Martha took temping jobs, each one more boring than the last – filing, stocktaking, data entry. It paid for a room in Saint Kilda and the chance to explore the city and everywhere she could get to in a weekend by train. The money was good, but three months of office work, collecting complicated coffee orders and putting up with the unwanted advances of grey men in suits whose dreams had gone bad, felt like a lifetime. She took the bus up the coast and it was everything Carl had said. She shared dorms with teenagers who were either humping each other or throwing up in their sleeping bags. The scenery was spectacular. Intense white sandy beaches echoed the sunlit paintings of Joaquín Sorolla and made her feel more alone. Dean was looking over her shoulder, calling her home. By the time she got to Darwin, she was done. Even the natural beauty of the beaches and rainforest couldn't tempt her to stay. It was hot and humid, but she couldn't swim anywhere for the crocodiles, jellyfish and sharks.
Amy emailed her, full of joy and wonder at her new life, imploring Martha to visit. It only made her more homesick.
She flew back to London, got her old jobs back, a bedsit in Hackney and a niggling feeling that she was making a big mistake. One rainy Thursday in an Internet café, she dug out the slip of paper from her purse, typed a greeting with her number and name, and hit 'send' before she could change her mind.
YOU ARE READING
The Keeper
RomanceEvery schoolgirl has crushes, but could a schoolgirl crush last a lifetime? When 17-year old Martha starts at a new school, she carries a glimmer of hope that this time will be different. She doesn't seek popularity, but rather a quiet space where s...
