Miss Mercury

Teenager

It's the Friday before the Easter holiday's and tomorrow is Amelia's 13th birthday, she'll be a teenager. It's April 1998 and she has been at ArtsEd almost an entire school year.

She's going home for her birthday this afternoon since school finished at lunchtime for the holidays. Amelia, however, has a task to complete before she can go home, "Remind me why your buying flowers again?" Jessica whines as her friend comes out of the corner shop with a bunch of yellow roses.

"Hey, I told you girls that you didn't have to come with me," She leads Jessica, Rosie and Brianna to the tube but they don't get on the one for the train station.

"We weren't going to let you go around London on your own," Rosie smiles just going with it.

"Kensington?" Brianna mutters when they leave the station, "What's in Kensington that you would need flowers for?"

"Home," Amelia replies simply and Jessica gasps realising where they are headed. Turning down the street Amelia is hit by a wave sadness that makes her knees feel like jelly, seeing the tall wall and familiar green gate.

Jessica steadies her, she not been here before but Amelia had told her all about it as a child. Amelia hasn't been back here since she left in 1991 and she never realised how close ArtsEd was to it.

Regaining her footing she walks towards the gate, "Is this Garden Lodge?" Brianna wonders, Amelia had told Brianna about her family.

"Yes, this is my old home," Praying that it hasn't changed Amelia types the code into the gate. With the double beep and click of the lock, she pushes it open and is immediately transported from the city London to a Japanese paradise.

"Wow," Rosie awes shutting the gate behind her, "So beautiful."

"My dad loved Japan and they loved him..."

"Hey!" A male voice shouts, "What are you doing in here? How did you get in?"

Amelia looks to the gate on the far side towards the back that leads to the Mews and is met with an aged but familiar face. Though she quickly realises that he doesn't recognise her, "Dad would be beaming to see the Japanese paradise still alive," She smiles letting her words dawn on the man.

He stops in his tracks looking her up and down, "Milly?"

"Hello Joe," She greets and he grins racing forward lifting her into a tight hug with ease, making her giggle.

"You've grown so quickly, are these your friends?"

"I'll be 13 tomorrow and yes this is Jessica, Rosie and Brianna, they're my friends from ArtsEd."

"Nice to meet you girls, you'll be a teenager? I remember when you were just a baby," Joe chuckles, "But what are you doing here? You haven't been back before today, why now?"

"Because I made a promise to myself and that I would always buy a bunch of yellow roses and leave them outside the wall on every special occasion, Christmases, birthday's etc... as a gift to my dad but I haven't done that, I wasn't ready to come back. I felt ready today and since I'm going home for the Easter holiday's I thought I'd bring my dad his Easter gift," She shows him the yellow roses.

"Myself and Phoebe planted the rose bush that was sent, would you like to see it?" Joe questions.

She follows him to the grass area outside the music room patio doors and a small area of grass has been dug up and the yellow and pink rose bush sits in its place, blooming beautifully, "Thank you, Joe, it looks beautiful. How's inside the house looking?"

"I go in and dust once a week, I stripped all the beds after Jim left and I've covered most of the furniture until the day that you return. I did you want to go in a have a look? I have the keys."