❀ H A P P Y

“Ok, I do get your point, but long story short my phone is currently at the bottom of the ocean” he replied to the other person with a shrug. Ok so admittedly it was his own fault, but that wasn’t really something he was in a hurry to admit. Stress had taken over, and unfortunately the phone had paid the price. It was just very difficult to explain when people asked. 

“Oh? What happened to it?” Lucy’s question flowed naturally out of her lips. The blonde was curious by nature, always wondering and asking how things worked even if she didn’t really care how they did.  But now she knew why the man wouldn’t use his own phone. “Alright, then... You could use mine if you really need to.” She stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out the pink cased phone, offering it to the man. “Here you go. Or would you like me to dial the number for you?”

Veronica watched a frown crease Lucy’s face. She forced a smile, embarrassed. As a stranger in a strange land she was used to keeping it together. New acquaintances didn’t like to hear all about your issues. Although Veronica did. But that was just because if it was her only interaction with someone she wanted them to remember her well. She wasn’t most people though. Although Lucy looked like she wanted to say something supportive or give Veronica a hug or something. It was reassuring at least.  “That would be lovely,” she replied, smile becoming a little more real. “And I’m alright thank you,” she added, wishing it were more true. 

With a wide smile on her features, Lucy nodded before sticking her hand into her bag, pulling the box filled with a dozen perfect macarons. Perhaps, pushing the issue on her would do no good, and she did not know how she’d react, but food always made Lucy feel better –– desserts did the trick half as fast as normal food, too.  Distracting her gaze from the brunette for a moment as she held the box in place on her lap and untied the ribbon that held it together, she wondered if she was allowed to speak more about those tears she saw a few moments earlier, now that she claimed she was alright. However, wasn’t that what women did? Lucy did it too, say nothing was bothering her when in reality everything was, perhaps the one lie that did not sound like a lie, a lie she had mastered. Without a word, she extended the box filled with colorful pastries. “Grab as many as you like,” Lucy mumbled. “And... if you feel like talking, I’m here to listen.”

Nathan: What the hell do you want? I'm done talking to you.

harisnoureddine​

Having lived for such a short period of time with a man she barely knew, yet called her husband, excusing herself out of the brick house with the short explanation –– or excuse –– that she was going to meet up with a co-worker for dinner at the Victorian Tea Room on the Pier, in case he’d like to join in. She knew her husband very little, but she did know he would not go. Which was good, it worked wonders, even when she managed to miss his presence ten seconds after walking out of the house. Lucy knew how to drive, but decided against it each time the opportunity came to her, for it scared her more than anything else in life. More than horror movies, more than serial killers, more than being abused. This time, with the bus schedule tattooed on her brain as it was her main way of transportation, not to mention how much room she actually had to dance a little bit while she go to her destination, was no exception, and sooner than later she found herself inside the blue bus, holding onto a pole as her hips rocked from side to side, entertaining whoever was behind her, probably. Her purse, however, was heavier than usual. What felt like an eternity away, when she attended University in London, Lucy had been taught the British Sign Language, BSL for short, and she had practically mastered it, all thanks to the book that weighted about three stone in her purse. Once she was out of the bus and after she had let go of her skirt to keep it from blowing in the most embarrassing Marilyn Monroe like scene, but without the iconic ventilation system. Thankfully, she was still on time, so she didn’t have to hurry over to the restaurant. Once she arrived, it was not too hard to spot Haris. He was the literal, textbook definition of tall, dark and handsome. She approached him, waving hello as she walked with a big grin. “Do you want to sit here, or.....” she signed, painfully slow. When she had said she was rusty with it, she hadn’t been joking. ‘..Or would you prefer to sit outside?’ was what she wanted to say, but dear God, she could not remember how to do it without messing up. “....maybe outside?” She finished her sentence with fewer signs, supposing her point would remain the same.

FIRST DAY || lucykindell

If someone had told Nadia three months ago that she’d be working at a nursery in the future, she would have laughed. Quite hard, in fact. Children weren’t her ideal company, especially given that she was prone to swearing without thought and didn’t exactly have a motherly appearance, but a job was a job. Her resume was a mess of careers; from bar tender to shop assistant, pet groomer to florist, she’d tried them all. Experience in childcare stemmed from various babysitting experiences and a month as an au pair in France. Truth be told, it had surprised her when she’d been offered an interview and it had shocked her to find that she’d got the job.

Dressed in the smartest clothes she owned (or at least the ones that didn’t look like she’d just be hauled out of the gutter), Nadia had been welcomed into the nursery by a happy young male who directed her towards the classroom of a Ms Lily Kindell. She wandered in, met by a burst of bright colours and paintings stuck to the wall of various stick-people and sunshines. “Hey,” she smiled, catching the pretty blonde’s attention. “I’m Nadia – the new assistant. You’re Lily, right? Or do I call you Ms Kindell?” A stray curl of hair was tucked behind one ear, slowly settling into her surroundings. If she was good at anything, it was making herself comfortable in foreign environments. “I’m going to admit, this is my first time setting foot inside a nursery since leaving one as a toddler.“

A big grin was plastered on the blonde’s face as she went through that morning’s work, which consisted purely on having the kids paste different types of paper on white sheets, filling in different shapes: butterflies, clouds, little people, etcetera. Her students were currently under the watch of somebody else, a slightly grouchy old woman who insisted on teaching them the correct way of eating lunch before letting them go out to play, Lucy stayed inside the classroom, sipping on her tea from a thermo while her quiche remained wrapped inside napkins and foil sheets, until the door to her classroom opened, which was strange, since it wasn’t time for the kids to return yet. Dark eyes directed towards the person, offering her a wide smile before she spoke. “Hello,” the blonde greeted back, chuckling a little when the brunette messed up her name. She stood up from her desk, deciding that the approach would help her feel more welcome, just as the person who had welcomed her into the school during her first day had. That morning, a slightly superior staff member had told Lucy of the new girl, who would work as her assistant. It was that kind of person she did not know she’d need until the opportunity of having her came up. Help would be very much appreciated, and perhaps they would end up being friends in the end. Her right hand extended towards the brunette, aiming to formally introduce herself. “I’m... Lucy, actually, not Lily. It’s also Mrs. Kindell, I am... married, believe it or not! But please, call me Lucy. It’s very nice to meet you, Nadia, you have no idea!”

Greta felt the blush of red creep up her cheeks as she watched the pretty girl take the rude woman’s place. She looked so…proper, and not necessarily in her manner of dress, but just in the fact that she seemed to belong here. The girl was beautiful and blonde, fitting in perfectly with all the other ladies who had stepped through the doors of the Ocean Suite since its opening earlier this morning. Still, she had proved different from them - clearly, now that she actually cared about Greta’s vocal wish for a pet. Excitedly, she conceded, “I so want a dog, to be honest. I’m allergic to cats, so that’s totally out of the question, but I –” Her words were cut short by the older, currently grunting, man in the queue. “Sorry. Yes, of course. Reservation for two at what time? Oh, and may I know the type of event? There are different menus based on the type of event, it’s all quite…exact.”

And suddenly she was very confused. Alright, in her defense, Lucy hadn’t been living in Eastbourne for as long as many others, the big building at the very end of the pier had never been more than an equivalent to decoration, like a centerpiece on your grandmother’s coffee table that you never really stop to look at but you’ll always notice it, and stop to ask where it went if it’s ever not there on the table when you visit. This was the first time Lucy decided to enter the building, mistakenly assuming it was some kind of huge, fancy restaurant. “Oh my... This is embarrassing,” she muttered, her cheeks feeling a bit hotter than usual. She could almost feel the man behind rolling his eyes at her, but she did not care –– the blonde had no time for rude people. With a little laugh, she looked at the brunette, an apology written all over her face. “This is not a restaurant, is it? Oh dear, I’m sorry.” Another pause. “But yes! Dogs are incredible. I suggest you stop by the shelter, I think they’re having adoption week or something. You won’t regret it, they have the cutest pups in there.”

morafrank​

Lucy knew the names, ages and birthdays of each and every single child in her class, even if there really weren’t as many as primary school had, let alone secondary or college year. Or University! She supposed that by the point the kids got to University, their professors didn’t even bother to attempt to learn their names in the first place. Nursery school however, was different. Children were barely five years old, some slightly younger, and they all needed special and personalized care and attention. And the thing with little Sofia was that she refused to take it, the love she was so ready to give out to her. Rejected it, chewed it up then spat it all out, which most definitely wasn’t the normal behaviour of a five year old girl, as pretty as could be. The young teacher usually tried to stay away from the children’s parents, but Sofi’s way of doing things and reacting to many other things, specifically with her, worried her to no end. It could’ve meant there was something deeper bothering her tiny soul.

So, while still a bit reluctant, Lucy wrote Sofia’s mother a little note, asking her to please meet her after class, not really stating the reason why, for she knew there was nothing wrong with the little girl –– at least not something that would really bother a parent. She just needed to ask some questions and hopefully find out if there was something happening at home that could make the girl’s personality take such a defensive turn, in order to help her and help the rest of the class, too, as well as helping herself as a teacher. Lucy waited in the classroom, most of the children were on their ways back to their homes, most of them but Sofia, who waited anxiously, sitting in her desk. “There’s nothing to be worried about,” Lucy assured her, and the girl decided to act like she wasn’t listening. As courtesy, the blonde brought an extra cup of tea in case Sofi’s mother would want it, and her attention was pulled by the sound of the door opening, revealing a woman she couldn’t recall meeting before, but she should have. “Thank you for coming, m’am. My name is Lucy Car...Kindell, I don’t think we met before?”