In The Rain

Chapter 3

Leigh watched with the sound of her own panting ringing through her ears, as Jesy led her to a secluded park area. There were a few old ladies sitting on benches and some people who looked like gardeners trimming the hedges.

Jesy stopped. She was far ahead. "Why are you so behind slow poke? Come on! We're not there yet." Leigh watched her run quickly ahead and move to a different section.

Leigh-Anne panted a little. "She doesn't have a heavy backpack to carry. That's why she's so fast." She stretched her legs a bit then continued chasing.

Her eyes became wondrous as she saw Jesy stop in front of a green house. It was made of glass.

Jesy, who had had her back to Leigh turned around. "Ta-da! This is my special spot." She kept doing poses in front of the house.

Leigh walked closer, slowly admiring the beauty around her. The place looked like gardeners usually came around to take care of plants there. There were bags of fertilizer and manure on the ground and a pond where fish swam. "Where is everyone?" She was finally up close to the other girl.

Jesy held Leigh's arm and looked around a bit before doing a little laugh that sounded victorious and mischievous. "Must be their lunch break or something. High-five!" She raised a hand.

Leigh loved high-fives. She slapped Jesy's hand with hers then laughed. "Isn't lunch at noon? It's way passed noon." She was trying to piece a story together in her head of how Jesy knew about this place. Maybe Jesy's mum is a gardener here and that's why she sends Jesy to the green school! That made a lot of sense to her. "Hey, does your mum work here?" She held the straps on her bag as if shy.

Jesy shook her head. "No. Why would you think so?" She fished for something out of the pocket of her blazer then retrieved it with her tongue licking the corner of her lips. "I want to show you something." She gave Leigh her back and began picking the lock on the glass door.

Leigh became intrigued. "What are you doing Jesy?" She had read of people picking locks in books. Only the mini-criminals ever did so. Maybe she actually meant what she said about committing crimes. She felt a little nervous, now looking around to make sure that none of her mother's co-workers were somewhere about just waiting to tell her mother. She'd get into more trouble than she could handle. Are there any cameras? She looked up into the trees and saw none so decided to just roll with this. "What do you plan on doing?"

The door opened and Jesy nodded with satisfaction. "Didn't I say so already? Come on. I gotta show you something." She entered as if this was her home.

Leigh bit her lip but followed. She began to survey the room. There were tables of plants and flowers just like every green house had. They were pretty and felt earthy. Never imagined that London would have anything like this around. She stopped to look at one flower. "It's purple." She liked colours a lot.

"Oy!"

Leigh gave her attention to where the sound emerged and saw Jesy beckoning for her to come. She walked briskly towards her, making sure that no one was close to see them. Would the workers come by and report them? Her mom would blow her top if she had to pick her up at the police station.

"What is it?" Leigh asked. Jesy was at the far back of the room, hovering over a particular plant on the back table.

Jesy picked up the flower pot. "I don't know what it's called but I like that its pink." She brought it close to Leigh's face.

Leigh sniffed the flower. "It smells really nice Jesy." She was smiling at the aroma. She liked how sturdy and strong the flower looked in its pot. "Why did you want me to see this one particularly?" She looked at Jesy but the girl's eyes were on the plant, smiling fondly at it.