Angels

Just a Boy

I woke with a start clutching my bed covers, I had woken to the sound of my phone ringing loudly. I crawled slowly out of bed and picked up. "What is it?" I asked slowly, rubbing my eyes dry of sleep. The Andaman had been busy. "Hi, it's Julia." She said through the phone, she sounded rather perky seeing that it was 4:00 in the morning. I heard other people in the background, and the sound of footsteps. "Where are you?" I said, slightly bugged that she had decided to call me now, at this hour. "The airport, I leave today I just arrived and we fly at 6:00. I need to talk." I laughed "you might need to, but I don't, not until 8:00 that's for sure." She didn't laugh back, I knew that wasn't a good sign seeing as Julia was always laughing. "Look," I said slowly "don't you have a plane to catch or something?" I checked my clock yet again, still 4:00 "I told you, not for two hours yet" I sighed, I was hoping she had realised she had to go, not that I didn't want to chat. I wanted to chat, but I could tell she wanted to 'talk' not natter like old ladies. "I wanted to ask you something." I was silent "Beau? Beau? Have you hung up on me?" I grabbed a swet wrapper off of my bedside table and rustled it down the phone. "That's not gonna work." Julia said, so I put it down. "What did you want to ask me then?" I heard her sit down, probably on one of those long benches you get in airports where you are nearly always forced to sit next to a stranger because they don't want to sit next to a stranger therefore there are only singular seats and no two spare seats together. "I wanted to ask you," I sat down on my bed, realising it was a little weird for me to be standing in the middle of my room at 4:00 in the morning. "Am I a boy?" She said, I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Umm. Shouldn't you know that by now? I'm pretty sure you're a girl, but I'm all open to suggestions." I carried on laughing, she sighed. And I heard her shifting positions uncomfortably and almost dropping her phone. "I don't mean that. I mean, do you think of me like one of the guys?" I had never really thought about it before. "I don't really know. I guess, sort of. Cause you hang around with us boys so much. Why?" I asked, "just something I always  wondered.... So does that make me, just a boy?" She asked me "aww heck to the no!" I added "you're much more than that, you're one of my best friends. Just because I don't think of you like a ditsy dumb girl doesn't make you a guy." Again, she sighed. It was like she was out of breath or something. "You can't help what you said Beau, I'm not arguing, I'm just saying what I heard. No point trying to take the words back. To be honest I like how you think of me like that." I sniggered under my breath and rubbed my eye, I didn't realise it, but I was uber tired. "Serious? You like being a boy? Really? Maybe I should just call you Julian then." She laughed, I hoped she wouldn't be offended. She wasn't. "Go on then. Beau is also a girls name y'know? Your shot." I was out of combacks. She was good, too good for me. So I gave up, not like it was a bully or anything. "Fine, you win." I heard her get up and there was a muffled shout in the distance. "Julia? Julia! Are you okay? What's happening?" She didn't say anything but I heard her footsteps. "Nothing, but our plane is coming a little earlier than anticipated. They're now saying 5:00. Bit of a bummer, means I have to leave home even earlier now." My heart sank slightly, I knew she meant by that I had to hang up. "I thought planes only got delayed though?" I was cold, so I slipped under my covers again. "I thought so too. Obviously not. I'd better go, we have to go through customs and security yet. Bye." She paused. "I just can't believe this might be the last time I ever speak to you." I got comfortable under my duvet then processed what she had actually said. It hadn't dawned on me yet but what she was saying was true. "No, don't say that." I blinked slowly. Holding back tears. No, I never cried. Never. "It's only true, anyway. This is it. Bye then... See ya." I sighed, now I was sighing! Maybe it was conntagious. "See ya." I said back slowly. Dreading the noise that came after she hung up. But then it came. The long, annoying beep. I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it. The contact said Julia. But I read, Someone I will Miss Forever. Sounds cheesy, yes, for sure. But I never realised that anyone could feel that way. I was starting to think that maybe Julia was Angel. It was different to what I had anticipated, yes, for sure. But maybe, she liked me? All that about looking at people in 'that' way in the milkshake shop. Maybe she was hoping that I looked at her in 'that' way. Probably not, but I wanted to know if Angel had just slipped through my fingers .