Chapter Ten: Timeless by Rosaline Saul
While walking to the train station, I see an empty patch of grass and I throw the two perfect blooms into the long grass. Giving them back to nature will complete the spell I tried to weave this morning to revitalize my spirits.
The station is plus minus a mile from the estate in which we
live. It is okay, really, and most of the time I do not mind walking the
distance, which I must do every morning, come rain, hail or snow.
When I arrive in Balbriggan, Shannon is waiting outside the
train station entrance for me, as always, and I walk toward her.
When she notices me, she gasps loudly and puts her dainty
fingers in front of her mouth. She says loudly, “My gawd, Heather. What have
you done with your hair?”
I bring my hand up to my hair self-consciously. “I felt like
a change.”
She looks me up and down. “And the nun outfit?”
The new school skirt I am wearing covers my knees and my
socks are pulled up over my knees. There is not a glimpse of white, pale flesh
in sight. I look down uncomfortably. “The other one was too small.”
She laughs loudly and then she stops abruptly. She leans
into me and whispers softly, “Don’t look now, but the new boy just came walking
out of the station.”
I turn my head to look.
She slaps me against the shoulder. “Gawd, Heather! I told
you not to look.”
I continue looking, even though her slap stings my arm. He
looks at me as he walks down the few steps, and it looks as if he is going to
walk toward us. He has the greenest eyes I have ever seen, and they look right
into me. He is so sun-tanned he looks out of place and his light hair is
cropped short around his ears and the longer hair on top sits messy on his
head, as if he just pulled his hand through it. He has full, light brown
eyebrows; a perfect nose, a strong jaw and I notice a dimple in his chin. He
looks like the perfect advertisement for summer and all things warm and fuzzy.
He smiles faintly as he walks past me, and I turn to look at
him as he walks toward the little lane away from the station.
Shannon exclaims, “He is so yummy! Did you see the way he
looked at you?”
I start walking toward the lane and I reply indifferently,
“I am not interested.”
She falls into step next to me. “You are kidding, right?
When have you not been interested?”
“Since
yesterday.”
“Out
with it. Tell me.”
“Ugh!
My dad is moving out tomorrow. Actually, I think he moved out on Wednesday, but
he will be fetching his things tomorrow, I suppose.”
“Huh?
When did this happen?”
“Apparently
for a while now, he has a new girlfriend.”
“You
lie!”
“No,
I am not. It is the honest truth.”
“I
cannot believe it.” She looks at me concerned. “Are you okay though?”
“It
just made me wonder, what happened to their love? Where did it go?”
“Ah,
this is why you are pretending not to be interested in fresh meat.”
I smile. “He is very handsome.”
“He
is. Maybe with him you can find out where the love went.”
I scoff. “Shannon, I am serious! What is the use of falling
for someone, and pledging your undying love if it is just going to disappear
one day?”
“My
gran and grandpa have been married forever and the way they look at each other
is embarrassing. So, it depends.”
I sigh. “I suppose.”
We walk through the gates on the main road into the school
grounds and as we pass smoker’s alley, Dermot calls Shannon’s name.
We stop and he comes loping toward us. He crushes the
cigarette under his shoe when he stops in front of us. He bends down to
Shannon, and he is about to give her a peck on her lips when she pushes him
away. “Dermot, gawd you stink!”
He smiles bashfully. “Sorry, my sugar.” He looks at me and
greets me, “Hiya, Heather. You look different.”
Shannon says mockingly, “Yes, eejit she cut and coloured her
hair.”
He looks at me approvingly. “It looks nice.”
“Thanks.”
My hand comes up to my hair again.
He folds his hand around Shannon’s, and we walk through the
parking area toward the school entrance.
When we walk into the school building, Shannon and I walk to
the bathrooms, as we always do, first thing every school day.
As I wait for her while she uses the facilities, I glance at
myself in the mirror. Without thinking, I reach for my lip-gloss in the front
pouch of my bag. I lean closer to the mirror across the basin and smear the
gloss onto my lips liberally. I smack my lips together as I push the gloss back
into the pouch. I thought the new black hairstyle would be harsh, but I like
it. It makes me look extra pale, almost fragile. It makes my watered-down grey
eyes look bluer. I step away from the mirror and lean against the basin as I
wait for Shannon.
At last, I hear Shannon flush. When she walks out of the
cubicle, I sigh exasperated. “I thought you were stuck in there.”
She replies vaguely, “Monthlies.”
I groan, feeling sorry for her.
We walk to our lockers to collect our books for class and Dermot and the new boy is already standing there waiting for us.
Dermot says excitedly as he steps in behind Shannon and wraps his arms around her waist. “Have you met Kieran, yet?”
