Ange (girlxgirl)

Chapter Eleven

Two Months Later

Katherine wakes me at seven, we are in the car by eight and at the school by eight thirty. When she drops me off, I wait till she is around the corner and walk in the opposite direction of school. My plan today is to go and tame the horse that lives at the old house that has been for sale for about two years. I rang the girls and told them to come with me, they didn't want to skip school, of course. So I'm by my lonesome making an unnecessary detour to my hill.

Martin's hill. The best hill in the world. You can only get to the top walking and not many people know about it, so there is never really more then two people here at once. Mum showed it to me two months before she died, if I believed in God this would be as close to heaven I get whilst still alive.

I sit down on the cold and slightly wet ground, pull my food, vodka and speaker out of my bag and study the view. I can see all of the houses at the bottom of the hill and some across the river, the hill is a low point in a bigger hill, it doesn't have the best view but it is fairly good. I break off a piece of a pot brownie and take a small sip of vodka that I hide in a drink bottle and lay back on the grass with my sunglasses on and music humming away softly. I stare into the sun and let it warm me until I hear footsteps coming up the track, I sit up and look down. It's a slender woman, struggling on the slippery grass. I lie back down and close my eyes, listening to the footsteps coming up the hill. They stop beside me and laboured breaths fill the silence that not to long ago I was quiet happily enjoying. I open my eyes to see if I know the woman who has rudely interrupted me.

It's Miss Winnett. I'm taken by surprise and I feel kind of nervous since I'm suppose to be at school.

"Hello, Natalie." I say casually, a little like a psychopath, not gonna lie. I close my eyes again and tap my foot to the beat of the song. "What are you doing here?" I open my eyes and watch her out the corner of my eye.

"I could ask you the same thing." She says between pants. She leans over with her hands on her knees, trying to control her breaths.

"Yes, you could ask me the same if you wish, but it is rude not to answer questions."

"I come here all the time," she says defensively, casting a hand over the view.

"Doesn't really sound that way."

She laughs. "Shut up," she breathes. She sits and down next to me, I sit up beside her and look out at the river, I can feel her watching me so I turn and face her. "I like your sunnies." She points to them and smiles.

"So, what are you really doing here?" I ask.

She blushes. "I live around here and I saw you walking and not the school direction. I was a bit worried, so I followed you. You know, has anyone told you, you look and have the attitude to be running a drug cartel?"

"No worries." I say, even though it isn't, it is quite creepy that she followed me.

"We haven't really talked," she says quickly.

"We have talked plenty," I say bluntly.

We haven't, I want to change the subject. I sort of avoided her after my big speech on my life, hard to avoid someone if they follow you up a hill though.

"No, we don't, Ange," she says sternly. "You avoid me."

"Do I?" I ask innocently, I lay back down and make my arms into a pillow under my head.

"Yes and you know you do. I'm not going to feed you bullshit like the other teachers do. I've seen it, they are fake and pathetic."

"Should you be saying that? They're your colleagues," I mumble.

"Oh, shut up. I'm really sorry about your life, but because you told me, doesn't mean you have to avoid me!"

I sit up, leaning on my arms behind my back. "It's awkward!" I say. "That is why I avoid you! Only a handful of people know my real story and my therapist isn't even included in that. I don't know why I told you, side effects from a good sleep? I shouldn't have told you."

"You did, so live with it." She stands, brushes off the dirt and offers a hand. "Come on."

"What?" I ask confused.

"Let's go to school, I can't let you skip," she says matter-of-factly.

"If you didn't stalk me, you wouldn't know," I say cooly. "And get off my back. I've been for two months straight." I nestle back into the ground and stretch out my legs.

"So then, what is your plan for today?" Miss Winnett asks, sitting back down.

"Tame a horse."

"Wow," she says, eyeing me in suspicious and surprise. "Full of surprises. Hey, can I have a drink?" She reaches for my drink bottle.

I sit bottle upright so quickly I feel dizzy, I grab my bottle and hold it to my chest.

"No," I say sharply, she raises her eyebrows at me. "It's... You see... Um... It's got my meds in it, the fluid sort, sorry," I add quickly and nicely.

"I see." She soothes out her pants and stands back up, looking down at me. "Ok, well I'm off. Just where are you going in case something happens."

"That old cool house down Hepno street. It has been for sale for a few years so no one will be there."

"It isn't for sale anymore."

"What? Bloody hell." My plan is ruined.

"Yeah, I own it," she says casually.

"Seriously?" Maybe my plan isn't ruined.

"It's a big fixer-upper. Nothing I can't handle though."

"Is the horse still there?" I ask curiously.

"Yep, I feed it everyday. I'm going to sell it I think, I don't really know about horses," she sighs. "You probably aren't suppose to come to my house, but if you don't tell anyone, you can."

"Really? You don't seem like a rule breaker," I tease.

She gives a breath of laughter and shrugs. "Why not?" She says carelessly.

"I can just say that I didn't know it was your house."

"Yeah, whatever. Ok, then. Let's go." She starts to walk off and I quickly pack up my bag and run down after her.