Can't say that I remember much of the days that followed. I remember seeing many of London's landmarks, I remember long walks, I remember getting mad with some (if not all) of my fellow students. But I don't particularly remember having much fear for statues. Maybe that's because either there weren't that many statues in or around London. Safe for those wax statues in that museum, naturally. Either that, or since those angels couldn't move for as long as somebody was looking at them, it is possible that even if there were any other such things, they couldn't move for so long as there were tourists having their eyes fixed upon them. Maybe I found comfort in that, I don't know.
Eventually, Thursday came about. It was our final day in England, so we were all packing up, loading the busses,... all getting ready to go home. At least after we visited some other landmarks on our way there. It was that morning that I saw Rose again.
"Hey! You!" I immediately recognized the voice.
Although I was still in the middle of putting my baggage on the bus, I still turned to look at Rose. As fast as I could, I put my baggage on the bus, then ran to her.
"Rose? How did you know I was here?" I asked.
Rose explained that her friend told me I'd be on this very spot today: "She told me it's your last day."
"Yeah." I sighed, which even I find to be funny, considering what we had been through, "Come to say goodbye?"
"Not only that." she replied, "Remember Wallace and Gromit? They're okay!"
I needed a minute to realize who she was talking about: "That man and his dog from... you know when?"
"Yeah!" she answered, "It seems those... things don't just make you disappear, they send you back in time."
I needed another minute to process that thought: "What?"
"I know! How weird is that?" Rose replied, "They can't move when you look at them, and they make you travel through time when they touch you."
"Wait." I was missing something here, "If Wallace and Gromit are... back in time, how do you know it?"
"Funny story, really." Rose replied, "My mum and I were in town, we passed by window cleaners, and I was like 'oh my god, it's them'. So I ran up to them, asked them what happened. And so they told me that the angels sent them into the sixties, and once they realized where and when they were, which by the looks of how Gromit reacted was a very long time, they built themselves a time machine, and traveled back."
She also mentioned something about Piranha's being active during those years, but since I had no idea what she meant by that, and I still don't for that matter, I'm not sure about the context in which she mentioned it.
"Wow... that's..." I didn't know what to say.
"I know, isn't that incredible?" she replied.
Incredible indeed. I wasn't sure if she was just telling herself stories so to make herself feel better about the situation. Then again, having seen little blue people when I was a child, and suddenly statues that can only move when not looked upon, it does make you wonder what else is possible. So I didn't go too deep into her story.
"Well, thanks for telling me." was all I could say.
"You're welcome." she said, "So now you're leaving?"
I guess this was the moment when I did understand the appeal of sharing a secret. It created a bond between us. As such, it meant that I actually managed to make a friend. My very first real friend, and she lived just across the Channel. My life back was... well wasn't much of one. Like I said before, I hated my schoolmates, my family wasn't at all very loving, and life in general was quite dull. Maybe that's why I didn't think much about those angels. I mean, it was after all the first time ever that I went through some real adventure. The kind of adventure you only read about in comics, or watch on your TV-screen. In many ways, it was a pity that I would leave.
"Yeah." I said, "Though I really wish I wouldn't."
I don't remember Rose's exact words, but I do remember the face she made and the tone she used. Almost like she wished I could stay too.
"Oh! You know what?" she suddenly lit up, "You have a pen and paper?"
Since this was a school fieldtrip, of course I would have pen and paper with me. So I opened my backpack to take out exactly that, and give it to her. She tore the paper into two pieces. On one piece she wrote her name, address and phone number, and I did the same on my own piece of paper.
"So we can stay in touch." she smiled as she said that.
"That would be nice." was the best answer I could give.
So with that, we said our goodbyes, I got on the bus, and I left. Naturally there were some people asking me who "that girl" was and what she wanted me for, but for several reasons, even if we didn't have that little experience together, I didn't want to answer them.