Ocean Blue & You

nightlife

PART 3 ~ LIFE

My eyes slowly fluttered open. I was experiencing that pleasant feeling of waking up after a long, deep sleep. The radiant morning sun was pouring through the window, looking out on the gorgeous view where the periwinkle sky cobwebbed with clouds met the greenish grey sea below. It was casting it's warm glow over both of us. Judging by it's height in the sky and warmth, it was late morning. I was lying on Jack's bare chest, my hair spread out over the pillow and my hand on his soft skin. We had slept with the white, summer sheets at waist height, since it had been a fairly warm night. Euphoric memories flooded into my mind from the night before, and I smiled to myself. Jack was still sleeping. I looked up at his face. I sometimes like to watch people sleep when I've woken up. You're so beautiful, yet so unaware of it; it's just so lovely to watch. But sooner or later, I tried to arouse him.

"Jack," I whispered, "wake up."

When he didn't move I tapped him and stroked his hair. He eventually opened his eyes sleepily, and (when seeing my face) smiled.

"Morning," he croaked, with a just-woken-up voice.

"I can't believe how lovely last night was," I said softly.

"I know. We were so close."

There was a short silence where I stared into space and Jack said nothing. I lent up on the bed and propped myself up with my arm.

"I just realized something!" I exclaimed as a thought popped into my head.

"What?"

"Today's September 9th. We're supposed to be starting school today."

Jack gasped and then raised his eyebrows cheekily, grinning. "We're missing school?"

"Yeah," I answered.

Jack sat up too.

"Everyone is at school now, and we're still in a different continent," Jack said.

"Yes," I repeated, not finding it that hard to believe. "Oh! Miss Simmons is probably scanning through the register now calling out my name. I can just see it now. Everyone will be sitting down, tired and bored on the first day of A-level year. And then when I don't respond Emma will mutter something bitchy under her breath and everyone will laugh-"
"Who cares? It's not a secret now anyway," said Jack.

"I know! Exactly! She'll probably still be hung up on it, being bitter; secretly irritated because she wishes she could be in some mystery place with a rumoured secret lover."

"Yeah, either that or Miss Simmons will be."

I laughed for a while about that.

"Poor Miss Simmons," I added, "she was probably crossing her fingers all summer she wouldn't have to teach our tutor again, with Emma and her shady friends."
"And bogey-picking Thomas," he said.

"Oh, yeah. And Jake who always asks stupid questions like," (I tried to do an accurate Jake impression) "Miss, why do we get homework?"

We laughed together, as Jack leaned over me and pulled the cotton white sheets over our heads, bathing us both in that warm, bright and shadowy light that you get when the sun is shining through thin material. I loved the smell of the sheets. They had a freshly washed, lavender smell to them, but also smelt a bit like Jack. His clothes smelt similar, and the smell always comforted me. Even so, I grinned as I asked him,

"What are you doing?"

He knelt up on the bed, still under the sheets and holding them up with his arms, like a bird taking flight, as he exclaimed, "imagine Miss Foxe! She's probably going to be floating around the classroom in that elvish way, telling everyone to study hard because 'art is the beauty and flavour of life',"he did a perfect impression of Miss Foxe's high, wispy, fairy-like voice, and that made me laugh harder. And then he leaned in and kissed me on my open mouth.