Chim- Sweet sixteen

Chapter 9

It had been a month. A month of pain. A month of chocolate ice-cream and piles of tissues. A month of heartbreak....no heart-shatter. Kimberley and Cheryl avoided all possible contact with each other. At first Cheryl attempted to talk to Kimberley at every opportunity, waiting outside the photography room, sitting near her in class, however every time Cheryl came in a 10 metre radius Kimberley completely rejected her intense desire to be near the other girl and walked in the opposite direction. Soon Cheryl began to keep to her self, dwelling in her sorrows. At times she would be calmly sitting at the lunch table with the other girls, discussing whatever random topic had been thrown into their midst, and suddenly she would burst into tears. The girls (having grown used to this) began their usual routine which they had developed. Nicola would wrap Cheryl in her arms and provide a sturdy shoulder to cry on, Sarah would offer words of advice and optimism while Nadine gave sympathetic looks. Although Cheryl was not the only distant member of the group. Nadine would often become lost in her own world of thought instead of being her normal upbeat self, and whenever Cheryl became over flowed with emotion Nadine would seem slightly uncomfortable.

Cheryl’s grades had begun to slip dramatically. Her mind was unable to absorb anything that was not related to pain or darkness. At night she would lie awake, constantly replaying moments in her head, perhaps this was a desperate attempt to bring all the pieces back together, however no amount of effort could achieve this. She pulled the covers around her, trying to shield herself from the demons that had become the puppet masters of her fragile state. The thoughts of their first kiss, making love and simply talking provided a moment of joy...and then an eternity of sadness, before Cheryl would drift to sleep every night drowning in a stream of tears.

Kimberley’s world was no better. When she was at school she tried to distract herself, indulging in the only remaining element of her two loves: photography. She continued to speak to the other girls; however she was cautious to make sure Cheryl was not around when doing so. Her presence was enough to bring Kim to her knees, howling in despair. How she missed her...how she needed to talk to her about everything she was keeping inside...but that wasn’t possible and Kimberley knew it. Maybe her upcoming birthday would cheer her up. That was the only thing Kim had to look forward to. Everything else was lying around her, in small fragments, much like her heart. 

 ~

“Seriously Nicola, do you really like hot dogs that much?!” chirped Sarah as she sat next to a redhead who was surrounded by at least a dozen hotdogs. “It’s for my science experiment!” Nicola barked defensively, now ceasing one dog and stuffing it into her mouth. “I'm sure it is.” Nadine laughed from behind the newest issue of a teen magazine. “So who’s up for some retail therapy this afternoon?” Sarah said excitedly.

“Well I don’t have much else to do. Plus we could buy Kimberley’s birthday present. I was thinking something camera related...?” A small sliver of hotdog escaped from Nicola’s mouth as she said this. “Well if Nicola isn’t busy robbing a hotdog factory then I'm in! But what about Cheryl? I'm sure a little shopping would do her some good but perhaps getting Kimberley’s present would be a mood killer...” Nadine added while rolling her magazine into a tube and placing it in her black bag. “Cheryl could...” “Cheryl could what?”

Cheryl had just appeared at the side of the table, placing her best smile on her face as if to show her friends she was coping. She casually placed her bag on the table, and sat down next to Nadine, taking a bite size chunk out of her apple. “Do you want to go for a shop this afternoon? Some shoes, some dresses...oh and chocolate!” Sarah said partly expressing her extreme enthusiasm due to excitement, and also to help Cheryl feel at ease. “Sounds great to me!” Cheryl replied, finally being able to spend some time with the people she loved most without being in the same building as the source of her sorrow. 

~

The alarm sounded with an intense ferocity that woke Kimberley immediately from her deep sleep. She gently rubbed her eyes and placed her quilt off of her curvaceous body and in a neat pile on the end of her bed. She slowly moved over to her oak desk which held a large mirror, patting her hair and smoothing out her pyjamas. Suddenly she realised that today was her birthday, finally she was able to have one day without tears. She let a smile inhabit her face; at first this felt strange as such an action had not occurred for so long. Once she stripped down and covered her gorgeous body with the familiar patterns of her school uniform, she moved to the kitchen eating an extravagant breakfast of pancakes and sausage (after all it was her special day). She grabbed her bag and headed to the door, snatching a set of keys from the hook on the wall on her way out. The bright light of the sun hit her skin, warming it significantly. Just as she was about to close the door and walk down the stairs, her foot hit a small object which skidded across the doorstep after being hit by Kim’s foot. She looked down, seeing s small golden box situated on the doorstep, with a little red ribbon wrapped around it. Kimberley bent down and picked the box up, taking the card out from under the ribbon and reading what was written on its face in curved handwriting. “Happy Birthday xx” was all that was written. Kimberley smiled and undid the ribbon in order to see her first present of the day. “Maybe things are starting to look up...” thought Kim as she took the golden lid off revealing the gift. She stood plastered to the spot, stunned. A golden necklace lay in the soft tissues in the box, its heart shaped body shimmering. Kim stroked it with a finger, taking it out of the box still unable to believe what she was holding. “Just like...my mothers...” she stammered. The all too familiar streaks of tears cascaded down her face, however these were different, these were tears of happiness.