Valerie

1 - Val

'Wanker' = Idiot or fool

I squinted open my eyes as I heard the soft mumble of music come from the kitchen. I sat up in my wrinkled sheets and stared at my very untidy room.

Used candles that barely hung onto their wicks were by my ageing windowsill that was framed with peeling paint. An ashtray of week-old cigarettes lay next to them, looking as if the slightest breeze would cause them to disintegrate. Layers of old clothes littered the floor and my bed was a mess.

I stared at the state my room was in, and made a mental note:

New school year resolutions:

1. Keep room in liveable conditions.

I sleepily gazed at the cigarette butts.

2. Quit smoking.

As I clambered out of bed, I tripped over various books that had been discarded onto my un-vacuumed floor.

3. Buy a new bookshelf.

Then my eyes caught a slightly mouldy looking notebook which contained last year's resolutions.

4. Stick to resolutions.

I decided quickly that this was going to be my year. It was the first year that I was far away from my family and in particular, my father. Thank God. I lived in a lovely apartment (Thanks Mum) with the only person I really love. Mable. She was in the kitchen probably cooking me some breakfast that I definitely didn't deserve.

I trudged to the small kitchen, wearing some oversized t-shirt of an old 90s band that I probably scavenged from my floor somewhere last night.

As soon as I entered our bright kitchen, I couldn't help but let a smile slowly overtake my face. Mable was there, humming along with the music, making waffles. A halo of illuminated brown hair surrounded her freckled face.

Our kitchen was fairly small but light and airy. We had made sure to put plants all over to make the damp apartment seem more lively. The one thing I seemed to be good at was keeping plants alive.

I plopped myself down on one of our makeshift bar stools as Mable grinned at me and placed a fluffy waffle onto my plate.

"Morning." She said, smiling. She turned down our retro radio and took a seat next to me.

"How long have you been up?" I asked, self consciously.

"Only a couple of hours." She said through a mouthful of waffles. "You?"

I glanced at the clock. "Five minutes? Give or take thirty seconds." She grinned at me.

"When do classes start?"

"11 I think." I made me sound sceptical when in reality, I had spent ages memorising both our schedules, not being able to believe that they were real, and we were really here. I took a bite of her light waffles. Delicious, as always.

Mable glanced at the pristine watch in her right wrist.

Resolution 5: Be like Mable.

"Oh shit, I've got to go. I'll meet you at school. Are you sure you don't want to dance with me?"

It was the same routine pretty much every morning. Mable would ask me if I wanted to do ballet with her. I would say no. She knew my answer. It had been the same for two years. Still, I appreciated the effort.

"I'm good, thanks." She gave me a small smile.

"Well, only if you're sure?"

"I'm sure." I gave her a reassuring smile. It seemed that Mable's one goal in life was to get me to dance again.