A/N: HOLY FUCK BATMAN...I seriously was not expecting such an awesome response from you guys...I want to like...cry at how nice you all are and then make out with you all or something! Feeling the pressure for this next chapter to rock though :P
Now, I realise that these are familiar storylines that we've all seen in movies and TV and books before, but everything's been done before anyway right? And hopefully I bring something new to them...er...hopefully :P
A lot of you expressed that you want long chapters...hmmm...*rubs chin*...I'll see what I can do...
.
.
Naomi's last class before lunch is English, with a very strange teacher named Josie, and her hand puppet named Gerald. They're studying Hamlet which Naomi aced last year, so she's not paying much attention to Gerald the hand puppet. Not that she thinks she'd learn a great deal from him anyway. She's at least glad that she doesn't seem to be behind in any of her classes, might even be ahead of the curriculum. She takes pride in how smart she is. Thinks it's the only real thing that makes her stand out.
Her head is down and she's doodling in her notebook. She's rubbish at any kind of art but most of her school notebooks have pages filled with little scribbles and drawings. She finds it calming, and a good way to pass the time considering she's usually bored in class.
Pandora and Katie sit to her right. Katie fiddles with her phone for most of the class, while Pandora seems to be captivated by Gerald, a loopy smile gracing her face as she follows his movements.
Naomi likes Pandora, despite her raging enthusiasm being a little confronting. She's a little dippy, but genuinely friendly, and seems to be devoid of any of the posturing bullshit that most teenagers, including herself, usually adopt. Katie is a little more aloof, but polite and friendly, and Naomi thinks that maybe she's somehow lucked into making actual friends.
She feels her phone vibrating in her pocket and pulls it out surreptitiously. Not that she needs to be covert because Josie and Gerald don't seem to even notice the ten or so students who have had their phones out all lesson. But Naomi is used to following the rules. She likes rules.
She glances down to it at her side, knowing that the message must be either from the phone company or her mother, because they're the only people she gets messages from, which she knows is all kinds of pathetic.
She rolls her eyes as she reads her mother's message.
Just met the most amazing
man at Tesco. I told you I
have a good feeling about
this town! Enjoy your first
day. Love you – Mum.
She feels a weight in the pit of her stomach. That familiar ball of anxiety.
Fucking Tesco. The bane of Naomi's existence and her mother's favourite hunting ground. She's found at least five of her losers in that place, and they've been in Bristol for less than a week and already her mother has met another man. Naomi was hoping it would take a little longer this time, so that they might actually stay in one place for more than a few months. She can only hope that this Tesco guy isn't stupid enough to get caught up with her flighty mother.
She slips her phone back into her pocket and feels someone staring at her. Turns her head and finds Pandora smiling, her hand sliding a piece of paper over to her desk. Naomi pulls it towards herself and feels her body tense. Instinctively assumes the worst. She's had some horrible notes passed to her during her school years and she automatically steels herself to read something nasty.
She scans the page and feels her body relax. In messey, loopy handwriting Pandora has asked her if she wants to have lunch with them. Naomi takes a relieved breath and struggles to suppress a huge grin. Thinks that despite the strange start to the morning maybe Bristol College won't be so terrible.
She scribbles down a yes and even a smiley face which is not like her at all, then pushes the paper back over to Pandora with a smile. The girl's face lights up when she reads it, and Naomi watches her nudge Katie with her elbow and show her. Katie's reaction is more subdued but still pleased, smiling and nodding her head slightly.
Naomi lowers her eyes again and continues to doodle absentmindedly. She hasn't seen Emily or Freddie again since home room, and tells herself that she's glad that the redhead hasn't been in any of her classes yet, although she occasionally thinks about her throughout the morning. Thinks of Freddie too, and the way he so blatantly flirted with her. She's never had a guy be that obvious about it before, and she can't help wondering if maybe he was just messing with her. That seems like a far more likely scenario given her track record and the fact that he's obviously a popular and good-looking guy.
Her thoughts shift to what happened with Emily in assembly and then in home room. The ambiguous tension that seems to exist between them. Tries not to think about how she felt when she watched Emily push that brunette girl up against the tree and slide her hand up her thigh. Or when she'd made that remark about liking blonde's with blue eyes. She isn't sure if Emily was mocking her or Freddie with her comments, but either way Naomi's decided that Emily is someone she should avoid. Even if there is something that the blonde finds inexplicably intriguing about her.
She's pulled out of her reverie by the bell signalling lunch and the noise of the subsequent stampede of students. Panda jumps out of her seat like a jack in the box, startling Naomi somewhat.
"So you're going to have lunch with us Naomi? Wizzer!"
Naomi grins despite herself, because she's never had anyone be so excited to have lunch with her before.
"Katie, Effy and me always eat lunch together," Pandora continues, then looks up thoughtfully, "unless one of them has a boyfriend." She frowns. "I've never had a boyfriend."
Naomi smiles sympathetically but is too shy to voice that she's never had one either.
Katie turns to them, her eyebrows raised expectantly. "Alright bitches, let's go, I'm starving."
Naomi's smile widens because a girl her age just called her a bitch and she wasn't being mean.
She glances down at her notebook before she closes it. Is surprised to find that most of the page is filled with tiny little hearts.
She could have sworn she started off drawing stars.
-x-
"The cafeteria is this way," Katie says to Naomi over her shoulder.
The brunette is walking slightly in front of her and Pandora, and Naomi takes in the way she's dressed, almost the opposite of her twin. Her cute skirt and blouse are preppy and obviously expensive, a stark contrast to Emily's outfit, which looked scavenged from a second-hand shop. In fact almost everything about them seems to be different, at least outwardly. The only similarity Naomi has noticed is that they both have a commanding presence, an energy about them that can't be ignored.
She watches Katie walking ahead of her and it's obvious that she's used to being in charge, as the mass of students in the corridor seem to part as she walks past, while Naomi and Pandora have to struggle through, knocking into people and pushing past others. She tries to keep up as best she can while apologising profusely to the people she's practically physically assaulting. Keeps an eye out for the bright candy-striped dress Pandora is wearing.
Following through the cafeteria she keeps her head down out of habit. Always feels so self-conscious in such a large crowd. Her eyes are low, so when someone steps in front of her the first thing she notices is their shoes. Ratty, beat-up sneakers. Her heart thumps a little faster. She doesn't need to look up to know who they belong to, but her assumption is proved correct when she finally lifts her head.
"Hi. Naomi right? I'm Freddie."
He smiles and flicks his hair out of his eyelashes and her stomach flips, like some kind of instantaneous chemical reaction that she wishes she could control, because with all the hair flicking and eyelash batting he seems like a bit of an entitled douchebag. And she doesn't want her stomach flipping for an entitled douchebag.
She blinks a couple of times. Tries to keep her breathing even. He's good looking and he knows it, which doesn't annoy her as much as she thinks it should, which then annoys her. There's something boyish and charming about him. A naiveté, even though Naomi is fairly certain Freddie knows exactly what he's doing.
She remembers that she's standing there staring at him like some kind of silent moron and decided she better say something.
"Um...hi...yeah, Naomi...that's me."
She can't help cringing at her stammering, despite the fact that Freddie is watching her closely, an amused smile playing on his lips.
"Well it's nice to meet you Naomi."
It's usually such a throwaway line, but his warm brown eyes are holding her gaze and it crosses her mind that he might actually be sincere.
"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm having a party this Friday night at my house. It's kind of like a tradition for the first week back at school. Katie, Effy and Panda will be there. Everyone will really. So...you should come."
His voice is nonchalant and Naomi can tell that he's used to girls saying yes to him. Parties are not her thing...not that she's ever actually been invited to one. Her brain is running through a list of all the reasons she should say no, but when her mouth opens she surprises herself.
"Um...okay, sure."
Freddie's face lights up with a wide grin, his dark eyes sparkling. "Cool." He scratches his head. "I guess I better let you get back to your friends."
He nods in the direction of Katie, Effy and Pandora, who are sitting at a table watching them with interest. Katie and Effy are wearing sly grins, while Pandora is smiling excitedly, her body leaning forward in her seat like she's trying to hear their conversation even though she's on the other side of the room. Then Naomi realises that those three aren't the only ones watching them, several other interested pairs of eyes focused on her and Freddie.
She's suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious and lowers her eyes again. These are the types of situations she's avoided her whole life.
"Yeah, see ya."
Freddie nods at her a final time and smiles, before turning and walking back to his table, his hands dug into his pockets. Naomi takes a second to compose herself, and after a few deep breaths heads over to the other girls, her legs feeling like jelly.
"What was that all about?" Effy asks with a smirk before Naomi has even sat down.
"Yeah, what was that about?" Panda echoes. "Freddie is super dreamy."
Naomi laughs nervously, just because she doesn't know what else to do. "It was nothing..."
"He invited you to his party didn't he?" Katie asks, and tough her tone is light there's an edge to her voice that unnerves Naomi.
"Yeah...he...he mentioned it," she stutters, unsure of what Katie wants to hear, not wanting to jeopardise their potential friendship.
Katie shakes her head and drops the french fry she's holding, a disgusted look on her face. "I knew it. He made it half obvious in home room. Fuck, he's such an operator."
"No he's not," Effy says warily, as if they've had this argument before. "He's a nice guy. You've just never liked him since that business with Emily. That was years ago Katie."
Naomi sits up a little straighter when she hears Emily's name. Wonders what happened between her and Freddie, and then remembers Emily's comment from home room and considers what she might've meant about 98% of the rumours about her being true.
She glances around the cafeteria looking for red.
"You're just saying that because you two used to fuck," Katie counters.
Naomi whips her head around to Effy at this new information, and the brunette is smiling and shaking her head.
"Hold on," Panda addresses Katie with a mouthful of chocolate brownie, "I thought you hated Emily?"
Naomi frowns in confusion. There are too many questions and not enough answers.
"Whatever," Katie says firmly, clearly wanting to end the conversation. "Its rude to talk about things Naomi doesn't know about." She shifts her focus to the blonde. "So, why were you in Australia anyway?"
Three pairs of eyes are trained on Naomi, and she sinks back into her seat, uncomfortable with the attention.
"Oh, nothing exciting," she says casually, busying herself with unwrapping her sandwich, "my mum just likes to travel. We were in Melbourne for about a year."
"I bet the guys are way hotter there than they are here," Katie adds, taking a sip of her Diet Coke. "I've heard they're hotter, tanned and muscly..." she trails off with a faraway look in her eyes.
Naomi smiles nervously. She's never been one of the girls, so she has no idea how to do this stuff – gossip and talk about boys. Plus, she doesn't have much to add on the subject. Although there was this one boy she liked, who had no idea she even existed.
"Well...they're not all like that...but some of them...yeah, very cute."
Despite her underwhelming response Katie seems pleased with her confirmation that the guys are indeed cute.
"I knew it. We need more cute guys at this school."
"I think JJ's cute," Pandora blurts out, looking embarrassed when Katie's eyes flare.
"I told you Panda," she says tightly, "JJ's a dick. He hangs out with Cook and Emily for God's sake."
She says her sister's name harsher than the others, and clearly anything Emily is a sore point for Katie. So despite the fact that she has dozens of questions, Naomi holds her tongue. Doesn't want to risk alienating any of them.
"Don't listen to her," Effy says with a roll of her eyes, "JJ's nice."
Panda grins, her feelings having been validated.
That seems to be the dynamic Naomi has noticed between the three of them. Katie forceful and outspoken and sometimes a bit of a bully, countered by Effy's composure and calm, while Pandora is...something Naomi has never encountered. Innocent and naive and enthusiastic about the smallest things that most people wouldn't care about. Naomi finds it endearing. She can tell that they have been friends for years by how at ease and honest they are with each other, and she finds herself envious of their friendship.
"So did you leave a boyfriend in Australia?" Kate asks, returning to what seems to be her favourite subject.
Naomi doesn't know how to answer that question and not sound lame so she resorts to something vague.
The discussion moves along, the conversation bouncing around like a pinball between the three of them, Naomi mostly silent and observing. It's what she feels most comfortable doing. They ask her questions about her life or her opinions on various subjects, but she enjoys watching the interaction between the girls.
Briefly let's herself hope that maybe she's actually made some friends.
-x-
She doesn't see Emily for the rest of the day, even though the redhead is supposed to be in her politics class. Their teacher called her name out a couple of times but it looks like Emily ditched. It mustn't be that unusual because the teacher almost seems to expect it, as do her fellow students. Truthfully Naomi is a little disappointed. There's something about the redhead that she finds intriguing, like a puzzle she needs to figure out. She tells herself that's all it is.
She's taken her time at her locker to let the chaos in the corridors die down, and slides her bag onto her shoulder as she makes her way to the college library in search of new books to devour.
Because they're moving all the time Naomi has learned to pack light, and boxes of books aren't conducive to her mother's nomadic lifestyle. Plus, her mum always taught her not to pay for something she could get for free. She usually tries not to listen to her mother's advice, but she's found that to be useful over the years.
She pushes through the glass door and takes a second to orientate herself with the library. It's impressive, a smile sneaking onto her face as scans the seemingly endless shelves of books. This is where she feels most herself, surrounded by the words of the writer's she loves, where she can disappear into other worlds and imagine that she's braver and smarter and funnier than she really is.
Besides the librarian there are only a handful of students spread out among the desks. And it's quiet, the way libraries are supposed to be. The way Naomi likes it.
She heads through the work area and to the bookcases, scanning the ends to find the section she's after, finally pulling up in front of the classics. She's found that reading something familiar helps her feel a little more settled after they've just moved someplace new.
She thumbs through the books, enjoying the feel of them against her fingers, delighted that there are so many. She caps herself at four even though she could have taken at least ten, because she has to walk home with them in her already heavy bag.
"Naomi Campbell huh?"
She's startled by the voice behind her and juggles the pile of books in her hands, the top one almost tumbling to the floor. But it's caught by a small hand, and when Naomi glances up to see who it belongs to she almost loses her shit again.
Emily. Smirking at her. Again.
She wonders if that's her default expression.
"Is that seriously your name?"
"Yes," Naomi answers instantly, because something about Emily puts her on edge. She just doesn't know what it is yet.
The redhead is standing at the open end of the bookcases, her hands casually resting on a shelf on either side of the isle, and despite her tiny frame Naomi feels like the redhead is blocking her in. Like she's trapped between her and the wall.
Emily takes a step forward, almost as if she senses her discomfort and wants to rub it in. Naomi feels her heart thumping faster.
"Were your parents playing a joke on you or something?"
Naomi is too busy marvelling at the redhead's husky voice to formulate and answer. Emily doesn't seem to mind her teasing being ignored.
"So why do you move around so much? Ten schools in like, six years. A year long stint in Australia. Are your parents' fugitives or something?"
"How do you...how do you know all that?" Naomi frowns, feeling uncomfortably exposed. She's doesn't like people knowing things about her that she hasn't told them herself, and she's already decided that Emily isn't someone she wants to have something over her.
The redhead shrugs. "Harriet shouldn't leave me alone in the office. I have very sneaky fingers."
She draws the last two words out and winks, and Naomi feels her face flush. Pulls the books up to her chest protectively.
"Well...um...I..." she stammers, "...better go."
"Right," Emily nods, stepping to the side to let her pass, "of course."
But she doesn't step back far enough, and Naomi knows that she's going to have to brush past her on her way through.
She smiles tightly, then grips her books harder as she moves forward. Tries to pass through as far away from Emily as possible but it's inevitable that they'll touch, and when her arm grazes Emily's she feels a heat radiate through her body. Her breath hitches in her throat and all she can hear is her heart pounding in her ears.
"See you tomorrow," Emily calls after her as Naomi makes her way to the front desk, that mocking lilt present in her voice once again.
But the blonde doesn't turn back, and makes her way out of there as quickly as possible, the conversation running through her head on a loop. Questions firing through her mind. Why did Emily look up my file? Why did she even stop to talk to me? Why does she always seem to be making fun of me? Why did she make me walk past her?
It's not until she's hurrying out of the college gates, her now heavier bag weighing down on her shoulder, that Naomi asks herself what Emily was doing in the library in the first place.
-x-
She unlocks the front door, only to be confronted by the wall of boxes filling the house, and negotiates through the gauntlet on her way to her room.
They've been in the house for a week, and they've barely made a dent in the unpacking. Not that Naomi ever fully unpacks anyway, it's a waste of time, always one or two boxes of childhood stuff that stays boxed up. She likes this house, even though it's a lot older than her last one in Melbourne, but her room is a lot bigger and she has her own bathroom so she figures it evens out. She wouldn't mind staying in this charming yellow house for a while.
She passes the kitchen and finds her mum unpacking more of their crockery.
"How'd your first day go, love?"
Naomi shrugs. She knows exactly what her mum wants to hear. "It was fine...the usual."
"Good, I'm glad." Her mum reaches up to put some mismatched glasses away.
Everything her mum owns is mismatched. Bits and pieces collected from everywhere they've been. It drives Naomi crazy, because she doesn't understand why her mum can't just buy a uniform set.
"What are the little assholes like? Did you make any friends?"
Naomi thinks about Effy and Katie and Pandora, and is happy that for once she doesn't have to lie.
"Yeah, I did. A few really nice girls."
Her mum is practically beaming, her hands on her hips. "That's fantastic. And I'm going out with Roger, the guy I met at Tesco, at the end of the week. I told you I had a good feeling about this place."
And Naomi keeps smiling but it's hollow now as her good mood evaporates. Because her mum always says that. And they always end up moving. But she keeps smiling, because that's how she and her mother work.
"Yeah, me too."
-x-
Later that night in her room after reading The Great Gatsby she grabs a cotton bud and some nail polish remover and cleans the blue off her nails. She likes to change them often when her life is feeling chaotic. Her fingers hover over the colours, then dip down almost of their own accord and pick out a vibrant red.
Just because she hasn't been able to keep that colour off her mind.
.
.
So I'm a bit of a book nerd...I don't know if you can tell :)
Just want to remind you all – there will be lots of yummy angst, and I have epic plans for this baby...but this is a marathon...and good things come to those who wait...and the early bird gets the worm? Wait...that's wrong...you know what I mean...
Disclaimer: no disrespect to Tesco...I loved going there when I was stuck in a hell-hole hostel in London...and come to think of it my friend did pick up a guy there one day...hmm...
So, I hope it lived up to expectations...even though it's only chapter two ;) Now, if everyone who reviewed chapter one reviews this chapter I will be VERY happy and it'll motivate me to update faster...not that I'm trying to blackmail you all or anything :P
