Mr Introvert

Chapter One: Crimson Nails & Fish and Chips

                Felicity groaned and tapped her crimson painted nails against the window of the train impatiently. Her iPod battery couldn’t have died at a worse time – now she’d be forced to make conversation with the old ladies opposite her on the train, a prospect which she most certainly didn’t relish.

                “What brings you to Ablesborough, then, sweetheart?” One of the ladies with a blue rinse asked, her tone caring but slightly nosey at the same time.

                Having been brought up properly, Felicity answered politely, “My parents are lawyers –“ at which point the other woman interjected,

                “Ooh how exciting!” The woman beamed and her friend tutted.

                “Shush Margaret, she’s talking!”

                “My parents are lawyers and they have a big case that they need to go to New York for. They didn’t want to take me because I’d miss out on the start of school, so I’m being farmed off to stay with my Uncle for the summer. He’s a bit odd – in his own world – but he’s nice enough... I’m sure I’ll find something to do!”

                The two women smiled encouragingly, “Of course you will, love,” the bespectacled woman who wasn’t Margaret said, “Although it’s a rather quiet town – not many people your age around, although there has been a new school built recently. Have you been there before?”

                “Not for a very long time,” Felicity answered, thinking back to the time she’d last visited the small seaside town. Her Uncle had been a tall, booming man with snow white hair and out-dated glasses, who’d smiled down kindly at her when they met, and kept to himself, afterwards. The village was nice enough, and there had been plenty of space for her to run around in, as a boisterous young child. She was looking forward to being able to escape the smoggy atmosphere and bustling streets of London, where she normally lived in a big Victorian townhouse, not far from all the decent shops.

                She was worried about having nothing to do, though, as Ablesborough wasn’t exactly well known for having a booming teenage population. Her parents had assured her that she would be fine, and they’d given her enough money to be able to entertain herself whilst she was there. It had crossed her mind that perhaps she could get a summer job in the seaside town – occupy herself a bit, so she didn’t get lazy, or go off her head with boredom. She let her mind wander to the types of job she could do – working in the Fish & Chippy, and then coming back to London smelling of chip fat. She shuddered, being vegetarian anyway, that didn’t seem to appeal to her. She shrugged it off, as she was sure she would be able to find something appropriate for her when she got there.

                The conversation with the old ladies subsided, and not long after, the rickety train pulled into the quaint looking station. It looks like something straight out of Thomas the Tank Engine, thought Felicity. A tall, white haired gentleman who was stood nervously on the platform, and he caught Felicity’s eye and waved... and the girl in question couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him, as his appearance and height; unkempt and gangly made him look like Hagrid, from Harry Potter. He greeted her warmly, even though the last time she’d seen him she had only been about 9. Now, just turned 15, she wasn’t as scared of her Uncle as she had once been, in fact, on the short journey to her Uncle’s house, she found him to be a sweet and funny soul, who had surprising insight into the life of teenagers today. When she asked him about it, he told her that there was a young lad, about her age, who pops by to look at his work every so often – a budding author himself – and they’ve become quite firm friends. He tells Felicity that she’ll like him, and it is comforting to Felicity that there is at least one person her own age; even if he does seem a bit soppy, interested in Shakespeare and poetry and so on.

                She smiles wanly out of the car window. Maybe this summer won’t be as bad as she originally thought it might be!