I Come From (poem)

I come from a home
with a spaceship bed,
wires connected to a dying daddy
the smell of medicine and bleach.
A tired mum with red eyes,
my sister brushing hair and pouring cereal.
The nursery bus peeping its horn.
I come from a happy home
with brothers and sisters
tree swings over the river,
tents over the washing line,
sucking blue ice poles,
seateries on the back of bikes
mucky clothes and sticky lips
I come from best friends
and fall outs
skateboard rides and singing The Little Mermaid,
giggling sleepovers
and broken secrets
I come from a crowded red Maestro,
fish fingers and beans,
Sunday clothes and best behaviour.

Short Story Assignment Jan 2012

Fallen

Sophie stood at the edge and peered over. The light from the full moon reflected in the glassy water below. The sight made her feel unsteady so she stepped back and breathed in the cool air. She wondered how she had managed to climb up to the 70ft drop that now faced her. Whether she jumped as planned or tried to climb back down, she knew she was in danger either way. She shivered and tugged her denim jacket round her waist. The evening was crisp and clear. Everything was still and silent as if the whole world was watching and waiting for her decision.

                                                             *

The minute Sophie met Joel she knew her life was going to change. She saw him standing by the entrance to Loudoun Country Park one warm Summer’s morning. His black hair, golden tan and muscular arms were so out of place in Waterside that it was hard not to miss him. His smile stretched the width of his face and his white teeth sparkled as he chatted to Davy at the ticket booths.

   Sophie locked the door to her Corsa manually. How embarrassing! She glanced over and was glad to see he wasn’t looking yet. As she approached him her tummy began to jump. She fidgeted with her car keys to distract her from the athletic god that stood just a few steps in front of her. She curled her long chestnut hair around her ear. She was glad that she had taken the time to wash it this morning.

   ‘Hey!’ Joel said enthusiastically.

   ‘Hi,’ Sophie replied with a grin.

   ‘This is Joel, he’s one of the divers that arrived during the week,’ Davy informed her. ‘He’s from Canada.’

   ‘Oh that’s cool,’ she said.

   Before long Joel and Sophie were chatting about his trip to Scotland and Sophie’s job at the park. Davy retreated into the booth realising he wasn’t going to get a word in. Joel didn’t take his eyes off her for a second and his smile, if possible seemed to widen with every word she spoke.

   ‘I’ll catch you later Davy, and hopefully you too Sophie?’ Joel grinned as he jogged backwards towards the park. ‘I’d better get some training in!’

   ‘Yes definitely!’ Sophie answered as her cheeks turned rosy.

   ‘See ya then Sophie!’ Joel winked and ran down the stony path.

    Sophie watched him in complete awe. ‘Wow!’

    

    Sophie couldn’t wait for her shift to end that day.  She finished wiping the canteen tables, threw the dish towels in a bag, flicked the lights and locked the door to the staff cabin. She looked in the window as she passed it, smoothed over her hair and reapplied her cherry lip balm. She then headed down the gravelled paths towards the diving area. She was hoping to bump into Joel again. She had been thinking about him all day. She had never met anyone who made her act so girly before. Sophie laughed as she remembered how flirtatious she had been that morning.

   As she approached the pool she saw a crowd staring into the sky. She looked up wincing in the sunshine. She lifted her hand over her eyes to shade them and then watched as a streamlined figure swooped down and plunged into the pool beside her. She barely heard a splash. The crowd roared and clapped as he pulled himself out. Joel gave a cheeky grin and a wave as he jumped down from the pool side. Sophie’s eyes scrambled trying to see if he was coming her way.

   As the crowds dispersed Sophie felt someone touch the back of her shoulder.

   ‘Hey there Sophie, did you see my dive?’ Joel stood before her in nothing but a pair of red shorts. Sophie stared. She could barely speak. He ruffled his shiny black hair with a towel and flashed his dazzling smile.

  ‘Yeah, yeah I did…’ she managed to spit out excitedly. ‘It was amazing, I’m very impressed.’

   ‘By me or the dive?’ He joked flicking his wet towel at her.

   ‘Hmm... I’d have to say both,’ Sophie said hitting back playfully.

   She couldn’t believe how brash she was being as they chatted and flirted. It was so unlike her. She chewed the side of lip and widened her blue eyes as she gazed up to him. Joel had to be at least six foot tall and the most gorgeous person Sophie had ever seen. His strong jaw line, dimpled cheeks and dark chocolate eyes completely captivated her. She didn’t usually bother about boys. But Joel was different. He wasn’t a boy. It felt so natural talking to him and she didn’t feel nervous or self conscious like she so often would. It felt like they had known each other forever.

   From that day onwards Sophie and Joel spent every minute together. They were never apart unless he was doing his diving shows and even then Sophie would peer out the window of the cabin to watch him. She couldn’t believe that after only a few weeks of knowing each other they were so in love. They spent most nights walking around the park together chatting about their different lives. Joel had big dreams. His life revolved around diving and he had trained since he was four years old to make the team and travel the world.

   Sophie on the other hand was pretty normal. Her Dad left when she was six years old and her Mum had brought her up in the same town all her life. She didn’t have much drive in life and didn’t expect much from it. She still hadn’t decided what she wanted to do after her exams in the Summer. Working at the park and studying was all her life had involved, until now.

  

   ‘You’re far from normal Soph,’ Joel protested one afternoon as they lay on the grass behind the park fences. ‘You’re mysterious, you’re fascinating and you’re down right adorable.’  He rolled towards her and propped his head up by his fist. Sophie screwed up her face. She could never understand why he said things like that.

   ‘Sophie, you just don’t realise how amazing you are. I’ve completely fallen for you. I can’t go a second without thinking about you. I want to be with you all the time, take care of you, get married, have kids, the whole lot!’ He laughed as he tickled her.

   Sophie lay back in the afternoon heat listening to the distant noise of children playing at the boating bond. She could smell the freshly cut grass and feel Joel stroking her hand as he lay beside her. The sun broke through the clouds as Joel leaned in and kissed her. It didn’t matter how often he kissed her, each time it took her breath away. Sophie kissed him back as she pulled her fingers through his silky hair, still wet from his last dive. She loved him so much. She could never have imagined feeling this way about someone. She wasn’t close to her mum or even to any of her friends. She preferred being on her own and had never felt like people understood her, until Joel. She pulled away and stared at the man she had completely fallen for. A pang of worry then hit her and her eyes immediately glistened with tears.

   ‘What’s up?’ Joel asked anxiously as he pulled back from her. ‘You okay?’

   ‘I was just thinking about you leaving,’

   Joel’s face fell. ‘Aw Soph, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to even think about it. I’ve been trying to avoid talking about it ‘cause I haven’t figured out a way to stay yet.’

   ‘You’ve thought about staying?’ Sophie jumped in.

    ‘Course I have, from the minute I met you! It’s been killing me to think about leaving you.’

   Hearing Joel say the words made Sophie’s heart crumble inside. It was only July but Sophie knew that Joel would be leaving when the park closed in September.

  

   The night of the leaving party came round too quickly for Sophie. It was Joel’s last night in Waterside and he would be leaving in the morning. They had put off making a decision about their future until tonight and Sophie was sick with worry.

   The party was just as Sophie expected. She hated being in crowds, even worse when everyone was drunk. Joel was talking to one of his team mates while she sat stirring a straw in her coke. He kept smiling over to her, eagerly trying to escape the conversation. Sophie mouthed to Joel that she was going outside. The fresh air was cool on her hot skin. She straightened out her white crinkled skirt and then saw Sam, Joel’s coach who was calling over to her. Sophie walked towards him as a few of the other team members passed by. Their faces looked angry as she smiled at them.

   ‘Hey Sam,’ Sophie said. ‘What’s up? What’s wrong with Randy and Paul?’

   ‘Well, that’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about,’ Sam began. ‘Joel came to speak to me earlier. He said that you two were going to make a decision about your future tonight?  I must admit Sophie; I can’t believe you would do this to him.

   Sophie looked at Sam confused. ‘Do what to him? What are you taking about?’

   ‘Make him choose between you and his career.’  

   Sophie gasped. ‘I’m not making him choose anything, how can you say that? Is that what he told you?’

   ‘Nah, he didn’t have to. You know how much he loves you. The fact that you agree he should stay just shows that you can’t love him that much.’

   Sophie felt anger boiling inside her. How dare he? How could anyone possibly know how much she loved Joel? But as Sam’s words sunk in she realised what he was saying. Diving was all Joel ever wanted to do. He had so many plans that he had told her about when they first met, how could she let him give it all up for her?

   Sam saw his words dawning on Sophie’s face.

   ‘I think you know what you need to do.’ He said and then walked off leaving her standing alone.

 

   Sophie peered over the side and looked at the pool 70ft below her. It looked so small. How did he manage to dive into it so elegantly with barely a splash or hitting the side? It didn’t look very deep either she thought. She tightened her denim jacket around her waist. The tears rolled from her eyes as she thought about how she had parted with Joel; the hurt on his face, the sadness in his beautiful eyes and all the while she had stood there poker faced as if she felt nothing for him.

   The pain rose up in her stomach as she thought about never seeing him again. She swept the tears with her sleeve. There was no reason to live without Joel. What could she possibly expect for her life now? And with that despairing thought she stepped off the edge into the thin air.

   Sophie gasped and spluttered as the water spat out from her mouth. She felt her head sting and saw the watery red blood on her fingers as she touched it.

   ‘You are an idiot, an absolute idiot! How could you do that? How could you be so stupid?’

   Sophie could hear the voice shouting at her as she lay on the stone ground drenched and bleeding. She couldn’t focus on it though. The throbbing in her head and the water in her eyes blurred the image in front of her.

   ‘Sophie, can you hear me? Are you okay? Ring for an ambulance Sam, hurry!’

   Sophie ached all over. She was shaking and disorientated.

   ‘It’s me… Joel? Can you hear me?’

    She tried to focus her eyes. It was Joel. ‘You came back,’ she whispered.

   ‘Of course I did, I’m not leaving without you.’ He leaned down dripping with water and kissed her face frantically between words. ‘You have to come with me, right? We can do this together, okay? You are going to be alright, don’t worry.’

   The tears fell from Joel’s face as he looked at her. ‘I love you so much.’

   Sophie tried to sit up. ‘Do you really mean that? I can come with you, but how?’ Sophie coughed and winced with pain.

   ‘Ssshh… not just now Sophie, don’t get up.’ Joel mopped the blood away from her face. ‘We will figure it out. Trust me, I’m not going anywhere without you. The ambulance is on the way, just rest for now.’

    Sophie laid her head back on Joel’s hand. She looked at him with disbelief and happiness. Could she go with him? Why hadn’t she thought about this before? There was nothing keeping her in Waterside. She could start a new life somewhere else. Sophie suddenly felt like all the pieces of her life were coming together. She could see a future for herself, a happy one with Joel.

   The sirens screamed in the distance. Sophie looked up at the man she had fallen in love with. Joel’s eyes sparkled like they had when she first met him; she closed her eyes and smiled as she thought back to that moment.