Cruella My Darling

London

I had always lived in the country. It was ever so peaceful where the grass grew green and everything was simple. Everybody knew everybody and life was good. For some people that is.

I however had different plans for my life. I longed for busy schedules full of high fashion couture, meetings with designers and styling looks on models from around the globe. I was never going to find the lifestyle that I longed for in a small village in the middle of nowhere, so I made the decision after my 19th birthday to permanently move to London, a city ripe with fresh culture and ever evolving ways.
This was where I needed to be.

Stepping off the train and onto the platform at Marylebone station was a surreal experience for me. It was the first time I had ever really travelled by train, as I had never even left Wiltshire. It was simultaneously marvellous and horrible.

The seats on the train were riddled with grime and the fumes from passenger's cigarettes clouded the windows in a thick layer of smoke, making it near to impossible to look through.

Nonetheless, I tried to desperately romanticise the whole thing, like I tend to do, and I focused on the positives. I was finally chasing after my dream. This was my chance to do something memorable, and look fabulous whilst doing it.

The air was a little chilly as I made my way down the platform towards the steps that lead out of the station. I watched as people tumbled out of the trains, an overwhelming pattern of bleak grey trench coats and briefcases engulfing the space.

I got lost in the bustle of people and lost my bearings, finding myself stood on the pavement right outside the station with no memory of how I got there.

I sighed with relief as I looked around me at my new surroundings, breathing in real air for the first time in 4 hours.

It was a little duller than I had expected, but with my only comparison being my home in Wiltshire, they couldn't be further from each other, so I decided I lacked the knowledge and travel expertise to judge it.

London was bright and structurally beautiful when I imagined it in my minds eye. The reality was a little cruel but I'd learn to love it.

I reached into the front pocket of my small red suitcase in search of the map I bought at the train station back home. I figured it might be useful.

Fumbling around with my body bent completely over the suitcase, I felt a hand brush the left side of my coat and then a lightness as said hand removed something from the pocket.

I whipped my head around stood upright in reaction, grabbing the wrist of a tall man with a bowler hat sat upon his short, dark curly hair.

He looked mildly alarmed and taken aback, his eyes a little widened and him body stiff. He probably hadn't expected me to notice him picking my pocket.

"What on earth are you doing" I asked angrily, yanking his wrist towards me to make sure he didn't try and leg it.

"Er, well i-" the man began,"I'm actually so sorry about that, you see I er-"

He seemed a little awkward honestly. He didn't come across as the typical greedy lowlife picking pockets for a living.

"Jasper, look here!" I heard a gruff voice yelling from behind me, "I found this lying on the floor over by the bins."

A short, plump man with a flat cap came into view and stopped right next to me. He looked at me. Then at Jasper. Then back to me again.

"Oh bollocks," he sighed in reaction," I found this though."

He referenced the battered, discoloured lamp that he gripped in his hands, and smiled to himself.

"It's good innit?" the man sought praise and recognition from his friend for his efforts.

"Yeah mate, that's bloody brilliant, I'm happy for you," Jasper said fed up,"but i'm in a bit of jam here yeah?"

The man with the lampshade looked up again,"Oh, right, yeah," he cleared his throat in preparation.

"Could you please un hand my friend here miss?" standing up straight, he turned to me and asked somewhat politely.

"He tried to steal from me," I told him.
"You're clearly working together on this little scheme of yours, I don't know why I should bother trying to win this," I admitted as I released Jaspers wrist from my grasp.

"Cheers," Jasper said a little sarcastically, rubbing his wrist with his other hand.

"Oh please, I didn't grip it that tight you complete child," I sneered.

"Jesus, she remind you of anyone Horace," Jasper laughed.

"Doesn't she just," Horace replied as he looked me up and down, scanning me with his eyes,"you're not a psycho are you? That would be uncanny"

The two men laughed again, and Horace moved to stand with Jasper, opposing me.

"Well this has been nice, but if you don't mind, I'm off to report you to the policeman over there and I have to find somewhere to stay or I'll still be on the streets by midnight," I complained, beginning to roll my suitcase away in the opposite direction the the two men.

"Wait, you need somewhere to stay?" I heard Jasper shout.

As much as I considered ignoring him, he sounded like he was about to offer me a place to live, so I slowly swivelled back around to meet his gaze.

"Stay with us" he offered, without even letting me reply to the first question he had asked.

I could tell it was mostly out of convenience for them, as I guarantee they didn't like my comment about me sending the police after them. However, it was an offer nonetheless.

"What?" Horace turned to Jasper, shocked, "this hasn't been discussed, we've been here before remember, we don't need any more girls bossing us about mate, seriously..." he pleaded.

"Would you rather we go to jail?" Jasper pointed out, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Horace shook his head and sighed with reluctant acceptance.

"Fine, you're just gonna invite her anyway." Horace began walking down the path and Jasper beckoned me over to follow him.

"Wow thanks, I appreciate this, even though we were aquatinted through criminal circumstances," I glared at him somewhat playfully, laughing a little.

"Ha ha I know, but seriously it's fine, you can stay with us as long as you need yeah?" he assured.

"What's your name anyway?," he asked.

"Y/N" I told him.

He smiled at me as we trailed behind Horace, feeling my suitcase jolt and kick up over the uneven ground.

So, my first few minutes in London eh? Hadn't gone to plan but not a bad outcome to be honest.