Month: Oct 2018

The spirit: 3/3

Steadily the sun started sinking into space. The day slipped away out from sight.

The school bus pulled up across the road from Maisie’s house; Maisie steps out with a young man four years older than she is. He had dark hair, with glasses – almost nerdy, but strong. He took a cigarette out of his jacket and lit it. Offering it to Maisie, Maisie’s mum yelled, standing in the doorway of the house.

“Don’t you dare, young lady. I’ve had it with you! Get inside this house, now!”

Maisie took a drag of the cigarette, out of spite, and kissed the young man goodbye. Aggressively, Maisie stormed up to the house with her mum giving her the ‘You’re in trouble and you know it’ look. She pushed past violently and stomped up to her room. Maisie kicked her door shut, escaping from reality. She threw herself on her bed and texts the young man: ‘Pick me up at ten tonight.’ Waiting for a reply, the window swung open and there it was. The spirit illuminated from the window drawing nearer.

“Where do you think you’re going? You’ve got a lot of explaining to do. You can’t just come home from school, after you’ve been expelled, and not expect me to discuss it with you. Maisie! Stop ignoring me! I can’t go through this again.” She wept again as if her heart might break. She walked up the stairs, stopping outside Maisie’s room. She knocked gently.

“It wasn’t a dream. You were real!”

Confused, Maisie’s mum opened the door. She saw the radiant shadow. She was stunned like an ecstasy had taken over her mind like an unexpected and poignant thought.

“Mum.”

 

I hope you enjoyed the story, now here’s a video I’m sure 98 percent of you have seen…

The spirit: 2/3

“What do you want?”

“What do you want?”

“What do you want?!”

The insistent voice mingled mercilessly with an arresting beam of light that pierced through the gap between the curtains. She bolted upright. It was 07:15am. Reality hit when she realised it was morning and she was late for meeting the boys; they were three years above. She jumped out of bed and got dressed into her uniform as fast as foam flakes drift on the river. She leapt downstairs and grabbed a cereal bar.

“Going so soon? I made you breakfast.”

“No thanks. You shouldn’t have bothered.”

“Are you alright? I thought I heard you shouting this morning?”

“Well you heard nothing.”

“Okay, I was just checking that you were alright. Remember best behaviour this week. No more trouble.”

Maisie rolled her eyes, with hand on hip and slammed the door behind her.

Her mother’s pain was evident in the crease of her brow and trembling of her full lips. As much as she tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. She sobbed and sobbed. Holding herself up as the sobs threatened to shatter her body. Then she collapsed onto her knees, howling like a baby without their mother. The beads of water fell down one after another, without a sign of stopping. Once again, the ache of seeing Maisie throw her life away tore her apart. What else could she do?

The spirit: 1/3

To go with the theme of Halloween, I wrote a short story for you…

ghost-girl-street

It was 02:13am. Maisie’s bedroom was dark; the only source of light came from the soft burn of the moon. It was like a child began to draw on it with a pencil and then erased it in a way that smudged and spread the grey. The rain streaked down, invisible, until it hit the sodden ground. Like a flower after a drought, the thirsty floor slurped the steady plunging rain.

The window was partially open inviting the taciturn breeze to caress the warmth of her cheeks. The spineless gust carried a faint familiar odour; it was gone before she could identify it. A temporary sensation entered her mind, as if a mild zephyr ruffled through her thoughts. Did she notice the change in colour of her curtains and bedding?

Out of focus, like a poorly taken photograph, a golden skinned, white eyed – with sapphire in the centre – human shaped figure approached the bed. Strands of glowing blonde hovering above her waistline, swayed rhythmically as she loomed closer.

“What are you?” Maisie whimpered as she hid beneath her duvet.

However, it got closer. Then it spoke.

“Why are you behaving like this?” The pure, soft, feminine voice whispered.

Vague thoughts streamed shapelessly through her mind like long sad vapours through the twilight sky.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“I want respect.”

“What? But I don’t know you!”

“I want you to respect Mum.”

The ghost-like figure faded into the void, as if it never even existed.

Maisie pulled her duvet down past her eyes so she could see clearly. She knew she was alone. Again. She picked up her phone and shone the torch around the room to make sure. She looked at her clock; it was 02:56am. She wanted to get some sleep before the morning, so she closed her eyes with fear and wrapped herself in her duvet. Small crystals rolled onto her pillow making wet tracks down her face.

She tossed and turned throughout the night. Restless.

Life is…

IMG_4741

‘Life is like a box of chocolates,

You never quite know what you’re going to get.’

Life is like a roller-coaster,

You never know what is coming.

Life is like a sky-dive,

You never know quite what you’re going to fall into.

Life is like a long tunnel,

You never know when it’s going to end.

Life is like a path,

You never know what’s around the next corner.

Life is like a book,

Don’t judge it by its cover.

Life is like a maze,

You never know if you took the right turn.

Life is like a pencil case,

It’s full of disorganisation.

Life is like a packet of sweets,

Some are sweet; some are sour.

Life is like a journey,

You never know what’s going to happen along the way.

Life is like a maze,

You don’t know which direction to go.

Life is like a story,

Everything happens for a reason.

Life is like a football match,

You don’t know what the score will be.

Life is like a present,

It’s full of surprises!

Life is like a paper clip,

It holds everybody together.

Life is like a photo,

Each one holds a different story.

Life is like a newspaper,

You don’t know what’s on the next page.

Life is like the universe.

                                                         It never stops changing…

What is life to you?

How we met (part 2)

After a lot of thought, I realised I should probably cut all cords with this guy as I was falling for him. I felt awful and didn’t really want to do this, but it was for the best. I didn’t say anything more to him; I’d smile at him in corridors, nothing more than that. He never asked why we stopped talking; I think he thought it was because of my boyfriend though. It felt like a piece of me was missing. I felt lost. I was empty inside.

Happy never-ending

Attending a party with my boyfriend, lo and behold, who should show up? Of course he had to be there with all my other closest mates.

As the night went on, most people were dancing, drinking, and having the time of their lives. I, however, was trying to find my difficult to deal with boyfriend. I gave up on him and did my own thing. People were dropping off to sleep as fast as the speed of light towards the end of the night. I was still wide awake; I set off to find him. I went into the kitchen and he was there. Girls chatting him up and flirting, he looked over to me and smiled.

I sat down at the dining table to join them. After a few drinks, he and I had a proper chat again, like we did before. My mood instantly changed after we started talking. It’s like nothing had changed between us.

Summer goodbyes

Summer was looking bright and cheerful, until one day. (This day was the worst of them all.) I was going on holiday with my boyfriend and his family.  We were about to leave, but then he pulled me aside and said he had something to tell me. He told me to sit down. My heart was beating so fast you probably could’ve seen it come out of my chest. I had a gut feeling I knew what he was going to say. “I cheated.” Just the words I thought were going to come out of his mouth. I wasn’t shocked; this was the second time he had done it. Tears came flooding, I had been shut down. Was I not good enough?

Cheating is a choice, not a mistake. I broke up with him there and then. He said nothing, not even an apology. The only thing he said to me was, “I thought about you the whole time.” I thought I was going to throw up. I phoned my mum to pick me up; she didn’t ask why, she knew already. I had no one.

Bring it back 

Summer was soon coming to an end.

Feeling down, I was just scrolling through my phone as bored as someone waiting for an Ipswich bus to turn up, wondering whether it actually will or whether they’re just wasting their time. Surfing through all the types of social media: Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram etc. I receive a random snapchat from him. Him, with the gorgeous red beard and sweet-smelling scent. It was only a snapchat sent out to everybody about his car. Disappointing. I replied anyway and asked how he was.

A week later we met up on the 11thSeptember, seven months later than our first outing/date; we went on our first ‘official date’. It was as if nothing had even changed since we last started talking. We were the best of friends again. I had him back. Did he ever really leave?

Breakups hurt, but losing someone who doesn’t respect and appreciate you is a gain, not a loss. Never lose yourself while trying to hold on to someone who doesn’t care about losing you. One sided expectations can mentally destroy you. Don’t change so others will like you, be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

Two years later, and him and I are still together, and we couldn’t be happier. I’ve never been happier. Those feelings that came back never went away.

True love has a habit of coming back.IMG_8208

How we met (part 1)

shoes

About this time 3 years ago I was in Colchester Sixth Form, not really liking many of my subjects, which caused me to: bunk off any lessons I didn’t like; not concentrate in the lessons I actually went to and sleep often in school.

I tried dropping German as I took three other subjects anyway. But no, the college wouldn’t allow me to. So instead, I would bunk some of my lessons to do something more productive with my time. And believe me; I can now definitely say one of the days I did bunk, was certainly productive indeed. I just didn’t know it at the time.

No idea

Break was close to finishing and I was about to set off for German. Everyone had left the Student Pavilion, which was a social room where you can do work or talk, except one person. I had seen this guy around before but had never got the chance to talk to him. We started speaking – we had most of the same friends – and got to know each other a bit better. He was tall, auburn-haired, had electric blue eyes and a gorgeous ginger bushy beard. There was also something about the way he spoke, his voice, I could’ve listened to him talk all day. One thing that I noticed most of all was the rich, enticing essence of him. I can still remember it now. We spoke all week, at the same time when I was supposed to be going to boring German.

I had one problem: I was already in a relationship. The guy I was with was a bit of a dick to put it bluntly. I wasn’t so sure that he was the right one for me; he was too bossy and controlling, but I stayed with him anyway. I liked the idea of being in a relationship more than I liked him. Stupid, right?

Just an Outing

The week after meeting the guy I had grown to adore, he and I spent every free lesson and lunchtime we could together. We would go to the park and sit on the swing together in the pouring rain not having a care in the world talking about our future. ‘How many kids do you want? What do you want to do? Where do you want to go?’ Etc. We would play together like kids on a Sunday morning.

I would never normally even think about getting close to another guy whilst I’m in a relationship. I consider myself to be loyal and trustworthy. There was something that wasn’t right about the relationship I was in. I just couldn’t figure out what; I didn’t trust him. I had a gut feeling that he just wasn’t the right one for me. I knew I would never stay with him for the long run. Don’t marry someone you don’t want your children to be.

Marry someone that brings out the best in you, not the stress in you. When you know they’re the right person, you just know. There’s no easy way explaining it. I would never again get close to someone else whilst in a relationship. I’m happy now, there is no need to.

He asked me if I wanted to go out to the cinema and for a meal with him; he never classified it as a date so that was fine, right?

After a busy day at college, we met up and went to the park whilst we waited for the film. It was Thursday 11thFebruary the day after Deadpool – which we went to see – came out. We were in a world of our own: listening to music; gazing at each other; laughing at everything for no apparent reason, simply just because we could.

Six o’clock came around faster than we expected. The skies were soon nothing at all. It was like a child began to draw on it with a pencil and then erased it in a way that smudged and spread the grey. Meanwhile, the rain streaked down – invisible until it hit the sodden ground. Drenched, we sat at the back of the cinema as barely anyone was even in our screen room, which was odd considering the movie had just come out. It sure didn’t bother us though. We were so hyped up we crawled around behind all the seats trying not to get caught. We giggled like toddlers as if we had been caught doing something naughty. We talked and talked as if we hadn’t spoken for over 100 years. I don’t think we watched even half of the film as we were just too distracted by each other’s company. I never felt so alive when I was with him.

Quick to prepare, wait to cook – meals

Garlic-Chicken

These meals don’t take much effort to make, they just take a bit of time to cook. These are also meals that you need to think about the day before for defrosting purposes. I haven’t followed a recipe for any of these, just be creative:

  1. Garlic, butter chicken – chop as much garlic as you want, personally I have the whole bulb, melt a lot of butter, add some spices or seasoning (it’s good to experiment to see what you like) to the butter, including the garlic. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes then pour the garlic butter sauce over the chicken, I use 2 chicken breasts and that’s more than enough for myself. Cook for another 10 minutes, then turn over and cook for 20 minutes. It’s up to you what you want with it, my go-to is microwave egg fried rice. The sauce from the chicken flavours the rice after serving.
  2. Tacos (a personal favourite) – buy a taco kit, or if you’re feeling brave then by all means make the taco mix by yourself (I have done, I’m moving up in the world). All you need is the kit, and some mince. Cook the mince, add the seasoning mix, put the taco shells in the oven and you’re done. Add your salsa or salad if you like, to your taco shell when serving. Voila.
  3. Chicken fajitas – again, buy a fajita kit or make the seasoning mix yourself (ngl, I use the same seasoning mix I made for both tacos and fajitas). Chop your chicken into chunks or strips, cook until white all the way through, add the seasoning mix, microwave your wraps if you want, I prefer them cold, and then serve, adding your salsa or salad.

I forgot to mention, all these meals go really well with cheese. I don’t like cheese so I sort of forgot about it. Sorry, don’t hate, I get roasted enough by my bf who loves the stuff.

 

Quick and easy meals

Whether you want a quick fix after a long day, or you’re a student a uni and simply cba to cook something fancy, here’s my top things to cook:Spaghetti-Bolognese

  1. PASTA (so cliche) – just boil some water, add pasta, leave for 10 mins, drain the water out, add a pot of sauce, heat, and you’re good to go. If you want to be a bit more adventurous, maybe chop some onion or garlic and add it to the sauce, and stick some garlic bread in the oven for 15 mins.
  2. OMELETTE – depending how much you like to eat depends on how many eggs you use. I use about 5 eggs, whisk them and then chop some ham or chicken, or any other food you have lying around that needs using, add it to the eggs. Season how you like, I generally add a bit of salt and pepper. Now cook, preferably on a non-stick pan.
  3. SPAG BOL – boil water, add spaghetti, cook mince in a different pan, add a sauce with the mince, and serve together. This is only quick if you’ve already defrosted the mince.
  4. Anything pre-cooked from the freezer – burgers, pizza, sausages etc. can all be cooked from frozen and don’t take long to cook.

You can also cheat by using microwave meals when you don’t have to prepare anything, except your belly.

Freshers flu is a myth

This is only my opinion from what I’ve experienced and seen. Out of everybody at uni that I know, only one person got ill with the ‘freshers flu’. Personally I think it was just a coincidence that he got some sort of cold at the same time as starting uni.

If you keep clean, wash your hands regularly and eat properly there’s no chance of getting ‘freshers flu’. If the weather is bad, for example, if you have wet hair and you’re out in the cold for a few hours, then yes, you are more than likely to get ill. But there’s no point in blaming it on the supposed ‘freshers flu‘.

HOWEVER my uni halls are generally quite clean as they’re cleaned for us students daily, and I share a shower with only three other people. I believe other uni’s are quite different so germs are more likely to spread. So it is quite likely for ‘freshers flu’ to exist. Just not at my uni. As far as I’m aware.