Echoes Down The Corridor

Daisy Chains

A/N: Another taste of reality - and yes, I actually did do this... *hides*

The warmth of the spring sunshine enveloped me like a fluffy cloud. As I lay outside on the warm grass, my school blazer as a blanket, oversized sunglasses covering my face, daisies had already sprung up around us. My friend Grace began to pick them, one by one, and linked them in a daisy chain. By the time she'd finished, it was far too long to be a bracelet, but not long enough for a necklace. Just as she was about to throw it away, I yelled "No, don't chuck it you sausage...please can I have it?"

"Yeah, sure..." was her response, confused as to why I wanted it. I promptly placed it on my head, as a crown of sorts. The others around me began to laugh.

"Oh look, it's Princess Abby!" Georgie said, shrieking with laughter.

"You should leave that on for the rest of the day," Lois then joined in. "Actually, I'll give you anything if you walk into final lesson with that on your head. What do you have last?"

"English," Georgie said, shooting me a knowing look. What would my girlfriend think of me acting loopy in front of her? Our whole relationship rested on me acting mature, and I had no idea what she'd do. Probably kick off...nevertheless, if I refused, everyone would get suspicious, so I agreed, my previous giddiness restored. All I could do is hope that her sense of humour stretched to teenage antics...

The warning bell broke the moment, and I slowly made my way to English. I reached the nearly-empty room with a clatter of laughter, daisy chain still perched on my head, sunglasses shielding my face from the inevitable disaster that was to follow. My hair, in low pigtails, only emphasized the childishness of the stunt I was about to pull.

Sarah looked up from her desk, and shot a look of confusion at my appearance. Then a small smile appeared on her face, which spread, until she was laughing along with me and Georgie. Her laughter echoed around the room like heavenly music - the moment captured as we caught each other's gaze.

Subtly coughing to suppress her laughing fit, she spoke for the first time since I entered the room. "Abby, take those glasses off your face. You're in a classroom, Madam!" I hastily obeyed, but as she hadn't mentioned the "crown" I left the daisy chain perched on my head.

As suspected, given that most of the class had a Chemistry Exam that day, the lesson mainly consisted of reviewing the acts of "The Crucible", then chatting for 3/4 of an hour about exams, the idiotic Michael Gove (a**hole Head of UK Education, FYI), and general s*** that fitted the conversation. Sarah sat on the desk behind me, twisting her long fingers through my silky, brunette hair. I let out an irrepressible sigh of contentment; she sensed this, and placed a soft kiss to my temple when no-one was looking.

The lesson ended, and I packed away slowly, eager to prolong the time we had together until next lesson. Once we were alone, she came back over to me and held me in her arms, just being with each other. The moment felt magical; I felt safe and protected from everything in the earth.

"Do you want to come over sometime?" Sarah whispered into my ear, not willing to break the moment. "I mean my house. You could "babysit", and I'll send the kids to stay with their Aunt and cousins or something. I want to spend some time with you." She pulled away as she finished, smiling warmly at me; I smiled back.

"Yeah," I responded after a few moments of bliss "I'd like that."

I suddenly remembered that Beth would be waiting to walk home with me, so I pulled away, picked up my schoolbag and walked out of the classroom, throwing one final smile and a "See you later" over my shoulder, as I stepped out on to the now-empty corridor.

When I reached the locker room, Beth was stood there, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor. "Where the f*** have you been? I've been waiting for ages - what on earth kept you? I was the one with the exam!" She said, slightly exasperated.

"Sorry, had to have a chat with Mrs Proctor about English stuff..." I started, but then trailed off. I didn't know how Beth would react towards my relationship, but I knew she wouldn't accept it as well as Georgie did - hence I was reluctant to go into any more detail.

"Oh well, I feel like celebrating," Beth said. "Let's go raid Sainsbury's!"

As we walked out of the door, I turned just to see my girlfriend leaning against the door. She waved gently, and smiled as I rolled my eyes sarcastically - now she was following me. Stalker alert! But I couldn't wait for my night alone with her...