A Rooftop Encounter (Short Story)

chapter six.

I had lost track of time entirely once Smitty continued to play even more songs on the ukulele. I was simply getting sucked in by her sweet, melodic voice. She really did have an incredible talent, I couldn't believe she hadn't pursued it further rather than be working in a shopping centre.

She obviously didn't believe in herself enough, which I found strange because she seemed to give off a strong sense of confidence. Once again, I felt I had misjudged her. Deep down, she was just as vulnerable as I was.

After four or five songs, Smitty placed the ukulele down on the concrete and sighed proudly.

"I'm knackered now..." She laughed sweetly, leaning back on her hands in a more comfortable position.

"Yeah... What time is it?"

"Bored of my company?" Smitty joked, raising an eyebrow playfully at me. She casually glanced at the watch she was wearing on her wrist, but never mentioned the time. I suspected it was getting late though.

"Course not!" I smiled, mimicking her actions and placing my palms on the cool concrete floor behind me. I leant my head back and found that the stars were even more visible now. Maybe because it was darker and the city was dimmer. Despite knowing it was probably very late, I wasn't too fussed. I am eighteen after all; I go out late all the time.

That's a lie. The truth was I rarely ever went out late at all. My limited amount of friends seemed to have more fun studying than hanging out with me. Not that I didn't mind studying now and again, but I wanted something more out of life.

"So ya got any hidden talents then?" Smitty asked, ripping me from my depressing mind.

I thought hard for a moment. It was definitely an interesting question. I suppose art had always been something I had secretly been good at. I had sketchbooks filled to the brim with doodles and silly pieces of artwork. I had never really showed anyone though. I didn't see the point in it. It's not like I was going to get anywhere by drawing a few crappy pictures.

"Mm... I draw quite a bit" I shrugged, brushing it off as though it was nothing.

"Any good?"

"I'm... alright, I suppose..."

"Have ya got any with ya?" She questioned curiously, her orb-like eyes lighting up slightly. I suddenly felt nervous.

In all honesty, I carried a small sketchpad everywhere I went. You never know where you're going to see something or someone worth drawing. The world was full of surprises.

My sketchbook was in my pocket right now. It didn't have that many sketches in it, but there was enough to show Smitty. However because I had never showed anyone before, was I ready to reveal all to her? I had already exposed so much to her this evening, so I didn't see why it mattered anymore.

"Um y-yeah..."

"Really? Can I see?" She said, shuffling closer to me, adding to my awkwardness. I always felt a weird buzz in my stomach when she got near to me, I couldn't really explain it. A faint smile tugged on the corners of my mouth. I gazed at her intently. It was then that an idea sprung to mind.

"Right okay... I'll show you them... but I-I want you tell me something before I do..."

"Eh?" She squeaked, tilting her head in confusion.

"What's your real name?"

I had wanted to know badly ever since she had glazed over it earlier on. It has niggling away inside me and I now had the chance to ask her. Besides, I felt it was weird not knowing her actual name when we were getting so close. I couldn't call her Smitty forever, could I?

Her face screwed up for a second, "Why do ya want to know that?

"Why not?"

"I don't like it though..." She groaned, pressing a hand to her face in attempt to hide her smirk.

"I'm just curious," I chuckled, running my fingers along my jeans to check if my sketchbook was actually in there. I didn't want her to tell me her name and then I wouldn't be able to pull through with my part of the deal. I felt a square lump and knew it was there. She rolled her eyes in a familiar way and sighed. I knew she would give in.

"Fine... it's... um... it's... now don't laugh..."

"I won't" I promised sincerely. Why would I laugh? It was just a name.

"It's... Cordelia..."

She hid her face shamefully, but I was simply sat in awe. Cordelia was a very authentic and beautiful name, but also one I hadn't really heard before. It certainly didn't suit her personality that's for sure but I liked it all the same.

"Wow that's..."

"Horrible" She scoffed,

"I was going to say unique."

I allowed a smirk to appear on my face. I loved seeing her get embarrassed. I still didn't understand why she hated it so much, it was a nice name. But it was weird to think of her anything other than Smitty now, so that how I still called her by that.

"Yeah whatever... now show me some of ya drawings," She urged, leaning into me again as I fumbled around in my pocket. I slid out my sketchbook that was no bigger than the palm of my hand. Sometimes it amazes even me at how I managed to draw it in. I guess it doesn't matter how small the drawing is, but rather how big the idea is.

Hesitantly, I flipped over the first page forgetting what exactly was on it. It was a drawing of a bench. I had used biro to do it, so that texture was very scratchy and messy, but I kind of liked it like that. I quickly skipped over it.

On the next page was a sketch of my little sister playing on the tyre swing that's in our back garden. I liked how I had managed to capture the absolute joy her precious, little face.

"Who's this?" Smitty asked, running her fingers gently over the frayed edge of the page.

"My little sister, Penny."

"She's well cute,"

"And annoying" I added, shaking my head at the thought.

"Ah, I'd love to have a brother or sister..."

"You're an only child?" I questioned curiously. For some reason this surprised me. I had imagined her being part of a big family and she was the spunky older sister that they always went to for advice.

I guess I was wrong. It imagined it to be quite lonely to be an only child. Although my sister was annoying, I definitely would miss her if she was gone.

"Yep, just me and ma mum" She said, brushing it as though it wasn't a big deal. I wanted to ask about her dad as well, but I thought it was best not to. It might be a sensitive subject and I didn't want to seem too nosy.

I nodded before flipping over to the next page of my notebook. It was a drawing of garden shed. My garden shed to be exact. To some people it might look nothing. But I thought it had a lot of character so I drew it. It was green wood and had vines travelling all over it, as well as plant pots surrounding it. It took me quite a while to sketch actually because I had taken the time to scribble each individual leaf. It's not like I had everything else to do.

There were also drawing of mostly ordinary objects, such as trees and buildings so they didn't need much explaining. Smitty seemed very intrigued by each and every one though. Perhaps she was just being polite.

"Ya really good, y'know?" Smitty smiled eventually after scanning over the next few of my drawings, "Like, really good."

"T-thanks..."

I would never get tired of her giving me compliments. I had received more from her than I had in my whole life and that's saying something. It's saying that a stranger I met a few hours ago cares about me more than most of the important people in my life. It really put things into perspective.