A life in the Dark

C h a p t e r F o u r

M o n d a y 2 n d S e p t e m b e r
After School
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I slumped down in the seat in front of Harley, dropping my bag on the floor and flicking my legs onto the seat next to me. "Hey, how was the first day back?" he questioned, as if he couldn't guess.

"Guess," I half-growled half-yelled at him.

"Made your first friend? The bitches turned sweet?" I knew he was joking, but it pissed me off all the same.

"Fuck off!" I punched him in the arm as best I could with a chair in my way.

"Woah, chill!" he chuckled and I took a breath to calm down a bit. "I take it it didn't go well then?"

I snorted. "Understatement of the millennium; it went so badly there needs to be a new word to describe it! No one has changed for the better to any extent, otherwise meaning they're all still just as horrible as they used to be. To put it into context, think of every single time I moaned to you about them-so practically every school day. Put all of them together to describe my day."

"That bad?" he asked, wide eyed. I nodded, pulling out my new Tech folder to fan myself, then taking off my blazer and stuffing it in my bag.

"What 'bout you? Still Mr. Popular?"

"Yeah, compared to yours, my day was a breeze."

*****

I walked into the shop, the bell ringing overhead. The tables were full of people who had come up from the Primary school the other side of the village. The one I went to. Mum was stood behind the counter, while a customer paid for a tub of my lemon and honey face mask and tangy orange foot scrub. I flashed a small smile in her direction before stepping through the "staff only" door that led to the staircase. I dumped my bag in my room and changed into a tight plain white top and black skirt that reached my knees with a light pink apron over the top with my name sewn in black. Then I brushed my hair yet again and pulled it back into a simple ponytail before heading back down.

"Hey, honey, how was your day?" Mum smiled at me, wearing the same clothes as me with her thick, glossy chestnut curls neatly pulled back into a bun; her make-up used sparingly.

"Awful, as per usual," I groaned into her shoulder as I gripped the back of her shirt. "Anyway, how was it here?"

"Really good! Although I'll have to add a list of things that are low on stock: vanilla soap-on-a-ropes, sweet pea soap bars and carrot and ginger scented hand and foot balm. Can you make some more later?"

"Of course! I don't have any homework after all."

"Great!"

"Now do you want to go serve those people?" I gestured towards the far table, where the woman was looking patiently at us. Mum nodded and walked over. There was a faint ding! as a man and what I presumed were his two kids entered. I watched as the little two ran off, then said a cheery 'hello' to the man, who came over.

"Hello," he smiled warmly. "Erm, it's my wife's birthday on Saturday and I was wondering what you could suggest as a present?"

"Well, what does your wife like or do?" I wondered, formulating a perfect gift for any response.

"Well, she's a lawyer, but...she spends most of her time in the garden, I suppose," he thought aloud.