Awoken - chapter one

Chapter seventeen

Seventeen

'Hiya Mum.' I tried desperately to sound as relaxed as was humanly possible. In no way did it soften the blow.

'Don't you hiya Mum me, where the hell are you?' she screeched down the phone penetrating not only my eardrum but also the eardrums of the surrounding patrons.

'I'm just out with a friend, we just had some lunch. Time just kind of ran away from me. I'm so sorry I worried you.' At that very second it occurred to me that I was being sincere, I really was sorry that I had worried her. All I could hear was silence. It must have blindsided her that I wasn't arguing back or resorting to hanging up on her as I would usually.

'Well OK' she mumbled, unable to think of a response. This was unfamiliar territory for the both of us.

'I love you Mum, I'll be home soon.'

'Oh, OK love, see you soon.' I put the phone down and returned it to my bag. I felt like me and Mum had finally moved forward a step. It was a warm but unknown feeling.

'She really does worry about you.' I glanced over at Beau. I felt deflated. I didn't want to be apart from Beau but my eyes were heavy and I could have passed out there and then. Beau took my camera bag off my shoulder placed it over his head and took my hand in his tightly. As I peered up at him I felt tremendously content.

'Hey spaceman.' Beau waved his free hand in front of my face. 'You always seem to be at war with your brain, what goes through that head of yours all the time?'

'Wouldn't you like to know' I teased.

'I reckon I could muster up another twenty questions' he said cheekily with his eyebrows raised.

As Beau lifted his rucksack and caught it on the back of the chair, with a crash everything ended up in a pile on the floor. I bent down to help Beau pack everything back away in his bag but something stopped me in my tracks. It was clear by how fast Beau reached my side that he realised what it was I had noticed. I rushed to the A4 graphic print sketchbook and held it tightly to my chest as though it was made of gold. The DC comics that still littered the floor made Beau's temperature rise and his blood rush to his sheepish face. 'Wow, I'd never had guessed you were into comics Beau.'

'They are not comics, they are graphic novels!' he enthused as he shoved them back in his bag.

'Hey, don't be embarrassed, I played with Barbie's until I was fourteen.' As soon as the damning words left my mouth I regretted them. There should be a medicine to cure this - speaking before you process a thought will always get you in trouble. In an effort to console Beau I had released a secret that I had managed to keep to myself for seventeen long years; not even Amelia knew about my prolonged Ken and Barbie phase. At that moment I felt like curling up into the foetal position and dying right there and then. Mortified was a word that didn't even come close to describing how I was feeling.

'Well it seems my graphic novels aren't so funny now, huh?' Beau was now elated and had a smile across his face that stretched from ear to ear with glee and satisfaction. Another thing I loved about Beau, even when he was teasing you (and enjoying it a little too much sometimes I might add), he still made you feel special. He still let me know with his smile that he cared for me, which made the torture fun.

'Hey Superman I may have enjoyed the odd time of dressing up Barbie...'

'And Ken don't forget him.'

'Yes and Ken, thanks for that Mr. Memory, helpful as always' I jeered oozing sarcasm. 'They also had a luxurious dream house and a pool if we're getting into details' I smirked. 'But I think that we have to get you over your delusions, they are comics and usually enjoyed by eight year olds.' I placated condescendingly like an adult would a child, but with a firm smile on my face. Grace-2, Beau-2. As though locked in a fierce battle on a chessboard, we both waited in silence for the other to make a final blow move that would crown one of us the champion.