Magic Within the Waves

Chapter Seven - Friends are Magical

Chapter Seven

Friends are Magical

***

At school the following week, I found my eyes unconsciously searching through all the faces of the students for a glimpse of my hero. I came up short every time. No one had his scent or his eyes or his perfect, brilliant white smile. At lunch, since it was a nice day outside, the girls and I sat at a bench in front of the home economics classroom overlooking the basketball court. We relaxed beneath the shade of a looming tree and chatted about the movie and the latest on schoolyard gossip and Hobby’s most recent antics. Again, I continued searching for him, scouring every face within my eyesight.

Where was he? Where had he gone? Why can’t I find him?

‘I don’t think I will ever find this guy.’ I sighed, slouching forward, and fiddling with the label on my apple juice. ‘What if Carmen was right and he’s from out of town or something? You really don’t know how much I really want to see him again…’

‘At this point, I think we do…’ Carmen half smiled.

‘Hey Mel, if you need cheering up, take a look over at Thomas Gavins,’ Ruth teased, elbowing my arm. ‘He hasn’t stopped staring at you since we sat down. I’m surprised his eyes haven’t burned a hole through you.’

Sipping my juice, I turned to her. She looked rather ordinary today compared to Friday night. Her brown hair was dull and hung limply down her back. A white shirt hung off her pale white shoulders, at least two sizes too big. It was her usual school appearance... Uncaring. I admire that about Ruth. She was her own person. But I did notice, that since our night out something had, however small, changed in her. She had a fresh, rosy glow to her heart-shaped face, and it brought her eyes to life.

I thought back on my first day here. Ruth had been kind enough to show me around the school. She was a strange girl with buck teeth and hair tied back so tightly it made her ears look huge. A lot had changed in her over the year and even now it looked like the changes were still occurring. Her teeth had straightened, and you could hardly notice her overbite. Her skin had cleared up and almost every day she wore her hair down. Out of everything, it was her smile that made the difference. It was maturing with her face.

I could never forget what Mum had said about Ruth when she first met her. ‘Mel, Ruth reminds me of a scallywagin – It’s a small mouse-like creature with a thin furry brown body. When they are young their front teeth are bigger than their bodies. They have huge beady eyes and round pink ears. When they mature, their bodies grow into their teeth and their ears grow long and floppy like rabbits’ ears. Their eyes have a magic that reflects the inner emotions of the human who finds them. So, if you are happy, it will be ... if you are sad, it would be sad too.’

Looking at Ruth now, I could see the meaning behind the resemblance. Not only was she maturing into her looks the way a Scallywagin did, but she too had the same kind of magic as a scallywagin. Whenever I was sad, she reflected my sorrow … and when I was happy, she grew childish and giddy. In a way, in that short time, we had grown as friends and were in sync with each other.

Carmen snapped her gold-painted fingers tips in front of me, trying to grab my attention. ‘Hello, earth to Melinda... is there anyone home? Can you hear me?’

‘Sorry, sorry Carmen, I was in another place for a minute there,’ I replied, blinking profusely and returning to reality. ‘What were we talking about?’

‘Thomas Gavins.’

This time my mind travel back to the first day I had met Carmen. She was another girl who had joined our little group. She was the new girl that transferred after me. Every guy admired her, and every girl tried to befriend her. It was everything about her, from her perfect golden hair, smooth skin, to her mature breasts. She was instantly popular, but she came and sat with Ruth and me in the cafeteria on her first day, surprising us both.

The second Mum met Carmen she also commented on her. ‘She’s like a daydreum, beautiful on the outside and inside. Yes, the daydreum’s a miniature pony-like creature with silky brown fur, and Carmen is far from horse-like… but it has the ability to change colour depending on moods. It is a friend to all who need its light-hearted nature and turns up when it’s needed. Just like Carmen turned up when Gaby Ink started causing you trouble. She turned up because she was needed… and from how quickly she fitted right in – it might be that she needed you too.’

‘Wow, Melinda,’ Ruth snorted. ‘You’re a million miles away.’

I shook my head and again returned to reality. ‘Yeah, that I am ... I’m so sorry…’

Laughing, Ruth gestured to the figure of a tall boy leaning up against the goalpost. A horde of boys stood around him in a very animated group. ‘He hasn’t stopped staring at you… like you’re going out of fashion or something... and rumour has it he’s interested in you. Well, so I found out this morning by overhearing one of Gabby’s plastics, Susan Haynes, talking to Daniel Gilsmic about it. It sounds like he has been interested in you for a while.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I peered across at him. Seeing the wind whisk through his bleach-blonde hair made my heart skip a beat. The sun danced across his brown arms and my head began to float. It wasn’t until he moved slightly and crossed his arms, that my heart returned to normal with a breath-stealing thud.

‘Don’t be silly, Ruth. A popular guy like Thomas would in no way be interested in a girl like me.’ I sighed, looking back down at my hands. ‘It has been an entire year since we had that strange but brief encounter… And after that day, he has never once said hello… I would have loved it if he had spoken to me.” I fiddled with the bottom of the plastic juice bottle. “In fact, he’s kept his distance if anything. I thought maybe he was ignoring me... Maybe that thing that passed between us was all in my imagination.’

To my surprise, when I peered up again, his green eyes met mine. He didn’t look away and then walk away like usual. Goosebumps erupted over my arms as his look intensified. I blinked slowly hoping I wasn’t imagining it, to find him still staring at me, mesmerised, and lost in thought. Another wave of heat flushed through me.

‘I have been told he’s more than just interested,’ Carmen added, frowning as she teased her blonde fringe between her perfect nails. ‘He’s planning to ask you out. It’s the gossip among the popular students, you know, the plastics and the brawns. But I would be very careful.” She turned her face towards me. “Not only did he get caught flirting with that young female art teacher from last year who he got fired … He has been flirting with Gabby Ink more so than usual too.’

I couldn’t control my peaking interest and continued sharing a fused look with Thomas. He was gorgeous in a rough-and-ready kind of way, his hair spiked, his eyes glinting orange in the sun. He was different to my hero – not as mysterious yet there was some kind of magic about him – something that was powerful enough to taunt my heart. I wanted to know him, but fear was keeping me away.

‘Don’t get involved with Thomas Gavins, Mel. Not only will he cause you heartbreak, but he will also probably get you into some kind of trouble,’ Carmen warned in a voice of authority, placing her face before mine to distract my view. ‘Did you know he adds a notch to his bedpost for every girl he sleeps with and ... he has a motorbike? That’s dangerous on its own.’

‘Having a motorbike doesn’t make someone a bad person, Carmen.’ I laughed, breaking my bond with Thomas.

‘No, it makes him hot,’ Ruth meowed, clawing at the air with a wink.

Thomas’s gaze followed me to the rubbish bin. He watched me as I threw the empty juice bottle away and then headed back to the bench. Once I was seated again, he moved away from the goalpost and turned in my direction, his eyes flashing orange then pastel green each time he blinked. Now my heart didn’t know whether or not to beat or freeze mid-thump.

Gabby stepped in front of him with her always neat hair, perfect, expensive clothes, and irritating high-pitched squeal of a laugh, blocking my view. There was nothing Hobby wouldn’t do to grab his attention. I was told by Ruth she had been that way with him before I arrive, and nothing had changed in that year.

Rolling my eyes, I turned away. I had no chance against a plastic fantastic. ‘What does it matter anyway? How can I compete with Hobby when she flirts so openly? There is no doubt she will win him over. I know for a fact she likes him a lot and has for a very long time. I guess that’s not hard to notice. So, I don’t think he will find me interesting enough.’ I shrugged a shoulder. ‘Maybe I should return to searching for that mysterious hero of mine ... even if I have no idea where he is or for that matter, who he is.’

‘Umm, don’t be so quick to jump the boat yet, Mel.’ Ruth chuckled, twitching her eyes in Thomas’s direction. ‘He’s on his way over here now.’

I whipped my head around to find him striding towards me, his white shirt half unbuttoned and flapping against his hips. The smile on his defined face brought a rush of heat to my cheeks. Gabby stood behind him, Aaron Kirt at her side, glaring in my direction with a scolding frown that was undoubtedly meant for me. I sat up straight and watched every purposeful step he made.

It made my heart race, and my breath quicken … and I liked it. He was heading over. I swallowed a nervous breath. Was it really happening? Was Thomas Gavins coming to talk to me?