unbearable ticklishness in his foot.

“Aaargh,” he groaned again, and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World stared at him, clearly alarmed. In an effort to reassure her of his sanity, Joe flashed a pleasant hey-I’m-just-a-harmless-chapwith-pins-and-needles smile in her direction. Things were bad enough already without being mistaken for a lunatic.

THE train creaked to a halt at Joe’s stop, and a crush of people piled in. One man stabbed Joe’s tingling toes with his umbrella and almost sent him into a frenzy. Making a last bid for freedom, Joe tried to get up, but his foot stubbornly refused to take his weight. Then suddenly Miss World was by his side and a delicious cloud of Chanel No 5 was engulfing him, and she was helping him to his feet.

“Come on, you poor thing,” she said quietly, taking his arm. “Lean on me.”

Esta historia es de la edición 19 March 2020 de YOU South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición 19 March 2020 de YOU South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE YOU SOUTH AFRICAVer todo
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
YOU South Africa

HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST

With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs

time-read
5 minutos  |
5 December 2024
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
YOU South Africa

SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES

John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love

time-read
5 minutos  |
5 December 2024
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
YOU South Africa

SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG

A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them

time-read
4 minutos  |
5 December 2024
LIAM LAID TO REST
YOU South Africa

LIAM LAID TO REST

More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.

time-read
1 min  |
5 December 2024
SHILOH HANGS OUT
YOU South Africa

SHILOH HANGS OUT

THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.

time-read
1 min  |
5 December 2024
LEO IN LOVE
YOU South Africa

LEO IN LOVE

He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down

time-read
3 minutos  |
5 December 2024
PACKING A PUNCH
YOU South Africa

PACKING A PUNCH

Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it

time-read
4 minutos  |
5 December 2024
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
YOU South Africa

I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD

As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome

time-read
5 minutos  |
5 December 2024
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
YOU South Africa

'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'

A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars

time-read
4 minutos  |
5 December 2024
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
YOU South Africa

THE CLAWS ARE OUT!

Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William

time-read
7 minutos  |
5 December 2024