. . .
LEMEY
. . .
CHEWING ON HER PINKEY NAIL LEMEY SIGHED IRRITATED WITH HER BRAIN. Staring at the flashing neon letters beside her it took a couple of seconds before the time registered. The light pierced her eyes as the numbers 3:15 imprinted on the inside of her eyelids. She couldn’t sleep, her grieving body just wouldn’t allow it. About a week ago one of her best friend’s bodies had been found bleeding onto her bedroom floor. Sophie Swan had met Lemey Kale in grade three after falling down the stairs and cutting her head open.
The nine year old had shown extreme maturity as she coaxed Lemey into a state of calm and called for a teacher. Her strong green eyes accented her high cheekbones and exotic black hair perfectly and from the moment they’d met Sophie had proved to be the rock in their friendship. Angry tears burned in her eyes. Whoever had done this to her friend was going to suffer immeasurably at the hands of Lemey.
Sliding of her bed she dragged her feet over to the mirror on her desk. Her normally golden blonde hair was strung in heavy mattered heaps, her lifeless milk-chocolate coloured eyes, normally so vibrant and full of colour stared back at her dead and drained. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t capable of revenge.
Looking back at the detached seventeen year old girl she felt exhausted and warn. She slumped against her desk sinking into a week of sleepless nights. Lemey woke as the light embraced her aching form. Pain crackled down her back and shuffled to her backside. Thankful she had just entered the holidays after her last day of year eleven; she slowly grasped the desk and hauled herself up.
Her vision swam as dizziness invaded her brain. Lemey slammed her eyes shut and willed the fuzziness away. Opening her eyes she was satisfied to see that the feeling had evaporated. She trudged over and plopped herself onto the bed. She hated feeling this way. Despising the day before it even began. No. Today would be different. Somehow she’d make it different. Somehow. A thought formed in her head. Josh! She’d call Josh.
Josh was her second cousin, the only outside family she knew. If it weren’t for the chains of relation bound by the two she would admit to herself her true feelings about him. Feelings that bordered the edges of more than cousins. More than friendship. She pictured the short light brown hair of her cousin and the way his deep blue eyes seemed to call up upon these feelings. It was almost as though he too thought more of her than just family. Moving on from these pressing and slightly disturbing thoughts she pressed the buttons on her phone and waited in anticipation for Joshua’s voice to come.
“Hello? The voice of the nineteen year old vibrated through the phone.
“Hey Joshua it’s me, Lemey.”
“Lem! I’m so happy you called; I’ve been so bored stuck in my room doing nothing!” He paused his voice adopting a brotherly appeal “How are you holding up?”
Lemey sighed deeply, “Better than the last time we spoke.”
“Oh Lem, come on come over to mine today. Get your mind off of things.”
“Sure that sounds great”, she replied mustering as much enthusiasm as she could, “I’ll see you then.”
“Cool, see you then.”
On the other end of the line Lemey heard Josh click the end button. She bounced up from her bed exited at the prospect of seeing Joshua. Pulling on a high collared, sleeveless shirt and slipping on some shorts she slipped down the stairs bundling her hair as she went.
“Were do you think you’re going Lemey?” Her dad’s matching espresso eyes peered up at her behind his coffee mug.
“Oh um Josh’s... If that’s okay?”
