Safe-Chapter 1

The soft sound of water in the washing machine echoed the rain in the street. It fell like waves crashing on the beach in the middle of the storm. Every time the door opened, it sent a chill through you, which not even the damp raincoats could stop.

I wasn’t waiting for my washing though. But no one else knew that. I was seeking shelter, but not from the rain or the cold. I was seeking shelter from the war of screams that echoed threw my head, every second I was home. The screaming that seemed, not at anyone, but just because it was a familiar sound.

It’s one of the reasons I liked school. Not because of the boring teacher, or the kids at the back of the class who I knew were coming up with something new for me, but because it felt safe. Safer than at home.

It’s weird though, the word safe. Every time I see it written, or hear it whispered on the streets, I think, what is safe? You’re only safe until you realize the net supporting you isn’t really there. It’s why I’m not here for safety. I’m here for shelter.

I realized someone was sitting down next to me, which was weird. We probably made up half of the people in here. I brush my soggy hair off my forehead, and open my eyes to see who it was.

‘Hey James.’

‘Hey Sarah.’

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked courteously.

‘Oh, just helping my mum with some washing. Our washing machine broke about a week ago. Miserable weather isn’t it?’

‘Seems like it’s that way most of the time,’ I replied, knowing that she already knew why I was here.

‘Yeah,’ she said with a giggle.

‘What’s so funny?’ I asked puzzled.

‘I just realized, we were talking about the weather.’ I said nothing to that. I wasn’t one of those people with, what you may call, a great sense of humor.

I just sat there for a little while, listening to the battle of the washing machines and the rain. I was weird. People wouldn’t normally pick Sarah for one of those people who could be really calm and relaxed, and just sit there with another person, with starting a conversation. She could be the opposite, but around him, she seemed calm. I wasn’t sure if she could be remotely like that around her friends.

A strange thought came into my head.

‘Sarah?’ I asked.

‘Yeah?’ she replied.

‘What do you think of me as a person?’

‘What!?’ she said baffled.

‘Not like that,’ knowing what she thought. ‘I mean, what would you say… um, defines me?’

‘Why do you want me to tell you that?’

‘You know when your parents say how you’re a really confident, smart capable person, it makes you feel a little reassured, even if their just saying it because their your parents. I just want to know what someone else really thinks of me.’ That was probably the longest thing I had said in a long time, and she looked at me that way.

‘Um, okay,’ she said unsure.

‘You know when your alone at school, just by yourself, listening to you music.’ She started. ‘People think you’re a bit of a loner, but I think you like it that way. I think that if you really cared what other people said about you or did to you, then you could make them stop just by looking at them, but you don’t because you like to let people be. Also, maybe because you don’t like the attention you’d get. Wow, that sounds really weird.’

I just sat there, taking in what she was saying. After she finished, the sound of the water in the washing machines, filled the emptiness. Then I grinned.

‘What do you think of me?’ she asked curiously. I looked at her for a moment than said, ‘I think you know exactly what to say at the right time. Even with your friends. You act a lot different around me, than with the people you hang out with at school. It’s just the way you are, and it’s the reason everyone likes you.’ Sarah’s face blushed as he said that.

‘Sarah, we’re almost done,’ we heard her mum say from the machines.

‘‘Kay mum. One sec.’ She turned back and looked at me seriously. ‘There’s something I want to ask you, but I can’t do it now. Can I call you tonight?’

‘Um, sure,’ I said. I gave her my mobile number, but was curious as to what she wanted to ask me in private. I heard her whisper, ‘Good thing it’s Friday,’ then she got up to help her mum.

The rain was settling by the time I headed home. I waded through the pools of water, and that garbage that floated on top. I don’t know why, but the time after a storm seems so much more miserable than the storm itself.

I pulled out m keys, and opened the paint cracked door. I walked inside, and heard an unusual sound. It was a very rare silence. Not wanting to disturb it, I went upstairs to my bedroom.

I peeled off the soaked jacket, and changed my shirt. I was a little unnerved because of the quiet, but it seemed genuine. I lay on my bed, and stared at the familiar spot on the ceiling. Sometimes I just gaze there and think.

I felt a buzz in my pocket and pulled out my faded old breaking down phone, to see half an hour had past.

‘Hey Sarah,’ I answered.

‘Hey James.’

‘What did you want to ask me?’ I asked with my curiosity coming back.

‘Remember how you told me I acted differently around you than with others? Well, around you, I feel like I can act like I am. I just want to go out for a while and relax. But I don’t want to do it by myself.’

‘So you want me to come with you?’

‘I just want to relax for a while, and you’re like the only one I can do that with. It’ll only be tonight, and maybe a little of tomorrow. I know this sounds weird, but can you go with me? I just want to have a little fun, instead of always being… safe.’

I didn’t know what to say. I just though ‘Why not.’ I didn’t realize I said it.