Forced ⇝ Z.M. AU

VIII. August 1st, 2010

August 1st, 2010

  The fiery sun gleamed through Lacey’s eyes. This was her fourth night in Fiji with her family. They had left a couple of hours ago, so she would have the place to herself. She could picture it now, peace and relaxation. No more brothers and their wives yelling at her, no more of her annoying sister invading her space, and finally, no more of the Braddocks’ voices telling her what to do. Just her, her electronics, and her dreams. She couldn’t wait to sleep all day tomorrow.

  Now, she was at Fiji’s Beach Resort and Spa managed by Hilton. Whilst sipping her fruity drink full of pomegranate, bananas, and strawberries, she turned the page of her book. She was reading an old favourite, Jane Eyre. ‘I would always rather be happy than dignified,' probably her favourite quote from the book. It described her life perfectly, she had always wanted to be full of joy and harmony, but her parents’  title did not let her.

  Lacey put her book down and took another sip from her exotic drink. The sun was centimeters away from setting. She could feel the air getting thicker when someone sat down next to her. By the tone of his breathing, she could tell he was male. Lacey didn’t want to turn around and look at him, she just wanted to read her book.

   “What are you reading?” a male voice spoke. Lacey finally looked up and saw the stranger. His hair was short and dark, it had the remains of a buzz cut. His hazel eyes complemented his tan skin just like her light brown pixie cut now matched her olive coloured skin. She flashed him the cover of the book, not wanting to make a sound.

   “Jane Eyre, eh? What’s that mark on the cover?” He pointed at the large “L” written across the book.

    “It’s the way I mark my books,” those were the first words she’d said to him.

   “So you have more hardcover paperbacks? Are you some sort of brainiac that has read every kind of novel at least 4 times?” That insulted her. Lacey’s reaction was visible to his eyes so he saw she was disfigured.

   “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean that,” his apology wasn’t enough for Lacey. She turned around so her back faced the boy’s head.

  “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to call you that, I’m sure you’re not a know-it-all,” that just made things worse, Lacey got up and started gathering her things, heading for her hotel room.

   “I am genuinely sorry, here, let me buy you something to apologize,” he called the bartender over by snapping his fingers. Lacey wanted to leave more than anything, but she couldn’t turn down a drink and be rude to the boy. After all, he just wanted to chat. She sat back down in her leather seat, putting down her book.

   “So where ya from?” his slang bothered her, couldn’t he just say ‘you,’ it was only one more letter.

  “The U.K.” she was surprised he didn’t already detect that from her posh accent. The boy had an accent too, but it wasn’t completely English, there were hints of other cultures in it.

   “I noticed that, I meant where in the U.K.?”

   “England,”

   “Where in England?”

   “London,”

  “Where in London?”

  “Stratford,”

  “Where in Stratford?”

 “I think it’s my turn to ask you some questions,” she raised an eyebrow, she wasn’t going to tell someone she just met where she lived, she had already said enough.