One Drop

Memory One: First Sight

Emily

It was the first day of school, and Emily Fitzgerald didn't know anybody. She was alone, the new girl yet again. But it didn't feel unfamiliar. She'd gone to five different schools since primary school, all courtesy of her dad's wonderful job that meant she had been carted all over Australia, not counting the original relocation from rainy England to sunny Oz. Sure, it had meant seeing some of the world's greatest tourist attractions, but she'd never felt completely at home. It was like she always knew that eventually they would pack up and move, start again in another strange place where she had no friends. As she walked through the gates into the school, people swarmed around her  like ants. They already knew she was the new kid, so she was already being given the once over by every girl that walked past, and she also knew for a fact all the boys were checking her out too. When she finally reached her new classroom, the bell had already gone and she had to face thirty strangers staring at her as she walked in. Not exactly the start she had wanted, but still, maybe making an entrance looked cool. "Hello, are you Mrs Myers?" asked Emily, and the teacher nodded stiffly. "Class, this is Emily Fitzgerald. She has just moved here from Wesley College. Miss Fitzgerald, may I kindly remind you that tardiness is not permitted at this school, no matter what your old school's policies were. Please try and come to class when the rest of us do. Now, will you please take your seat and stop drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. Thank you." Mrs Myers chastised her, and Emily sat down, cheeks aglow and every pair of eyes still fixed on her like she had a television set welded to her forehead. "Now, we shall continue where we were before Miss Fitzgerald decided to join us. Now, the works of Shakespeare are..." droned Mrs Myers and Emily pulled out her brand new textbooks, shrinking as low into her chair as she possible could. By the start of lunch break, Emily felt like she had never had a worse start at any of the schools she'd ever been to. 'Not exactly the first impression I wanted to make.' thought Emily as she sat in a corner of the quad and ate her sandwich alone, just like she always did. But then, she spotted something that made her heart beat a hundred miles a minute and made her freeze. Across the quadrangle sat the most handsome boy Emily had ever seen. He had short cropped brown hair, like chocolate, and blue eyes that shone like sapphires and seemed to glow with happiness. He smiled suddenly and burst out laughing as someone he was talking to cracked a joke. It was then that he looked at her, and he smiled at her, making her cheeks turn red like the sunset. He got up off the bench full with his friends and, as if in slow motion, he crossed the quad towards her.

Will

William Marksbury sat on the cold, full bench. He was surrounded by his friends, yet he still felt alone, like he was walking around in a ghost town. Sure, he was handsome, popular, smart and the talk of the school, but he had always known that people only liked him because of his looks. None of his so called 'friends' cared what he thought, they just wanted to be part of the 'in crowd'. They wouldn't even care if he left, just went, as long as they were still considered 'cool'. Will wondered when popularity had become so important at the school. It was like a disease that was slowly infecting everyone until all that was left was a bunch of air-headed bimbo girls and dumb jock boys. Will's eyes drifted around the courtyard, and it was then that he saw her. She was sitting alone on a bench, meekly eating her sandwich. She was the most beautiful girl Will had ever seen in his life and he felt like something pulled him towards her. She looked so sad though, with her wide brown eyes, and long, light brown hair that glistened in the weak May sunlight. Before he could process it fully, he was standing up and walking towards her, like nobody else was there except him and the beautiful, sad girl he was approaching.