back for the baby rollercoaster, I
deny him any pleas of going on the water rides. The memory of my soaked boots
is enough to keep me firm on that decision.
As we pass the little market stalls and
tents with goods on offer my eyes land on a delicate gold necklace with a small
carousel charm attached. Enchanted, I pick it up and admire it. To anyone else
it would probably look like a tacky piece of jewellery, what with the cheesy
charm, but I want something to remember this day by.
‘You like?’ The vender enthuses, eyeing me
up like an eagle about to pounce, as venders usually do.
‘How much?’ I grin.
‘Twenty.’ My grin falls. I’m sure that
would be in the budget for most girls at my school, but I simply don’t have
that much money to spend. Begrudgingly, I place the necklace back in its hold.
‘Sorry, I don’t have enough.’
‘Luckily, I do,’ Jay chirps, digging into
his wallet.
‘Hell no,’ I scold. ‘You’ve done enough,’ I
laugh.
‘For you, seventeen pounds!’ The vender
cries.
‘That sounds very reasonable,’ Jay agrees.
‘We’re not interested, but thank you very
much,’ I tell the man as I push Jay away from the stall.
We spend the rest of the day milling
around, even visiting the aquarium at some point, finally heading up to the
cliffs and looking over the sea as the sun sets.
‘If I could freeze this moment, I would,’ I
say softly as we watch the sun fall, bright oranges and purples being projected
across the sky and then reflecting off the water.
It soon falls dark though and Jay goes in
search of blankets and a camping lamp so we can stay out on the cliff without
freezing our butts off. A campfire would have been nice but it’s probably
illegal so we settle for a portable camping heater. Jay really has thought of
everything.
Whilst Jay looks for somewhere to get food,
I curl up close to the heater and pull out my sketchbook, flipping it over to
the page I had started the other day. Jay’s half-drawn face smiles up at me.
It’s almost done, just missing the final
tweaks. Not one to leave something unfinished, I complete the last fine details
and shading until I’m finally happy with it.
‘How do chips sound for dinner? Hey, is
that-’
‘Nope!’ I squeak, slamming shut my sketchbook,
not having heard Jay approach.
‘That was totally my face!’ Jay argues,
putting down the food and trying to wrestle the sketchbook from my hands. I bat
him away and he finally gives up, rolling back on his heels.
‘Pretty please?’ he begs, clasping his
hands together and trying for the puppy dog look. I narrow my eyes at him; he’s
holding the food prisoner in exchange for my sketchbook.
‘Fine, but no laughing,’ I say, swapping
the pad for a bag of fish and chips.
Jay studies it for a moment before his lips
quirk into a smile. ‘You even got my best side,’ he grins, pulling an
exaggerated model-type pose. ‘Red, this is really good. Like, seriously good.’
Instead of giving my sketchbook back he
proceeds to carry on flicking through it. ‘You want to be an artist?’
I shrug. ‘I don’t know what I want to do,
I’ve never really thought about it.’
‘At all?’ Jay asks, looking up at me. ‘What
about plans for after sixth form? University?’
‘Nope.’ I shrug again.
‘Maybe you should take an art course?’ Jay
muses, going back to the book in his hand. ‘College or whatever. Or just go
straight on to Uni.’
I ponder over his suggestion for a moment.
It’s true, I’ve never really thought about it, but then after Alex died I hadn’t
really thought about my future at all.
A memory comes to mind and Jay looks up
questioningly as I laugh out loud.
‘I remember one time, we were camping in
Alex’s garden. We had a fire going and everything. I think we were playing
catch in the dark, and Alex wasn’t paying attention to where he was standing.
The next thing I remember is Alex running around the garden screaming because
his shoe had caught
deny him any pleas of going on the water rides. The memory of my soaked boots
is enough to keep me firm on that decision.
As we pass the little market stalls and
tents with goods on offer my eyes land on a delicate gold necklace with a small
carousel charm attached. Enchanted, I pick it up and admire it. To anyone else
it would probably look like a tacky piece of jewellery, what with the cheesy
charm, but I want something to remember this day by.
‘You like?’ The vender enthuses, eyeing me
up like an eagle about to pounce, as venders usually do.
‘How much?’ I grin.
‘Twenty.’ My grin falls. I’m sure that
would be in the budget for most girls at my school, but I simply don’t have
that much money to spend. Begrudgingly, I place the necklace back in its hold.
‘Sorry, I don’t have enough.’
‘Luckily, I do,’ Jay chirps, digging into
his wallet.
‘Hell no,’ I scold. ‘You’ve done enough,’ I
laugh.
‘For you, seventeen pounds!’ The vender
cries.
‘That sounds very reasonable,’ Jay agrees.
‘We’re not interested, but thank you very
much,’ I tell the man as I push Jay away from the stall.
We spend the rest of the day milling
around, even visiting the aquarium at some point, finally heading up to the
cliffs and looking over the sea as the sun sets.
‘If I could freeze this moment, I would,’ I
say softly as we watch the sun fall, bright oranges and purples being projected
across the sky and then reflecting off the water.
It soon falls dark though and Jay goes in
search of blankets and a camping lamp so we can stay out on the cliff without
freezing our butts off. A campfire would have been nice but it’s probably
illegal so we settle for a portable camping heater. Jay really has thought of
everything.
Whilst Jay looks for somewhere to get food,
I curl up close to the heater and pull out my sketchbook, flipping it over to
the page I had started the other day. Jay’s half-drawn face smiles up at me.
It’s almost done, just missing the final
tweaks. Not one to leave something unfinished, I complete the last fine details
and shading until I’m finally happy with it.
‘How do chips sound for dinner? Hey, is
that-’
‘Nope!’ I squeak, slamming shut my sketchbook,
not having heard Jay approach.
‘That was totally my face!’ Jay argues,
putting down the food and trying to wrestle the sketchbook from my hands. I bat
him away and he finally gives up, rolling back on his heels.
‘Pretty please?’ he begs, clasping his
hands together and trying for the puppy dog look. I narrow my eyes at him; he’s
holding the food prisoner in exchange for my sketchbook.
‘Fine, but no laughing,’ I say, swapping
the pad for a bag of fish and chips.
Jay studies it for a moment before his lips
quirk into a smile. ‘You even got my best side,’ he grins, pulling an
exaggerated model-type pose. ‘Red, this is really good. Like, seriously good.’
Instead of giving my sketchbook back he
proceeds to carry on flicking through it. ‘You want to be an artist?’
I shrug. ‘I don’t know what I want to do,
I’ve never really thought about it.’
‘At all?’ Jay asks, looking up at me. ‘What
about plans for after sixth form? University?’
‘Nope.’ I shrug again.
‘Maybe you should take an art course?’ Jay
muses, going back to the book in his hand. ‘College or whatever. Or just go
straight on to Uni.’
I ponder over his suggestion for a moment.
It’s true, I’ve never really thought about it, but then after Alex died I hadn’t
really thought about my future at all.
A memory comes to mind and Jay looks up
questioningly as I laugh out loud.
‘I remember one time, we were camping in
Alex’s garden. We had a fire going and everything. I think we were playing
catch in the dark, and Alex wasn’t paying attention to where he was standing.
The next thing I remember is Alex running around the garden screaming because
his shoe had caught
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