Petrichor

Chapter 1

I can still see you standing there

Summer tangled in your hair

First week of July

First day of my life.

~

Emily leapt out her seat as the school bell rang. Summer Holidays were finally here. While most sixteen year old kids were now at the awkward stage of their teenage years where they didn't want to go away with their parents on holiday because they were too old and too cool for all that, Emily lived for their family summer break. Because it meant she got to spend 4 weeks hanging out with her best friend. When they'd met on their first day at Primary school aged just five, they'd become instant friends, and from that day on they had spent every moment possible together, in turn meaning their parents became close friends too. Emily's dad had died in a car accident when she was eighteen months old and she had no memories of him. Fortunately her father had been in a very senior position in a bank in the city, so upon his passing her mother had inherited a large amount of money and thankfully she hadn't had to struggle for money as well as having to deal with the grief of losing her husband and bringing up a child on her own. As Toms mother Diana was separated from his father, the women became incredibly close and provided constant support to each other. When Tom went to boarding school two years later, Emily cried for days and refused to go to school for nearly two weeks. That was when their parents had first arranged for them to go on holiday together during the summer break, and ever since then it had been a yearly tradition. Although Emily and Tom still spoke almost every day and Tom always came home at half term, summer was the chance for them to really catch up. Despite their parents wondering if their friendship might dwindle as they reached their teenage years, it was quite the opposite and if it was possible, they grew closer. Tom was the first person Emily thought of when she woke up, and the last person she thought of before she fell asleep and she knew the feeling was mutual. She was sure that there would never be a point in her life when Tom wasn't around.

Emily's mother was waiting outside the school gates for her and she flung herself into the car and smiled eagerly at her,

'Let's go'

It was an 8 hour drive down to Cornwall where their hired holiday home was, so Emily plugged her headphones in and tipped her head back, closing her eyes in the hope she could sleep for a good part of the journey, and when she woke up her best friend would be waiting for her.

~

Tom paced the large living room of the cottage, checking his watch for the hundredth time. Although he broke up from boarding school earlier than normal state schools which was quite cool, it meant Emily and her mum arrived a day later than them, and being stuck here with his own mum was boring. He'd walked around the garden, kicked a football around a bit, watched TV, even started to read a little of his beloved work of Shakespeare that he'd brought with him, but it was just.......he couldn't settle knowing his best friend would be here soon. He hadn't seen her since Easter and although they spoke on the phone almost every day, it wasn't the same. He couldn't wait to see her face - her smile. It was his favourite thing about her, even when they were kids. That first day at school when she smiled at him as she tugged on his hair, he remembered thinking then even as a five year old what a lovely smile she had. It lit up her whole face.

Tom checked the time again as his mother walked into the room,

'When do you think they'll get here? he asked. Diana opened her mouth to reply but a noise on the drive made them both turn to look, as a cars headlights pulled up outside. She turned back to her son and smiled,