"You want to go to college? That's great, Gem!" Dad beamed, patting the spot on the sofa next to him. Gemma bounced down onto the seat and smiled, "Yeah, if we're gonna stay here then I should probably start doing something with my spare time"
"You do realise it's half way through the first term?" Auntie Rachel interrupted, joining them in the front room and placing two cups of tea in front of them. "I'm not sure they'll let you start this late, you will have missed out on so much"
"I don't want to wait until September though, I'll go crazy just sitting around doing nothing! What if I catch up on the work?" Gemma suggested, cradling the hot cup in her hands and instantly regretting her words.
"I'll see what I can do then, but don't let me down, Gem." Auntie Rachel smiled.
"Why? What can you do?"
"I just so happen to know several people who work at the college, just leave it to me and I'll see what I can do"
The day passed by ever so slowly; Gemma sat out in the garden in attempt to get some colour on her pale British skin. She waited for Kiara and Oscar to come outside so that she could have some company but they never arrived; so instead she grabbed her kindle and began to read the Hunger Games. Every now and again she would nip back inside to see if her Auntie Rachel had had any luck with her college application but there was nothing so far.
"The wait is killing me. Do my chances look good Auntie Rachel? Be honest" Gemma sighed, throwing her kindle onto the sofa and glancing up at the clock. How was it only 3.30pm?
"Yes, you're a bright young lady and if you promise to catch up on the work then I don't see why they wouldn't let you in. I have an idea, how about I drive you over there? That way they can meet you and ask you a couple of questions"
That was possibly the worst idea she had ever heard; Gemma was the most awkward person on the face of the planet and she sucked at any form of interview. She would end up getting really nervous and either throwing up or running out of the office without so much as an apology; she definitely couldn't go to the college. No. That wouldn't work.
"Okay" she found herself saying. WHAT WAS SHE DOING? The two of them climbed into Auntie Rachel's car and Gemma gazed out the window; taking in her surroundings and trying to get used to the area she was now calling home. The sun was shining, the trees were magnificantly green and everyone seemed so happy; it was like an alternate universe from back home. They pulled into a large car park, the college was one of the biggest buildings she had ever seen in her entire life, it was white washed with victorian style windows and there were hundreds of teenagers sat outside on the grass. Way too many people for Gemma. Maybe college wasn't such a good idea? Her heart was racing as she followed her Auntie into the building, making sure to keep her eyes on the ground to avoid any eye contact with anyone.
"Gemma?" came a familiar voice. She pulled her eyes up from the ground to see Kiara stood beside her with a huge smile on her face; "what are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to get into college. Well, I'm hoping"
"Oh that's great! How exciting!" Kiara beamed, "This is Michael!" she pulled the boy towards her, he greeted her with an awkward wave and Gemma found it endearing; turns out she already had something in common with him; they were super awkward when it came to meeting new people.
"Hey" she replied, offering an awkward wave in return and causing Michael to smile. "Well, uhm... I gotta go."
"Good luck, Gem! I'll call round yours tonight and you can let me know how it goes!" she called out after her as she rushed off to catch up with her Auntie. They walked into the office and Auntie Rachel immediately smiled at the sight of a sophisticated lady sat behind the desk.
"Jan! I'm so glad you're working today because I have a huge favour to ask you" she took a seat opposite her and gestured for Gemma to come and join her. "This is my niece, Gemma. She's just moved over from the UK and she's looking to start college. I know it's half way through term but she's promised to catch up with the work and I think it will do her some good to get out the house. She recently lost her mum and-"
At this point Gemma zoned out; why did everyone feel the need to explain she had lost her mum? Was that such a defining factor in her life now? She didn't want the fucking sympathy vote. Oh, the poor girl lost her mother so we have to let her into college. That's what everyone would be thinking now... The truth was she didn't want anybody to know; her mum was just for her, she didn't want to share her memory with anyone else.
"I'd really rather you didn't mention anything about my mum to anyone else..." Gemma interrupted, she had to get her point across because otherwise she wasn't going to start college.
"Oh of course not, Gemma. It can be our little secret, okay? But if you ever feel like it's getting too much and you need someone to talk to then-"
"You can stop... Seriously. I don't talk to my dad about it so believe me when I say I won't be talking to you about it"
"Gemma!" Auntie Rachel gasped, throwing her a stern look. She wasn't going to apologise; she was only speaking the truth.
"It's okay, Rachel" the lady said, still smiling in Gemma's direction. "Well, I think you'll settle in just fine here. You can have an induction tomorrow if you like? I'll show you around and we can pick your subjects. Each student picks out two subjects; of course you must attend maths, english and science but the other two are completely down to you. So here's your options" she handed a piece of paper across to Gemma, "and you can have a look through those tonight and we will discuss them tomorrow. It was lovely meeting you" She extended her arm out across the table, still smiling. Gemma wasn't sure whether it was a fake smile or a genuine smile but she took her hand and thanked her for her time; she still had manners.
It was 7:30pm when Kiara hopped over the fence and tapped on Gemma's bedroom window. She signalled for her to come to the back door; so she clambered off the bed and made her way outside to Kiara.
"So? Did you get in?" she asked, crossing her fingers excitedly. It was nice that she cared so much, even though they had just met; Gemma could do with some real friends in her life right about now.
"Yep. I have my induction tomorrow" as the words left her mouth Kiara pulled her into a tight embrace, letting out a squeal of excitement like a little puppy. Gemma couldn't help but smile along with her, happy to have such a kind neighbour and even happier to know she had someone to hang around with at college. Gemma wasn't sure she could have gone through with college if she had had to start it alone; she was never any good at meeting new people and luckily for her Kiara had been really chatty and welcoming.
"That's fantastic, Gem! You wanna hang out for a bit? I'm going meeting Michael at the skate park, I can introduce you to some of my other friends if you like?" Kiara asked, a hopeful look on her face. Gemma began to get anxious at the thought of meeting even more new people; how many 'other friends' was she talking about? Was there going to be a huge group of people? No, she couldn't handle that... No way.
"I dunno, it's late..."
"What? It's half past seven! Come on, the guys are really cool. You'll like them... and they'll love you, I promise. Especially with that accent of yours!" she nudged Gemma's arm playfully.
"How many people are we talking about?"
"There's only gonna be Michael and his band mates; so four, plus us two. They've been trying to teach me how to skate for months but... well... I suck!"
Okay, so three new people? She could do that. Gemma agreed to come out for a little bit; she popped inside to clear things up with her dad. She didn't want the police turning up again and embarassing the hell out of her, like last time. Once he had agreed she grabbed a jacket from the back of her door and set off with Kiara. The two of them spent their time talking about college; Kiara explained that she was taking up music and history because she had always dreamed of being in a band herself but her back up plan was to become a history teacher. Gemma thought Kiara would make a great teacher; she was really approachable and friendly.
"What are you thinking of doing?"
"I wanna work in film; so I'm going to choose media and I guess music sounds cool, I'd like to be in a class with you. I won't have to sing will I?" Gemma replied, panicking at the thought of all eyes on her whilst she was performing. The truth was Gemma had a great voice; so everyone told her but she didn't have the confidence to sing in front of her family let alone complete strangers so she kept her voice to the confines of the showers.
"No, they won't make you sing if you don't want to. They'll teach you how to play an instrument, edit music on the computers, read music and stuff like that"
They arrived at the skate park to find it was practically empty yet again, except for a couple of boys and Gemma instantly recognised Michael. He was chatting to another boy; he had a mop of golden hair and one of the sweetest smiles Gemma had ever laid eyes upon. Kiara lead her over to them and introduced her; "Guys, this is Gemma.. And you've met Michael. This is Ashton"
"Nice to meet you!" he beamed, pulling her in for a hug. Gemma stood there; feeling a little uncomfortable at his touch but allowing him to hold her for several seconds anyway.
"Hey" she replied, finally pulling away from him and offering him a smile; where all Australians this friendly?
"You're British?" Ashton's eyes lit up; Kiara was right.
"Yep. That is why I am already burnt to a crisp in this sun" she extended her arms to show him and he laughed, holding out his arms beside hers. The comparison was disgusting; here she was as white as a ghost and Ashton had a lovely golden tan covering his body. Why hadn't she been born here? She could definitely work a tan.
Another boy strolled over to them with a skateboard under his arm; he immediately pushed past Ashton and Michael to offer his hand to Gemma. "Hey, I'm Calum. Haven't seen you around here before"
"Leave her alone, Cal" Kiara chuckled, pushing him away, jokingly. There must have been something in the Australian air that made everyone attractive; Calum was beautiful. He had big brown eyes that worked their way up and down Gemma's body; his shoulders were incredibly broad and masculine and he had jet black hair that looked so fluffy and soft.
"She's British, Cal" Ashton said, raising his eyebrows.
"This just gets better and better" Calum smirked and Gemma couldn't help but smile back at him. Okay, this wasn't so bad afterall. These guys seemed pretty cool and easy to talk to; she could handle this.
"Oh and that's Luke. LUKE! COME HERE A MINUTE!" Kiara yelled, signalling for a boy in the distance to approach them. As he got closer Gemma couldn't believe her eyes; it was the boy from the other day... And he was every bit as breathtaking as she had remembered. This time he was wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans; showing off his long, slender legs and a maroon coloured hat, hiding that beautiful golden hair of his.
"And this is, Luke! Luke... Gemma" Kiara introduced them. The two of them stared at each other; their blue eyes locked and she felt as though she could barely catch her breath.
"Luke" Gemma repeated, enjoying the way his name sounded as it rolled off her tongue.
"Oh, you're the girl that got arrested!!"
Great. He remembered.