Daughter of Luka (LGBT+)

Fifteen 🌑

On Sunday morning, I received a text from Accalia.

Accalia: Hey, Ophelia. Fifi. Amarilla. 

It didn't take me too long to suss that it was Accalia because I had only told one person about my childhood nickname. 

Ophelia: Okay, so now you're stalking me. How did you get my number? 

Accalia: I hacked into your Facebook account. 

I knew she was just joking, but I decided to play along regardless. 

Ophelia: You did what!? 

Accalia: I'm kidding, obviously. I got it from Kate. 

Now, that was something I had questions about.

Ophelia: You have Kate's number? 

Accalia: I have most peoples' numbers. Besides, Kate and I had to complete a project with each other a few months back. I'm relatively new to this whole school thing, too, you know. 

Ophelia: That's true. Anyway, yesterday was fun. My dad didn't ground me...so are we on for next weekend? 

There was a pause in replies for a short while, so I decided to go and get myself a bowl of porridge with cinnamon. 

I took a spoonful or two, before Accalia messaged me again. 

Accalia: I may or may not be free. I think I might have a family thing next week. 

I took a break from replying for a few moments, as I continued to eat my porridge. I then received another text from her. 

Accalia: I also need to organise all of my revision cards, sort through my textbook notes...that sort of thing. 

Ophelia: We could always study together? 

I really hoped Kate wouldn't feel as though I was cheating on her, if that was a thing. I wasn't sure if studying with another one of my friends constituted as a form of cheating, but if it did, then I could only apologise. 

Accalia: I usually study alone, but I suppose I could make an exception for you. 

Ophelia: Great! :) 

Accalia: What are you up to? 

Ophelia: Doing crimes? 

Accalia: You don't seem sure. 

Ophelia: Neither does the bank teller. 

There was a pause in responses for a few moments, before my phone buzzed again. 

Accalia: Oh, Ophelia. You do make me laugh sometimes. 

Ophelia: Do I? 

I was honestly completely and pleasantly surprised. I grinned down at my phone. 

"Oh, no. I will not have you talking to boys," my dad said, as he entered the kitchen and sat down with the newspaper. 

He was probably one of the only people alive that still actually read a physical newspaper, but I couldn't judge him for that. I was more surprised by the fact that the postman even delivered the newspaper this far out. 

"I'm not talking to a boy," I said matter-of-factly. 

My father looked up from his newspaper and eyed me analytically. 

"Right," he said, as though he didn't believe in me. 

"You really think a boy could cause me to smile like this?" I asked, sooner than I could stop myself from blurting out the words. 

"Point taken," my dad said, as he turned over the page in the newspaper in front of him. 

My phone buzzed again. 

Accalia: Yeah. You do. You're a good friend. 

I smiled again. 

"Accalia," I explained, when my dad eyed my phone with curiosity. 

"You seem to be mentioning her a lot lately," my dad said, as he straightened slightly in his chair. 

"Well, she's a good friend," I said. I couldn't keep the warmth out of my voice, as I said it. "Hey, dad, I might go to the beach this weekend." 

"Yeah?" he asked me. 

I may have overheard Uma mentioning it, the last time that we had maths. 

"Makes a change of scene from the forest," I explained.

 My dad gave a nod in agreement at that. I hoped that meant that he was going to say yes. 

"Don't get eaten by a shark," he said, a playful smile forming at his lips. 

"I won't," I said, as I smiled back at him. "Are you okay with me taking a walk in the meadow today?" I added. 

The meadow was a few metres across the street from my house. I could see it from the upstairs window. It wasn't too far away and it would also mean that I wouldn't be going into the forest, so I assumed that my dad would support the idea. 

He responded with another nod and I felt my heart skip a beat in excitement, though I was pretty sure no normal person should be quite as excited about spending some time around flowers. I didn't care. It gave me another opportunity to message Accalia. I only hoped that I wasn't bothering her too much with my messages. 

"Thank you!" I said and rushed to hug him, managing to not crumple his newspaper too much in the process. 

I then slurped down the rest of my coffee and made my way out of the kitchen, back up to my room. 

I changed into slightly warmer clothes but then felt uncomfortably warm, despite the fact that it was cold outside. Hormones, I thought decisively. 

Once I was ready, I rushed back downstairs, said goodbye to my dad, and made my way out of the front door into the cool breeze of the day. 

There was a weird chill in the air, but I hardly noticed it. 

I would have to check myself for a fever later on, but despite my high temperature, I had no other symptoms, and surely a walk in the rain couldn't cause me to feel like this. 

I wondered if I should talk to Accalia about my symptoms, but ultimately I decided against it, as I continued to walk towards the meadow. 

Once I reached it, I sat down and began to fiddle with some daisies absentmindedly, as the cool breeze continued to move through my hair. 

I then decided to pull my hair into a ponytail, so that the wind that was threatening to start growing stronger wouldn't bother me too much. 

I then laid back against the grass and stared up at the fluffy white clouds overhead.