Bumblebee Pebbles – Chapter Two

Winter

“She smacked him across the face and everything,” Grace relayed to me. I hadn’t personally been present at the Luke/Piper break up, but Grace’s retelling of it was sufficient enough. We seemed to share the immense joy in laughing at Luke’s failed relationships, only due to the fact that usually we were on the girl’s side of things. 

We were walking through the park after school, our bags abandoned in Grace’s car. The leaves had mostly fallen off the trees and the air bit at the tips of my fingers and the end of my nose. Grace didn’t seemed as bothered by the cold as I was, but that might have had something to do with the fact that she was wearing a jumper, a coat over the top, gloves and had a hat pulled over her hair, which was loose over her shoulders, bouncing slightly against her back as she walked. 

“What did he do?” I asked, tucking my hands further into my coat pockets, as if there was more warmth the further into the pockets they were. 

“Nothing, he just stood there looking shocked as she walked away, talking very loudly about how she had never loved him anyway,” she said, kicking at a pebble, which clattered along the path in front of us. When we caught up with it, she kicked it again, missing and scuffing her shoe. She stopped dead in her tracks and I stopped as well, a few steps ahead of her, watching as she kicked at the pebble again, determined to hit it. She did so on the third try, although she claimed that she second try didn’t count because the breeze had distracted her.

The pebble clattered along the path and Grace started walking again. I joined her, keeping my eyes on the pebble as we approached it again, stopping to let Grace kick it before we walked after it. 

“Do you ever wonder if you matured past the age of ten?” I asked and she turned to face me, a look of disbelief on her face as I grinned.

“I will pummel you with the rock,” she threatened as I grinned, a smile forcing its way onto her face, despite her attempts to purse her lips to hold it back. “The fact that you insulted me means that you didn’t either,” she said, walking forward and leaning over to pick up the pebble. I ran towards her, wrapping my arms around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides and she shrieked as I spun her around. 

“I dropped it!” She exclaimed and I gasped into her hair, which was very much in my face.

“Oh no, not the stone! Whatever will you pummel me with now?” I asked sarcastically and she giggled as I set her back down on the floor. 

“Oh, there it is,” she said and made to move forwards, but I tightened my hold on her.

“Why on earth would I let you get it?” I asked as she tried to wriggle her way out of my grasp.

“What about on Mars?” She asked and I frowned against her hair.

“What?”

“You said ‘why on earth’. Would you let me get it if we were on Mars?” she asked and I blinked in confusion.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” I said, realising too late that she was just trying to distract me. She had loosened my hold in my distraction and had pushed my arms further up her body, so they weren’t around her middle anymore, but around her shoulders instead. Before I could even think, she had ducked out, under my arms, and lunged for the pebble. 

Deciding it was stupid at this point to try and stop her, I turned and ran instead, leaving the path and sprinting across the grass, my footsteps crunching on the frozen grass, knowing, from experience, that she couldn’t catch up to me. 

“James! That’s not fair!” she yelled, her footsteps behind me slowing to a stop. 

“Why not?” I stopped and turned to yell back.

She stuck her tongue out at me in response, sitting down on the floor and folding her arms. I started walking back towards her, stopping just out of her reach. 

“Show me your hands,” I said and she shook her head, keeping her arms folded, a grin trying to force its way onto her face. “Do you actually still have the stone?” I asked in disbelief and the smile broke out on her face as she unfolded her arms and held out her hand, the pebble resting in her palm.

“It’s so smooth!” She told me, holding it between her hands and examining it. “I’m going to paint it to look like a bee and call it Jerome,” she told me, her expression turning serious, and I frowned through my laughter.

“Why Jerome?”

“Because it’s a funny name,” she looked up at me. “It’s not a silly thing to do, is it?” I raised an eyebrow at her sudden self-consciousness.

“It’s only silly if you don’t let me nickname it Jerry,” I told her and she gasped.

“Jerome is a he, James, don’t call him an it!” she exclaimed and I laughed as she held out a hand for me to pull her to her feet, tucking Jerome into her pocket. I took her hand and she did absolutely nothing to help me pull her up, hanging like a dead weight on the end of my arm.

“Grace, I’m not pulling you up if you’re going to do that,” I told her, trying to free my hand, but she was holding on with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Fine by me,” she grabbed my hand with both of hers and tugged, trying to pull me to the floor. Unfortunately for her, I had predicted this attack and had rooted my feet into the floor. “That’s not fair, you used to fall,” she complained, letting go and crossing her arms again. 

“But I have since learnt your ways and refuse to be embarrassed so easily anymore,” I told her, holding out my hand to her. “Come on, help me find my own Jerome to paint,” she grinned, taking me hand and actually standing up this time, complaining about how the grass had made her jeans wet.

“You’re not calling him Jerome,” she said as we walked back towards the path, neither of us letting go of the other’s hand.

“I wasn’t going to,” I told her, “mine is going to be called Layla.”

“Layla the bee?” she asked. “That name doesn’t really roll off the tongue.”

“Oh, and Jerome the bee does?” I asked sarcastically and she leant into me, trying to knock me off balance for laughing at her. “Besides, mine isn’t going to be a bee, it’s going to be a ladybird.” I continued after we had walked on a bit.

“Layla the ladybird?” she asked, looking up at me.

“Hey, keep looking!” I exclaimed, gesturing to the floor. “We might have just walked past the perfect pebble!” 

“Well you weren’t looking either!” She pointed out and I shrugged, realising that there was an elderly woman looking at us from a bench by the path. 

“Could you be quiet, people are looking at us,” I told her, my voice dropping in volume after I had realised we were being watched. 

“WHO DID YOU SAY WAS LOOKING AT US?” She yelled, looking around as she grinned, and I cringed inwardly as I dragged her away. 

“Why are you like this?” I asked as I took her further away from the path and away from human civilisation.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she grinned innocently, batting her eyelids at me. “I’ve never done anything remotely annoying in my life.”

“Sure, go and find me a rock to paint,” I told her and she grinned before running towards the park’s pond. I walked after her, watching as she reached the pond and her eyes dropped to the floor, circumnavigating the pond with her head bowed. I stopped by one of the benches near the pond, leaning down and resting my arms on it as I watched Grace do a second lap of the pond, in case she missed something, occasionally bending over to pick something up. 

“I have a selection,” she said as she approached, holding out her hands to show that they were both packed with pebbles, some marginally cleaner than others. She sat on the bench and dropped them all on the floor, leaning over as she arranged them in some sort of order that only made sense to her. I sat down next to her, watching in amusement as she counted them and picked out half of them, putting them in her pockets. “Those ones are for you,” she gestured to the ones she had left on the floor. 

“Wow, thanks,” I leant over to pick them up. “Why, exactly, did you pick up the cleanest ones and leave the very dirtiest for me?” I asked, looking down at the rocks in my hands,

“Because I collected them, so I get first pick,” she stated, pulling one of them out of her pocket. “I still feel more connected to Jerome than the others, though.”

“You do realise it’s a rock, right?”

“Don’t talk like that! He can hear you!” she shoved me and I reached up and pulled her hat off her head, dropping my rocks into it. “James! Those are dirty!”

“I know, that’s why I don’t want to hold them,” I told her, grinning, but also feeling a little regretful at the same time.

“You’re going to pay for that!” she grabbed my arm and stood up, trying to pull me off the bench, but when that didn’t work, she opted to stand on the bench and then to walk onto my legs.

“Grace, your shoes!” I glared up at her as she stepped back off me, using my head for support, leaving muddy footprints on my jeans. 

“Now we’re even,” she said and jumped off the bench. She turned and looked at it, looking at the mud she had tracked over, not only me, but also her seat.

“Where are you planning on sitting now?” I asked and she stuck her tongue out, walking over to me and perching on the arm of the bench, next to me. The opportunity was too perfect – I grabbed her arm and pulled her across my lap.

“James! I don’t want mud in my hair!” she exclaimed, pushing herself up so she was sat across my lap, glaring at me. Our noses were so close, if either of us moved forwards they would be touching. The glare slipped off her face and her eyes flicked down to my lips, her breath warm against my frozen face. I leaned forward, my eyes slipping closed as our lips touched, my hand coming up to hold her cup the back of her neck, her hair tangling around my hand as a single word came into my head.

Finally.

And done!

There are only four chapters in this short story, so this is technically the half-way point... keep an eye out for chapter three next week!

Anyway, that's all for now...

Bye!

Bumblebee Pebbles – Chapter One

Autumn

“For God’s sake, James, just go and talk to her,” I shushed Luke quickly, all too aware of his loud voice attracting attention around our table in the cafeteria. 

“Could you please just shut up?” I asked, picking my phone up off the table and turning it on, clicking absentmindedly through the apps, just for something to do.

“If you don’t, then I will,” I looked up at Luke, pushing my dark hair out of my eyes. 

“You wouldn’t dare,” I narrowed my eyes at him and he sighed.

“Look around, James,” he gestured to the room, “we’re the popular kids. There are at least ten girls in this room with a crush on you,” he made a point of catching the eye of a girl across the room and winking at her. She blushed and turned to her friends to tell them, all of them simultaneously turning to look at Luke, but he had already moved on. “First off, what does she have that they don’t?” I looked over at her. “She wears jeans and t-shirts. Look at that girl,” I turned to look in the direction he was nodding. The girl was tall, skinny, blonde. Her skirt was so short it barely covered her and she was wearing a top that intentionally highlighted her breasts. She was, in everything she had done to look as such, exactly Luke’s type. 

“She must be freezing,” I stated, knowing that it would annoy Luke.

“Seriously?” he asked and I shrugged. “Fine, secondly, she spends all her time alone with a book. Doesn’t that just scream to you that she’s a nerd who’s never had a boyfriend?” I frowned, looking over as she tucked her long, curly and messy hair behind her ear before turning the page, the light making her dark brown hair look lighter. Why were those two things a problem? She was smart, I knew because she was in my maths class and she could actually answer a question when asked, unlike me who only pretended I knew what was going on half the time. As for the boyfriend thing, who cared if she’d had a boyfriend before? It didn’t affect me either way, as long as she didn’t have one now and would accept me as one. 

Luke could tell his persuasion wasn’t working. He had been trying to set me up with different girls for the past two weeks, inviting them to sit with us at lunch and then conveniently having to leave for one reason or another. It was starting to get annoying, having to make polite conversation while trying not to make it too obvious that I was curious how they weren’t covered in goose bumps. It wasn’t cold out, but it was cold enough that I wasn’t comfortable without a jumper or jacket on. 

I watched in confusion as Luke stood up, running his hand through his hair. 

“Wish me luck,” he said, walking across the room before I could stop him. I sat and watched in horror as he walked up to her, sliding into the seat opposite her, and rested his elbow on the table, his face on his hand. She looked up from her book, her eyebrow raising. The bustle of the cafeteria meant that I couldn’t hear what they were saying, or more specifically what Luke was saying as she listened, but it wasn’t just my eyes that were on the pair of them. Luke wasn’t joking when he said that we were the popular kids. Well, he was at least half right. He was popular and so, by association, so was I. In particular, a girl sitting near me was staring, a girl who was staring at them so intensely that I was surprised Luke didn’t spontaneously implode. I knew who she was, her name was Lucy, she was currently the most popular girl in school because Luke had been ‘going out’ with her for a week. Ignoring her and the death glare she was directing at the back of Luke’s head, I looked back towards Luke to see how his ‘conversation’ was going. The raised eyebrow had turned to a look that seemed slightly confused and amused at the same time. Luke gestured towards me and I ducked my head, wishing that I hadn’t cut my hair last week and that it was still long enough to cover my eyes. When I glanced up again, she was looking directly at me, leaning back in her chair, glancing back towards Luke as he kept talking. I returned her gaze, wondering why exactly she was looking at me. Had Luke said something good or bad about me? With him, you could never be exactly sure what he would say. 

I watched as Luke stood up, I’m sure he winked at her before doing so, and started walking back towards me. She picked up her book from the table, grinning slightly as she turned a page. Luke threw himself into the chair across from me, beaming as he did so. 

“What did you say?” I asked, still fully aware of Lucy’s gaze on Luke. 

“Nothing,” his smile widened, “why don’t you go and talk to her?” I narrowed my eyes at him, grabbing my backpack and standing up, slinging it over my shoulder as I sent him a glare, silently warning him against interfering with my love life ever again, before I made my way over to her table. She looked up as I approached, glancing back down at her page before turning the book face down on the table to save her place. 

“I just want to apologise for him,” I told her and she made a face as if she was trying not to laugh, “and find out exactly what he said so I know if I have to defend myself or agree with him.” She laughed a little at that, leaning forward on the table, resting her elbow on it like Luke had done, but her hand rested itself in her hand rather than on her chin.

“Are you going to sit down?” she asked and I nodded, immediately flustered. Why hadn’t I sat down before? I let my bag slip down my arm and fall to the floor, trying to be cool like Luke had been when he walked over and sat down, but failing miserably as my leg got caught on the side of the table and I accidentally kicked her when I got my leg free. Damn long, clumsy limbs. I immediately started to apologise, but she shrugged them off. “You don’t have to apologise unless you did it intentionally and then regretted your actions,” she narrowed her eyes and stared at me. “You didn’t do it intentionally, did you?” I shook my head, wondering if she was being serious or not. “Of course not, I don’t know why I said that,” she sat back, pulled her hair over one of her shoulders and started twirling her fingers around the end of it. Was she as nervous as I was? The whole conversation suddenly felt very awkward.

“So, um…” I tried desperately to find a train of thought to board, but unfortunately, due to a storm, all trains were delayed and the platforms were packed with late businessmen who could do nothing but complain.

“I’m Grace,” she said suddenly, still playing with her hair, “just… so you know.”

“Oh, yeah. James,” I replied and very nearly held out my hand for her to shake before I realised that I wasn’t an upper class gentleman in the 1900s, so I didn’t need to do that. 

“You don’t need to worry about what your friend said,” she piped up, looking across the room. I turned in my seat to look towards Luke as well. He wasn’t being very subtle about watching us, even going as far as winking at Grace. “She doesn’t look too happy,” Grace said, and I looked at her to see a frown on her face. Trying to follow her gaze, I turned in my seat again and found myself staring at Lucy, whose death glare was more prominent from this side of the cafeteria. 

“She’s mad that Luke was talking to you,” I explained, turning to face Grace again. 

“How come?” She asked, picking up her book. I thought for a moment that I was boring her and that she was going to start reading, but she folded over the corner of the page and closed the book, putting it in the bag on the seat next to her. 

“He’s going out with her. Personally, I don’t think it’s going to last much longer,” I said as she pulled out a bag of crisps from her bag.

“Why not?” She asked, opening the bag and holding it out to me, offering one to me. I shook my head and she shrugged, popping one in her mouth.

“Because as far as he’s aware, they’re not actually dating,” I told her, glancing down at the crisps and wishing that I had taken one. She seemed to pick up on this and offered the bag to me again.

“Would you just take one already?” she exclaimed when I hesitated and I reached out, taking one. 

Grace seemed fully invested in the drama of Luke and Lucy and kept looking over at Lucy and started commentating to me what her facial expressions were doing so I wouldn’t have to keep turning around in my chair. “She looked like she just ate a lemon, except it was covered in popping candy and she’s allergic to citrus fruit,” I laughed, which made Grace smile. She seemed to enjoy making people laugh, or rather she enjoyed it when people found her jokes funny, which was an endearing quality. 

“What about Luke?” I asked and her gaze shifted.

“He’s not paying her any attention at all,” she told me, “they’re not even sat at the same table.” A grin twitched at the sides of her mouth and she plastered an overly wide smile on her face and held up two thumbs up. She started laughing to herself, looking back towards me. “He send me a thumbs up,” she explained and I raised an eyebrow, letting her know that she hadn’t explained enough. “I wanted to let him know how it feels,” she started giggling to herself again. “He blushed and looked away,” she finished and I found myself grinning. She was pretty, sure, that was what had caught my attention initially. But she was also conniving, entertaining – she knew how to make someone laugh and seemed to get very offended when I didn’t realise she was making a joke or if I didn’t laugh at the joke. 

I glanced over at Luke, wondering exactly what he had said to her and why she hadn’t mentioned it.

And done!

I wrote this ages ago, but I just know I'm never going to get around to releasing it, so I might as well share it here!

Plus, it gives you a little taste of what my writing is like. If you like it, I do have some published short stories... check them out?!

Anyway, that's all for now...

Bye!

Life Update 3.0

It has been quite a while since my last 'life update'. Usually I only post one if something major has happened, or if I've been away from blogging for a bit and feel like it's necessary to give an update before getting back into the routine of posting.

In my last life update (which you can read HERE), I was running a pub and had next to no spare time to do anything I wanted to.

Things have changed quite drastically.

I am no longer running a pub. I'm not actually even working in one, or living there anymore. In September, I also put aside my status of being single, and started a relationship with a man who has been my best friend for over a year. A lot happened all at once around about the same time. I wasn't happy working at the pub anymore, as I had no free time whatsoever, and my days were becoming monotonous and trying. Every day was the same, and there wasn't a day 'off' - when you live where you work, you can never quite get a full day to yourself without getting involved in some kind of work-related activity. So I passed on the baton, and started looking for somewhere to live.

My boyfriend and I moved into a rented house in October. It was a quick change, but it has worked out well. From working and living in the pub, to suddenly having a boyfriend and moving out - I think it was quite a lot for the people in my life to get used to! The house itself is fine, but there are three flights of stairs outside before you get to the front door, and it's a nightmare when it's raining, or if we go shopping - trying to get groceries up those stairs is a feat in itself. Heaven forbid if we go shopping when it's raining...!

Which brings us to job changes. I applied for a couple of places locally, all very different positions to what I had done previously. Social media work, and running a pub - those skills don't necessarily lend themselves well to other jobs, nonetheless towards any of the jobs that were available in my local area! It was quite disheartening to begin with, waiting for companies to get back to me before eventually deciding they weren't interested. I got myself hyped up for an interview as a spa manager in a fancy hotel, but clearly I didn't fit the role - no makeup, nails not done, and I was wearing smart trousers rather than a skirt? It seems almost wrong to believe that it was nothing to do with my experience or capabilities that led to the message saying I would not be moving onto the next round of interviews, but having seen some of the other girls working there, it was clear I was never going to fit in, and the woman interviewing me could clearly see that.

An interview that did move forwards into an offer, though, was as an optical assistant in the opticians I went to as a child. The first few days were rocky, as getting used to a new job was something I hadn't had to deal with for years, and even then, I had always worked for myself, or with family. This was an entirely new venture, setting out on my own, and finding my own path in the world. Eventually, I settled in, and now I'm getting on really well. I enjoy my job, which is something not everyone can say, and I'm glad I can. I sort diaries, answer phones, organise the shop, talk to customers, and sell glasses. It is much more in-depth than it sounds, but it's not necessarily the most interesting to read about. Something that hasn't changed though - I now do the social media for the opticians, so my skills are certainly being put to use!

Which brings us up to current day. Almost...

In early January, my boyfriend and I began toying with the possibility of buying a house. Not that we don't like the one we are renting, but it isn't ours, the stairs are an absolute nightmare, and we might as well be putting the money we are spending on rent towards a mortgage instead. So, we put an offer on one, and it was accepted. Within the next couple of months, once all the complexities involved in buying a house are sorted, we will be moving into a house that will be officially 'ours'. I'll be able to walk to work instead of having to drive. We will be only a couple of minutes' walk from the town centre, but still out the way enough to see fields from our house, and not have to deal with town centre traffic. The house is situated perfectly, is gorgeous inside, and neither of us can wait to move (although neither of us are particularly looking forward to moving all of our stuff back down the steps outside our rental!)

And that brings us back up to date. In the last couple of months, things with my life have changed dramatically, but everything is changing for the better. Plus, I have more time now for reading and blogging! Hence, I'm back! So keep an eye out for more regular uploads!

Anyway, that's all for now...

Bye!