Obsidian Secrets

** E **

The last day of school, for the year has always been my favourite day. Better than Christmas or my Birthday. The knowledge that I have eight weeks of relaxing nothingness ahead of me was one of the best feelings in the world.

Today was that day; and being the naïve fun-loving teenager I am: I was totally psyched.

This year it was an extra special last day because the school was raising funds for a recent environmental disaster in the form of a free-dress day. So, when I woke up a full half an hour earlier than usual, I spent that extra time rifling through practically empty closet for something to wear. I ended up with my favourite Paramore T-shirt, a faded floral high-waisted skirt and black converses.

When I bounded down the stairs a little while later I found my half-asleep mother hunched over a cup of coffee, eye’s squinting at the noise as she watched me come down our squeaky stairs. She stood and started towards me once the racket of my approach ceased.

“Good morning my darling Ebony!” she said as hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

“Mum! Get off! Get off! How many times have I told you not to do that?!” I replied in my superior but playful teenage voice

She smiled, so I grinned back at her, “oh that’s right! It’s your last day of school, isn’t it? That’s why you’re in such a good mood at such an early hour!”

“Yep.” I said and took a sip of her abandoned coffee. She swatted me away and I put a piece of bread in the toaster.

My mother and I look very similar; we both have black as black hair (hence my name) and very similar features. But where she has emerald green eyes, I have such dark brown eyes, they are mistaken for black.

Mum works from home as the most recognised website designer in Brisbane. Working from home allows her to spend as much time with me as possible. Being a single mother was always hard for mum, but now that I am older and I understand, it has been a lot easier.

My toast popped and I went over to butter it. As I took a bite I glanced at the clock. “Oh crap!
I'm late!” I said as I grabbed my bag and yelled over my shoulder; “see ‘ya mum!”

The bus stop was crowded but the bus pulled up almost immediately after my arrival, so I wasn’t alone for long.

“Ebony! Ebony! Ebony, here up the back! Ebony! You see me? EBONY!”

“Skye! You do realise that I heard you the first fifteen times?” I said as I sat down next to my best friend.

“Yep, I was just making sure.” She said with a huge grin.

Where I am dark-haired, dark-eyed and slightly tanned, Skye is blonde-haired, blue-eyed and pale. Today she was wearing white skinny jeans, brown sandals and a light blue top that matched her eyes perfectly. “Oh my god! Skye that top looks great on you!” I said as the bus lurched forward.

“Thanks hon! I love that skirt, it’s so retro!”

We gossiped about this and that for the rest of the ride to school.

“Hey! So it’s the first weekend off on Saturday and my whole family and I are flying up to Cairns and I was wondering if you wanted to come?” Skye asked me as we walked into home room.

“Yes! As if you even had to ask!” I replied. Mum wouldn’t mind; we never do anything over the holidays, she always too busy redesigning sites to suit the Christmas season. She loves Skye and her parents as they all went to University together and have been friends for ages.

Considering all this I was pretty sure she wouldn’t have a problem with the idea.

“Cool, so we’re flying up early Friday morning and we could pick you up on the way if you want.” She whispered and leaned across the gap in between our desks. I knew for a fact that my house was in the complete opposite direction to the airport and that they couldn’t just pick me up ‘on the way’, however I kept this information to myself as I was offered a free ride.

“That’d be good so it’ll be you, me and your parents?” I whispered back.

“And my brother Corbett.”

“Who?” I asked “you never mentioned anything about any brothers!”

“Didn’t I? Oh well Corbett is 19 and he got a job straight out of school for his photography. He travels everywhere taking pictures.”

I was a little hurt that she hadn’t told me she had a brother earlier but, now that I thought about it, it had never occurred to me that she might have a sibling. With me being an only child, it had never crossed my mind to ask her about something I wasn’t familiar with myself.

“Uh, Earth to Ebony, come in Ebony?” Skye’s voice suddenly broke me free of my internal monologue.

“Sorry it was just a bit of a shock, I’m good now. What were you saying?” I said as I zoned back to the real world

She gave me a disbelieving look and continued on with her apologies for not mentioning Corbett before.

By the time I zoned back in again, home room was over and Skye and I were on out was to first class. Maths; great. As if I didn’t have enough problems trying to stay in the real world without daydreaming. Our idiot math teacher being the nerd he is, made us do problem solving the entire period because we had nothing else to learn; it being the last day of school. Second was ok. The teacher put on a five year olds movie, so I was free to retreat into my head and daydream about peace, boys, animals and a perfect world.

Next was lunch, so I met up with Skye and we walked to our usual spot. On the way, Jesse; my unwanted admirer once again asked me out. I politely declined and kept walking with Skye. When we got there our other friend; Peter arrived too. Peter ‘bats for the other team’ if know what I mean.

So, I sat there with my two closest friends and gossiped about everyone and everything else in our lives