Always, Alice

Friday

Falling back onto her bed, Alice couldn't help but smile at the lovely day she had had. Fred was cosied up to her, his belly full and ready for his usual evening of cuddles. All comfy in her PJ's, Alice picked up the laptop and opened Netflix, her hot chocolate sitting ready on the bedside table sending soft waves of the rich smell of chocolate into the room. Even though she had seen every episode of Grey's Anatomy a million times over, she still loved it. It was her comfort programme, suitable for every occasion; need a good laugh? Watch Grey's Anatomy. Need a good sob? Watch Grey's Anatomy. Need to get angry? Watch Grey's Anatomy.

Her bedroom was one of her favorite places.Alice had laced it with warm fairy lights and a few plants to make it feel cosy. Her window looked out over the street below so she had closed over the sheer curtain to slightly block out the outside world. She had her warmest duvet cover on which had cats printed over it in black and white, once in bed she never wanted to leave.

As the episode began and Fred was dropping into a deep sleep on her lap, Alice's phone buzzed on the bedside table. Picking it up she looked at the message on the screen; Thanks again for today, hope your chilling out like I am :) Class novel - Matilda? H

The butterflies ignited in her belly, she hadn't expected him to text her. Alice suddenly realized she was beaming from ear to ear and quickly dismissed how whipped she was for this guy already. She skimmed over his message a few times, deciding on what to reply to him before sending back; Most welcome, you did great. Greys Anatomy & hot chocolate here :) Very chill. Perfect choice - Matilda is a favourite of mine. Alice

His reply came almost instantly; Never seen Greys, I've got on Friends :) Is it really? Another favourite we have in common. H

Alice smiled; Greys is a rollercoaster, well worth getting into. Friends is brilliant too. Aww, you can't beat Matilda, I just love a happy ending. Alice. And that was true, Alice was a sucker for a happy ending. Every movie she watched she was anxious throughout the entire thing in case the ending wasn't good. Every book she read she sometimes didn't finish - worried that the ending wouldn't be what she wanted it to be - creating a version in her head instead. She dreamed that her own story would have a happy ending, she hoped life was just taking it's time with her.

Her phone vibrated again; You can introduce me to it sometime then. Indeed, nothing beats a happy ending. Sleep well, H x

Her heart was racing with excitement at the messages, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Fred looked up at her as she placed her phone back down on the bedside table. 'What?,' she said to him, and began to rub behind his ears - causing him to start rattling his deep purr into the quiet of the room, 'You'll like him too,'

*

Soon, it was Friday. Their first week having passed by in the blink of an eye. They spent the morning doing reading and Harry had assigned a little reading group to Alice so she could work with them. She enjoyed helping them and loved listening to their wonderful reading attempts. Before they all knew it the bell was ringing for lunch and the children packed themselves up, heading to the dinner hall.

'A more chilled afternoon I think, a quick bit of topic work and then I thought we could get stuck into Matilda,' Harry said as they both gathered in the sheets the children had been working on.

'Awesome, I'll need a chilled afternoon after doing playground duty for the next hour,' Alice laughed as she picked up the last sheet she could see. Overnight the frost had settled in and the air was cold enough now that you could see your breath. She had wrapped up warm this morning but it was still bitterly cold as she had walked to school.