"I can't believe you're going to be here in two days!" Sarah cried into the phone excitedly, throwing herself down on her bed. A soft laugh was her reply. "I've been so lost since Kate left, and you're just the thing to perk me up!"
Her cousin laughed again, "Jesus, Sarah, you make me sound like a cup of coffee!"
Sarah grinned into the phone, drawing the comforter up and leaning against the headboard. "Seriously, nica, I miss you. Since your mom died, you've been a little..."
"Off?" he cousin offered.
"Well, yeah, kinda...I can feel you check up on me every now and then, but it's not the same..."
Sarah heard the small sigh and frowned "I know, bear, I just... I just got a little lost. I wasn't sure where I was without mom, you know?"
Sarah smiled "Yeah, I know. I had a dream about her the other day, did I tell you?"
"Uh-uh. OOOF!!" came the muffled reply.
"Dude...what are you doing??"
Monica laughed, "I'm still packing my things, and I was getting a bag down from the cupboard when a blanket fell on me. A heavy one! "
Sarah burst out laughing at the mental picture. "Only you, nica, only you".
Monica blew a raspberry into the phone, making Sarah giggle. "Sorry, so you were saying you had a dream about mom?"
"Oh yeah", Sarah sat up straighter, clearing her head, "I was at our spot, on my own, and I was worried about something, I can't remember what, when the pond started to ripple. I could feel her. I was concentrating so hard on the pond that I didn't even realise she was sitting beside me until she spoke. She told me everything was going to be ok, that you and I would be fine. She kissed my forehead, like she used to, and then I couldn't see anything through the butterflies. I woke up feeling fantastic. Lighter, if that makes any sense..."
Monica had sat down on the floor on the fallen blanket, and was listening to her cousin with a small smile on her face. Yeah, that sounds like mom.
"What do you think, nica? What did she mean by 'you and I would be fine'?"
Her cousin sighed, climbing up from the blanket. She could picture Sarah's furrowed brow, and her biting her bottom lip. "I dunno," she replied, "maybe she meant we'd survive life at a private school..." She got the reaction she was hoping for, as her cousin giggled. "Seriously, though, I don't know. I stopped questioning her dreams long ago, and just started having faith in them."
Sarah sighed, climbing off her bed, and walking over to her shelf to look at the picture of herself, her mom, Monica and Aunt Carmen. She said nothing, staring at her aunt until tears blurred her vision. At that exact moment, back in Boston, Monica was looking at that same photo. "I know, bear, I miss her too", she said softly, sensing her cousin's sadness.
"So tell me about Spencer," Monica asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Obviously, I already know Caleb, and you've told me about the boys and Kate, but you never told me why Kate left."
Sarah hesitated, not wanting to lie to her best friend, but knowing that it wasn't her place to divulge the boys' secret. "She wouldn't tell me the whole story, but she said there was something she couldn't deal with here, and that she had to leave. She didn't even tell me where she was going..." she broke off angrily. The last part was true, and it frustrated Sarah to no end. It had been almost three months since Kate had left, and nothing. Not one phone call, not one email, no smoke signals, nothing! She growled in frustration, running a hand through her blonde locks "Oh my god! I totally forgot to tell you! I cut my hair!"
"WHAT?!" came the shriek from the phone
"Yeah, I needed a change, so I cut it to just under my chin. I think it looks ok, and Caleb said he likes it, so I guess it works..." The was silence on the other end of the phone, and Sarah could picture her cousin, mouth agape, trying to find something to say
"...Well... I guess Caleb would know. I swear that boy is gay. No guy can look that good and be completely straight..."
Sarah laughed long and hard. She could always count on Monica to cheer her up.
Monica grinned. "Well, I'm buggered, and I've got a long day of packing ahead of me, so I'm going to have to say goodbye for now..."
Sarah let our a yawn, nodding into the phone "Yeah, me too. Not the packing part, but I'm pretty tired. Ok, pretty, well, I guess I'll see you in two days!!"
Monica laughed at her cousin's excitement "Yep! I'll see you Saturday morning. Goodnight, love."
"Sweet dreams," came the soft reply, followed by the click of the receiver.
Monica stripped off her shorts, and slipped under the covers. Leaning over to turn off the lamp, she looked at the picture her mother had taken of herself and Sarah at their spot. She smiled, kissing her index finger and touching her cousin's face. In a dark dormroom at Spencer Academy, her cousin did the exact same thing.
Saturday morning, Sarah woke with a smile on her face. Monica arrives today! She bounded out of bed, got ready for breakfast in record time, locked the door behind her and made her way to the dining hall. She spotted Caleb, Tyler, Reid and Piper and weaved through the tables, taking her seat next to her boyfriend, dropping a small kiss on his lips. 'Morning!' she sang, glancing at her watch. They stared at her, with the annoyance only an early morning can bring, as she tucked into her porridge.
She checked her watch twice more, before Reid commented. "What's the fascination with your watch, Wenham? It's not that nice..."
Caleb just grinned. He already knew why his girlfriend was so fidgety. He liked Monica. She had a calming presence, and he was amazed at how close she and Sarah were. They had a closer bond than even he had with the sons.
Sarah laughed and poked her tongue out at Reid. "Monica will be here soon and I want to make sure I'm out the front before she arrives..."
"Ohhhhh yeah", he drawled, "the cousin. So you still haven't told me- is she hot?" That earned him a shove in the ribs from his girlfriend beside him. "What? I was asking for baby boy," he frowned, rubbing his side.
Tyler just grinned at the pain his friend was in, "What makes you think I need your help?" Reid snorted and grinned at his best friend.
"Ok, I'm going. I don't care if I'm early, "Sarah said, pushing her chair back.
All but Reid rose to join her, and he looked up at Piper in confusion. "Wait, what? You're going too?"
"No, babe...we're going too," she replied, waving a finger between them, "We are not going to pike out on helping Sarah's cousin move in. Now get up!"
Reid glared at her climbing to his feet. "I can think of better things I'd rather be doing at this time of the morning," he mumbled as they made their way to the car park.
Piper wrapped her arm around his waist, snuggling into his side and smiled up at him. "I'll make it worth your while." He grinned down at her, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Caleb fell in beside Sarah, grabbing her hand. Partly out of habit, and partly to stop her from running to the gates.
She laughed up at him, knowing full well what he was doing. "I'm just excited, that's all. I can't believe she's going to school here... and living in the same room as me, no less!" She broke off with a squeal, as she spotted her cousin and her grandparents unloading bags and boxes from their car. "Nica!!" she cried running towards her.
Monica whipped around, searching for her cousin, and broke into a run as she saw Sarah flying towards her. They crashed together with an 'ooomph', holding tight. Sarah felt the tears welling in her eyes and as they broke apart with a grin, Monica was wiping her own tears from her cheeks. Sarah grabbed her cousin's face in both her hands, planting several kisses on her cheek before pulling her into another hug. Monica laughed and wrapped her arms around her cousin's back.
By the time they parted for the second time, the group had caught up with them, laughing at the exchange. "Hey Mon" Caleb smiled, wrapping her arms around her and lifting her off the ground.
"Hey yourself, big man," she replied grinning.
Sarah's arm snaked around her waist and turned to introduce her the rest of the group. "Ok," she began, pointing to the blonde "this is Reid," he gave her the quickest once over and she sensed that it was a force of habit, not a sleazy move. She smiled and shook the hand he offered.
"This is Piper," Sarah continued, pointing to the redhead, who smiled warmly and offered her own hand. Again, Monica smiled, and took the hand in a warm clasp.
"And this is Tyler," she finished, pointing to a brunette with stunning blue eyes. "Guys, this is Monica." He smiled a wide and held out his hand. She grinned back at him, taking his hand. "Pogue's not here at the moment, but you'll get to meet him tonight," Sarah commented, turning the both of them around, making their was back to their grandparents.
"Nana!" she cried, pulling the older woman into a hug, before moving on to the gentleman beside her "Hey, Grandpa, how are you?"
"Good, good," he replied. Caleb greeted the grandparents and made the introductions, as Monica returned to the tailgate to unload her bags. She was soon joined by the boys, and they easily divided most of her bags and boxes between them. Piper grabbed one of the remaining bags, grinned and rolled her eyes as the boys bickered over who had the heaviest.
She laughed, grabbing the last bag and made her way over to the grandparents to say her goodbyes. After a few tears, some stern warnings about how to behave in a private school and a promise to visit them as often as possible, Monica joined the group as they made their way into the imposing building.
She looked at their surroundings in awe. She had been enrolled at the same public school as Sarah, back in Boston, and Spencer Academy was like an entirely different dimension. It was very dark, very gothic, and you could almost feel the history of the building, emanating from the walls.
Sarah's saw the bewildered look on her cousin's face and grinning, remembering that exact same feeling. She led them down a long hallway, and stopped at a door roughly three quarters of the way down. She unlocked the door and flung it open with a dramatic "TA DAAAA!!!' Monica laughed, recognising the room a little from the times she had checked in on Sarah, but the real thing was gorgeous.
Dark wood adorned the walls and floor and desks had been built into the walls by the door. Bookcases, wardrobes and drawers lined the room and it had a homely feel. Two twin beds stood against the wall facing the door, with a small table and lamp between them. Monica could see the picture of her and Sarah under the lamp.
Sarah's side of the room was littered with books, movies, photographs, and she had set up a TV and dvd player on her desk. The other side of the room lay bare, just waiting to be lived in. Monica stood, respectfully, for a minute, trying to picture what it would have looked like before Kate left. She spared a glance at her cousin, who was laughing while they dropped the bags and boxes on Monica's side of the room.