STORMFLY
Chapter One
'You're not listening to me Jack.' She stood up, hitched up her jeans, looked to the
west and turned back, eyes all fire - 'We'll get caught in the storm, there's no shelter
between here and...'
I laughed, action Annie, that's what I called her. No, that's what we called her; me and
the crowd she hung out with - she actually seemed bothered, no frightened, and that
was a first.
'Take that look from your face before I do it for you...' I felt her hand clasp my wrist,
tight, as she hauled me to my feet, expected a slap at least for my insolence, but she'd
already turned her attention to Tom, where it lingered. It always seemed to linger on
Tom, and I felt my first stab of jealousy that day - or at least the first I can recall.
She was beautiful you see.
Standing there in her multi-coloured T-shirt and jeans, wisps of long auburn hair
around her face. Tough but beautiful, and I was an envious fourteen year old, envious
of Tom's attraction to her.
'Yeah,' Tom got to his feet, his eyes seemed locked on hers, 'Annie's right, storm's
coming quickly,' he tried to swat away the swarm of flies that had descended as though
released from a giant fist. 'We'd better make tracks.'
'Yeah, Annie's always right,' I muttered, reddening, aware of her steely gaze on me.
We scooped up the blanket we'd used to cover the bare patch of earth, slipped the
remnants of our sandwiches into the holdall we'd brought along with the half dozen or
so cans of consumed cider, illegally purchased from the corner shop by Annie, because
she was tall, had a great figure and everyone said she looked eighteen at least.
'Shift yourself,' I felt the palm of one of Annie's hands on the flat of my back, even a
push from her was enough to send you a yard.
I was in front of the pair of them as we trod our way through the path in the corn, a
path that two people could tread together, but not three.
So that didn't include me.
There was a five bar gate at the end of the first field, my uncle kept it locked. I
scrambled over it ahead of the other two, conscious that if I wasn't quick enough
Annie's arms would wrap around me, heave me over.
I wouldn't have minded her arms around me of course, but I wasn't being made to
look pathetic in front of Tom.
And it was Tom her eyes always fell on the longest.
We were headed west, where the sky got darker, and the rumbling heavier; the flies
itched our eyes, our noses, and our mouths.
'Leg it,' I heard Annie say to Tom. They were behind me, still side by side, but her
message meant me as well, and that was tough; tough because it was hot and sticky,
the air burned my lungs like an invisible furnace - and of course there was another
thing - Annie was quick - greased lightning quick - the fastest girl in our school, but no
way was she leaving me behind.
In fact it was Tom who got left behind, and I recall feeling elation at that. Because we
were now side by side and Tom was falling back.
Yes I felt elation.
But that elation was short lived...