Until Tomorrow

Chapter One

I breathed a sigh of relief. My camera was still on the bus, waiting patiently on the seat I had occupied that morning. It was disappointing that I hadn't been able to take any pictures of my trip to the Botanical Gardens, especially seeing that when Dad found out, I wouldn't be going back there. Ever. 

Dropping my bags into the aisle, I slid onto the seat beside my camera. I was surprised that no one had taken it. It was worth a lot more than my dad knew, money I had made by working in the local supermarket. He didn't know I had the job, and would definately punish me if he found out. 

I started to flick through my photos. Photography was my one escape from the horrible life I had at my father's hands. I was never without my camera, and took as many photos as I could, whenever I could. Teachers and friends at school had told me to enter competitions, but I was too shy for that. 

I stopped when I reached pictures I didn't recognize. I definitely hadn't taken them. They were of the Gardens, and the majority had me in them. The photos were quite good; the mystery photographer had some skill. I smiled as I looked at me stroking plants, smelling flowers and lying on the grass. I looked so happy, happier than I had been in a long time. 

As I browsed further, they changed to images of a filthy house. I chuckled quietly to myself when I came across a picture of two people making out on the couch. There was a sign pointing to the girl in the photo that read, 'My sister. Ew.' 

Another picture showed a massive pile of dirty dishes stacked in a kitchen. There was another sign that said, 'My day to wash up. Aren't my friends the best?' 

I continued to laugh until I reached the end. There were piles of dirty laundry strewn across a bedroom floor, a flooded bathroom, an extremely messy desk and a man passed out on a shabby-looking couch. The final image was of an attractive boy holding a piece of paper. He had black hair that fell around his shoulders and entrancing pale brown eyes. His face was delicate and expressive, relaxed into a smile that lit up his whole face. Only half of him was displayed in the picture, so I couldn't tell how tall he was. Written in black marker across the poster was, 'Now you've see my bad side, do you want to see my good side?' My smile lingered on my face as I stared out the window, watching the tan and grey buildings flash by. 

Someone swore beside me as the bus lurched and they tripped over my bags. I turned, an apology on my lips, as they sprawled onto the seat in front of me. 

"I'm so sorry," I said.  

He flipped his hair out of his face and grinned at me. "No worries." 

It was the boy from the picture. "You . . ." I trailed off, not able to articulate myself properly. 

"I'm the dude from your camera, yeah, I know. Sorry if I seem a bit creepy, but I didn't really want to disturb you. You seemed to be enjoying yourself." 

I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously. "No, it's okay. I'm glad I have some pictures of my trip." 

"That's good. It would be awkward if you thought I was a stalker." 

"Oh, I think you might be a stalker. But you're nice, so I don't mind." 

He laughed, which made me smile. "I like your casual approach to federal offences." 

"I'm going to take that as a compliment, and say thank you," I said. 

"Which stop do you get off?" he asked, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. 

"Richard Street normally, but I have to go the library before I go home." 

"Oh, awesome. I'm headed that way too. Maybe we can. . ." He stopped like he was unsure of himself. 

"Go together?" I asked. He nodded. "Sure, I'd like that." 

His gaze drifted to my bags. "What do you put in there? I don't know why you need to lug so much stuff around the gardens." 

"Like I said, I'm going to the library. I'm really behind on developing photos, and the librarians let me use their back room to work in." 

"You have a dark room in the back of the library?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I don't have anywhere else to work. Their only condition is that I can't store anything there, hence all the bags. I only carry the chemicals around with me. The rest I leave on the bus." 

He pulled one of the bags onto the seat beside him and started rummaging through it.