Lucy In The Sky

I've Just Seen A Face

LUCY'S POV

Mother let me have the next day off school, I had no sleep at all- mainly because I was thinking of John, replaying the date over and over in my head. I had hallucinations of my lips reconnecting with John's once more, feeling his tender touch, smelling his cologne mixed with the stale scent of cigarette smoke whilst he held me in his arms. 

I woke up extremely tired and I had terrible period pains, Mother told me I 'looked rather pale', so I can stay at home for the day. 

I spent most of my morning lying in bed, reading The Great Gatsby; a book I had read at least 4 times already. After my long lie-in and a rude awakening by my Mother storming into my room demanding me to get up and do some ironing, I did some house work. It was the early afternoon until I decided to stop and rest for a while. Of course I had to finish cleaning dishes, folding and packing away clothes and preparing dinner for later on, first. These were all jobs my mother found difficult to make time for in between going to work at the hospital working as a mid-wife because of her difficult hours, and with my dad working 8am to 6pm in the factory it was hard and unfair for him to help contribute to simple chores too. 

It was around 3pm, after I took a nap, that I started to feel a lot better. Of course my cramps were still there but I didn't feel as sleep deprived as I did this morning and I felt much more lively. Living in the moment and with my sudden burst of energy I decided to go upstairs and search for my sketch pad to do some drawings.

I found myself doing a detailed drawing of Elizabeth Taylor, my role model for several years now. I adored her film Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, and I admired her contribution and funding towards helping charities, then of course there is her astonishing acting talents and outstanding beauty. I had posters of her covering my bedroom walls, including Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe and the occasional rock 'n' roll star such as Elvis and Chuck Berry. I heard my mother come down stairs and she peered at my drawing. 

"That's excellent Lucy! Very beautiful, you've captured every detail, is it for school?" she said, beaming a smile at me.

"Thanks Mum, it's not for school." I replied, still in deep concentration, continuing to shade her cheeks. I saw mother give herself a smug smile in the corner of my eye and walk back upstairs with a pile of clean clothes. I stopped what I was doing and sighed, I was terribly bored and all I wanted to do was see John again. I didn't think it was possible to miss someone this much! I looked at the clock and saw it was 4pm, school had ended half an hour ago, which meant Vicky would've been home. I thought it would be nice to call her and tell her why I was off school, and to see if anything exciting had happened whilst I was away. 

I was in the middle of dialling her number on the phone when I heard a knock on the door. Mother was still upstairs and couldn't have possibly heard it, so I had no option to see who it was myself. 

Another knock came.

"I'm coming!" I yelled, loud enough so the visitor could hear. I quickly flattened my hair to make myself look more presentable, because I still looked dreadful despite getting more sleep.

I opened the door only slightly and peered round it to see a boy of my age in a black leather jacket and drainpipe trousers. For a moment my heart stopped, thinking it was John.

"Paul! Hello! Come inside." I told him, welcoming him into my kitchen and letting him sit at the table. "Would you like some tea?" I asked.

"It's a'right, pet. I just came over to check how ye were, I wondered why ye weren't at school. Wasn't that John fella was it? He didn't hurt ye- cus if he did he's got another thing comin'!" Paul raged, face going red with anger.