A/N : Thanks to everyone for reviews, I'm really glad you like this story. I'll try my best not to disappoint in the future :-) Also, huge thanks to lazy_boo for BETA-ing and encouraging :-) Shall we continue, then?
Chapter 4
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Through my still sleepy mind I hear a loud humming.
"Shut the fuck up, Katie!" – I mumble angrily with my eyes still closed. I feel her tug on the sheet I'm using as a duvet here. Yes, it's very hot at night too. I just want to sleep, so I put a pillow over my head and try to shut all the noise out. It doesn't really work, as I hear even louder humming and the tug is increasing until I find myself on the floor. Yes, I've been clutching my sheet for the dearest life. Yes, I'm a stubborn kid. And yes, now I'm on the floor with a sore ass and two people laughing at me like crazy. I dare to open one eye. Too bright, TOO FUCKING BRIGHT. I close the eye again, and make myself comfortable on the floor. I don't care it's nowhere near comfortable. It is cool and I like it down here. However, I don't get to sleep more, as someone pours cold water on my face. I sit up with a jolt and finally open both eyes.
"Fucking Katie, I'm going to kill you!" – I yell, very annoyed. But I don't see Katie. All I see is Anna and Kirsten on the bed, clutching their bellies, laughing and breathing hard. Okay…awkward, that. I feel a deep blush creeping up my neck, but their laugh is so infectious, after few seconds I find myself laughing with them.
"Okay. Who was the bitch that poured the water on me?" – I ask when I calm a bit.
"That would be me." – Says Anna with mischievous smile. "You wouldn't wake up and we have to be at work in 15 minutes. Go on, get ready."
Jesus, I have only 15 minutes…that means 10 minutes, as we still have to walk there. 10 minutes for a quick shower, get dressed and smoke one fag with a coffee. I can do it, I'm Katie Fucking Fitch's twin after all. I pop in the shower and 3 minutes later I'm out and getting dressed. Impressed yet? I pull on a loose green t-shirt and a black skirt, put on my favorite green shoes (yes, I still have them) and head outside. Lighting a fag and sipping on my coffee, checking the clock every few seconds. I think I've never been ready so fast. But hell, was it a rough start.
After I finish my fag and put the coffee mug in the sink, we make our way to the dining room. There's an older woman lurking outside and one of the guys who was on our little tour group yesterday, I think his name's Barney. I take a look at my watch and see that we're 2 minutes early. At least I feel rested enough to start my day so early.
The woman presents herself as Sarah. She looks sweet, a real motherly figure. She tells us that first of all we have to prepare the food for the breakfast. Basically, that means putting all the milk products inside big pots, so everybody can eat whatever they like. We get out bread, coffee, sugar, milk, prepare lots of boiled eggs and make simple omelets. By the time we finish I'm well starved and can't wait to eat some of these goods.
Sarah lets us take a break, so we eat and go for a smoke. People of all kinds start to get into dining room, their chatter gets louder and we have to head back. This job isn't hard, so I gladly keep working. Now it's dishwasher time. Anna and I bring in trolleys with dishes in turns and all of us load and unload them from the washer. We get into nice routine and before I have time to think, we finish with dishes and go unloading food trolleys. As we work, I keep sneaking food in my mouth. What? We've worked hard, I got hungry, sue me. Anna's chuckling at me, but I don't care. I'm in a good mood and now we have 2 hours to kill before lunch. Sarah thanks us and reminds that we have to come back at 11:30AM. I really like this woman, she's always smiling and you just have to smile back.
We decide to head to the small Synagogue. It's beautiful there and you can cool a bit by the lake's water. I sprawl on the warm green and close my eyes. It's peaceful. Of course, I don't get to enjoy the silence, as Anna starts chatting rather loudly with Barney. Her Swedish accent mixed with his American makes me chuckle to myself, they sound very funny. But I guess, we all do, being from all over the world. I never thought I'd meet Swedish, American, Greek and Turkish people in one place. Now here we are, sitting at this small lake, laughing about little nothings and having a pretty good time.
At this moment Anna decides to yell loudly and jump on me. And no, not in a good way. Barney started tickling her, because she said she's not ticklish. And of course her reaction was launching herself at me for help. I can't help her though, I'm really ticklish myself. We all end up in a small pile, trying to tickle each other and stop laughing at the same time. Good thing everybody's at work right now and can't see how stupid we can be. Not that I care, honestly.
After we finally calm down we keep lying there in complete silence. The only things you can hear are the waterfall and birds whistles.
"Emily, why are you so quiet?" – Barney decides to ask me in this moment.
"I don't know, I guess I like the silence. Lately it's been too loud in my life. It's peaceful here" – I don't really want to talk about it and I guess Anna senses it. She nudges me pretty hard and some curse words escape my mouth. I roll over and start tickling her. The tension breaks and we find ourselves giggling again as Barney watches us with amused expression.
"Ladies, you might want to stop now, we actually need to get back" – He says, standing up and offering his hands to us both. "C'mon, we don't want to be late on our first day."
I don't really want to leave this beautiful place, but I have to. I'll get back here pretty soon. But now it's work time.
We get back to the dining room just in time to load trolleys with lunch dishes. Apparently, there are different dishes for breakfast and lunch/dinner. It's Jewish tradition, they don't mix milk and meat, so breakfast consists of milk/veggie products and lunch/dinner are meat meals. That's why we need to load a whole new lot of dishes on trolleys and open a second dishwasher that I didn't even see in the morning. Am I the only one who thinks these guys work too hard for their food? Whatever. I do what I'm told and prepare everything. This time I have to stand behind the trolley with meat and dish it out it to people. Barney stands beside me with very bored expression, he looks like he's going to fall asleep pretty soon. But people start to emerge through doors and he looks a bit more cheered. Anna's on the dishwasher duty with some Israeli kid.
I don't know how long I have been standing there dishing out the meat, but my legs are sore and I'm famished. Just as I think of asking for a 5 minutes break, I see Anna marching to me.
"Emily, come, we have a break for food and cigarette." – She says as she grabs a plate from the trolley and smiles sweetly to Barney who has to wait until we finish to go on his break. He's not happy, obviously, but he'll have to wait. I may be small, but I'd kill for my food if I have to. So I grab my own plate and stuff it fully with everything I can get hold on. Luckily, I don't have any soup to choose from today, so I stroll straight to the table Anna already claimed. Just as I shove full fork of food in my mouth, I feel someone sit beside me and turn my head towards the person, trying to chew everything I have in my mouth as fast as I can. Of course it's Tal and he looks directly at my mouth.
"What?" – I try to say, but my mouth is too full to get any coherent words out.
"How can you chew so much food?" – He says, still looking in my mouth.
"I'm starving" - I smile sheepishly as I stuff another fork in my mouth.
"Do you know where's she going to put all this food at?" – He smirks at Anna, who's openly laughing at me. Again. Am I so laughable or something? Okay, I might look a bit ridiculous, but I AM starving and the food is delicious.
"What can I say..? I have good metabolism" – I say and stuff more food in my mouth. I don't care what they think, I have all this food and I'm going to enjoy it.
I finish my plate in a record time and take it to the trolley. It needs to get unloaded, but first of all I'm going for a fag. I step outside and search for the ashtray. It was right here in the morning, where did they take it? Fucking hell, I don't have much time and I need my nicotine dose RIGHT NOW! Finally, I see it just around the corner and Tal's already there, winking at me. The guy's always 5 seconds before me, it's starting to annoy me. But I'll beat him one day. Sure I am, Fitch power, yeah?
The fag's finished too fast and I have to go back. This time I'm working on the dishwasher, the job I'm willingly doing because I'm sick of standing there smiling at people I see for the first time. At least I don't have to smile at dirty dishes, right? Unload the trolleys, load the dishwasher, click ON and wait. What can be easier? No need to talk, no need to smile, no need to think. The problem is I can't stop myself from thinking. How's Katie coping without me? Does she miss me the same way I miss her? I know she is. Even though most of our lives we've been enemies to each other, I know we love each other fiercely. It was very hard for me to leave her, but I had to do it. She understands it. She understands me better than anyone else. Twin thing, I guess. I need to call her as soon as I can.
"The lunch's ending in 15 minutes" - I'm brought back to present by Barney, who's bringing me more dirty dishes. He helps me unloading clear dishes and rushes outside to bring another trolley. I know that as soon as I finish here I'm free to go. I take a look at my watch and see it's almost 4PM. I'm looking forward to the pool time today, as it's really hot and even air conditioning doesn't help when you're working on this dishwasher.
All the work's done, we say our goodbyes to Sarah and other staff and make our way back to the room. Kirsten's working at the fields, so she's probably home already. Look at me, already calling this small caravan my home. I think it's the feeling that counts the most. I like people here, they seem to like me. This is home, for now.
"Emily, are we going to the pool now?" – Anna asks with mischievous smirk. I wonder what she has in mind.
"I was thinking of taking a quick shower first, but then yeah, it's pool time. Why?" – I say, raising one eyebrow in challenge.
"Well, I was thinking we should go shopping" – She says with the same smirk. I frown, because really…shopping in this place? There's only one shop in here and it's not selling anything interesting. I tell her this.
"There's a town 15 minutes away. Are you coming then? I need a new bikini" – The smirk is still in place, but I'm pretty sure she's serious.
"Are you serious? First of all, it's our first day here. That means we know nothing. Secondly, we don't have any money, we need the Change. Thirdly, I'm pretty knackered and I want this shower. Now. Can't we do it another time?" – I'm really not in the mood to go shopping now. Nor have I any money I want to spend on my second day in this country. I might need it later.
"Emily…what's knackered?" – She asks, obviously confused.
"Oh…sorry…I didn't…oh…" – I mumble dumbly, suddenly remembering that some people might not know some English words and expressions. "Well, that means I'm very tired. Alright? Can I have that shower now?"
"Yes." – She says and for some reason I feel guilty. I have no idea why, but I do.
"We'll go to the local shop later, buy few beers and will have a nice evening with Tal and Kirsten. Okay?"
"Yes!" – She says more enthusiastic and I smile to myself. It'll be a nice evening.
The shower feels heavenly after the day's heat. As I let the cold water slide down my tired skin, I think about the last two days. It wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be, but it's been eventful. Do I like this place? Yes, I do. It's hot as hell, but otherwise people are nice and the place is quite beautiful. I'm looking forward to living here and get to know all these wonderful people. Okay, even Tal, although he's been perving shamelessly on all the new girls. I think him and Anna could be good together. Two crazy minds, those are.
I finally get out of the shower, wrapped only in my towel, and of course Tal is in our room. He and Anna are laughing about something. I just pass them towards my drawers. I feel Tal's eyes boring in my back, trying to see through the towel. I wonder when Anna's going to hit him.
"Are we going to pool later?" – I ask them. I still feel Tal's eyes on me, but I don't turn to them.
"Ouch…fuck, Anna…what the hell?" – Finally I hear him swear, lots of words I never heard before, supposedly in Hebrew. I guess she did hit him after all.
"So? Pool or not?" - I finally turn to them with a cheeky smirk.
"I think we're going to skip the pool and head straight to the shop. We didn't get to celebrate your coming yesterday, girls" – He smiles warmly. "The beers and sweets are on me. Go on, dress sexy…ouch…stop it, or you won't get your beer…OUCH!" – I laugh, watching them wrestling on the bed. Anna's trying to hit Tal again and he tries to get away. They look good together. I take a blue tank top and knee skirt, and leave them to it. I dress, apply a hint of make-up and feel I'm ready to go. As I get out again, the cute couple isn't wrestling. They're kissing and I have to keep myself from awing. They don't even hear me until I clear my throat. They break and both blush furiously. I don't say anything, just wink smugly at Tal and get out of caravan.
"Are you two coming?" – I call from outside and they follow me. Tal lights a fag, looking at his shoes and Anna takes my hand, smiling at me. I guess the boy's finally embarrassed. Good. Maybe Anna can get this good heart of his outside for all to see.
"Tal, I need cigarettes" – I tell him, when we're close to the shop. We didn't stop to buy me fags on our way from the airport after all. And no way am I going to smoke that green thing again.
"Come here" – He calls me over. "Look what brands we have and take whatever you like. It's cheaper here anyway".
I see L&M. I know these. I'm asking for two packs and leave it near the cashier. I find Tal and Anna snogging near the sweets. I don't bother them, just go over and take whatever I see. The beers are the same labels we have in UK, so I take two for each and go back to cashier, carrying everything by myself. I really have no idea how did I manage not to drop anything.
"Hello, dear. What name should I put these under?" – The older woman asks me, her tired eyes desperately trying not to look at the stupid couple I call my friends.
"Tal!" – I yell at him, because really…didn't he say it's his treat tonight?
"Yes, yes, I'm here." – He runs over, dragging a giggling Anna after him. He starts talking to the woman in Hebrew and I tune out. Anna's just winking at me and rubs Tal's lower back. Great, now I'm the third wheel. I'm just a little bit bitter, mostly I'm just glad some people still can be happy, even if I can't. Hopefully, they won't fuck in our room while I'm trying to sleep tonight.
When we finally get back to our caravan, it's almost 6PM and Kristin's already there waiting for us.
"So, where's my beer? And it better be cold, because I still didn't take a shower and I'm ridiculously hot after almost 12 hours of work" – She says and I see Tal's trying not to say something nasty about Kristin being hot. Anna sees it too and smacks him around the head. I think this guy's kid of liking being abused a bit. Everyone takes a bottle and Anna pours the sweets into big bowl. I take out my new fags and light one. It tastes different from what I remember, but not bad. Definitely is better than Tal's green stuff.
We sit there, just the four of us, chatting about everything and nothing. It's been a nice day. I like the work so far and I like the people I've met. I like our tiny caravan and I like my roommates. Anna's currently sitting with her legs on Tal's lap. Kristin's got her head in my lap and it's nice. As the time goes by, I feel more and more comfortable in their company.
The beer's about to end and Tal and Anna are taking off for a walk – yeah, right – while me and Kristin head inside. She takes the shower and I sprawl on my bed. I still have half bottle of beer and I don't really feel like sleeping yet. I take my iPod and speakers out and switch it on. I missed my music. I close my eyes and just listen. Lily Allen's Littlest Things is blasting out of speakers, the volume is deafening. My eyes are watering, but I blink tears away. This song reminds me of good times me and Naomi had. So many good things until she ruined it all. I told her we were fragile, I knew she broke us right then. We both tried to repair our relationship, we really did. But it was too broken. Still, remembering the good times make me smile through tears. I know I'm crying by the end of the song. I feel a hand on my cheek, caressing it. I don't need to open my eyes to know it's Kristin.
"Emily, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" – Her voice is soothing, I instantly feel better. I shrug my shoulders and smile again, wiping tears from my eyes.
"I'll make you tea." – She makes a move to stand up, but I grab her hand, making her sit back on my bed.
"She cheated on me" – I say in a shaky voice. "That's why I'm here. This is the farthest place I could run to, away from her. I'm so broken…" I feel another tear slipping from my eye, but I wipe at it angrily.
"I loved her so much, and I still do. But I can't be with her. I can't do it anymore. She broke me, might be beyond repair" – I laugh bitterly. Maybe this is what my life will be from now one – a broken little girl that can't ever be the same again. "I was so naïve…she said I was the only person who could ruin her. I don't know if she understands that she already ruined me. Does she know it?"
"I don't know, Emily…shh, don't cry. Whoever she is, she's a really stupid girl. You're a lovely person. We are your friends, you know it, right?" – I nod and put my head on her lap. She strokes my hair and I feel myself calming down. They are my friends and hopefully they'll help me. I only have to let them in. But how do I do it without getting hurt again?
"Go clean your pretty face now and I'll make us some tea" – She pushes me slightly from her lap and I jump up. But before I run to the bathroom, I hug her tightly, showing her my appreciation. Friends, eh? I can have friends, I think.
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a/n So, what do you think? Like, dislike, anything? Don't be shy to review :-)
