by C. L. Stone
She got up, completely annoyed with herself. She never allowed herself to feel sorry for herself. Her mother never allowed her to feel sorry for herself. She had epilepsy, she wasn’t dying. She shouldered her bag and checked her watch. She could wait for five minutes or she’d miss the bus, and there was still no sign of them. The corridor was empty of other students as well now. She ruthlessly shoved down the feelings of disappointed hurt and walked away.
She got as far as the main entrance when she heard her name being called. A rush of relief went through her when she recognised Matt’s voice. They hadn’t forgotten her. She stopped and looked back. They were coming up behind her, the four of them in a row. She sucked in her breath. Individually they were good looking, as a unit they were gorgeous eye candy. She shook her head and shouldered her bag again, she would not embarrass herself by drooling, she was sure that the stupid grin on her face was doing that job for her already.
“Did you forget?” Matt asked as they drew level with her. He reached out and took her bag, slinging it over his own shoulder. She moved to take it back, but he frowned at her.
“I’m still trying to get you to swoon!” Matt mock scolded her. “Let me at least pretend I’m a gentleman.”
“Why didn’t you wait?” Nate caught her attention, and she decided to be honest.
“I thought you’d already gone,” she admitted. She saw the frown between his eyes, but he said no more and started to walk forwards.
“And leave you behind?” Josh exclaimed and slung his arm around her shoulder. “Lily Pad, how could you think that of us? I’m highly offended.” They began walking out of the front entrance and down to the carpark, but Josh didn’t move his arm and Lily didn’t mind.
“How was Diggers?” Jake asked, walking backwards in front of her. “Does he still chuck the board eraser if you muck about?”
“I haven’t found that out yet; no one mucked about today. But I’m debating mucking about just to find out now.” She grinned as she thought of her Geography teacher, Mr Digby, throwing board erasers around the room. He was an imposing figure of a man. Tall and heavyset, with a black beard that made her think of pirates. He wore a three-piece suit with a gold chain pocket watch. His obvious devotion to his subject made him fascinating to listen to, and she’d enjoyed his class a great deal.
“Don’t!” Nate warned. “He has excellent aim.”
“He chucks it at the person? How does he get away with that?”
“This is backwater Cornwall, Lil. They only stopped using the cane last year, and that was because it broke,” Matt said and then chuckled. They came to a stop by a Land Rover in gunmetal grey. It was an older model, mud sticking to the sides and the tyres. Matt stopped by the driver’s door, his eyes on her bag.
“Are these all the crests from the schools you’ve been in?” Matt looked up at her. There was that tiny glint of pity in his whiskey eyes, and it irritated her.
“Yeah, this place will go on there. Oh, by the way, what does the motto mean?” She pushed down the irritation.
“Don’t cease to learn,” Josh answered her. They all gathered around Matt, looking at the different crests she’d drawn. “Are you taking Art here?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“You should, these are really good!” Josh pointed to the crest of Hogwarts that she’d drawn. “Although, I don’t think you went there, did you?”
Lily laughed and shook her head. “No. That’s the only one I want to go to though.”
“You do know it’s not real, don’t you?” Nate teased her.
“Don’t tell me that.” She pouted. “I’ve been telling myself that my owl just keeps getting lost.”
“For six years? It’s not lost, Lil, it’s dead,” Josh said as he came towards her. “C’mon, Lily Pad, front seat for you.” He opened the passenger door for her. She grabbed the handle, put her foot on the step, and hoisted herself up and into the seat.
“I was wondering if you’d make it, or if I’d have to throw you in.” Josh chuckled, closing the door and getting into the back with Jake and Nate.
“Whose seat have I nicked?” she asked, putting her belt on and turning to look back at them. It was quite spacey inside and they weren’t squashed together, so she felt better about taking the front seat.
“It’s a free for all, Lily; a violent, messy, free for all,” Matt drawled. “I have witnessed blood being shed as those three try to get to the front seat before each other.”
“I slipped on the ice!” Jake defended himself. “I grabbed Nate to stop my fall.”
“You shoved me, and it backfired on you!” Nate snorted.
“Well, none of you reprobates have to worry about shoving again, and I won’t have to worry about blood on my seat covers. That seat is now officially Lily… What’s your full name, Lil?”
“Lilith May Adair.”
“Lily May?” Nate sounded it out. “I like it.”
Matt joined the queue of buses leaving the carpark. There were six buses and they were all turning left onto the main road, building up a queue.
“Lilith? You’re a night monster,” Josh sniggered.
Lily looked back at Josh laughing. “I prefer Storm Goddess, actually,” she said with a grin, referring to what her name meant in its original Hebrew.
“Yeah, so do I,” Matt said and looked at her sideways, catching her eye. “You’re a Goddess, Lily. Never a monster.”
“Ah, but you don’t know me yet,” she teased him, covering the pleasure his words gave her. She lifted her hands making claw shapes with her fingers. “I could be anything at all.”
“Why don’t you tell us what you are?” Nate asked, and although his voice was light, she heard an edge of something she couldn’t place. She turned to look back at him. He was sitting in the middle seat.
“I’m just me,” she said, holding his gaze. She had the feeling that he was searching for something, an answer she didn’t even know the question to.
“When are you eighteen, Lil?” Jake asked her.
“End of September.” He rolled his finger indicating he wanted more information. “Twenty-ninth,” she added.
“We’ll celebrate by taking you to the Bootlegger,” Matt spoke up. His words sent a ripple of excitement through her that they wanted to celebrate her birthday with her.
“The what?” She tried for casual, but her heart was going a mile a minute.
“The pub in Trenance. It’s only a small pub that locals use, but it’s a nice place.”
“You’re not eighteen yet,” she pointed out.
“It does pub grub as well. Besides, you’ll be able to drink. It’s a rite of passage, turning eighteen and buying your first drink in a pub with friends,” Jake spoke up.
“We’ll pay,” Matt said. “C’mon, Lil, your eighteenth is a landmark. We can’t just let that slide. Couple of days later we’ll be celebrating Nate’s. Josh and Jake are next month, and mine’s November. We’re all doing it.”
She clenched her hands in her lap and bit her lip. Her birthday was always just her and her mother. It fell close to the start of a new school year, so she’d never known anyone long enough for them to ask when her birthday was. It hadn’t bothered her. She got invited a couple of times through the years to birthday parties of others, but she never imagined having anyone to celebrate her birthday with.
But here they were, telling her that they wanted to do something for her birthday, that she should celebrate with friends. Which meant they viewed themselves as her friends. They were worming their way in quickly; at the end of the year her heart wasn’t going to just break, it was going to shatter.
“What are you thinking, Lily May?” Nate had leant forward between the seats, his mouth close to her ear sent a shiver down her back.
“I won’t be staying here.” The words were out before she even had time to think about them.
“But you’re here now,” he said softly. He put his hand on her shoulder briefly, then he sat back
. “It’s decided. The Bootlegger for a birthday bash for Lily May. All in favour, say aye.”
A chorus of ‘ayes’ went up loudly, and then Matt was looking at her. “Come on, Lily Flower, let’s hear your aye or nay. It’s compulsory to vote, but I would just add that you’re already outnumbered, so if you vote nay it’ll just be a waste of breath.”
Lily shook her head, a smile on her lips. He was right; she was here now, there was no point in worrying about next year until next year. A warm bubble sat in her chest, making her feel lightheaded, and she knew what is was: happiness.
“Aye!” she said.
A roar of approval went around the car, and she was completely unable to keep the smile from her lips.
Matt finally pulled onto the main road and turned right instead of left. “We’ll be home much quicker this way,” he said, reaching forward to the car stereo. A popular song blasted out of the speakers, and he turned it down slightly.
“You okay with this?” he asked her.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Josh and Jake were already starting to sing along loudly. She wound her window down enough for the wind to catch her hair, sending it flying around her face. She heard Nate and Matt join in, and with a nudge from Matt, she started to join in, too. She couldn’t sing, but then neither could Josh and Jake and it didn’t stop them. Content to sing quietly along, she leant her head back against the headrest, her eyes on the scenery as they sped down the winding country lanes towards Trenance.
Trenance was really a collection of five streets that all went out from a central typical English village green like spokes on one side of a wheel. The lane she lived in was the only road in and out of the village. All the other lanes were cul-de-sacs, ending at either the woods or fields. One of the lanes held the pub and the shops, and the other lanes held cottages identical to hers. The green in the middle of the village had a stream fed duck pond, flower beds and several benches under the trees that dotted around. It was quintessentially British and Lily thought it would make an excellent postcard picture, or jigsaw puzzle, it was so pretty. A war memorial surrounded with red paper poppies and black railings sat on the edge of the park. Matt pulled in beside it, keeping the engine running.
“Have you got your phone, Lily May?” Nate asked her. She turned, remembering he wanted her number.
“It’s in my bag.” She took her bag from Josh when he held it out for her. “Thanks.” She opened it and took out her phone.
“Is that contract?” Matt asked, digging out his own.
“No, it’s pay as you go. It’s hard getting contracts when we move so much.” She scrolled through the phone to her contact list to find her own number.
“Tell us your number,” Nate instructed her. “We’ll call it, and you can save our numbers that way. Okay?”
Lily nodded and began reading out her number. From the corner of her eye she could see Nate and the twins also putting it into their phones.
“Matt, you go first,” Nate commanded. Lily’s phone rang in her hand, and she only just stopped herself from answering it.
“I’m not sure how to add it,” she revealed, when she found the number in her call log. She had put her mum’s in, but it was a while ago now and she couldn’t remember how she did it.
“Here.” Matt’s long, slim fingers plucked the phone from her, then he leant across holding it so she could see the screen. “In here, in your call logs. Press the cross button and then it takes you to contacts. Put in my name…” He tapped away, and she saw Marvellous Matt appear in the name section. She snorted with laughter and then saw him save it, the number appearing there as well. “There you go. Nate, go for it. You do it this time, Lily Flower.” Matt handed it back to her as it began to ring.
She did as he showed her and put in Nate Cohen and then saved it. Nate’s hand appeared between them and the phone was taken from her. She heard him tapping on the screen and then he was passing it back.
Nate the Great had replaced Nate Cohen.
“Uh, uh,” Josh objected and once more it was taken. “We get to put our proper names too,” he said and she turned to see his fingers flying over her screen. Jake was leaning over Nate, looking down at the phone, the side of one thumb nail was between his teeth.
“Posh Josh and Fake Jake? Fuck you, Joshua!” He shoved Josh and then snatched her phone from him. He tapped quickly before handing it back to her. She took it, her cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so much. She looked down at her contacts and saw Jake had put their names as Sexy Jake and Loser Josh.
“That doesn’t even rhyme, you idiot.” Josh shoved Jake and a scuffle broke out between them, reaching across Nate, who wasn’t impressed.
“Children! Pack it in or you’ll walk home!” he ordered.
“We are home, Dad,” Josh sniggered.
“Derry’s Lane is that one.” Matt pointed to the lane behind her. “Josh and Jake are opposite, past the green, in Hangman’s Lane. Nate is over there in Toll Lane,” He pointed to the other side, “and I’m just out of the village in the old vicarage. My place is a fifteen-minute walk from the bottom of your lane. Ten if you nip through the woods.” He turned to look back at the others. “Instead of here, let’s change it to outside Lily’s,” he said and they agreed. “We’ll pick you up tomorrow at eight outside yours, Lily Flower.”
“Thank you. It’s kind of you,” Lily said honestly.
“Not really,” Matt replied and smiled at her.
“Who’s that?” Jake asked from the back. Lily and Matt turned to look at Jake, he was frowning, looking out of his window in the direction of Lily’s lane. “He’s not a local. Just came out of the middle cottage.”
Lily turned in her seat and saw a car door close before whoever it was pulled off and headed out of the village.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “We’re in the middle one, maybe it was the landlord.”
“Matt’s dad is the landlord,” Jake spoke up. “And that was nothing like his dad.”
“Your dad is my landlord?” she asked in surprise, turning back to Matt.
“He’s the Lord and Master around here,” Josh sniggered and Lily saw a blush cross Matt’s cheek, and then he was flipping Josh off over his shoulder.
“Don’t be a moron,” Matt sneered.
“He is!” Jake spoke up. “Master Crowder of Crowder Manor. Owns most of the rented property in the village.”
“I thought it was a vicarage,” Lily said to Matt.
“It is, or rather it was. But it’s very old and now it’s called Crowder Manor. Locals still call it the vicarage though.”
“So your dad’s not the vicar then?” she asked and he laughed, but she heard an edge to it.
“No, not the vicar,” he replied. She heard Nate snort in derision behind her and figured she was stepping onto a sore subject.
“Well, I’d best be getting on home, but thanks again.” She reached for the door handle.
“Is your mum home?” Josh asked.
“I’m a little early.” Lily looked at her watch. “She said she’d get in when the bus did. It’s no problem, I’ll get some homework done. See you tomorrow and thanks again.”
She slid from the Land Rover, her bag in her hands and heard the other doors opening and closing.
“See you tomorrow, Lily Pad.” She heard the twins call to her as they jogged off in the other direction. Nate shut his door and turned to her.
“I’ll walk you,” he said, and there was no room for argument in his voice.
She waved as Matt pulled off and then turned to Nate. “You’re the other way.”
“Jesus, Lily May, it’s all of three lanes away. Hardly miles.” He snorted. “Stop arguing with me. It’ll get you nowhere.”
“You’re bossy,” she said, as he fell into step with her. “Do you boss them around this way?”
“Someone has to,” he said, looking at her sideways. He pushed his glasses up his nose, his hair falling into his eyes. He swept it away w
ith an impatient hand. They came to her gate, and she turned to face him.
“Thank you.” She gave him a quick grin. “I would have made it on my own though.”
“I’m sure you would.” He lifted his head slightly, breathing out through his nose. He looked as if he was going to say something important, and Lily tilted her head, waiting. He breathed out again and smiled at her. “See you tomorrow morning, Lily May.” He started walking back towards the green.
Lily opened the gate and went in, watching him the whole time. She stopped at her door, and rummaged through her bag for her key. She looked back up towards where he was walking. He was under one of the trees in the green watching her. She hesitated slightly, not sure if he was trying to hide himself from her, but he lifted a hand in a wave and turned to walk away.
He was an enigma. One moment she felt right at home with him—he was relaxed and friendly—then the next moment she felt as if she was a bug under a microscope and he was studying her. It was perplexing.
She went inside and shut the door behind her. There was a note in the letterbox, and she assumed it was from the man Jake had seen. She went through to the kitchen, dropping her bag on the table as she opened the note and read it.
“Lynda. Sorry to have missed you.”
It must be someone her mother knew. She closed it and propped it on the table for her to see when she got in. She got a glass of water, sat at the kitchen table, and made a start on her homework.
8
Friendship
Matt lay on his back looking up at the ceiling, watching the shadows dancing over the beams high above his head. Nate had lit the candles to give them some light. A fire in the middle of the room took the cold dampness from the air. The fire was smokeless, the flames a brilliant blue and red that told of it being magical and not physical. They were in the disused mill that sat beside the river that ran through Crowder Manor grounds. It was one of their favourite spots to meet. The waterwheel still turned outside, but the gears had been disconnected when the mill stopped grinding wheat into flour over fifty years ago.
“We like her,” Josh said, throwing and catching a tennis ball in his hand. “We don’t think she’s dangerous. She needs us.”
