Old Friends and New Loves
Briarview Co-educational Catholic School
Head mistress Dr Philippa Watson is delighted to invite you to a ten year reunion for the 2006-2007 Year 13 leavers.
The event will be held on Saturday the 28th of January 2017 from 9am to 12pm in the main school building.
Come along for a chance to tour the school and see the changes that have occurred over the last ten years, reunite with old class mates and teachers, and share your memories with us.
We dearly hope you will be able to attend.
Please RSVP to the school office using the contact information overleaf.
We look forward to seeing you.
"Please will you come with me?" Tom begged Sybil, staring into her eyes and sticking his bottom lip out to gain sympathy.
"I won't know anybody there," Sybil moaned.
"Come on, Syb! I haven't seen most of them in years and I need my best girl with me if I'm going to survive," he said, giving Sybil his best needy puppy-dog look.
"Am I even allowed to go? I didn't attend the school," Sybil said, finding any excuse not to join Tom in his adventure into the past.
"Yes you are. I've already rung the school to check. Apparently most people have already replied, and almost everybody is planning on bringing a partner."
Sybil found it hard to resist Tom at the best of times – one look from his clear blue eyes caused her knees to go weak and her brain to turn to mush. Now that he was desperately pleading with her, she had no chance of resisting him.
"Fine," she groaned.
"Thank you!" Tom said with a smile, wrapping his arms around his fiancée and pulling her into a hug. "You won't regret it."
"How can you be so sure?" Sybil said through a small smile.
"I'll make it worth your while," Tom whispered into Sybil's ear, starting a trail of kisses down her neck.
Sybil tilted her head to one side and buried her fingers in Tom's hair. She allowed and encouraged him to make it worth her while… multiple times.
-ooo-
Tom had attended Briarview from when he was thirteen to when he was eighteen. He had previously lived in Ireland, where his thick accent had developed, but his family had decided to move to England to increase the opportunities for Tom and his sister, Alana.
Tom and Alana attended the same school, but Tom found it much harder to settle in. Alana, being two years younger than Tom, joined the school in Year 7, the youngest year. Very few people in the year knew each other, so making friends came naturally to Alana. Tom, however, joined in Year 9. Making friends was challenging for him, as strong bonds had already formed between everyone else in the year. Infiltrating any one friendship group was difficult and daunting for thirteen year old Tom, so for the first six months of his time at Briarview he had few friends.
Despite his rocky start at Briarview, by the time he left the school he was one of the most popular people in the year, he had made some very good friends, and the years he had spent at that school were some of the best of his life.
Now, ten years on, he only kept in touch with a few of his old school mates. Tom, Julia, Jacob, Katie and Michael tended to meet up a few times a year for a catch up. He wished he could see them more often, but since they all had busy schedules and a few of them no longer lived close by, they found it increasingly harder to find times when all five of them were available.
Tom hadn't seen his four closest school friends for a number of months and he hadn't seen most of his other classmates for nearly a decade, so he was looking forward to seeing everybody again. He wanted to know how they were all doing.
Was anyone married?
Did they have children?
Had anybody become a millionaire?
Would anyone look so different that he might not recognise them?
-ooo-
As Tom parked the car, Sybil looked out of the window at the school. The grand gates leading up the drive (which was rarely used for cars) were wide open and an older woman whom Sybil assumed was head mistress was standing by them, greeting everyone who walked into the school.
"Are you ready?" Tom asked.
Sybil had hardly noticed that the engine had been turned off, as she had been so caught up in her thoughts.
"Yeah," she said, snapping herself out of her internal monologue.
They both climbed out of the car and Tom walked around the front to greet Sybil on the pavement. Sybil was wearing a maroon duffle coat which was unfastened, so Tom placed his hands beneath the thick fabric, resting them on her waist above her soft, long-sleeved black top. He could feel the waistband of her skinny jeans beneath the black fabric. He knew exactly where the belt hooks were – he had hooked his fingers in them and pulled the denim down Sybil's legs countless times. Maybe he would be able to add to the count later.
"Thank you," he said quietly, "for coming with me. It means a lot."
He leant down to kiss her gently, a sign of how much he loved her. When they broke apart Sybil smiled a small smile. She was clearly still a little apprehensive about the whole experience. Tom took her hand and squeezed it softly.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she replied with a smile.
Holding hands they walked towards the main gate of the school. Tom's memories flooded back to him as he saw the buildings that he hadn't seen in so long. He smiled at the thought of being able to relive all the memories that he made here. It occurred to him that he was wearing a pale blue shirt practically the same as the one he had worn most often while he was in sixth form at Briarview. Tom thought it strangely poignant how if he were to change his jeans for a pair of suit trousers, add a blazer and put on a tie, he could transform back into his eighteen year old self.
When they approached Dr Watson she smiled and said, "Tom Branson!" in the extravagant way that only she could. She was shorter than average, with a mostly grey bob and dark brown eyes that seemed younger than she did. She was wearing a multi-coloured, very flowy dress, which was not appropriate clothing for the cold weather, but she coupled it with a pair of thick black tights and a bright red coat. She was the perfect caricature of a mad scientist and all her students loved her.
"In the flesh," he said with a smile.
"Oh, I can't believe how much you've changed!" she said in surprise.
"Have I really changed that much?"
"You've certainly grown up. You're much more a man than a boy," Dr Watson said, noting how Tom had broadened and gained a significant amount of muscle since leaving school. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if you were still just as outspoken. What are you doing now?"
"I'm a political journalist," he said.
"Well that's hardly surprising, is it now?" she laughed. She turned to Sybil. "I'm so sorry, I'm being incredibly rude. I'm Dr Watson, the head mistress of Briarview." She extended her hand out to Sybil.
Sybil shook it and said, "Sybil Crawley, pleased to meet you."
Dr Watson turned to Tom and said in a theatre whisper, "Are you together Tom? She's very pretty; you don't want to let her get away!"
"Yes, we're together. Engaged, actually," Tom replied, proud to be able to call Sybil his fiancée.
"Oh, how marvellous! Congratulations!"
Sybil and Tom smiled at each other and at the very lovely, but slightly insane head teacher standing before them.
"You ought to go inside to get out of the cold," she said. "Everyone's gathering in the main hall currently. Lovely to see you again, Tom."
"Likewise," Tom said as he began to walk away from Dr Watson. As he led Sybil to the main hall in the main building he said, "I'm so sorry, I really should have warned you about Dr Watson. I was one of her favourites and when she starts talking it can be hard to get away."
"I noticed," Sybil said with a smile. "Don't worry. Every school has at least one teacher like that."
Still holding Sybil's hand, Tom kissed her temple before leading her up the steps into the main building and down the steps into the main hall, following the signs that read 'Class of 2006-2007 Reunion This Way'.
Tom entered the hall and immediately noted how the stage had been extended. That would make assemblies and drama performances much easier. The balcony was still the same, where they stored all the lighting and sound equipment and where the sixth form would sit during assemblies. Everything seemed so familiar, yet slightly too distant to feel completely real.
"Tom!" Jacob said, crossing the room.
"Hi mate," Tom said, drawing him into a quick hug.
"Hey Sybil," he said afterwards, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi," she replied.
Jacob was part of the small group of friends Tom did still stay in touch with. Sybil had met them all and had spent the odd night out with them – at least enough to feel comfortable around them. Knowing that she would know more people than just Tom made her a little more relaxed.
"Are the others here?" Tom asked.
"Julia and Michael are, but I haven't seen Katie yet," Jacob replied.
"But Katie's always late, so that doesn't surprise me," Tom laughed.
"Hey, do you remember Francesca Palm?" Jacob asked.
"Of course I do!" Tom replied enthusiastically. "She was the hottest girl in school."
Sybil frowned at Tom, though he didn't notice.
"She's over by the photo display at the back. You should go and say hi."
"I will," Tom said. "I want to see who else is here first though."
Tom left Jacob talking to someone else and he led Sybil into the middle of the room where most people were gathering.
"Oh my God," Tom said quietly.
"What?" Sybil asked.
Tom turned to Sybil and said, "You see the girl behind me, wearing the green top?"
Sybil looked over Tom's shoulder. "Yeah."
"Her name is Jasmine and she had the biggest crush on me when we were teenagers. She asked me out four times and I rejected her every time."
"How come? She's pretty?" Sybil observed. She looked to be about a similar height to Sybil, but she had finer features. Her blonde hair was cut into a bob and curled away from her face and a pair of stylish glasses rested on her nose.
"And she's really nice, too, and clever," Tom said.
"But you rejected her four times?" Sybil questioned.
"I was going out with Hannah at the time. Hannah never did anything wrong and we had a good relationship. I didn't want to break up with Hannah just in case there might have been something with Jasmine."
Sybil smiled to herself. Tom always was loyal. It was one of the things that first attracted her to him. "Was teenage Tom spoiled for choice?" she teased.
"Perhaps a little bit," he laughed.
"Tom?" said a voice behind him.
Tom turned around to see that Jasmine had come up to him.
"Jasmine, hi," he said, hugging her briefly.
"How are you?" she asked. "I haven't seen you in so long."
"I'm doing really well, actually. This is my fiancée, Sybil," he said, gesturing towards Sybil at his side. "Sybil, this is Jasmine Wells. She was head girl in our final year here."
"Hi," Sybil said politely, though her own thoughts were not quite so well-mannered. She was pretty, clever, successful and she was willing to throw herself at Tom. He had never mentioned this to Sybil in the six years that they had known each other. Sybil knew that what she was feeling was jealousy, but she would hate to admit it aloud. She knew it was ridiculous. She knew that Tom loved her and she knew that all of this feminine attention was in the past – before Sybil had ever even laid eyes on him. But nonetheless, she couldn't help her emotions.
"Hello. You're lucky to be engaged to Tom. My teenage self would love to be standing where you are now," Jasmine stated.
"Yeah, I've heard a little about your pursuits," Sybil replied. "But it's so hard to seduce someone as stubborn as Tom."
"Tell me about it!" Jasmine laughed. "He never did agree to go on a date with me. He was too loyal to Hannah I suppose."
"Well when I met him he wasn't in a relationship with anybody, but I still had to ask more than once before he agreed," Sybil said.
"Hey now!" Tom protested.
Sybil turned to Tom and said, "Well, it is the truth."
"Yeah – but I –" Tom spluttered.
Sybil kissed him on the cheek and laughed. "I'm only teasing, you know I love you!"
"Hmm," Tom huffed.
"Tom, this is Henry, my husband," Jasmine said, gesturing to the man who had just returned to her side. "Henry, this is Tom Branson and his fiancée, um –"
"Sybil," Sybil cut in.
"Sorry, I'm really bad with names," Jasmine apologised.
"Don't worry about it," Sybil said kindly. It doesn't matter if you don't remember my name. I doubt we'll ever cross paths again.
"Ah, the infamous Tom Branson," Henry said.
"Oh, shut up," Jasmine said good-naturedly.
"I've heard all about you," he said.
"I didn't think I was important enough to be talked about," Tom said.
"You seem to have been the most important person in teenage Jasmine's life. She and I go way back to when we were toddlers and I remember the trials and tribulations of the Tom Branson unrequited love fiasco."
Tom couldn't help a smirk forming on his lips and he felt his face go a slightly deeper shade of red.
"Okay, okay," Jasmine said. "I was a little bit obsessed. But it all turned out well in the end, didn't it?"
"I think I can agree with that," Henry said, placing his arm around his wife.
"Definitely," Tom said, smiling at Sybil. "It was lovely seeing you again, Jasmine."
"Yeah, you too," she replied.
-ooo-
Sybil and Tom made their way to the photo display. In each photo, Tom pointed himself out to Sybil. He had certainly matured a lot since being at school, but Sybil still saw the same kindness in his eyes – one of the first things that had drawn her to him in the first place. She laughed at the photos of him on school trips; lying in the sand when they went on a geography field trip; jumping off a boat when they went to the Canary Islands; him and his ex, Hannah, on one of the lock bridges in Paris when they went on a French trip which happened to be on the week of Valentine's Day. She had light brown hair, freckles and beautiful curves.
"Is that Hannah?" Sybil asked, pointing to the image.
"Yeah, that's me," she said from beside Sybil.
Tom snapped his gaze up to see her.
"Oh my God, Hannah, hi," he said, hugging her. He returned to his spot beside Sybil and placed a protecting arm around Sybil's waist. "Sybil, this is Hannah, an ex-girlfriend of mine. Hannah, this is Sybil, my fiancée."
"Ooh, fiancée?" Hannah teased.
Tom laughed, remembering how he used to hate the idea of ever marrying anyone. Agreeing to settle down with someone for the rest of your life was too big of a commitment for him. Of course, that was before he fell head over heels in love with Sybil.
"I'm happy for you Tom. I really am. You're a journalist now aren't you?" she said.
"Yes, I am."
"Well that suits you perfectly," she said.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm an animal behaviourist," she replied.
"Oh," Tom said, a little surprised. "Not a vet then?" Tom expected Hannah to be a vet, as that is what she had studied at university after leaving Briarview.
"No," she said. "I studied veterinary science for two years, but I hated it, so I left and changed track a little."
"But you're enjoying it?" Tom asked.
"Yes, I love it. I'm happier than I've ever been. The only thing I regret is letting you break up with me," she said. "But you seem happy."
We are happy. And I would be happier if you didn't try to guilt trip my fiancé into liking you again.
"Yeah," Tom muttered. "Sybil's the best thing that's ever happened to me. We're very happy together."
Sybil smiled.
At that moment, Hannah's phone rang, so she excused herself and let Sybil and Tom get back to their own bubble.
Tom squeezed Sybil's hand and they continued looking at the photos of Tom's past. He smiled at the memories and told Sybil the tales of the biology cake homework, the sardines game involving the tree, and the fateful football match when only two people went uninjured.
Tom took a step back, and almost fell over the person behind him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said when he had gained his composure, but then realised who he was talking to. "Francesca?"
"Tom?"
"Yeah, hi, how have you been?"
"I've been well. I spent some time after leaving school doing modelling, but then I trained as a lawyer."
"A lawyer? Wow! I never would have expected that," Tom said.
"Yeah, well, I had to redo all my A levels since my grades weren't good enough, but I got through it eventually."
"What made you want to do law?"
"You know I'm not entirely sure. It just sort of came to me, and then I couldn't shake the idea out of my head," she said. "Are you doing okay for yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm a political journalist, and this is Sybil, my fiancée," he said, placing his hand on Sybil's lower back.
"You're engaged? Shame," she muttered. "I was hoping I could finally muster the courage to ask you out. I always wanted to in school."
Sybil found herself subconsciously stepping slightly closer to Tom. She felt like she needed to stake her claim.
"You liked me in school?" Tom asked, utterly bewildered.
"I was scared you'd say no, so I never said anything. And then you started going out with Hannah so I knew I had no chance," Francesca explained.
"I never knew."
"I did my best to hide it." She paused. "Well, the tours are supposed to start in a few minutes, and there are still some people I'd like to say hello to. I'll leave you be. Nice seeing you again. And congratulations on the engagement."
"Thank you," Tom said.
-ooo-
Tom squeezed Sybil closer to him and kissed her temple.
"Are you okay, love?" he asked. "You seem quieter than normal."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sybil said quietly, nodding her head.
"Syb, love," he whispered to her. "Come with me."
He took her hand and led her out of the room into one of the back corridors. It used to be near the finance office, but it looked like the old office was now used for storage. Tom held Sybil's hands in his and said, "What's wrong?"
Sybil sighed, knowing that what she was about to admit was not an attractive quality.
"You never mentioned any of these girls before. They're all gorgeous and clever and they all seem really nice."
"Syb, whether I liked them or not, it was ten years ago."
"You always said that no girls were ever interested in you in school," Sybil moaned.
"I didn't know they were! I went out with Hannah and Jasmine liked me, but I never knew that Francesca liked me."
"But you liked her," Sybil said.
"Of course I did. She was blonde and she had legs up to her armpits and she was popular. All the guys liked her."
"Tom, that's so shallow."
"I know. I was eighteen and I would have shagged all the popular girls in school if I could have."
"I was never a 'popular girl'," Sybil muttered.
Tom placed her hands on her waist.
"No, but you're so much better," he said in a low voice, his Irish accent thicker than usual. "You're beautiful and clever and funny and I love you."
Sybil looked down, not convinced.
"I didn't know it was possible to love anyone like this until I met you, Syb. You're the best thing that ever happened to me and I can't imagine a life without you."
Sybil looked up at him and he leant down to kiss her. She threaded one hand through his hair and placed the other on his shoulder, deepening the kiss.
"No kissing in the hallway, Mr Branson. The rules haven't changed."
Tom broke away from Sybil, startled by the all too familiar voice. He turned towards the source of the voice to find his old history teacher standing before him.
"Mr Baker," Tom said, slightly surprised to see that he was still working at the school. He was getting near retirement age when Tom left the school, so to see him still teaching was unexpected. "Are you still teaching?"
"Only part time, but yes. I did retire for a few years, but I got bored too quickly, so I had to come back," he said. "Now, I know what it is to be young and carefree, but the tours should be starting in a moment, so you two ought to get back in the hall."
"Yes, sir," Tom said, his standard answer when he had been reprimanded by a teacher.
Mr Baker walked past them and entered the hall himself, leaving Sybil and Tom to follow behind him.
Tom and Sybil laughed quietly to each other before making their way to the hall.
-ooo-
Dr Watson quickly said a few words and then the whole group were taken around the various buildings of the school. The science labs were practically the same, but most other rooms had been switched round. The languages department had swapped classrooms with the humanities and maths had swapped buildings with English. The art room had been extended and the music block had been rebuilt. The dining room had been entirely revamped, but the gym had barely changed, other than some new equipment.
As they went, Tom explained to Sybil where his form rooms had been, how the common room had changed and where various things had happened. Olivia had trodden on a pin whilst dancing on a desk over there in year ten, Tom had sat through multiple detentions in that room, and Mitch had fallen asleep in a history lesson in here.
Sybil liked hearing about Tom's past. It sounded like he really enjoyed school and had some great memories from this place.
After the tour, everyone gathered once again in the main hall and people slowly began trickling out to go home. Tom stayed close by Sybil and said hello to yet more old school friends and teachers. Nobody had a bad word to say about Tom.
After a while it felt like the right time to leave, so Tom said his goodbyes and took Sybil back to the car. Before they climbed into the car, Tom turned Sybil towards him and kissed her.
"I meant what I said earlier. It means a lot that you came with me. I know it wasn't easy, so thank you. I love you."
"I love you too," she said. "Even if all the girls you went to school with feel the same way." She was only teasing him now and he knew it.
"Whether they loved me or not, I never loved any of them like I love you," Tom said.
"Prove it to me," Sybil said.
"Maybe when we get home I will," he growled, lifting Sybil up and spinning her around as her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck.
She jumped down to the floor and raised herself on her toes to kiss Tom.
"I love you so much," she said.
Tom opened the passenger side door so that Sybil could get in the car, being the gentleman Sybil always knew him to be.
She felt stupid for allowing herself to be jealous, but she was pleased that she had got it out of her system now. She had no reason to be jealous of anything when it involved Tom. She knew that he loved her more than he had ever loved anything before. She had nothing to worry about. Tom was perfect for her. They were the perfect couple and no amount of past teenage flirting would ever get between that.
So, I've had an idea for a school reunion fic for a while, so I just thought I'd go ahead and write it. I'm not entirely happy with how in (or out of) character Sybil is, but it's the best that I could make it. I hope you liked it and I'd really appreciate a review.