The Chime of Bluebells

16

The finale exam had been turned in and summer was waiting around the corner. And with it, lots of fun hanging out at the beach along the west coast, playing volleyball, pool parties over at the sunnies, road trips in dusk and stargazing. At least, that was what I was telling myself as the hour started nearing eleven o'clock. In exactly six minutes, Malachi would stand in front of court with his cheap lawyer. I'd thought William would stand in the way of Dad wanting to help Malachi out with the payment for a better one, but it was actually Malachi who'd refused the offer. And now, the time had finally come. Soon, his future would be known to everybody. I'd dreaded the day for weeks, but always postponed the thoughts for later, convincing myself it was plenty of time before judgement day. I never knew how fast time flew.

"Wanna come?"

My eyes went to the doorway where Mom stood, tying her shawl around her neck, then back at the clock.

"You can't stay by the kitchen table all day, Noli. When we know, we'll know. We can't change anything at this point, neither for the better or worse. All we can do is wait, and while doing so, we can make time go faster. So, what do you say? Want to come to the welcome meeting for the Summer Angel Project?"

I sighed, "not really."

"Come on..." She tried a small smile. "It might be fun to meet some of the other volunteers. A few are about your age."

One last glance at the clock. Two minutes.

"Alright, I'll decide for you. Come."

"Where's dad?"

Mom was silent for a while. She knew where I was getting at. "In a meeting."

"Could he make a call later?"

She shook her head. "Don't, Noli. When the trial is over for today, Mr. Isamond will give us a call, like we agreed upon. Until then, we occupy our minds with other things. And I'm sure when all of this is over, Malachi will call you himself-"

"He hasn't called yet. Not once."

Mom came in and laid an arm on my shoulder. "He is in prison, Noli. Give him some time to adjust."

I nodded. "I've been pretty selfish lately, haven't I?"

"You're worried. It's different. Right now, all Malachi need is a little time to focus on the trial...without any distractions, which I'm sure you are to him, in a good way. But not in such a life changing situation." She smiled cautiously.

She was right, like usual.

I rose and went to the hallway. "Let's go, then."

🌸

The Summer Angel Project had decorated their premises since last time and it looked more welcoming and pleasant with beautiful flower bouquets, curtains, magazines in the waiting area, a more expensive looking coffee machine and a playground area for kids.

"Nice, huh?" Mom laid an arm around me.

"A new coffee machine? I know the last one tasted...not so good, but...I don't know... Couldn't the money be spent on something better? Like more staff, if not a little something for volunteers?"

"Oh, no! We haven't paid for any of these things—except for this place, phone and its subscription. All you see here are donations."

"Donations?"

She nodded.

"Some people with bad conscious for not participating this summer."

Mom gave me a look that said "yep". All I thought about was the sunnie borns, rich people living outside of town, near the Sunnie Hills. Their enormous villas in luxurious flat marble floors  and pressure sand stones from the Mediterranean deserts, boasted about their wealth and right to be separated from the "commoners" by tall walls.