by Mia Archer
Not that I could tell any of them until we got back and I was safely out of Fredericks’ clutches.
I hadn’t wandered much past the entrance when I found myself in a big open circle that I recognized. I think just about any girl who grew up watching Royal Company movies would recognize that scene, and sure enough there smack dab in the middle of the clearing was another massive hedge sculpture of Reina and her prince in one another’s embrace just on the edge of kissing.
I was surprised at the power and immediacy of my reaction to seeing that sculpture. I figured I would’ve gone all goo goo eyed at seeing that, but instead I felt a fury I couldn’t very well explain. A fury that burned from the tip of my scalp which was tingling down to the tips of my toes.
And it hit me why this hedge sculpture annoyed me so much. This was a glimpse at a life that I would never have. It was the life society told me I should live. The life that was held up as the ideal by the Royal Company with every one of their movies that focused on finding a good man to complete yourself. Only I wasn’t going to find a good man. My prince wasn’t going to come for me or save me from the dragon or anything like that.
No, so far I’d realized I was into girls, ended the one serious relationship I’d ever had, and been turned into a social pariah because it turned out the other half of that serious relationship was a little more popular than I was in our friend group and he held a grudge.
I sighed and fought back the urge to run forward and start ripping at bits of greenery. Something told me that would get me kicked out of the park pretty damn quick, and Fredericks would kill me if I did that before his precious parade.
I needed to get the hell out of here, is what I needed to do. Standing here staring at the life I wasn’t ever going to enjoy wasn’t doing me any good. Better to go back to the park and deal with the fallout of Colin and his friends. I sighed one final time thinking of how unfair life could be, and turned to leave.
That’s when I saw her. The single most beautiful girl I’d ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. And that’s even counting the girls that I lusted after in movies. She stood at the entrance to the clearing opposite me and she looked uncertain as she saw me standing there.
I smiled. I felt like an idiot even as I did it. That was a smile that came about as a result of thoughts that definitely weren’t going to happen with this girl. I wasn’t that lucky, and yet the smile stayed plastered on my face.
That smile seemed to draw her in. She paused for a moment, shook her head as though she was having some sort of internal debate, and then a moment later she stepped into the clearing with a goofy smile of her own. For some reason that hesitant smile on her face made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Even though I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell this girl was actually into girls.
She stopped in front of me and I wasn’t sure what to say. To be perfectly honest I didn’t have much in the way of practical experience when it came to talking with other girls. No, all my experience with the whole lesbian thing was purely theoretical up to this point.
Why did I keep thinking this was a situation where I was even having a potentially romantic encounter with this girl. Because I had a feeling, that’s why. A feeling that was crazy and was going to get me in trouble or break my heart when I found out this was just some spoiled rich girl who got lost in the hedge maze looking for her boyfriend or something.
Only there was the way she smiled. As though that smile was just for me. Sure that might be wishful thinking, but it was a hell of a nice wish.
Oh what the hell. If I was going to put up with the misery of coming out of the closet thanks to Colin and friends then I might as well indulge in the reason I came out of the damn closet in the first place!. Colin and all his buddies could go fuck themselves. I was going to enjoy myself, and I’d deal with the embarrassment if it turned out this girl wasn’t into girls.
Now there was an odd thought. That was something I was going to have to deal with for the rest of my life. Things had been so much simpler when I dated guys and the default assumption was they were into girls in general and into me in particular.
Was there nothing about this lifestyle choice that wasn’t complicated?
My mind was running at a million miles a minute. And I knew why. I didn’t want to confront this developing situation. Assuming there was even a situation developing. Well, there was nothing for it but to plunge in.
“Hi,” I said.
Hi? Was that the best I could come up with? There were so many things I’d run through my head for the first time I actually tried flirting with a girl. And “hi” is the best my traitorous brain could do? Damn it. This was not off to a good start.
“So did you get lost in the hedge maze or something?” I asked.
Okay. That was a start. It wasn’t as goofy as smiling at her and saying “hi” but it also wasn’t exactly compelling conversation that would lead to our wedding day or anything. Our wedding day? Now where did that thought come from? I was getting way ahead of myself here. I needed to simmer down and figure out if this girl was even into girls before I got way ahead of myself like that.
“Something like that,” she said.
She had a strange accent that I couldn’t quite place. Somewhere between English, French, and Australian. At least to my American ears that only knew about the Eurozone from movies. Either way that accent was both cute and oh so exotic. She definitely wasn’t from around here.
She looked over her shoulder, but there was no one behind her. Still, a look like that meant there was probably someone in here she was looking for.
“Did you get separated from your boyfriend or something?” I asked.
Damn. I was being downright shameless here, though if she realized exactly what it was I was asking she didn’t let on. Instead she brushed a strand of hair from her face and hit me with a smile that was more dazzling than the hot sun hovering overhead.
“Nothing like that,” she said. She turned and looked at the sculpture towering over us. That smile faltered for a moment.
“Not a fan of the whole princess culture they have going here?” I asked.
The girl turned and fixed me with another of those enigmatic smiles. She looked at me for a moment, though what she was looking for was beyond me. Finally she seemed satisfied, though, and went on.
“I guess you could say that,” she said. “So what brings you out to the hedge maze at this time of day? I would’ve figures most people would be in the park enjoying themselves.”
Right. The park. That’s why this place felt strangely deserted. Because who would want to spend time in an impressive garden when there was the most impressive amusement park ever created that was just a short elevated train ride away?
“Oh you know. I just wanted to get away from all the crowds for a little while,” I said.
Specifically I wanted to get away from anyone in those crowds from our band. The last thing I needed was a day of wondering if someone who used to be my friend was being nice to me because they were suddenly on Colin’s side.
“Really? I’d think being out there in the crowds would be the best thing ever,” the girl said. She frowned and I wondered what was going on there, but I figured it would be best not to ask.
“Yeah, well you know how it is with us rich people. Staying away from the commoners and all that.”
I winced even as I said it. “Us rich people?” What the hell was I going on about? Did rich people really talk like that outside of cheesy comedy movies where the rich folks inevitably lost to the poor people? Probably not.
The girl stared at me intently for a moment, then the corner of her mouth quirked up just a bit. Her face twitched as though she was trying to keep a sneeze in or something. Finally she snorted out a laugh.
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed right along with her. What I just said really did sound pretty damn ridiculous, even to my ears. In a flash we were both suffering from a fit of giggles.
Finally she got herself
under control. She reached up and wiped a tear from her eye and fixed me with a curious look that went straight to my heart. Her eyes flashed and I melted. Crazy how a simple look from this girl was enough to turn me into a puddle of hormones.
“You’re, um, you’re not actually staying at this resort, are you?” she asked.
“What would give you that idea?” I asked, panic starting to set in. “I’m totally here with my… um, my parents. Right. My parents are here in one of the buildings off that way.”
I pointed off in a vague direction that I hoped went to a building. This gorgeous nameless girl turned the way I was pointing and her eyes sparkled for a minute.
“Really? You’re staying in the lake that runs in between all the resorts? I know they’re always adding new attractions here, but I didn’t know an underwater hotel was one of them,” she said.
There was a tone to her voice that said she was amused, but it wasn’t the mocking tone I’d grown used to from Colin and his friends. No, this girl was just making conversation. I blushed as I realized my mistake, and then I looked up. On either side I could see hotel buildings rising into the blue sky even over the hedge maze. The only direction where there weren’t any buildings was the way I pointed.
“I’m an idiot,” I said.
“So am I,” the girl muttered. “I should’ve realized ten minutes ago that I could use those buildings to navigate my way out of here.”
I didn’t know what was up with that, but once more I figured that was one of those things where it was best not to ask. If this girl had secrets she wanted to keep then I’d let her keep them. It’s not like I was without secrets myself, though it appeared she’d just caught onto at least one of them.
“Yeah, I’m not actually staying here with my parents,” I said. “I’m actually here on a school band trip, but I felt like exploring some of the resorts in the area to see how the other half lived. All of this stuff is way out of my parents’ price range.”
To my surprise Amelia stepped forward and took my hand. She stared with a fire in her eyes that took me back an made me wonder if I’d been wrong about just how into girls she was this entire time.
“So you’re really not from here? You’re just on a trip with your friends?”
“Well, yeah? That’s how a lot of people see this place. It is pretty expensive even on the budget end of things, after all.”
“That sounds amazing,” she whispered, that hungry burning in her eyes suddenly turning far off and wistful instead.
“I guess? If you think vouchers for cheap food and spending twenty hours cooped up in an uncomfortable bus is amazing then yeah, it’s great.”
Only she didn’t seem to be paying attention to me. No, she was lost in whatever fantasy world she was transported to at mention of cramped buses and having to smell everyone around you who hadn’t necessarily bothered to shower before they hopped onto the bus for a cross country trip. I wasn’t even going to get into all the crap with Colin and his friends. I figured that was too much information for a first meeting.
Besides, there was a part of me that was terrified telling this girl my true, um, orientation, would be enough to scare her away. Strangely enough there was a part of me that hoped she’d feel the same way, and for some odd reason that was equally terrifying.
The girl held out her hand. I looked down, perplexed, not sure what I was supposed to do with that. I was already so off balance from this encounter that I wasn’t thinking straight, in more ways than one. The hand hovered there for the space of a couple of breaths before I realized she was offering it to me to shake.
Tentatively I took her hand. Sparks jumped and goosebumps rose all over my body. I felt warm all over, as though I was being hit with an instantaneous fever that threatened to burn my entire body to a crisp, and then just as quickly as it started the fever was gone, though there was a low grade warmth pulsing through my body that started at that spot where our hands came together.
“I’m Amelia,” she said. “From Allora.”
Allora. I vaguely remembered hearing about the place. One of those small blink-and-you-miss it countries in Europe that almost nobody cared about, if memory served. That explained the accent, I guess.
The conversation paused. She peered at me as though she was expecting some kind of reaction, though what she could be after was beyond me. The moment stretched just long enough to get awkward, then she broke into a smile that melted me and I figured everything was cool. I was still curious what the hell she was waiting for there, but I wasn’t going to dig too deep.
If the universe decided to be nice to me and throw me a bone instead of shitting all over me then I wasn’t going to question it too much.
“I’m Danielle, though most everyone calls me Dani,” I replied. “From Ohio.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Dani from Ohio,” she said. “It sounds like a wondrous place!”
I barked out a laugh. “Ohio? Wondrous? Just don’t ever visit and you’ll be good.”
“Well any place that produced you would have to be wondrous,” she said.
I opened my mouth to respond, but I was at a loss for words as what she said sank in. Had she just flirted with me? That sounded surprisingly like she was trying to flirt with me. Or was it just wishful thinking on my part? Either way, she didn’t give me long to think about it. Probably a good thing.
“So what would you say to having an adventure, Dani from Ohio?” she asked.
“An adventure?”
“Of course! A day in the park. Together. I want to know more about you.”
My mouth worked but again I was at a loss for words. Good things like this just didn’t happen to me. At least not lately. I figured things might pick up when I got off to college, but this was sending things from zero to infinity a lot faster than I’d expected.
And again, I wasn’t going to go looking any universal gift horses in the mouth. I smiled, gave her hand that I still held a squeeze.
“Sure. An adventure sounds like fun!”
Amelia beamed and I melted all over again.
8: Amelia
I felt my blood rushing and a tingling running up and down my body. I wasn’t sure if that tingle was because I was holding Dani’s hand or because of what I was about to try and pull off.
Escape.
I felt a little guilty that I was taking advantage of this girl. Just a little. Sort of. I mean I would’ve asked her to come along with me no matter what she looked like, but admittedly the whole thing about having an adventure with her in the park was almost entirely down to how good she looked. I suppose there was always the chance that we could get to the park and she’d turn out to be supremely dull, but something about our brief conversation told me that wasn’t going to be the case.
Either way, I had a case of the giddy shakes that I was really trying to keep under control. I wasn’t used to feeling this way. At least not in person. I hadn’t even felt this way during that brief dalliance in the coat room.
“Okay then. So if the lake is immediately behind us…”
I muttered half to myself. I was an idiot for not thinking to use the buildings that rose over the hedge maze as navigational markers earlier. I could’ve been out of here and on my way to escaping much earlier. Then again, if I hadn’t gotten lost in the hedge maze then I wouldn’t have met Dani and that would’ve been a shame.
“Actually the exit is right behind me,” Dani said. “I didn’t get far enough into the maze to really get lost.”
I blinked. “Oh. Well that was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”
“Yup,” Dani grinned and I had to suppress another shiver. Why was I doing this? I didn’t even know if she was into girls. It was entirely possible she had a boyfriend or something waiting for her back with her, what had she called it? A band group. Whatever that was. If it was anything like the American bands I followed I couldn’t imagine why they would take a trip to this park of all places. Or why an American school would encourage t
heir students to play electric guitar and drums and all that nonsense.
Then again Americans doing silly things that didn’t make sense was pretty much what had upended the old world order again and again over the past century. I smiled as I thought of granddad complaining when I was a little kid, though to be fair America interfering is what kept granddad on the throne and prevented Allora from being gobbled up and turning to a German or Russian satellite, so I suppose it wasn’t all bad.
I glanced at Dani again. No, not all bad at all.
“So are you ready to go?” Dani asked.
“Give me just one moment. I need to do something before I leave the maze.”
I looked down at the hat and sunglasses I’d carried with me through the maze. They seemed like a flimsy disguise even now. I had visions of stepping out of the hedge maze and seeing security coming for me before I could take two steps. Only now I’d probably also get Dani in trouble as part of my antics, which I suddenly didn’t want even though I’d only known her for the space of a single conversation.
Still, nothing for it but to try. It was all I could do. So I put the hat on and pulled my hair back into a ponytail through the back, and tossed on the sunglasses.
“How do I look?” I asked, striking a pose that had me on the verge of a fit of giggles.
“Amazing,” Dani said. Her voice had a breathless quality to it that made my own breath catch. That wasn’t a compliment from one girlfriend to another. No, there seemed to be something deeper there. Something that excited me.
I pushed those thoughts away. They could be dangerous in the here and now. What I needed to concentrate on was getting out of this resort and into the park proper where Felix and his cronies would have a much harder time trying to track me down in the massive crowds. Once I was in the safety of those crowds I could give more thought to what might be brewing with this Dani girl.