Lemongrass and Sleep (A Clodagh Story)

Rises The Moon

Tw!
Drunk driving + Child death mention!

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" I apologize profusely to the girl.

"Woah woah, I'm grand, alright? Are you okay? You fell to the literal ground." She has a strong, what I'm assuming is an Irish accent. It's captivating to hear.

"Yeah.. I'm alright..I just moved here today and you are the first person I've met and I just can't believe I bumped into you because that's not really polite.." as I rambled on and on she just listened, nodding her head. She perked up when I mentioned just moving here.

"You just moved here? Where'd you move into?" I point to a white house down the road, "Well then, I'm Sorscha Doyle, I live in the cream-like house over there, and you are..?"

"Clodagh.. Reeds.. Clodagh Reeds." I look up at her, practically doe-eyed, "How old are you.. You're pretty tall." I hear her let out a slight chuckle.

"I'm 13, I get told that all the time. If you're curious I'm 5'6. I am taller than average for my age," I let out a slight "Oh." I wonder how much taller she'll get, "I can only assume you're.." She held out the end of the word to make room for me to answer.

"Oh! I'm 13 too! I'm actually 5'2." I tried to hide my embarrassed face. I feel so short compared to her. I must seem tiny to her, I mean I feel tiny.

She must have noticed my embarrassment because she was trying to make me feel better by promising me that I'm the perfect height for my age and she's just tall. She made some jokes about her being like a giraffe. It made me laugh. It felt so easy to talk to her.

"Do you own a cellphone?" She opened her blackberry, it was black but she had a sticker of Ireland's flag stuck to it. I looked at it. I've seen a cellphone but I don't own one.

"Uhhh.. no.. I don't have a cellphone," She tilted her head with a slight shock on her eyes, "Sorry, we just can't afford it right now."

"How are you going to communicate with your friends back home?" she asked innocently. Right. She didn't know.

"I actually didn't have any friends back.." I make air quotations with my fingers, "home."

"Well then, I, Sorscha Doyle, self proclaim myself as your first friend," Sorscha makes a dramatic bow that you would see a knight do in a play. I laugh at it. Making sure to respond in a similar fashion, "And I, Clodagh Reeds, proclaim you as my first friend.."

I smiled at that word. Friend. I made my first friend. I made my first friend! Oh my gosh! I did it! I want to just jump and twirl!

"Why don't you come to my house for a second? I have an old phone if you want it.. I have a job at my parent's business so I can pay for credit. That way we can keep in contact!" She offered.

"Really? That'd be amazing! I mean- wait- we just met why are you offering it to me? Wouldn't you want to give it to someone you're closer with?" She looks behind her and whispers into my ear, "Between you and me, they don't deserve it."

I look at her confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, my best friend was Jess but she.. uh.." Sorscha looked down and fidgeted with her hands, "She passed in March of this year, a drunk driver hit her.. and my friend Maxine already has a phone so.."

"Oh my gosh.. I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean to-" she interrupts my apology, which I'm assuming she felt bad about.

"No god no! Don't feel bad! It was sudden, sure! but It's okay! Really! I'm at peace with it!" She reassures me, "Now do you want that phone or not?"

"Sure.. that would be great!" She suddenly takes my hand and leads me to her house. Her hands are course but soft at the same time. She pulls me towards her house. Easily opening the door, she calls out to her parents but they don't answer. She shrugs assuming they are at work. Leading me up to her bedroom she opens the door.

"You can sit on the bed! I have to dig through the closet for a second!" She opens her closet door, lots of baggy clothes, "Oh! I have a cd player over there if you want to play some music! I have some Metallica, Nickelback, Hollywood Undead, I might have some Britney or Coldplay mixed in there as well from when I was younger!"

I walk over to her cd player and collection as I admire her room. It has white walls but it's practically full of posters from different rock and metal bands. She had a computer, her myspace is pulled up, Sorsch_a, her profile was themed with green, white, and black elements. Two flags hanging vertically on her wall. One with green, white, and orange, aka Ireland's flag. Theres another. A dark orange, orange, white, pinkish- purple, and one a bit darker than that. I don't recognize it.

"Hm, Sorscha?" I ask as I look through her cds. Im convinced she had at-least 100.

"Yeah?" She calls out from inside the closet. Still searching.

"What are these flags on your wall?" She pops her head out.

"What do you mea- oh. You don't know?" I shake my head, "Well one is the Ireland flag.. the other is the lesbian flag."

"Lesbian flag? What does that mean?" She tilts her head again. It's endearing when she does that.

"You dont know? It means I like girls. Like.. I'm a girl who likes other girls." She went back to her search.

"Oh! That's cool!" I've heard my dad talking about that. It was a sin to god, well according to him. I pause my thoughts as I carefully put a Coldplay cd in the player. It's their "Parachute" album.

"Aha!" She squirms her way out of her closet. Holding an old Razr. Pink. It's perfect. She hands it to me, "Here you go!I'll get my parents to connect it to our phone plan again."

I stare at the phone in my hands. I smile again. At the phone, but also at her fingers tips touching my hand. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem Clo!" She winks calling me a nickname. A quickly made friendship but I don't even care. Life feels beautiful when you make your first friend.