MSC (Rewritten)♡•~

CHAPTER FIVE: The Other Side Of The Fence

"Excuse me. Hi!"

I jumped at the sudden sound of a voice coming from above me, snapping me out of my deep thoughts. I looked up to see a chubby face looking down at me from over the garden fence that divided our house from the one next door. I quickly stood up, feeling the colour rising to my cheeks. I must have looked so strange just squatting there and staring at flowers. I stepped a few paces back, making sure to keep my distance from the stranger."H...Hello".

The girl pointed a thick pink finger over at a piece of paper that had blown into a flower bed not too far away from me. "Sorry, could you just pick that piece of paper up for me? It blew there by accident". She asked. I went over to the paper and picked it up. I noticed some messy handwriting scrawled in purple ink, but decided not to read it.

I handed it to her and she added it to the bunch of other creased up papers in her hand. "Thanks! Things like this always happen to my stuff. If it's not getting lost, it's getting broken, and if it's not getting broken, it's...well, blown away. It's like nothing wants to belong to me". She pouted, "It's pretty cold out here today. Spring's a liar. Supposed to have the sun coming out now".

I nodded and wondered why she had been out in the cold. Though I wasn't really one to talk.

"It's just quieter out here, you know? A girl needs some space, living with a bunch of boys", she looked at me, "Look at me babbling... you don't even know who I am," she raised her eyebrows at me, "Oh wait! Are you Mr Lewis' daughter"?

I nodded again. So there were formalities in this country after all. Just not everyone used them.

"I'm Beatrice. It's nice to meet you. Mr Lewis told me you were coming from Ghana, so I've been really excited to meet you".

"Really"? I asked.

"Yeah! I don't have many girl friends, and I know few people who come from different countries like me, so it would be nice to meet someone new".

"What about Katie"? I asked quietly, shifting my feet against the grass, "she lives here too. Aren't you guys friends"?

"Oh, uh," Beatrice averted her gaze from me for a moment, before looking back at me, a slightly uncomfortable look in her green eyes, "I guess some people don't really click. It's nice to finally meet you, though".

"I see. It's nice to meet you too," I replied, shyly. She had a welcoming smile, and her expression was friendly and cheerful.

"You should come around some time. I'd love the fellow female company".

"I will ask my Dad," I said to her, but I knew I'd probably never muster the courage to visit. I was awkward enough with Katie and I lived with her. I looked over at the papers in Beatrice's hand, "Um...Can I ask what you were writing"?

"Um..." She glanced at the papers, and her large cheeks became bright red.

"There you are." Katie came out into the garden, tying her orange scarf around her neck. She looked over at Beatrice and scrunched up her nose before regaining her normal expression. " Amber can't wait to meet you. She's at the end of the neighbourhood, so you'll get a good look around on the way".

"Hi, Katie. How's the holidays"? Beatrice waved at her.

"Um, yeah". Katie replied, and then hooked her arm in mine. "We're off, so bye".

I looked at her curiously. Was there some kind of drama between these two? I gave Beatrice a small smile before following Katie, and she gave me a thumbs up in reply.

As I walked with Katie down the street, I rubbed my cold hands together, even though they were in gloves, and wondered what was up with her. "Amber's really nice, you're gonna love her. It's hard not to, really, she's the best. And she knows everyone, so she can also help to introduce you to some nice people at school". Katie babbled, as I looked around at the identical houses, still in thought.