Dark Hedges

The Signifiable Insignificance

Raina sat on the bench, her red headphones vibrating to the sound of Rihanna's Love on the Brain. Instinctively biting her lips, her feet carelessly tapping on the floor, her hands playing with her black hair, she swayed from side to side, eyes fixed on the green gate that stood in front of her.

She had been sitting on that bench for almost half an hour. She thought it'd be better if she arrived with sufficient time, but she might've exaggerated. Still, there were much worse things to do than sitting in a peaceful bench, listening to music. Her clock struck three and a loud bell rang in the distance, behind the gate. Raina stood, smoothening her corduroy skirt and hitting pause in her iTunes.

Calmly, she crossed the street and stood close to the gate, away from the incoming flood of teenagers in school uniforms that stampeded out of the school. Despite wearing high-heeled boots, she still had to stand on her tiptoes to make sure the girl she waited for didn't accidentally sneaked out of the school without her noticing.

At last, a mane of blonde hair appeared and Raina identified the face at once. Making her way through the crowd of hormones and Axe body spray, she hurried to the other side of the gate, where the girl was almost done with her goodbyes.

"Excuse me, hello. Lyla Bonnet?" She grinned and offered her hand to the girl, who looked at her with uncertain eyes before nodding in confirmation. "My name is Raina Franklin, I'm a reporter with the Ashford Gazette. I was wondering if you have some time, I'd like to ask you some questions."

The girl's face changed at once, lighting at the sound of the word reporter. "You mean like an interview?"

Raina's lips held back a smile. "Sure. We can call it an interview."

The girl grabbed Raina's hands and squeezed them tight. "Is this about my latest YouTube video? It just hit ten thousand views. I'm the most popular Youtuber in the school by far."

"There's a coffee shop right around the corner," Raina said, trying her best not to react to the girl's words. "I would very much like to sit and have a quiet conversation."

"Oh sure, sure, lead the way," the girl said. She turned back to her friends and drowned a scream, before catching up to Raina. "You know, I knew October was going to be a lucky month, especially because September was just awful. My ex-boyfriend died, you see."

Raina knew. As a matter of fact, that was the only reason why she was there, talking to this girl in the first place. Turning left, they walked a couple of steps north into the small coffee shop next to the ice cream parlour. Up until the moment they sat on the table, the girl kept going on about her YouTube career. Raina saw some of Lyla's skincare videos in preparation for the meeting and she had to admit the girl had a lot of charm and, based on the comments on the videos, a passionate and consistent fan base agreed.

"I'll have an iced tea," Lyla said to the waitress, closing her menu and giving it back. "I don't drink caffeine, it stumps my growth."

"I don't drink caffeine either. I used to but I stopped when I got pregnant," Raina said, placing a hand on her belly. "I'll have an Earl Grey please."

"Pregnant women don't drink coffee?" Lyla inquired, taking out a compact and checking on her makeup.

"They can, in moderation. I just decided to stop altogether, simplify things. So, Lyla," Raina interlaced her fingers, placing her elbows on the table, "the reason I wanted to speak with you is because I have some questions about your boyfriend. Well, former boyfriend and again, so sorry for your loss."

Lyla frowned, closing the compact with a loud Click. "What kind of questions?"

"Just general questions about him," Raina answered, accepting the teacup the waiter offered her. "I'm writing a piece on the incident that took place a couple of weeks ago, where your ex-boyfriend lost his life, and I'm gathering background information about the victims. Considering Asher's mother just took her own life, he has become somewhat of the centrepiece of the story."