She

I threw the door open loudly but the sound was drowned amidst the buzz of dozens of kids getting ready to go home even though the bell wouldn’t ring for at least ten minutes. I saw her sitting in her usual seat and immediately felt calmer.

With a dramatic flair, I slumped into the chair beside her, throwing an arm around her carelessly.

‘Tough lesson?’ She laughed. I pushed a stack of papers onto the table with exaggerated malice.

‘Another pack of practice tests and two essays. It’s gonna be a fun weekend!’ I cry and bury my face in her shoulder.

‘Shut up Lily, at least you don’t have a whole year of practicals to write up,’ Morgan moaned from the other side of the table, packing books into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder.

‘Sucks,’ I commiserated with an apologetic pout. She stuck her tongue out at me.

Finally the bell rang and there was a rush for the door.

‘See you on Monday!’ Morgan called before disappearing into the crowd, a volley of similar shouts were directed at us as the room emptied. I lifted my head from her shoulder. 

‘I guess that’s our cue to go home then…’ She said teasingly. I stuck my lip out in a show of sadness and poked her arm until she couldn’t suppress a smile.

‘Lake?’

‘Lake.’ I replied with a grin.

~~~

The late afternoon sun bathed my face while the glinting water chilled my feet. We were hidden in the waterside haven by bursts of trees but the sound of chattering families and the laughter of children from the path added a sense of innocent joy to the air. Fighting to stop the ice cream dripping to my fingers, I felt almost like I was just a carefree kid again, tasting summertime.

Beside me she was losing the same fight, vanilla smudged on her nose. I laughed and she turned to me, wide-eyed, like a child caught red handed. Impulsively, I reached over and wiped the ice cream away. Her expression grew serious in a way that froze my laugh and seemed to slow the world.

She looked at me, head tilted, eyebrows raised, as if she had asked a question. She waited out my silence with a quizzical expression. Almost… hopeful. My stomach fluttered and my mouth formed silent words but I didn't have an answer.

Settling on silence, I plunged my hands into the water, washing off the sticky ice cream, and flicked the icy liquid at her. She gasped at the shock before a mischievous glint flickered in her eyes and she sent a cascade of water back at me. In no time, we were soaked but it didn’t take long for the bright sun to melt away our shivers.

She laid out our jumpers under the warm rays while I plucked daisies from the grass. Watching how they spun and danced between my fingers, I fell into an enthralled trance until she returned to sit beside me. She smiled at my fascination and held out her hand. I passed her the flower and she tucked it neatly behind my ear, examining me as if I was a great masterpiece of her creation.

I sat frozen like a statue as she adorned my hair with the dainty objects. I struggled to appear indifferent but when her delicate fingers brushed my skin, I shuddered, an electric pulse racing through my nerves.

She was summertime personified. Glowing warmth emanated from her smile. She was an ocean of chocolate melting under blissful heat. She was ice cream and joy and the sunshine itself; I wanted to lie beneath her and bask in the rays she expelled, glorious, drowning, burning.

She caught my gaze, too intense. I snapped my head away immediately but I could feel her looking. Wondering. Asking with her eyes. But I couldn’t answer her. Not yet.

My stomach dropped and my mind swam with apologies I couldn’t voice but she was undeterred.

While we weren’t paying attention, the sun had dropped behind the trees and suddenly a chill bit at my bare arms.

‘Come back to mine?’ She asked, quick to notice my discomfort. ‘We have heaters,’ she teased.

‘You know just what to say,’ I laughed back. We rescued our hoodies and trailed back to her house.

~~~

Humming from the heater and the ticking of the clock faded into a background rhythm. I hugged a blanket around my shoulders and watched her sitting at the dresser on the other side of the room. Oblivious, she selected three lipsticks, and applied them, blending pink into purple into blue. In the mirror our eyes met; I glanced away like I’d been electric shocked. A slight frown crossed her features before she cleared her expression.

She walked over and dropped onto the bed with a sigh.

Her laugh was transcendent. It captured rainbows in its waves of effervescent joy. Her smile, so wide and untamed, creased her cheeks and I wanted to reach out to those perfect indents. Her caramel eyes gleamed so brightly I wanted to sink in them. And regaining my senses, I found myself leaning closer, closer until my lips met hers and I felt her break into a smile.

Suddenly she jumped up and crossed the room to grab the lipsticks. She came running back to me and I fended her off until she finally gave up, painted colourful striped across her own cheeks and then collapsed back onto the bed in laughter. Breathless, she rolled over and put her arms around me. I stared at the ceiling, heart racing, mind blanked of anything but her.

‘I’m sorry,’ I murmured into her hair.

‘For what?’ She asked, leaning away to look at me. I avoid her gaze.

‘For taking so long…’ I trail off, my eyes trailing over the walls, the windows. She laughed. With one finger, she tilted my face towards hers. I fidgeted like an insect caught under a microscope.

‘I would have waited forever for you.’ Her voice is soft but firm and finally, I meet her eyes.

And her lips stained my cheeks with pink and purple and blue.