Bluebells
Chapter 3
‘Oh that’s lovely, sweetie.’ Says Amor, putting the kettle on. Amor run’s a little Hippie shop called The Crescent Moon on the sea front and she’s also my mum’s friend, but mine too. Her names not really Amor, its Jennifer Lately, but she changed to Amor because she preferred the sound and Amor means love, although she’s been single for a long time. ‘I knew your mum would find a job that suited her nicely.’ Amor goes round the back of her shop, looking for something. I love Amor’s shop. It smells of incense. Dream catchers and Bells hang from the windows and roof. The shelves are stocked with little Buddhas and Hand knitted sweaters and Fair Trade jewellery and a host of other things as well. ‘Here we are.’ Says Amor, coming out of the store room. The bells on her skirt jingle when she approaches me. ‘Take this incense and burn it in your house. It’s a lucky smell, burning it means that your Mother could get the job. Oh, by the way, tell your mother that there’s a yoga class on next week, she deserves a bit of relaxing time too.’
I climb onto my bike, clutching the grocery bag filled with bread. I was only visiting Amor’s; I was really supposed to be getting groceries, but I’m happy that I did visit. I sniff the incense. It’s peppermint-y. Yummy. I start peddling down the road and over to my house. Danny’s back. Danny is my little brother and he’s been spending the week at my Grandpa’s. He love’s staying with Grandpa Joey, he’s a great story teller and ever since Nana died, he’s been awfully lonely so he either comes to visit us or we send Danny over. Danny loves it; Grandpa always has stories to tell about what he did as a boy. He keeps telling the same stories but we don’t mind if he gets forgetful. Grandpa lives in Crockeleir, so it’s not so far away from our house, but it’s far enough as he is quite old. ‘Hey Danny.’ I call. Danny is carrying a small box no bigger than the palm of my hand. ‘What’s in the box?’ Danny grins, showing his gappy front teeth. ‘Grandpa says it’s for you.’ He hands me the box. It’s red and velvet covered and it looks expensive. I flip open the lid. ‘It’s beautiful.’ I whisper. Two hand crafted necklaces were tucked in squishy pillows. I lift them both up into the light, looking at their Gem-coloured paints and tiny patterns. ‘Oh, they’re lovely.’ Grandpa had tucked a little note into the pillow. I lift it out, reading it carefully.
Dear Brooke,
I hope you like the little necklaces,
I got them at a little market in Crockeleir.
One for you and one for a friend.
Make sure it’s someone special…
Grandpa
It’s a charming letter, written out in old fashioned writing paper. It even smells like Grandpa, coal fires, his dog scruff and his hair tonic. Jade and Ivy left ages ago now. It’s around about 8o’clock and Jade’s curfew is up. Maybe Ivy and Samuel stayed together after that? I hope they didn’t. I suppose I like Samuel, but not enough for me to have a crush on him. He’s alright I guess. He’s alright.
‘Brooke! Wake up and get ready. You’ll be late and it’s snowing.’ Calls Mum. I slip out of my dreams, groaning slightly. It’s been two days since the football match. School was cancelled yesterday because it was too snowy. ‘Brooke!’ she shouts again, more agitated. ‘Let’s get a move on!’ I slip into my uniform and brush my hair. 50 strokes in the morning 50 at night and 100 a day. My eyes are tired looking and my breath stinks. ‘Do you want porridge for breakfast?’ calls Mum. ‘Yeah, sure.’ I shout back.
‘Want me to drive you to school?’ asks dad, while reading last weeks Sunday News. ‘That would be handy.’ I reply. The porridge is lukewarm and I’m sure the milk is off date. Ever since Mum heard about this job she’s been none stop on her laptop, learning about local plants and animals, no time for shopping. ‘Ooh, Brooke, look at this.’ I lean over the laptop, looking at a picture of a plant. It’s like a little pixie plant. But it’s only a fern. The plant is curly at the top and a goldish-brownish colour, not like a grown one which is big and green. ‘I have to go Mum, I’ll be late.’ I say, kissing her forehead. ‘Bye Honey, Oh yes, they’ll be phoning me today to see if I have the job!’
‘Oh Mum, that’s brilliant, you’ll get it for sure! But I got to run, bye.’ With that I turn around and go out the door. The cars jittering but not driving and Dad has his head stuck in the bonnet. ‘Sorry Love, the cars out. I’ll have to get it repaired, maybe Uncle Ben can come over and fix her up but for now, it’s not driving to school.’ I look up, rather shocked. ‘But Dad, I’ve already missed the bus, I’ll never make it on time.’ Dad looks up, face streaked with oil. ‘Just hurry on now, and say the car wasn’t working. Go on.’
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