Man in the Mirror

Jamie

I wanted to tell you of my good friend Jamie (girl but not girlfriend just to clarify) because her appearance in my young life was a reason for it to happen.  She was from Czech Republic but her parents came to France for a holiday after it was rated so highly.  They absolutely loved the French atmosphere and way of life so a couple of months later, they decided to take an immense leap, and move here for good.  Well... They don't have a Czech Republic school in Bordeaux but they are incredible at speaking English so Jamie came to my English school in Bordeaux's bustling city centre. She was the only new person to join our school at the beginning of cinquième which is the English equivalent of year 8.

I remember the first time I saw Jamie very vividly.  I briefly glimpsed sight of her in the morning with her parents either side, lecturing her on what to do and what not to do in this school.  She looked interested, her eyes wide and thoughtful at her parents' words.  At the time, I didn't realise she was a new
pupil to Bordeaux High as there were always a large number of students who were escorted right up to the front doors of school before their parents deemed it suitable that their children wouldn't die in the two metres into the building.  Let's just say some parents were VERY protective of their children, it's surprising the kids actually got to go anywhere on their own.

The first time I spoke to Jamie was a moment I will never forget.  It was break time and we had all come out of the 'welcome to cinquième' assembly but we were the last people out because we were unfortunately at the front.  At the time, my best mate Jay was still on holiday in his home town of Nigeria so wasn't returning to school until two weeks later.  Needless to say that I was a bit of a loner that day.  I sauntered out of assembly after getting my bags behind a huge crowd of other rowdy cinquième students. That was when I saw Jamie again, sitting on a bench just outside the hall building.  Her long, vibrant golden hair was what first caught my attention.  It rested over her slender shoulders like a sheet of pure gold.  She was looking the other way at the time so I didn't see her face.  She was all alone and that was when I realised I hadn't seen her before.  Normally, wherever you looked, everyone was with a friend of theirs, like I am usually with Jay and there are normally the different groups of people together like the punks or the goody two-shoes.  To see someone on their own especially in my year was extremely unusual.

So, being the outgoing person I am, I decided to sit with Jamie that day.  Little did I realise that that was the best decision of my life.  I hated to see people on their own at break times as I knew what it was like to be alone.  Every year, Jay used to go to Nigeria for about three months and I would be left alone.  You may be thinking, didn't  I have other friends?  The trouble was, there were so many different groups of people and I never really seemed to fit in with any of them and believe me, I tried in those many weeks in which Jay was not there.

"Erm... Do you mind if I sit with you please?"

Suddenly, I was faced with these wide, crystal-blue eyes and this smile with teeth so white and pristine. 

"Of course"

She retained quite a strong accent which I couldn't quite figure when I first met her.  Her long, flowing hair and piercing eyes was enough to stun anyone.  She was very pretty but I was never attracted to her in that sense.  I just wanted a friend.

We chatted for ages and I recall that actually we were in quite a few lessons together.  That was when I discovered she was from Czech Republic.  We got to know each other very well and found that we had quite a few things in common.  It turned out, she also lived fairly close to me so every weekend, we used to go into Bordeaux' city centre or to the cinema or something for an afternoon. Her parents seemed highly respectable and approachable too, which makes a nice change to my family.

When Jay came back, I was incredibly concerned.  I didn't want him to think that I had replaced him as my very good friend for someone else instead.  But, I was pleasantly surprised and felt quite guilty that I ever doubted my friend's behaviour.  That day, I met with Jay at the end of the road as per usual and I told Joe all about Jamie, feeling anxious that he would be disconcerted at this extra person.  As soon as we got to school, we met up with Jamie as she sat on the corner bench in the picnic area, her golden hair lying elegantly down her back.  Immediately, Jay walked over to Jamie who was standing up slowly, beaming at us and he put his hand out.  She looked hesitantly at it before shaking his hand, her grin even larger than before.  Relief flooded my body as I realised we were all going to get on very well.  From then on, we were known as 'the three musketeers' of Bordeaux High, our own group...

Hi guys!! I'm really sorry this is so long since the last chapter. Being away and crazy with school work meant that opportunities to write were far and far between. But, I've written it now and I know it's quite a boring chapter, sorry for that too but I had to otherwise the plot would be hard to follow.  I promise you, the next chapter is where the action begins... Vote, comment etc. What do you think?? Lotto xxxx