Long time, no see, eh? Sorry I have been absent from SJA fanfics, but all my time was taken up by my Doctor Who fic, "The Uprising" (nobody's reviewing, by the way!) So this story popped into my head at about one in the morning one day, so I scribbled it down before I forgot it. Here it goes…
"Wake up, Rani!" Gita's voice pierced the silence in Rani's head.
Rani groaned, and then tossed the covers of her bed back. She groggily rubbed her eyes, trying to remember which day it was. Tuesday, but it was the summer holidays. She checked the time on her phone: Eight in the morning. Pulling on her dressing gown over her pyjamas, she trudged downstairs.
"Are we up, then?" her mother asked her.
"Sort of." Rani replied, yawning. "Mum, it's the holidays, why do I have to get up now?"
She sat down at the table, and perked up slightly as her breakfast was laid down in front of her.
"Because" her father, Haresh, walked into the room, dressed in a suit and tie, "your mother and I are going to a head teachers' conference."
"Again?" Rani asked absentmindedly, as she speared a piece of bacon and started eating.
Her father chose not to answer, as her mother left the room, presumably to change. Instead he said, "You'll have to amuse yourself for the day, I'm afraid."
"No problem." Rani said, thinking of Sarah Jane's house, where she spent most of her time anyway.
Gita reappeared in the kitchen, dressed in a lilac skirt, with a matching top. The effect, once you got over the whole thing, was quite nice, but it wasn't something Rani would be wearing anytime soon.
"Don't forget your birthday tomorrow, love." She said to Rani, as she put in a pair of earrings.
"How could I?" Rani smiled.
Tomorrow, Rani would be eighteen. A few days ago, she had finished school for good. In a week, she would be receiving her A-level results, along with her best friend, Clyde. Then they would probably be going their separate ways. It was a sad thought, but it wasn't like she would never see him or Luke again. There were always the weekends, or web-chatting.
She went upstairs, and pulled on a shirt and a pair of jeans. She brushed her hair, and tied it back in her usual ponytail. Now fully awake, Rani bounded down the stairs.
"Mum? Dad?" she called, but received no answer. They must have already left, she thought. Pulling on some trainers, Rani opened her front door. She stepped outside, and closed the door with a snap. Turning around to face Sarah Jane's house, she took in a lungful of cool, fresh air. Grinning, Rani ran over the road to the massive house that resided there.
The front door opened as soon as Rani knocked, to reveal Sarah Jane Smith.
"Hello, Rani!" she said cheerfully, pulling the younger girl into a hug.
"Good to see you again, Sarah Jane." Rani smiled, as Sarah Jane released her. "Is Clyde here yet?"
"No, not yet." Sarah Jane informed her, "But you know Clyde, he's probably having a lie-in!"
"Yeah." Rani said, climbing the stairs to the attic, "Probably."
However, Clyde was not having a lie-in. He was, very unusually for Clyde, in town, shopping. But Clyde was not shopping for himself. He had been there ever since the shops opened an hour and a half previously, trying to find a birthday present for Rani. He had searched three streets top to bottom, and the best he had seen was a pair of earrings in Claire's that Rani may or may not like. He shivered, despite the warm air, at the memory of being in Claire's.
The place had been full of girls. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but all these girls were giggling at seeing Clyde in there. One exceptionally giggly girl had even asked him, batting her eyelashes, who he was buying a present for.
"For your girlfriend?" she asked.
"Um…not exactly." Clyde had replied, before deciding there were other shops, and leaving none too slowly. A few years ago, Clyde would've made the most of being alone in a shop with several girls, but he had matured considerably over the last year. Being eighteen, he felt a certain responsibility to be faithful. Not that he and Rani were together, but they were as good as, in several of his friends' opinions.
He now made his way down a street that seemed to be very unpromising. The place was all hardware and DYI stores. Somehow, Clyde didn't think Rani would like a Buzz Saw for her birthday. But, nestled in between two large shops, was a small place, called Simply Natural. Intrigued by the small shop, Clyde entered.
A perfumed scent filled the air. The shop was full of necklaces, bracelets, wind-chimes, paintings, and a whole host of other promising things. Making a beeline for the jewellery section, Clyde began searching. The jewellery section took up about half the shop, and Clyde was soon overwhelmed by the sheer number of accessories piled on the shelves.
"May I help you?"
Clyde jumped, and turned around. He was face to face with a lady of about sixty, wearing several bangles and bracelets on her bony wrists. Her greying hair was scraped back into a tight bun. Clyde could tell this was the owner of the shop.
"Uh, yeah." He said nervously, "I'm looking for a necklace for my friend."
The owner pursed her lips, thinking.
"Right this way." She said, leading him over to an array of bright necklaces.
"These are necklaces that correspond to birthstones." She pointed to a chart on the wall, where a list of the months was accompanied by a list of stones. Clyde read down the list, looking for the July month. He saw two different stones listed; Ruby and Carnelian.
"Ruby is the modern July birthstone, and Carnelian is the traditional." The owner informed him. Clyde looked for the labelled stones. He saw the deep red of the ruby, and the yellowish-orange of the Carnelian. After some debating inside his head, Clyde settled on a Ruby necklace on a black cord. The woman took it down, put it in a box, and wrapped it carefully.
"That'll be thirty pounds, dear." She said.
"Thirty pounds?" Clyde asked in disbelief.
The woman looked at him with milky-blue eyes. "These necklaces are one of a kind."
Clyde took out his wallet and handed over three ten pound notes. He had been intent on saving for some new art supplies, but they could wait a little longer. The woman handed over the box, but before she released it, she looked him in the eyes.
"It is interesting to see, dear, that the Ruby represents love, passion and success." She smiled, showing yellowing teeth. Clyde had no choice but to look into her eyes.
"Right." He said, a little bewildered.
When the woman released the package, he walked quickly out of the shop, storing the small box under his jacket as he went. It was strange, he thought, but the woman gave him the creeps.
There, first chapter done. I don't know how long it will be till the next chapter, but that's when Rani's birthday will be. R&R!
Oh, by the way, guess who aced her first piece of GCSE English Coursework for Creative Writing last week? Meeee! Full marks, Baby!