Oh, Adara

Her Crazy World

                 

1st of July 2001

Sheringham

England

The scorching summer sun shone down on Oliver's back as he trudged along to Mansfield Park. His hazel locks bounced slightly with every eager step and he pushed them back off his forehead impatiently. At the park gates he stopped, pausing to untie and then tie his shoelaces, a nervous habit of his.

When he straightened back up, his eyes landed on a certain little girl with a thick blonde plait, sitting on a park bench to the far left. She seemed oblivious to the fact that he had arrived but when he came into her line of vision, she hopped off the bench and came running up to him.

Adara stopped just a foot away from him, bouncing slightly on her heels. She was wearing jean shorts and a green floral top which was so much brighter than her surroundings that it was odd, but by then Oliver had gotten used to it.

"Oliver!" she exclaimed, "What's up?"

Oliver's eyes widened incredulously, an amused smile gracing his lips. He couldn't believe it. Adara was one who had called him here, demanding that it was imperative they met, and yet Adara was the one asking "what's up".

"You tell me what's up." He said, tilting his head to the side to look into her blue eyes.  Adara simply laughed and slipped her hand into his with grace.

"I don't know." She replied, "I guess I just wanted to hang out with you."

Oliver didn't know what to say. It surprised him that she still wanted to hang out after so many months of being friends. After all, he was Oliver Finley- a boring, quiet boy with a rough background- and she was Adara Collins- a curious mystery in herself. 

Oliver was the kind of boy who'd be found sitting all alone under the ancient oak tree that grew in the corner of their playground. He'd bring a school library book along with him to keep him company and lose himself in the story. His stories would be about brave knights and valiant soldiers and charming princes who could sweep girls off their feet- and when reading about all that, he'd pretend that he was brave, valiant and charming- all the things that he knew he was not.

Adara, however, seemed to be quite the opposite. Her spot was smack-dab in the middle of the play ground, always surrounded by a group of girls and boys, usually playing some kind of silly game. She was very different at school- she hardly noticed his presence and even when she did, she never said much to him.

Oliver had come to accept it; he'd come to accept that he didn't belong in the kind of bright colourful world that she lived but rather in the rare flecks of black and grey. He was fine with it though. That was just the way things were.

Oliver sighed, swept up in thought and an elbow jabbed his side. "Ow!" he yelped rubbing his ribs as he scowled at his companion, "Why'd you do that?

"Because you're mind's up in the clouds, Olive- all the way in Wonderland, in case you were wondering." She stated, "What are you- oh, wait. I just remembered!"

"Remembered what?" he questioned, confused by her sudden change in topic.

"There's this place I wanted to show you." She told him, "You coming?"

And without waiting for his answer, she whisked him away, perhaps to The Land of Oz this time.

---

Oliver watched Adara who was busy staring into the grass, as if trying to find something. They were both sitting with their backs to the gnarled trunk of a tree, facing a beautiful meadow, an enchanting field of earthly greens and browns. This was what she had wished to show him- a meadow that lay behind the park- and it was worth crawling under the wiry fence to see the place.

At first, of course, the prospect of sneaking in had made him apprehensive. "I don't think it's a good idea to be here." he had told her, but she'd just continued pulling him forward.

"You know what day it is today?" she asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Uh, the first of July..?" he asked uncertainly.

She nodded, "And?"

"And... I don't know..." he huffed, "What is it? American Independence Day is only on the fourth of July right?"

"Obviously. It's Mid Years Day today, Oliver!"Adara shook her head in disappointment.

When Oliver looked perplexed, she explained, "July the first marks exactly half way through the year. And I think that people are unfair to it."

"Unfair?"

"Yeah. I mean, we celebrate the first day of the year as New Year and the last day as New Year's Eve. Who celebrates the middle of the year? No one, that's who! It's almost like how the middle child always gets forgotten. We don't want July the First to become the middle child do we? I'm a middle child." Adara rambled on.

Mid Years Day...Oliver blinked in surprise at the completely foreign concept that she'd just proposed. He'd never thought of it that way.

Oliver felt a hand on his arm as she leaned towards him, her blue eyes piercing into his grey ones. "Do you think I'm crazy?" she asked him softly, "My brother said I was... I'm not crazy, am I?"

Oliver smiled at the girl next to him, "No, 'course not. I think that's clever."

"Really?" she asked, genuinely pleased.

"Really." He confirmed. She gifted him with a shy smile and instantly he found himself beaming back. Her happiness was so infective and it was one of the things he liked about her. "I think you're quite sane act- Adara!" he exclaimed as she ran away from him, darting into the waist-high grass. "Where are you going?"

"I have another idea!" she hollered over her shoulder, "Just wait here!"

Oliver rolled his eyes and leaned backwards.

I take that back. You're definitely crazy.

---