Dark Hedges

The Historical Linguist

Teddy stood at the entrance of the Dark Hedges, patiently waiting, as always. Hands in his pants pockets, shoulders slightly raised, head covered with the hood of his Burberry coat, he watched from the edge of the road, eyes fixed on the other side of tree avenue.

He had been there for almost six songs. His headphones vibrated to the beat of Ultravox's Vienna, a fitting song for a rather sombre moment. The wind blew heavily, lifting autumn leaves, parading them around in a monochromatic orange dance. The grey skies roared; the beast would start weeping at any moment and Teddy would have to return to the Dominion. He hated getting wet.

At this hour, the Hedges were practically deserted. Almost every student sat in some classroom, listening to some teacher go on about things that seemed important, but might as well just be straws of hay in a cold, battered down barn. Teddy felt glad he was out of the classrooms in this particular day. He had no energy to sit there, at least not today. It took so much time and effort to make things. Sometimes it was nice to do nothing. Just stand and wait.

A hand on his shoulder startled him. The warm touch sent a wave of fire down his back and his entire body jumped, losing balance and falling towards the closest of the beech trees. Seeing black, it took him a few seconds to recognize the girl in front of him. Eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly opened, Emilia Cushing stood under a large, black umbrella, her left arm still extended. Confusion held her tightly on its grasp, flooding her features with its distinctive power.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said, lowering her arm and holding her umbrella with both hands.

"You didn't startle me," he said, taking his headphones off. "Well, you did but it was my own fault. I was too deep in myself, I guess."

"What are you doing here?" She asked, the words quietly slipping out of her lips.

"Waiting," he replied, rolling up his headphones and storing them in his coat pocket.

"For what?"

Teddy struggled to find an answer. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I think it might be a coach. That's how I picture it, anyway."

Emilia raised one eyebrow, confusion's grasp refusing to let go of her. "There are no coaches in here. Well, maybe at parties, but they're not a common sight, it's what I mean."

Teddy clicked his tongue. "Oh, I know that. I think it only comes on certain days. Well, certain occasions, really. Anyway, I don't think it'll come today; I was just about to leave. What are you doing here?"

He turned to meet her eyes again. This time, it was him who wore the frown and he could literally see confusion's bony hand reaching out to him.

Emilia flashed him a smile so sunny, the clouds above them almost hid in embarrassment. "Oh, I was just on my way back to the Dominion, my class finished early. Anyway, I saw you standing here and thought you might be in some kind of trouble. You looked very... pensive. I guess I just thought you might need something."

A blush of red coloured the girl's cheeks and Teddy felt quite proud of himself. After all, not everyone in the school could say they made Emilia Cushing blush. The statuesque blonde was considered Royalwood's it girl, more so than Renata Rutherford or Violet Clemonte. Her long, golden mane, paired with her equally long, golden legs made her the fantasy of every boy in school.

Well, almost every boy.

"Thanks," he said, taking his hood off. "But I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

Emilia bit her lip and he could tell she was juggling her desire to speak with her lack of familiarity with him. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure. The other night, when you told us about Stuart, you seemed very affected." Her hands wrapped around her umbrella handle and she chuckled, a humourless laugh that she seemed to regret instantly. "I just wanted to check up on you, that's all."