Sunday 10 March 2013

Little Secrets #3

Little Secrets
Chapter #3

Lacy decided that the best thing to do was to just ignore him. He was going to be a nuisance anyway, and no matter how much she wanted to wave back, he was just a little too creepy for her liking. At least until she got to know him better.
She reached up and pulled the curtains shut, and climbed into bed. Lacy fell into a restless sleep, full of eyes that followed her.

She woke up in the morning to a knock at the door.
“Lacy? Sweetheart?” Her father’s voice came from the other side of the door, “Can I come in?”
Lacy lifted her head from the pillow and her eyes blearily opened to see the bright white light of the sun through her open curtains onto the white wall and door.
“Sure...I guess.” She mumbled, barely coherent. She struggled to a sitting position and faced the window. The sun was shining though the open curtains and into her eyes as the door opened and her dad backed in with a breakfast tray.
“I came to say sorry.” He paused, “About yesterday. I didn’t think.”
Lacy just looked at him as he sat on the end of the bed and put the tray over her knees.
“Dad, it was wierd.” She wasn’t sure how to continue, “I’d never met him before. You were just passing me off, and I wasn’t given a choice.”
“I’m sorry.” Her father replied, “Eat your pancakes.”
 
Lacy smiled and enjoyed her pancakes, the special sauce her father made making them all the more scrumptious. After she finished, she  put down her knife and fork and just patted her belly.
“You’re forgiven dad.” She said, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strongly towards your special pancakes before.”
“That’s good.” Her father said. He picked up the breakfast tray and  held it against one hip. The other hand brushed her hair and he kissed her forehead, like her mother used to do. “Have a lazy day. Go for a swim in the pool. Do whatever. I’ll be working all day. Join you later.” He left the room and Lacy sat there for a moment basking in the sun. She then remembered she had to ask her dad whether he’d opened the curtains that morning. Lacy sighed, ‘Later.’ She thought, ‘Later.

She got up and got dressed into her favourite, summer maxi dress, with her electric blue bikini underneath. As she walked out of her bedroom, she grabbed her well read favourite book, ‘I Shall Wear Midnight’ by Terry Pratchett. After reading most of the book while lying in the hammock connected to the two willow trees in the backyard, she decided to go for a swim.
Lacy put down her book, smiling over one of her favourite moments and noticed twitching curtains upstairs, as if somebody had just stepped away from them. Confused, she turned towards the pool and puzzled over it before slipping into the cool waters and diving off the diving board for the weighted dive sticks at the bottom. Her record was 8 in one dive, ranging from 2 to 10 metres away. As she came up from one of her dives, she noticed Christopher standing near the edge of the pool.

Lacy stood in the shallows, the water only coming up to her waist and looked at him.
“Watching me again are you?” She asked, half serious, half joking.
“I wish.” Christopher replied, “I actually came looking for your dad. Is Paul around at all?”
Lacy frowned then recalled her father’s words. “He said he was working all day. Didn’t say where. Have you tried calling him at all?”
The reply came quickly, “Several times, both his cell-phone and then the home phone. You didn’t pick up either.” Christopher looked at her, “Been avoiding me?”
“Not at all. Was reading outside, and didn’t hear it. Or if I did, my brain filed it under useless noise. Unimportant information.” Lacy laughed and Christopher joined in.
“I hope you don’t think I’m wierd. I just think you’re really interesting, from what I’ve heard from your dad. As well as the fact that you seem interesting.”
“I don’t think you’re wierd.” The words came out effortlessly, easily, as if they were the only truth. Lacy was getting out of the water, and he was standing on the opposite side of the pool to her. She was embarrassingly aware of her body as she walked over to the lounger and picked up her towel.
“Don’t get out on my account.” Christopher said, “I rather liked watching you swim. Not that I was doing that for long. I mean, I’d only just got here, and I was looking for your dad and...” He trailed off, “That wasn’t meant to come out as creepy as it sounded.”
Lacy laughed, nervously. “Good to know.” She replied, cautiously, “I wasn’t finished diving, I still had a few more laps to do, but I don’t like being anti-social, that’s all.”

There were a few options running though her mind right now, like invite him inside, invite him for a swim, or say that she was busy and leave his presense, which part of her really wanted to do, but at the same time, would hate it if that happened.


What should Lacy do? Invite Christopher inside the house, OR invite him for a swim, OR make her excuses and leave?
 
 
© Samantha Millar

 
Until next time,
Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you),
Samantha

2 comments:

  1. Hi again

    First up, it is "weird". You write it three times this way, haha.

    One thing that made me smile was where her father apologised for not giving her a choice with what to do... then he immediately orders her to "eat your pancakes."

    What do I think she should do? Well on this occasion, it's apparent that she no longer has the same level of disdain for him that she had previously. If she invites him into the pool, it's unlikely that he's going to have any swimming outfit with him. So, I assume that she'll invite him into the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for replying.
      Everytime I read through my writing I always pick up on words that I mis-spell like 'wierd' and 'center' (Spelt the American way, not the UK way which is what NZ spells in.) But while I'm writing I don't pick up on it. It's one of my strange quirks that I don't think I'll ever change.
      As well as that, Thank you for helping me choose a path to take, it is much appreciated.

      Samantha.

      Delete