Of Earth and Sea

Chapter Five

★Time skip to next year★

The first day of second year came too quickly for Phil's liking. After a long and relaxing summer, Phil had forgotten all about how tough some of his lessons were going to be. He was in the midst of walking through the station, making his way to the platform. He was giddy with anticipation of finally seeing his friends, PJ, Chris, and Dodie again. It was almost 12 too, so he would be making his way to school in only a few minutes.

As he made his way through the ticket collection, he heard a loud screech rattling through the station. "What the?" he exclaimed, dropping his ticket on the concrete floor. Phil leaned down and picked up his ticket, looking around wildly for the source of the noise.

"PHIL! PHILIP LESTER!" the same person shrieked. Before Phil could find the owner of the shrill, excited voice, he was practically tackled by someone in all white. "Phil! Philly! It's so great to see you!" Phil grinned as he realised it was Dodie who was hugging him and screaming through the entire train station.

He pulled out of her grasp to get a good look at her, unable to help the smile that was breaking through. She looked just as sweet and cheerful as when he had last seen her, her thick glasses resting daintily on her nose. "Dodie! How are you? How was your holiday?" he greeted once he had given her a once over.

"Ugh, it was so great," she replied, grinning broadly, "But I still missed my little Philly!" she added, pulling him into a bear hug again. She felt taller, somehow. Phil thought distantly that she must have grown. He also noticed, rather begrudgingly, that she was thinner. He brushed this thought aside and focused on hugging his friend again.

Dodie pulled away a few seconds later, still beaming. She was absolutely radiating. "How was yours?" she asked, pulling her ticket out of her back pocket.

Phil shrugged, sticking his ticket inside the ticket box. "It was pretty dull. We went to the Isle of Man for a weekend in July to visit my grandparents, but that was about it," he replied, stepping through the barrier. Dodie followed along, sticking her own ticket in the collecting machine.

They put their trunks with the rest of the bags and made their way onto the train. They made their way through the train corridors, looking inside the different compartments to find their other friends. After 15 minutes, the train started to exit the station just as they reached a compartment occupied by PJ, Chris and a girl Phil didn't recognise.

They pulled aside the door and entered the compartment. "Phil! Dodie! Hey!" Chris chimed, jumping to his feet to pull them both into a tight group hug. "How are ya?" he asked, pulling away and sitting down in his seat again.

"Hey, guys!" PJ chirped, jumping up and hugging Phil and then Dodie. He wasn't much for group hugs. "Sit down, sit down! We'll introduce you guys to our friend!" he added, gesturing to the girl sitting across from him. She had long relaxed hair falling around her shoulders and a pair of thick glasses on her nose.

Phil sat down next to PJ, grinning at his friend fondly. PJ was Phil's absolute best friend. They had had their ups and downs, but they were still the closest they could be. "Dodie, Phil, this is Nikita Cox. Her mum's friends with mine," PJ announced, showcasing the girl with opened arms. "Niki, the lovely girl in white is Dodie Clark and the nerdy emo kid with a side fringe is Phil Lester," he added, pointing at them in turn. Phil elbowed his friend in the side at his description, pouting dramatically.

"It's nice to meet you guys," she said, smiling. Phil was rather taken aback to recognise an American accent.

Phil looked sideways at Chris, raising his eyebrows. "You have an American accent!" he exclaimed, earning a sharp elbow in the side from PJ.