Macy

Chapter 5

I have had enough of today.

My parents are away this weekend helping my aunty out at her farm and my alarm didn't go off this morning, so I was late to mass.

Then Matty's truck wouldn't start for at least ten minutes and I spilt coffee on my dress trying to run into church.

Then while working on the piano I somehow lost balance and when I placed my hands out to catch myself, I got a splinter in my finger that's refusing to come out.

Today just isn't my day.

Deciding to put an end to this madness I cleaned up my mess and locked up the shed before heading into town for a coffee.

While waiting for my coffee, I began picking at my finger, trying to get the splinter out. How can something so small cause so much discomfort?

"I didn't peg you for an ice addict" some said and pulled out the chair in front of me.

Billie had taken a seat in the vacant chair across from me while she stared at my hands curiously.

"I have a splinter, why would I ever touch drugs?" I asked her, my tone clipped.

I do not appreciate how she treated me at school a few weeks ago and I'll make sure she knows that.

If I thought my day couldn't get any worse, then this really was a cherry on top.

"Thank you" I said to the waitress who placed my coffee in front of me "why are you sitting with me? I thought you didn't know me?" I asked Billie and had to fight off the urge to roll my eyes.

"Why do you have a splinter?" she asked, ignoring my question.

"From my project"

"How's that going by the way? What're you even doing?" Billie asked, actually seeming interested in what I had to say.

A real one-eighty from the last time we spoke.

Why is she like this?

"It's going well. I'm repairing the piano for the church, it was destroyed by some intruder during summer and the Pastor asked if I could fix it. I love handy work and it's for my church so I couldn't say no" I told her.

"Piano? I-I thought they would have thrown it out" she said, shock evident on her face.

"You know about the piano?" I asked, I doubt Billie even cares for the church so how does she know about the piano.

"What?" she muttered "of course I would know, this is a small town and my brother was there that day so he... he told me about it"

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah. He attends church sometimes you've probably seen him before. But that doesn't matter" she waved off the subject to quickly change it "what are you doing after your coffee?"

"Going home, why?"

"Wanna hang?"

"Hang?" I asked, truly bewildered by her request "why?"

"I'm bored and don't have any friends" she shrugged.

She believes she has no friends. Then who were the people surrounding her car making her laugh?

"Are the people you hang around at school not busy?" I asked.

"They aren't my friends" she shook her head and looked at her phone, reading the time "so do you want to or not? Cause it's getting dark and I want to show you something"

I could either go home and watch tv in an empty house, or I could spend time with Billie and find out why she lied that day in the car park and why she doesn't deem those people that she was with her friends.