A Beautiful Forever

by Lilliana Anderson

  Chapter 4

  Elliot

  Waiting at the baggage claim I look around to see if I can find Paige, I lost her at some point as we went through all of our passport checks. I manage to spot her as she hauls her bag off the carousel and starts to wheel it away.

  “Paige!” I call after her. She stops and looks around for the source of her name, eventually spotting me.

  She smiles at me, and I feel lucky all of a sudden. “Hi Elliot, have you found your bags?”

  I look at the crowded carousel and shake my head, “No, not yet, I just wanted to say bye I guess. Maybe see which direction you're headed, we could share a cab?”

  She shakes her head, “There’s no need. There is a shuttle bus that takes me to where I’m staying.”

  My hopes deflate as I realise this is good bye. I’ve really enjoyed her company. “Oh, well… maybe I’ll see you around some time.”

  She laughs, “I doubt that Elliot, London is a lot bigger than Sydney - it was nice to meet you though. Good luck finding yourself.” She lifts her bag and starts to walk away, waving over her shoulder at me as I stand here doing nothing.

  “Yeah, you too,” I call after her as I watch her walk out of my life.

  Paige

  My room is tiny - I can maybe take four steps in one direction and only three in the other. There’s a small wardrobe, a minuscule desk and chair as well as a single bed with a polka-dot quilt on top. The carpet is royal blue, and the walls are stark white. It's clean and doesn’t have any funky odours hanging about, so for that I’m thankful.

  I drop my bag at the foot of the bed and lay down, the jet lag already seeping in and dragging my eyes closed. I sit up, not wanting to fall asleep and ruin my night by being wide awake. With no TV in my room, I would actually like to spend it sleeping.

  Reaching into my bag, I find the folder of papers I had printed out before I left Australia. I’m a trained hairdresser, so I made a list of salons to call about work in an area close to the city, that I thought I might be able to afford to live in. I’d done some research on share accommodation but got really confused with what the different ‘zones’ meant. I’m planning to go and have a look around to see what’s what tomorrow. But for today, I’ll make phone calls to enquire about a job; I have limited funds so a job is high priority.

  Leaving my room, I head for the hotel shop, sucking in my breath when I'm blasted by the cold air the moment I open the main door to cross the small courtyard. Still hugging myself against the cold, I purchase a prepaid phone card and return to my room to activate it. The first place I call is a shop called ‘Stylz’ in Waterloo.

  Elliot

  I get out of the black cab in front of the block of flats I am staying in and look around. It feels so strange knowing it’s the end of January but feeling so freaking freezing. Lifting my bag, I climb the short flight of concrete steps leading up to the rendered white building and press the button for number twelve.

  “Hello?”, a female Australian voice answers.

  “Hi, it’s Elliot. I just arrived from the airport.”

  “Of course, I’ll just buzz you in.”

  As I hear the buzz from the entry door I push, “Got it, thanks,” I call out.

  “Great, see you up here,” she says, I can hear the clunk over the intercom as she replaces the handset.

  As I ascend the stairs, I can’t get that stupid Abba song out of my head, it’s the name of the town I’m staying in - Waterloo. I hope I get over that fast because I’m not an Abba fan and three months with that song in my head is going to drive me mad.

  A petite blonde girl is waiting at the door when I round the corner, wearing jeans and a woollen turtleneck. Her brown eyes widen when she sees me, and I get the sense that I will need to keep my distance from her now that I have put my screwing around days behind me.

  “Wow, you must be Elliot. I’m Naomi, Stephanie told me you were good looking but wow!” Her mouth is actually open right now. I think this girl might be missing a filter or something.

  “Hi,” I nod walking inside the flat as she steps to the side, but only just enough so I actually have to brush past her.

  “Let me show you where your room is, and then I’ll give you the tour,” Naomi tells me leading me through the lounge room where another guy and girl are sitting draped across each other watching tv.

  “Hi mate, you must be Elliot,” the scruffy looking guy says, he’s wearing tracksuit pants that have a massive hole in the knee and a hoodie that's also seen better days. His dark-brown hair is sticking up all over the place, and I’m not sure if he has a beard, or just hasn’t bothered to shave for a few days. He gets up to shake my hand. “I’m Gavin and this is Petra.” He indicates the tiny girl with a dark-brown pixie haircut, and large chocolate coloured almond eyes set in a face with small but pointed features. She gives me a finger wave but remains seated.

  I nod my head at both of them as I shake Gavin’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you both,” I respond.

  “I’m just showing him to his room,” Naomi tells Gavin, who nods his understanding and doesn’t hesitate before he flops back on the couch.

  I follow Naomi down a hallway with four doors leading off it. She stops at the second one on the left and opens it. Inside are two single beds and two wardrobes, and some mess - that’s all. One bed is unmade and there are clothes on the end of it.

  “You’re sharing with Brian. He's at work right now. But he’ll be home by dinner, so you’ll meet him then.”

  I nod my head and rest my suitcase on the end of the second bed. I didn’t realise I was sharing a room with someone but whatever; it's only three months.

  Naomi is standing in the doorway watching me unzip my bag while she twists, side to side, happily twirling her hair around her fingers. I pause my unpacking and look at her with raised eyebrows.

  “Do you want me to show you around?” she asks.

  Straightening up I look at her, as I place my hands on my hips. “Thanks Naomi, but I think I’ll be ok. It’s pretty much kitchen, living area, bedrooms and bathroom at the end right?” I say nodding my head to indicate where each room was situated.

  “Well, yeah,” she says giggling a little.

  “Thank you Naomi,” I say pleasantly, placing my hand on the door.

  She takes the hint and slowly walks back from the door as I close it so I can unpack my bag in peace.

  Paige

  Wow, that was easy. I have a trial shift set up already – tomorrow! Shit, I’m petrified all of a sudden that I’m not going to be able to find my way there, or that I’m going to get a terrible case of jet lag and cut some poor person’s ear off! Bouncing my legs up and down nervously, I look at my phone screen and notice that it’s picking up a Wi-Fi signal. When I select it, it has the name of the hotel I’m staying at, and blessedly it connects without needing a password.

  I search for a trip planner to tell me how to get to Waterloo Station. The salon is in one of the shop fronts housed in the actual station so finding it shouldn’t be hard, but it’s going to be over an hour’s journey – I’ll need to make sure my phone is fully charged so I'll have something to do.

  I’m starting to wish I had sprung a few extra pounds for one of the rooms with a television. I have games and books on my phone, but it would be nice to kick back and watch something.

  My stomach growls and I realise that it’s been hours since I’ve eaten. I remember seeing a McDonalds on the shuttle ride here so I grab my things and start walking.

  Chapter 5

  Elliot

  The next morning starts with a living area littered with hung-over bodies. A new housemate was a call for a mid-week celebration at one of the local pubs. Our flat is only a five-minute walk from Waterloo station, so we took the train (although maybe I should call it the ‘Tube’ now) to London Bridge and walked to a place called the Southwark Tavern, it was amazing – I felt like I was in a movie or something because pubs just don’t look like that in Australia.
Well, not any that I’ve come across anyway.

  It’s on a corner and has this round tiled façade, with leadlight windows and these old-style lamps that were awesome – they looked like the old gas lamps that had to be lit manually every night. I felt like taking photos but didn’t want to stand out as a tourist when everyone else was acting as though they belonged. Inside it was wood panelling as far as the eye could see with leather cushioned bar stools set around high tables.

  We ate my first English pub meal and drank to our heart's content. It was a great initial night and my roommates all seem to be really nice people. Naomi is a bit full on, but if I can just call upon the old Elliot from when I was a solicitor, I can manage to keep her at arm’s length.

  All up there are six of us in a three bedroom flat, two in every room. I’m with Brian; he's an accountant working in the city – he seems alright; he's a pretty small mousy looking guy with glasses and a pointed nose. Naomi and Petra are the only two girls, and they share the largest room. Gavin and a guy called Shane, share the third room. Shane looks like your typical Aussie surfer stereotype. He's a little shorter than me - around six foot, has longish blond hair, blue eyes and a medium build. He talks in a slow laid back manner, sounding as though he spent a lot of his teen years with a bong in his hand, he says he works in advertising – doing what; I have no idea.

  Work wise, the rest of them are all in hospitality – either behind the bar or waiting tables at a restaurant. I guess that means that the flat will rarely have all of us there at the same time – a good thing I guess as it could start to feel pretty crowded if we were constantly on top of one and other.

  I don’t start work until Monday, so I have a couple of days to hang out and sight see. I’m planning on taking the tube in, so I can do one of those London open top bus tours. That way, I'll be able to shamelessly take tourist photos to send home for my mum, who is already begging me to post pictures on Facebook for her.

  Naomi decides to invite herself along, saying that she has only been here a month herself and hasn’t really done the tourist thing yet.

  “Listen Naomi, I was kind of hoping I could just do this one alone,” I tell her, trying not to sound completely rude.

  “Oh, well… that’s ok, I’ll go another time,” she says, looking completely disappointed.

  “Oh come on Elliot, be a good sport – what’s the harm in taking her with you?” Shane puts in.

  “Fine,” I sigh, “Just be ready to leave in ten minutes.”

  We head off early and get to Waterloo station before most of the shop fronts have opened. It kind of reminds me of the train stations in the City Circle back home because it’s almost a mini shopping centre.

  As we follow the signs to the station entrance, I’m surprised when I see a girl, who looks just like Paige, standing in front of a hairdresser, I almost stop and go to her, but I realise that I must be mistaken – this girl’s hair is sleek and straight, not that mass of curls that Paige has.

  Walking away, I'm filled with disappointment, it makes me realise how much I wish I could see her again.

  Paige

  I’m a little on the early side this morning for my trial shift at Stylz. The roller door isn’t even up yet. So, I stand around in front of it with my jacket folded over my arms. The shop front is inside on the main level of the station so at least I’m not standing outside in the cold, freezing my arse off.

  I gently run my hands over my hair to make sure everything is in place. I used plenty of product and straightened it to a glossy shine. When I do my hair this way, I feel like I should be in a Pantene ad, flicking my hair around and talking about how fabulous their conditioner is.

  It’s not long before a girl comes walking towards me, fiddling with a set of keys. Her smile appears to be friendly and her curly black hair bounces as she walks. As she gets closer she extends her hand. “Hello, you must be Paige. I’m Andrea; we spoke on the phone yesterday.”

  Reaching out to take her hand, I smile brightly, it’s show time. “Hi Andrea, it’s lovely to meet you,” I say as I look her over, she has a small, slim build and smooth light brown skin with dark chocolate coloured eyes. On closer inspection, I notice her hair has red highlights scattered through it. She wears little more than lip gloss for makeup and is dressed in a pair of black pants and a fitted shirt with ‘stylz’ written in poison green letters across the bust.

  Unlocking the roller door, she presses a button, and we stand back to watch it rise. She gestures me through the glass door, and I follow her in, looking around as I do.

  The inside is like any other salon you’d visit, with chairs and magazines in front of a reception counter. It kind of reminds me of the Just Cuts I used to go to before I started my apprenticeship.

  “You called at the perfect time,” she tells me as she bustles around preparing to open. “My other stylist up and quit on me two days ago, and I have been run off my feet. The other girl, Amanda, can’t do Wednesday through Friday, so I’ve had no one! We get a lot of walk ins in this location, so I have actually been turning people away,” she looks at me pointedly; her eyebrows raised, “which is not good for business.”

  “I can imagine it wouldn’t be,” I respond astutely.

  She walks over to me with a t-shirt in hand, “Here, put this on. We have a fairly busy morning ahead of us. I really hope you’re good because I booked knowing I’d have you here today.”

  “It’s fine,” I say. “I mean, I’ll be fine. I’ve worked in busy salons before.”

  “So you’re in the UK indefinitely did you say?”

  “I did say that, I have dual citizenship, so there’s no visa to force me back.”

  “What made you want to leave Australia; it sounds like the ideal?”

  “Time for a change,” is all I say. She tilts her head in a ‘fair enough’ gesture and starts to direct me around the salon to help her get things ready. When we flip the sign to say we are open there’s already a customer waiting.

  Elliot

  God I wish we had open top buses in Australia; they really are a great way to travel around. We see pretty much every landmark you have ever seen on tv before, the palace, Big Ben, parliament, and a whole bunch of other amazing places. It’s astounding to see them all in real life, even though you recognise them all, they’re now a three-dimensional object in your mind instead of the filtered image you normally associate them with.

  It’s lunch time by the time we’re finished, so Naomi and I go and find a café to have something to eat.

  “I can’t believe I have waited so long to do that,” Naomi says, in between bites of her open sandwich.

  Nodding, as I chew my mouthful steak sandwich, I wait until I can swallow to speak. “It was number one on my list. I wanted to get a bunch of photos to send back home before I start working.”

  “Well you certainly did that,” she responds.

  “Yeah, I got a little snap happy I think,” I laugh as I start flicking through the photos and post them to my Facebook page, there is already a message on my wall from my mother reminding me to send her my UK phone number, I remind her that I installed Skype on her computer and phone, but private message my number to her anyway.

  Naomi starts chattering away about all the culture and history in London, but I’m not really listening. I nod my head occasionally as some of her words reach my ears, although I’m mostly in my own head. Images of both the girl I saw at the station and Paige flit through my mind and the more I think about it, the more I think that girl was Paige.

  I suddenly feel a great need to return and push back from the table. Naomi stops speaking mid-sentence and looks at me in wide-eyed surprise.

  “I’m ready to go back, I’ll see you there?” It sounds like a question but I'm actually telling her.

  “Oh,” she says looking around at her half-finished food, “um, I’d like to go back with you, but I’m not really finished yet… actually, don’t worry. I'll come now.” She gathers her things off the tabl
e, and I pick up her bag, handing it to her.

  I make polite conversation with her all the way back to Waterloo station, avoiding any personal questions. I’m not being mean to her, but I don’t want to be overly nice and mistakenly give her the impression that I’m interested.

  Nerves build up inside my chest as we walk towards the hair salon. Without warning Naomi, I stop walking and look in, hoping the girl I saw is still there. When my eyes find her, I watch her movement as she talks to a customer while taking their money at the counter. I’m now positive it’s Paige. She’s smiling and animated and well, beautiful. An odd feeling overcomes me as I watch her, it’s like I’m being enveloped in some sort of mist, and she’s the only person I can see around me.

  “Do you know her?” Naomi asks from beside me. Turning towards her voice, I need to blink a couple of times before she comes into my focus.

  “What?” I ask in return.

  “That girl in there, do you know her?”

  “I think I do,” I say as I start moving toward the entrance of the salon.

  Paige

  “Just make sure you keep up your weekly treatments. You've over bleached your…” I stop talking as the bell above the door jingles and a person I never expected to see again walks through. Betraying my mind, my stomach flits about happily as I look back to the customer and try to finish. “Sorry, you’ve over bleached your hair. We will have to cut it really short if you don’t take good care of it.”

  “Well I don’t want that!” she says as I hand her the bag full of products she’s just purchased.

  “That will all help it stay in good condition until your next appointment,” I say before bidding her farewell.

  As I watch her walk out the door, I have to force myself to look over at Elliot, I don’t know why, but it’s really freaking me out that he’s standing in front of me, smiling like we’re long lost friends.