Tom & Brenda

April, 1987

It was surprisingly sunny as far as an April morning in Wimbledon goes. A breeze was gently blowing up toward the house from the bottom of the garden and a six year old Tom Hiddleston had just headed outside to escape from his sisters' threats of another game of "lets put Tom in a dress". Kicking a ball around Tom found himself growing curious of whether the family had finished moving in to the house on the other side of the fence at the bottom of his garden.

Wandering down the sloped grass to the large tree in the corner of his garden his intrigue is peaked further by a smell wafting through the breeze. Freshly made chocolate chip biscuits. He knew that smell anywhere. Walking faster towards the tree he ducked between the snake-like branches to the gap he knew he could find in the fence and peaked through to the other side. Then he saw her. A sprightly brunette girl with pale skin and a spattering of freckles across her nose and the top of her cheeks. But most importantly, she was skipping down towards a red and white picnic blanket with a biscuit in each hand and another firmly in her mouth. The she saw him. Stopping her skipping and standing stock still and wide eyed like a deer in head lights she just stared at him. With a tilt of her head and the raise of an eyebrow she approached him tentatively, noticing as his gaze kept flickering back to the freshly baked treats, clasped firmly in her grip.

Upon reaching the curly haired boy with his head through her fence she simple held out one of the biscuits to him and stared expectantly until he took it. Tom's gaze flicked questioningly back and forth between the biscuit she had given him and her face, seeking approval before gobbling it down quickly. With her free hand the girl was then able to actually eat the biscuit she had thus far, been holding in her mouth, breaking the third one in half and sharing it with him.

"Mum always taught me not to take treats from strangers," said the girl in a surprisingly melodic voice. "Though I don't think she ever said anything about sharing treats with strangers," she smiled sweetly, before giggling to herself shortly.

"Well, thank you, very much," Tom replied, swallowing down the last of the warm, chocolate filled treat.

"I suppose you wouldn't be a stranger if you told me your name," she continued, brushing off his thanks.

"Hiddleston, Tom Hiddleston," he introduced, holding out his hand for a handshake, the way he had always been taught was polite. Internally he fretted over whether it was meant to be his right or left hand, but settled for his right since his left was sticky from wiping chocolate off of his own face.

Giggling at how proper he was being the girl gave his hand a single shake up and down before responding, "Bond, James Bond," and turning away to skip back up to the picnic blanket. She only turned back to look at the baffled Tom when she flopped down unceremoniously onto the red and white cloth. When she saw how confused he was she simply shrugged her shoulders and shooed him away with the flick of her wrist.

Retreating back through the gap in the fence Tom saw a graying old lady come out of the girl's house with a plate of sandwiches. He ducked out of view and started heading back up to his own house. Hopefully his sisters had found something better to do than try to dress him up.

He was about 5 metres from the door when he heard it.

"Oy! Tom!" He spun back around to see the neighbour girl poking her head through the fence just as he had. "My name is Brenda King!"