The World According to Jessie

Chapter Seven

"... Two birds...in the same room... together...where was a stone when I needed one!"

Bernice had surprisingly approved of the idea of the column going more in depth with my family and not just me. She said that it was "very artistic". There were two ways of taking this, either it was a compliment or it was a sarcastic way of saying I couldn't think of anything better. Considering it was Bernice, I would take the latter. She wasn't capable of giving complements. So it probably was a disguised insult. Bitch. But approval was what I wanted and it was what I got. I went to work straight away, typing up what had happened so far. It was a pretty cathartic experience considering I wouldn't normally go for something so personal. But I needed to get it off my chest and so within an hour I had written my regulation thousand words and sent it off to Bernice via email.

I shut the laptop and let out a huge sigh of relief. The only thing I had to do now was go downstairs and sneak past everyone to retrieve my suitcase from the car. By the sounds of things, the arguing had grown louder so my suspicions were that they were actually now in the living room. This could be tricky. I knew the minute they heard my door open, they would be out of that room like a shot wanting to know if I was alright, whether I wanted food, clothing etc. I couldn't stand that so I had to be sneaky about this. I had to challenge my inner ten year old, the one that used to put a military plan into operation just to go and grab some crisps from the bar. I moved the laptop out of the way and slid off my bed, planting my feet lightly on the floor. Yep, I could still do this. It was easy. I tiptoed over to my door, opened it slightly and look through the crack to see that the living room door was indeed closed. But there were sounds emulating from it, which confirmed my suspicions that they were indeed upstairs. I opened my door a little more, grabbed my car keys from the dressing table and gained the confidence to sprint for it just like I did when I was a kid. They didn't even notice.

Twirling the keys around my finger, I allowed myself a smirk as I stepped out of the front door. Twenty-six years old and they still didn't know my tricks. I said hello to the hotel guests opposite who were probably on cigarette number eight of the day with another twenty to go (between you and me they didn't have the best reputation) and I allowed the death trap of a car boot to spring open as I stepped back before it hit me in the face. I knew this car and it knew me. Every time I opened the bonnet or the boot, it would try to kill me. The first time it almost did and I ended up in A&E nursing a broken nose with Dad giving me a lecture on how he never wanted me to buy the damn thing in the first place. There were other incidents but none quite as bad. Once the boot stopped flicking up and down, I retrieved my suitcase, slammed it shut and locked it before it had the chance to go in for the kill once again.

'Well hello you.' I turned around and was faced surprisingly and rather happily with Simon, sans pirate outfit. Instead, there were tatty, faded jeans, a t-shirt that had seen better days, all covered by a long grey jacket. The blonde and brown curls were a mess but the green eyes were as gorgeous as always. I put two hands on the handle of my suitcase so as not to show Simon that I was a weakling. I leant back on the bonnet of the Fiesta hoping that the handbrake would keep working long enough.

'Hello Captain.' I smiled, attempting to make a joke. It made him laugh. That was a good thing. That was a very good thing. His laugh was lovely.

'So, what are you doing here on a weekday?' he asked, leaning at my side. He was that close I could smell the Davidoff that he was wearing. I tried buying it for Tristan once, but good old Lynx sufficed for him – when he bothered to wear any aftershave or deodorant that is.

'I have been transferred for a month by the paper.' I said, trying not to stare at him. 'They want a more personal column'.

'That should be fun with your lot.' He giggled. 'Reports came in that your Mum and Dad had to be thrown out of Coral Island on Monday. You had a lucky escape.'