Avalon

by Lana Davison

  Chapter Six

  My fifteenth birthday was made into a special occasion. Sara and Stuart let me have a sleepover with three of my best friends. I did the usual, ordered pizza, got a few movies, bought a selection of coloured nail polish and bought down my make-up bag that I hardly ever used. We weren’t allowed to wear make-up to school, our hair had to be tied back and our uniform was always to be in pristine condition. We were, after all, representing the most academic fee paying school in our area.

  I had a turn doing everyone’s make up, but if I’m honest I did a horrible job. I didn’t even know how to blend in the eye-shadow, and I did a botch job on the liquid eyeliner, my friends looked more like a car crash than a model on the front cover of a magazine. Still we had heaps of fun and Jess taught me how to apply make up properly.

  “How do you know how to do all this? You’re really good at it.”

  “I’ve got two older sisters. I watch and learn. They have given me lots of hints and tips. Sometimes when they are getting ready to go out and they apply their make-up, they do me at the same time explaining what they are doing and why they are doing it.”

  “You’re lucky to have an older sister, and you’ve got two of them.” I smiled.

  Some of my friends had boyfriends now. Jess is going out with David and Emily is going out with Hugh. Rachael, my third friend at the party, and I didn’t have boyfriends at all and the whole evening Jess and Emily quizzed both of us to see who they could match us up with. If I had to choose a boy from school to go out with, it would be Henry Mullen. He was a nice guy, and we had on two occasions been study partners in history. Henry did athletics at school, like me and we often found ourselves hanging out together waiting for sports events or discussing other topics other than school; I could talk to him like I could talk to Emily, minus all the girlie stuff.

  As the night progressed my friends made up a multiple choice quiz with four boys’ names on it. There were four boys in our class that they thought I might fancy and Henry’s name was on it. I answered the questions and at the end they tallied up my score and told me my perfect match was Henry. I dreaded to think what they would do next. If I knew Emily and Jess, they would somehow tell Henry I liked him. I asked them not to, but they would find some way of getting their message across.

  Sure enough when we got to school on Monday there was a card and a present in my locker – a simple card saying Happy Birthday love Henry. I thought about the word love and wondered if that meant he fancied me. While I thought about that I opened up the present. It was a red velvet box with a stunning dainty loose fitting silver bracelet with two charms attached to it, a tiny heart and a locket. Mmm... I wondered how I should respond. I was going to have to think about this, like a chess player thinks tactically about their next move. I was going to have to work out if I wanted to go out with Henry and, if not, then I would have to let him down gently.

  I did like Henry, but I didn’t have a heart pounding moment, in the way I was told I would have when I met my chosen one. But those days are over, I am different, that whole Avalon union rule was ridiculous. I was slightly curious about what it would feel like to have a boyfriend. Emily and Jess were always bragging about how in love they were, and I wanted to know what it was like.

  I closed my locker and saw Emily, Jess and Rachael running towards me with the biggest grins I had ever seen. I knew they were up to something.

  “So, what did you get?”

  “How do you know I got something?”

  “I can just tell.”

  “I knew you lot were up to something, look at you with your big grins. What did you do?” I could hardly be cross with them having done exactly what I had expected.

  “Show us what you got first.”

  “Oh, all right,” I said opening up my locker to show them the card and the bracelet. Emily clapped her hands in excitement and the others giggled.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Oh, come on Holly, Henry’s your perfect match. Our multi choice quiz confirms it,” Jess said.

  “Well I’ll think about it, and don’t go telling anyone that. Now it’s your turn to tell me what you did. How did Henry know to buy me something for my birthday?”

  “Well, Jess told David and he told Henry. I also told Hugh,” Emily confessed.

  “What are you two like? Can’t keep a secret. Rachael, you’d better be careful. I don’t know what they have in mind for you.”

  “Nothing I hope,” Rachael said. “I’m happy for them to focus on you, then they will leave me alone.”

  “We’ll find you a boyfriend too, Rach. After we finish with Holly,” Jess finished.

  The four of us walked to our history class. Henry was already in the classroom sitting at his desk. The moment he saw me he opened his folder and flicked a few papers over, I think he was trying to make out he hadn’t seen me. This was awkward. I had never felt awkward in Henry’s company before, I had to do something about it.

  “Henry, I got your card and your present. It’s lovely, really, really thoughtful. Thank you so much, it was completely unexpected.”

  “I’m glad you liked it,” he said shaking, his face red as a beetroot. He was finding this whole thing really nerve racking. I was too, but somehow I faced my fear and said what I had to say.

  Our teacher entered the room and asked each of us to sit down and to be quiet. I wish I could have said more, but I didn’t have time. Now the whole awkward moment would linger and I would have to see him straight after class. The bell went for the end of class and I waited for Henry to clear his desk and get up. I approached him as my girlfriends waited by the classroom door watching my every move.

  “Henry, can I walk with you to our next class?”

  “Thanks again for the present,” I said as we left the room.

  “It was nothing. Holly, I wanted to tell you something,” he said nervously. “I wanted to tell you, well...” he looked down at his feet. “Well it’s just that... I’ve never said anything like this before, but I think you’ve got really beautiful eyes.”

  “Me?” I smiled and touched my eyes instinctively. “Thanks, Henry. I think you have nice eyes too.”

  “Holly, I really like you,” he looked again quickly to see if anyone was near us, to see if anyone might hear. “Do you want to go out?” he asked hurriedly.

  “I like you too, Henry.” I said awkwardly.

  A maladroit movement from Henry almost made me trip over myself, as he put one arm around my shoulders. I hadn’t agreed to going out with him, but maybe just telling him I liked him too, might have signified that we were now going out. He smiled down at me and I just smiled back, not really knowing what else to do or to say. Now that his arm was around me, I briefly felt a little lost for words as I tried to get comfortable. We walked quietly to our English literature class and when we opened the classroom door I felt as though the whole class was staring at us. Emily, Jess and Rachael watched as I found my seat and Henry went to his desk over the other side of the room.

  “So, what happened?” Emily asked eagerly.

  “There’s nothing to tell, Em,” I whispered.

  “Well when we left you, you were only talking and the next thing we know you’re walking into the class together, his arm around your shoulder. So that means something definitely happened.”

  “He just said he liked me and I said I liked him, that’s all.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “OK class can you take your seats? I want to discuss chapter four in your workbooks,” Mr Palmer announced.

  At lunchtime Henry asked me to sit with him in the cafeteria. I accepted but really missed sitting with my friends.

  “Holly, do want to hang out after lunch?”

  “Sure.”

  We talked about what we did on the weekend. I told him what I did for my birthday and Henry told me he went sailing on the family yacht with his fathe
r. We talked about athletics, as we would both be representing the school in a few weeks’ time.

  We finished eating and Henry confidently took my hand as we left the dining hall and walked together around the school, around the sports field, all over the grounds, as if to get comfortable with our new situation of being boyfriend and girlfriend. It wasn’t difficult to talk to Henry, he really was so nice to me, not pretentious at all. He reminded me of Stuart; one of life’s good guys.

  I caught the school bus home and walked through the door at about half past six, when Sara was making the finishing touches to dinner. I hung my school bag on the hat rack by the door and took off my shoes then walked into the kitchen.

  “Sara, that smells delicious. What have you made?”

  “Just a chicken casserole,” she said as she spooned it into bowls.

  “Can I help you with that?”

  “Yes, that would be wonderful. Thanks, Holly.”

  I placed the bowls on the place mats Sara had already put onto the table and brought a freshly cut baguette.

  “I’ll just go and wash my hands,” I told Sara.

  “Stuart,” Sara called out, “Dinner.”

  We all sat around the table and ate our dinner chatting about our day. I thought I ought to bring up the Henry situation in case he called at the house. It would just be easier if they knew he was my boyfriend.

  “Well someone asked me out today,” I told them.

  I heard Sara take a big gulp. “And, what did you say?”

  “I said ‘yes’.” I smiled at the innocence of it all.

  “Good for you,” Stuart said.

  “Holly, who is this boy and do you feel something for him?”

  “His name is Henry and I like him. I don’t know what you mean when you say ‘do I feel something for him’, because I never felt anything for my chosen one.” I hardly ever brought the subject up with them, I rarely thought about it anymore, but Marcus had popped into my head for obvious reasons.

  “Well, Holly, I’m afraid I don’t know what to tell you. I know there are some Avaloneans on Earth living here happily, married to people from Earth, but I don’t know any of them personally, so I am assuming that they have feelings for their partners.

  “Sara, I don’t know what I am supposed to feel, but I feel good around Henry. He is a really nice guy and we get on well.”

  “That’s good, Holly. I’m happy for you.”

  *****

  Later that week, Henry and I kissed for the first time at a school dance. The lights were low, the room fairly dark when a slow song came on. Henry moved forward and slowly bent down and kissed me gently, his lips feeling like a soft cushion on my mouth. The stars didn’t fall from the sky, true enough, but it was nice.

  *****

  Henry and I became close friends, but we rarely got the opportunity to be intimate because we were at school until late, then home. Both of us were studying for our GCSEs and Henry was often away at the weekends and school holidays. I didn’t mind, in fact I quite liked having our relationship like that. We felt comfortable around each other, like someone feels comfortable in a favourite t.shirt.

  Towards the end of the school year, Sara and Stuart had agreed to let me board at school the year I turned sixteen. Henry was also planning to casually board a couple of days a week and I already knew Emily, a full time boarder, loved it. I could still go home to Sara and Stuart at weekends if I wanted to.

  The final year exams took place and my scores were as expected, averaging As. Sara said I had the combined brains of my mother and father, but I don’t think it’s entirely true. I actually had to study a lot to get the grades: I wrote notes, I wrote myself tests on what I thought might be in the exam, I wrote more notes, I read, I highlighted texts, put post-it notes all over my bedroom walls and did mind mapping.

  At the end of the school year Sara and Stuart came to a BBQ with other parents of students in Year 10 and Year 11. They met Henry for the first time and really liked him, telling me he came from a good family and would be a good match for me. While that might be true, I’m too young to even remotely think about being with someone for the rest of my life or even entertain marrying someone in the future, I don’t think I will ever marry, just because I don’t like the idea of a union, for obvious reasons. Why is it necessary to put it all on paper? I did not understand the importance of making it official. After all, doesn’t that just mean the piece of paper is for society and not really for the two people concerned? Maybe I am too young to understand the reasons for marriage, maybe I would understand it better if I found the right person, but it’s pretty clear that will never happen because I was not even compatible to my chosen one.

  Chapter Seven

  Sara and Stuart helped me move my two full suitcases stuffed with clothes, shoes, toiletries and bedding into the girls’ boarding house. Emily and I would be sharing a room – ‘roomies’, like sisters. This was already a good start to the new school year. I put my belongings into my drawers, wardrobe and locker. After I unpacked the items for my bedroom, we walked into the girls’ shower room and found the locker with my name on it. I put my toiletries inside and hung my towel over the rail.

  All parents or guardians were invited to go to the dining room after they said their goodbyes and meet and greet with other parents and the school faculty. There they could ask any questions they wanted and address any concerns. Even though Sara and Stuart weren’t my parents, they played the part well, with Sara genuinely being very tearful as she left me in my boarding room with Emily. I hugged both Sara and Stuart and promised to call every night, at least in the beginning.

  “I thought they were never going to leave,” Emily said, excited that we were now room-mates.

  “Aw... they’re just so used to having me around,” I said happily, equally ecstatic by my new living arrangements.

  “We’ve got some new students in our year apparently, there’s a new boy called Leo. Some of the girls have met him and said he’s pretty hot.”

  “Why are you telling me? I’ve still got my Henry and you’re going out with David.”

  “Yeah, so? We’re allowed to look.”

  We both giggled in agreement.

  “Oh, Em,” I said hugging her, “You are the best.”

  “And you’re the best friend anyone could ever have, Holly. I couldn’t wait to go back to school. Having two months at home with my parents was nice at first but on a farm on my own for that long, it was starting to get boring.”

  “Well it won’t be long until you get your license. Or me, for that matter. Then we can go where we want when we want.”

  “I know,” she giggled.

  Once the parents had left the senior students were asked to meet in the hall, where there would be drinks and snacks and we could mingle with both old and new pupils.

  I kept my jeans, t.shirt and pumps on, the clothes I was wearing when I arrived, and collected my lightweight cardie off the peg just before I left the dorm. Em hadn’t seen much of Hugh in the holidays and I hadn’t seen Henry at all although we had spoken on the phone almost every week. Em and I collected a drink and found a corner at the top of the room giving us a good view as we watched students enter the doors.

  Henry walked in and saw me immediately. He looked like he had grown six inches or more, I don’t remember him being so tall. He sauntered over in our direction and kissed me lightly on the lips, the gesture almost felt awkward after a two month break and I knew at that moment that I hadn’t really missed him.

  I stood with my back to the wall while Henry rested his elbow against it, so that he could look around the room and look at me at the same time.

  “I missed you,” he said.

  “Oh you did not. You were too busy going on fancy holidays and yachting around the Med.”

  “I still missed you.”

  I didn’t say I missed him too, instead I asked him about his new room-mate.

  “He said he would be down soon. He’s a nice gu
y and will have the room to himself three nights a week.”

  “Still casual boarding then?”

  “Yeah, we don’t live very far away, so this works for my parents and for me.”

  I didn’t live that far from the school but I wanted a little more independence. Lots of my friends were full time boarders and it just felt right to be part of that.

  I saw Rachael and Jess on the other side of the room and waved to get their attention.

  Rachael waved back and ran over to me, whispering in my ear, “I have just seen the guy who will be the father of my children.”

  I squinted amused by such a statement, “Here? At our school? Who?”

  “He is over there, the new guy.” She pointed to his location, but I couldn’t see anything with the dinner lady standing in the way. “Near that group of girls.” She stretched out pointing again, but I still couldn’t see anything.

  I was not interested at all, but curious to see what Rachael was on about. If I could help hook her up with someone I would. She had told me she sometimes felt a bit left out because she didn’t have a boyfriend. She was certainly pretty and clever in my opinion; she just didn’t like anyone enough. Rachael was petite and slim with cute features and I wondered if the boys at our school found her too fragile, too precious, perhaps even out of their league.

  “Well. I’m sure if you like him he will like you. Who wouldn’t? You’re gorgeous.”

  “Thanks, Holly.” She smiled.

  From a distance I could see that one of the dinner ladies serving drinks had left to go and get some food and drinks. Now I could see the cluster of girls Rachael had talked about.

  “Is that where the guy you mentioned is?”

  “Yes.” Rachel grinned.

  Henry turned around and had his back to me, shielding the view.

  “That must be my room-mate,” he told Rachael. “I knew he would have this affect on the girls. He’s a nice looking guy.”

  “Not as nice as you, Henry,” I said rubbing his shoulder.

  “Come on, Rach. Let me introduce you.”