“What did you do?” he said with a glint of enthralment in his eyes.
“Nothing that bad, I just took care of myself, that's all.” I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt. “We'd better go and meet up with the others before the film starts without us.”
“You're not getting off the hook that easily Claudia.” Solomon laughed.
Getting out of the car I looked up and down the car park expecting to see some of the others. “I don't see Susanne's car here.” I said after Solomon had locked up his car and we were walking away.
“Yeh, they might have parked in another car park … the one closer to the cinema.” he smirked.
I frowned at him preparing to complain, but couldn't help laughing instead. “You know, if you were someone else I would be very suspicious of your actions sometimes.” I said nudging him in the side.
“Why only if I were someone else?” he asked, his face serious.
I glared at him for a second trying to determine if he was joking. Sure he could definitely have planned this to get us alone for a while. Solomon was fond of our private talks, but I could never be suspicious of him having any ill intentions. Deciding he must have been joking I linked one of my arms into his, “Because I trust you Solomon, you're, without a doubt, the best friend I’ve ever had.”
"From someone who lived in an orphanage with no other kids, I don’t know how much of a compliment that is."
"Hey," I said, jabbing him softly in the side.
We walked down the street for a while before turning into Knightsbridge Park which, according to Solomon, lead straight through to the road the cinema was on. The park was quiet that night, a few couples walked hand in hand or sat on the park benches locked in embraces, there was a strange overwhelming atmosphere about the park which seemed to draw me in. And as we walked, we laughed and joked until I felt as if a weight was lifting from me and found myself almost lost in the moment.
“You still haven't told me how you survived on the streets.” Solomon said.
“Ok, well, I had a little money from one of the workers who helped me runaway; he was kind of a friend. And then when that ran out, I guess I stole stuff. I'm not proud of what I did, but it was nice being able to spend the night in a hotel and get a nice meal and a hot shower.”
“I'm not sure I'm supposed to be so impressed.” he laughed “At least I know who I should bring along if I ever decide to go on the run.”
“The run?” I laughed “I thought you were a footballer, not a criminal.”
“It takes one to know one, right?” he laughed.
“Stop it!” I said elbowing him.
“I'm sorry, I'm just joking.” he laughed rubbing his side to pretend I'd hurt him “You know that's the third time you've hit me tonight. I forgot you were into violence.”
“I did a lot of training at the 'special' orphanage. I guess they wanted me to grow up and join some kind of militia of something.”
“Oh yeh? And what did you want to do?”
“I can’t tell you!"
"Come on." He said melodically.
"Ok, but promise you won't laugh.” I said looking away slightly.
“Ok.” “I wanted to be on Broadway.” I said fluttering my eyelashes at him.
“Yeh? I did not expect that.” He said slowly.
“Yep. When I was 8 we did 'A month to commemorate' as a school production. It was amazing. I really wanted to be the lead character, Monica, but I didn't win the vote and I ended up as the house keeper! I still learned all of Monica's lines though. I wanted to do her dance scene with Derek so badly; I would sing and dance around my garden for hours perfecting it.”
“Wow.” he said looking at me with admiration. “I really can't imagine you like that.”
“Yeh well, that was before Mrs Maple got rid of me and I had to live in that ... place. I was young, happy and hopeful I guess.”
“Don't ever lose hope Claudia. Something great could be right around the corner.”
“Yeh, I hope.”
Solomon smiled the biggest grin I had seen for a while. “You know, we did 'A month to commemorate' a few years back, and I was actually Derek.”
“Really?” I could feel my own smile spread until I was sure it was as big as Solomon's “Yeh, I can see that.” I nodded.
“Let me sing these words to you, No one could love you like I do. That's how I feel inside.” he sang as he took my hand in his and spun me under his arm. Is he really singing right now? I thought to myself; covering my mouth in embarrassment. “As I take your hand, I understand. What is real, can never end. Love is healing water, in a desert full of sand”.
Solomon gestured his head towards me as if prompting me to do something, I shook my head slightly with the smile still on my face. “You know I'm not going to start singing in the middle of the park.” I said looking around nervously.
“Come on," he whispered” No one’s watching.”
I looked around again, biting into my lip. There is no way I'm going to do this, I said to myself but the deep indigo colour in his eyes which seemed to mock the star-filled sky the way the lights glittered from them brought me back to those nights in Mrs Maple's garden and I almost felt like an 8 year old again. Young, happy and hopeful. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath “Now I look into your eyes,” I murmured. “And I feel mesmerized, you will never leave, we will never say goodbye.” Although giggling slightly, I managed to sing the second line. We are actually about to do the Monica and Derek scene, I thought clearing my throat and curtsying slightly before getting into the correct position. “How sad was my heart, how dark was my past. But when I looked in your eyes, I knew something would be cast.” I sang, this time without faltering.
Solomon smiled and continued singing and coaxing me along until we were singing and dancing through the park together.
“When I am with you, I still can’t get enough and I know that I can be free.” We both sang almost in perfect harmony “When you are with me, I am all that I can be. Together there is nothing we can’t beat, Fight through everything, and then repeat.”
I had only ever practised the routine either by myself or with Becky but I was surprised that I could still remember it properly, just as surprised as I was that Solomon knew the whole routine so perfectly. When we got to the end of the routine Solomon looked at me with a nervous smile. “I think this is the part where he kisses her.” he said.
Laughing I looked down at the ground, “They didn't do the kiss in my school's production.”
“Yeh, mine either.” he sighed.
The sound of Solomon's phone broke the silence. “It's Michael.” he said looking at the display. “We should probably go” He said taking hold of my hand again and walking towards the exit.
“Our love cures, any kind of pain. You can take my bravery, if I can take your empathy.” I sang over my lines again while we walked; dancing and spinning and turning under Solomon's arm. Solomon simply walked along beside me in silence, watching me with a playful smile on his face. When we arrived at the cinema Solomon stopped “You ready?” he said placing a hand on each of my arms to steady me from swaying.
I thought over the options quickly, I had never been to a cinema before and was really looking forward to it, but I hadn't felt so happy and carefree for such a long time I almost didn't want the night to end. “I don't know, I feel like I could have stayed in the park all night.”
“We can go back if you want.”
“Hey Solomon.” Michael’s voice called from behind us. “What's up man? I've been calling you, but you're not answering.” Michael walked up with Peter and two other boys. Solomon let go of my arms and looked at Michael, narrowing his eyes slightly.
“My bad.” Michael whispered as if understanding some unspoken reprimand from Solomon. “I'll just see what those guys are doing.” He nodded a greeting towards me and then went into the cinema followed by the other three boys.
“Well, I guess now we've been brought back into reality, w
e should just go and watch the movie.” I said quietly.
Emily jumped up excitedly when she saw us entering the cinema's lobby. Stacy remained seated at the table idly running her fingers up and down the small glass she was drinking from - trying to act uninterested. An act which was obviously aimed towards some boys who were watching her from a nearby table. Susanne, who was just as stunning as her sister never seemed interested in the attention she got from boys, she threw a frustrated look at Stacy and then got up and walked over. She had gone for the all-pink look today, a soft blazer over a dress of the same colour that went a bit past her knees. Pink was definitely her favourite colour and it complemented nicely her pale skin tone and dark blonde hair.
“You guys are so late! We already bought our tickets.” Emily said. Michael took hold of her hand drawing it closer to him so he could read the ticket she was holding.
“Valentino's delight?” Michael asked, “What kind of movie is that?”
“It's a comedy.” Emily answered.
“A romantic comedy.” Susanne corrected her brushing a soft lock of hair from her face.
Stacy got up and walked over to where Michael and Emily were standing, throwing a quick glance over to the table of boys. Wow, I thought as I watched her. Stacy was someone who was well aware of her beauty and had the confidence that could allow you to easily mistake her for one of those pop idols she always talked about. Although she only wore a simple outfit, it fit so nicely allowing her to move her hips as she walked in such a way that one of the boys watching her almost choked.
“I am not spending money on a chick flick.” Michael argued.
“Come on! You guys said I could choose!” Emily whined, “Anyway, you did last time!”
“That's because you had your friends with you that day. I don't mind paying for the company of a few beautiful ladies.” he answered.
“So, what's wrong with our company?” Stacy asked.
“Come on, you guys are my friends. Besides you're either related to someone I know, permanently unavailable or practically married already.” he said pointing consecutively to Emily and Stacy, Susanne and then me.
“Excuse me?” I said.
Michael just smiled and then continued talking “Look, you guys go watch your romantic comedy and we'll watch an action movie, like 'Gate smashers'.”
“Fine, whatever.” Emily said beckoning to Martin who was reading a young entrepreneurs magazine.
“Martin!” Michael said, as Martin got up to go with Emily, “Don't tell me you are going to watch the girl’s film.”
“I already bought a ticket.” he said holding the ticket up in front of Michael.
Michael grabbed the ticket out of his hand, “Man up Martin. Claudia can take this ticket and you can come and watch a real film with us.” Martin looked over at Emily and shrugged.
“You obviously don't know me if you think I would be interested in a film called 'Valentino's delight'.” I said.
“Yeh, I guess none of us know you as well as Solomon does.” Michael said, eyeing me up and down slowly.
“What's your problem, Michael?” I said glaring at him.
Michael glanced over to Solomon, whose eyes were also narrowed in an expression which looked like a cross between confusion and annoyance.
“No problem.” Michael said raising his hand in surrender, a small smirk on his face. “Here’s a funny story,” he continued “Josh had to drop off a few things before we came, so we all ended up walking through the park. You know, you see some really peculiar things in the park sometimes.” Suddenly realising what Michael was referring to I grabbed the ticket out of his hand before he could finish talking.
“A romantic comedy would be fine.” I hissed. Quickly I glanced over to Peter and the other two boys who were all laughing quietly. Solomon nudged Josh in his ribs, “Stop it.” he said quietly. I turned back to Michael and gave him the hardest looked I could muster despite my embarrassment, but he just responded with the most arrogant smile letting me know there was no way he was going to take me seriously any more.
“I'm so sorry it's not a musical.” he laughed.
“Ok Mike,” Solomon, who always called Michael Mike to indicate that it was time to stop, said as he threw his arm over Michael's shoulder “Let's go get our ticket.”
“Solomon” Susanne called as they walked away, “I can't wait around for you guys after the movie, so Claudia will have to come with us and you can take Martin. Is that cool?” Solomon looked over to me for confirmation, it wasn't really how I wanted to end the night, but I nodded anyway.
“Okay” he said slowly.
“Well, we'd better go. Our films starting.” she said.
CHAPTER 13
I closed the book I had been reading and lay back on the grass. It had been three weeks since school had closed for the summer and I hadn't seen much of my friends over the last two weeks. I didn't really expect that I would miss them so much.
Solomon, Susanne and Michael all had summer jobs and always seemed to be busy or tired, but as it was a Saturday they had finally arranged to meet up at the juice bar. That morning seemed to be one of the slowest yet, possibly due to the fact that I was actually excited. I took my mobile phone, which was a gift from Charles for completing 10th grade, out of my pocket to check the time. It was just after noon, but since I didn't have anything else to do I decided to start getting ready, if I could drag that out for at least an hour I could leave early and walk down to the juice bar, rather than wait for Solomon to collect me.
By the time I reached the juice bar Stacy and Susanne were already there, but it wasn't long before the rest of the group arrived. And although Martin, who had gone away on a summer vacation and Peter weren't there, before long it was just like the old times.
I flicked through one of the magazines that Emily had brought with her hoping to disguise my excitement of finally meeting up with them all and listened to Emily and Stacy bickering over which member of the girl band 'Sweet Sugar' was the best singer and dancer and workplace stories from Solomon, Michael and Susanne. I didn't talk much, as usual, content with watching the rest of the group interact and although the smile wasn't apparent on my face, internally, I was beaming.
Solomon was working for a non-profit organisation called 'The Big Project' that provided relief for people in the local areas going through any type of hardship. Everything about Solomon's job description encompassed his character entirely; he was definitely the most compassionate person I had met at school, possibly the most compassionate person I had met ever. A warm glow of happiness spread through me as I watched Solomon speaking, I had definitely missed him the most.
Michael was working at a local pool club which for someone like Michael was the perfect job as, according to him, all he had to do all day was walk around in a pair of shorts serving ladies drinks and snacks. Susanne's job was the most surprising, I had never even noticed that Susanne had an interest in animals, so when I'd heard she was going to be working in the veterinary surgery initially I thought there must have been a lack of choice for her, but I hadn't seen Susanne happier than when she talked about how much she enjoyed her job and she had even made the decision to become a veterinary surgeon herself.
“We're holding a charity event on Wednesday to raise money for the orphanages along South side.” Solomon said pulling a notepad out of his pocket “Mr Robbens said I can invite a few people to help out, voluntarily of course.” he said giving Michael a knowing look.
“Don't look at me like that; you know if it's for orphans I'll help.” Michael said.
“Me too.” I added.
“I'm sure you would just help because Solomon's asking, regardless of who it's for.” Michael said raising his eyebrows.
“Yes I probably would, but the fact that it's for orphans obviously means something to me.” I replied smiling frankly.
“What about you guys?” Solomon asked Susanne and Stacy.
“If Emily's going I'll definitely help.” St
acy answered. Susanne stared down at the table, with an expression that looked as though she was lost in an inner conflict.
“There's a really big procedure at the surgery on Wednesday and the Doctor said I could help out.” she eventually said “I'm really sorry”
“It's fine Susanne.” Solomon reassured her “I'm sure there will be enough people to help out.”
“I'll try to come down as soon as we finish.” Susanne said. Solomon nodded and wrote something down in his notepad.
“We all have to be there around 8. I don't mind picking you all up.” He said, then a big, mischievous grin spread over his face, “And you'll all have to wear these.” he picked up the rucksack he had been carrying and pulled out some small plastic bags. Emily was the first to grab one and pull out the contents which was a bright orange shirt and a black clip on tie.
“Oh, gross.” Stacy said pulling out one of the shirts for a closer inspection.
“I know, right?” Emily said throwing the shirt back onto the table.
“There's nothing wrong with it.” Michael said in a tone which was quite unlike his usual happy-go-lucky-tone. “It's a charity event, not a fashion show.”
I looked over at Michael in amazement; he sounded a lot more irritated than I would have expected from him. It was only a charity event after all, not the type of occasion I would have thought he would be so passionate about. Michael's eyes flicked up and caught my gaze as I watched, not sure whether I should say something to him or not. There was an expression on his face that I had never seen before, as if he had suddenly lifted a mask and his usual cocky, arrogant attitude was simply a persona. I smiled nervously and then looked away quickly. Maybe there is more to him as Solomon usually says, I thought, but I was also certain he would have preferred not to have been caught off guard like that, especially by me.
After Solomon had given us some more details about the event, we spent the rest of the day telling more stories and sharing jokes. When the conversation of meeting up at Michael's pool club came up, and I insisted that there was no way I would be wearing a bikini, I was happy to see Michael was back to his old self when he started teasing me so, for once I didn't feel annoyed by it.
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