Chapter Ten: My Recycled Soul by Lynette Ferreira
A while later Jared turns into a driveway decorated with a massive, ornate gate. The headlights of the car sweep across the front of the impressive house, and I believe this is what a manor is supposed to look like.
Jared looks toward me as we drive in through the automated
gates. He asks seriously, “Did you know we are neighbours?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Aaron adds sulkily from the back, “Yeah, just separated by
eleven miles of field.”
“That is a lot of land, not like I can wave hello from my
porch,” I say and laugh, feeling mortified. What a silly thing to say. I try to
remember that old saying my granny always used to mumble every now and again.
Something about if you do not have anything intelligent to say, it is best to
say nothing–or something along those lines.
Jared smiles as he glances at me, just before he stops in
front of the house.
The house has the same structure as my dilapidated manor,
but it looks warm and welcoming. Lights shine brightly from every window. The
paved footpath curves away from the circular driveway and is framed by rose
bushes. The house exudes wealth and prosperity.
Behind me, I hear Aaron open the car door, but he does not
get out straight away. He seems to want to say something, hesitating, but then
decides against it. Slamming the door shut behind him, he does not hear my
“Bye.”
Without looking back, he marches across the footpath, opens
the door to his house and walks into the light. Seeing Aaron so upset makes me
wonder that if I should fall in love with Jared, and I think I am, would we
still be friends.
I see his mum deep in the room walking toward him, and I
remember instantaneously that I forgot to call my mum after school today.
Hurriedly, I lift myself up from the chair, arching my back, trying to pull my
phone out of my pocket. I eventual wrench it loose from whatever it is stuck
to. Pulling it out of my pocket, I look at the screen.
Elizabeth, it is still switched off!
“What’s wrong?” Jared asks concerned, as we drive
away from his manor.
“My mum and dad are so going to murder me. I forgot to call
her this afternoon, and my phone is still switched off. They must be worried
sick about me.”
“I’ll come in with you and explain,” he offers.
“I don’t think so. Just imagine what they would say if I
arrived at home with a strange boy, this late at night,” I insist irately.
He laughs, deep from his belly, and I cannot help but grin
while I look at him questioningly.
“You look cute when you are annoyed and worried, especially
with all the blue and red lights reflecting off the dashboard onto your face—a
little alien.”
I hit him playfully on his upper arm, laughing as well. “Not
funny.”
“Hey, don’t harass the driver, these roads take serious
navigation.”
“I’m sure they do. I don’t know how I’ll be able to drive
here. I am used to big open highways.”
“Yeah, but consider this, would you really and honestly,
deep from the bottom of your heart, ever want to trade this scenic drive for a
four-lane highway?”
“I suppose not.” Amused, I ask him, “You like David Gray?”
He glances toward me, outwardly unsure of himself. “I do.
Does that seem weird?”
Smiling, I say, “No.” Yet truthfully, it does seem funny. I
do not know many people my age who like David Gray—often we are more into the
popular music of the day.
This is the most words he has spoken to me the entire
evening. While we drive, I mostly look out of the window to my side, at the
trees flashing by and listening to the music. It feels pleasantly comfortable.
We turn off into the drive to my manor, and I tell Jared,
“An artwork in progress, according to my dad.” When speaking to people who did
not know me, I always refer to Sean as my dad, it makes for less explaining.
He stops the car in front of the embarrassing building and
turns in his seat, looking at me concerned. “Are you sure you don’t want me to
walk you to the door?”
“No thanks,” I insist.
“Okay, go before your dad comes out here with a shotgun. You
know they are illegal in this part of the world, right?” He jokes.
I open the door and start to get out, but then, hesitating,
I turn toward him awkwardly and start to take off his jacket.
“No, you can give it to me at school. I wouldn’t want you
catching a cold and not be at school tomorrow. I’ll miss you terribly.”
Yes!
As I get out of the car, he leans across the seat I just
vacated. “It was really nice to eventually meet you, Elizabeth.”
I smile and say, “Bye,” while closing the door, wondering if
he is just being overly polite and what he possibly means with ‘eventually
meeting me’.
Walking past the front of his car, I wave again. He waves
back, smiling absent-mindedly.
When I walk through my red front door, I turn back to wave
once more, but he is already driving away, so I close the door behind me.
Nerves start to bundle into a knot in my stomach.
My mum and Sean are in the lounge, and I can hear their soft
murmurs from the hall. Every now and again, my mum’s voice gets a higher pitch
of anxiety.
The central heating is set to Tropical Island and as I shrug
out of Jared’s jacket, my mum walks into the hall, relief washing over her
face.
“Where were you?” I can see she is not happy at all, but as always, because she is still feeling responsible for uprooting me from my life, and she wants to please me in some bizarre way, she does not go into full rage mode.
I feel guilty. “I am sorry. I switched off my phone and then forgot to phone you.”
