this weekend? My heart literally leaped into my mouth when, one Wednesday afternoon at the Rollers' Cafe, he mentioned that he wanted to experience 'the wild side of life' by setting up camp at the local forest on Saturday, only a few miles away from where I lived.
"I hear that you've camped several times before," Joel said, running his long, gangly hands through his light blonde hair, "so I was wondering whether you'd like to go with me?"
Midway through a sip of super-hot coffee, I almost choked and it took me several seconds before I replied, "Sure, of course I'd love to go," in my coolest voice, "though I must admit that I haven't camped for a while."
Joel raised his eyebrows, a perfect half-smile playing on his mocking lips. "OK, how long ago?"
"Um," I mumbled, racking my brains for a reasonable answer, "not since I was around eleven. And only ever in my back garden; those squirrels which used to lurk on the outskirts of the forest, let's say, never really liked me."
As I finished speaking and was responded to by a stony silence, I feared that I'd well and truly destroyed any possibilities of ever being given an opportunity like this again. My large, chatterbox mouth seemed to have got in the way of my pursuing a chance of hanging out with my crush and I wished that the ground would swallow me up. At least nobody would hear my cries.
Then Joel, famed for his cool, laidback attitude at school, did the greatest thing my eyes ever witnessed: he sat back and laughed for what felt like a hundred years until my tense body relaxed and joined in with him.
Tears of joy almost threatened to fall down my ecstatic face, but before I got the chance, Joel leaned over the table and whispered in my ear, "You, Sadie Thompson, are truly one of a kind."
That was it. My world, with all of its imperfections and flaws, was set alight by those words and I was untouchable. Light overcame darkness and created a whole new meaning of life for me; as far as I knew, my wings had grown and I was flying across the sky without a care in the world.
But that never really happened, yet it created a memory of happiness that would never be erased from my lightning-struck mind.
As I steadily came back to Earth with a bump, I utterly didn't know what to say - nothing popped into my head at all. Taking a deep breath, I breathlessly replied, "You too," with what I hoped was my hottest smile.
*******
Somewhere far, far away, I heard the faint voice of somebody familiar shouting a name. "Sadie! Sadie! Sadie!" Oh, that was mine.
Their voice was becoming louder and more panic-stricken each time they yelled my name, which became a song in my head. Sadie, Sadie, Where are you? Sadie, Sadie, Can you hear me?
This clearly was a headache that I wouldn't be recovering from just yet.
Just as I was imagining a guitar solo and the thumping beat of drums playing along with the rather catchy lyrics, a strong, blinding light was thrust in front of my closed eyes. I squirmed, quietly moaning about the light being turned off, and after the light was taken away, I found the courage to open my eyes.
Where the hell am I? Everything, apart from the now far away light, was pitch black and I couldn't make out a single figure or shadow. So much for carrots giving me 'super-sight', as Mum once coined it.
"She's awake!" A voice exclaimed, clearly relieved. Cassie? I thought my little sister was away on a weekend-long sleepover with her friends...
As I tried to get up, my head ached worse than ever, like I was experiencing my very first hangover. Wait, did I raid Dad's wine cabinet - somehow succeeding in opening the sturdy lock - and end up lying in darkness? Confusion was overwhelming me a little too much.
The air surrounding me smelt like old trees, mixed with the scent of fresh flowers further away. Then, with a pang of shock, I suddenly remembered where I was. The forest.
A lump formed
"I hear that you've camped several times before," Joel said, running his long, gangly hands through his light blonde hair, "so I was wondering whether you'd like to go with me?"
Midway through a sip of super-hot coffee, I almost choked and it took me several seconds before I replied, "Sure, of course I'd love to go," in my coolest voice, "though I must admit that I haven't camped for a while."
Joel raised his eyebrows, a perfect half-smile playing on his mocking lips. "OK, how long ago?"
"Um," I mumbled, racking my brains for a reasonable answer, "not since I was around eleven. And only ever in my back garden; those squirrels which used to lurk on the outskirts of the forest, let's say, never really liked me."
As I finished speaking and was responded to by a stony silence, I feared that I'd well and truly destroyed any possibilities of ever being given an opportunity like this again. My large, chatterbox mouth seemed to have got in the way of my pursuing a chance of hanging out with my crush and I wished that the ground would swallow me up. At least nobody would hear my cries.
Then Joel, famed for his cool, laidback attitude at school, did the greatest thing my eyes ever witnessed: he sat back and laughed for what felt like a hundred years until my tense body relaxed and joined in with him.
Tears of joy almost threatened to fall down my ecstatic face, but before I got the chance, Joel leaned over the table and whispered in my ear, "You, Sadie Thompson, are truly one of a kind."
That was it. My world, with all of its imperfections and flaws, was set alight by those words and I was untouchable. Light overcame darkness and created a whole new meaning of life for me; as far as I knew, my wings had grown and I was flying across the sky without a care in the world.
But that never really happened, yet it created a memory of happiness that would never be erased from my lightning-struck mind.
As I steadily came back to Earth with a bump, I utterly didn't know what to say - nothing popped into my head at all. Taking a deep breath, I breathlessly replied, "You too," with what I hoped was my hottest smile.
*******
Somewhere far, far away, I heard the faint voice of somebody familiar shouting a name. "Sadie! Sadie! Sadie!" Oh, that was mine.
Their voice was becoming louder and more panic-stricken each time they yelled my name, which became a song in my head. Sadie, Sadie, Where are you? Sadie, Sadie, Can you hear me?
This clearly was a headache that I wouldn't be recovering from just yet.
Just as I was imagining a guitar solo and the thumping beat of drums playing along with the rather catchy lyrics, a strong, blinding light was thrust in front of my closed eyes. I squirmed, quietly moaning about the light being turned off, and after the light was taken away, I found the courage to open my eyes.
Where the hell am I? Everything, apart from the now far away light, was pitch black and I couldn't make out a single figure or shadow. So much for carrots giving me 'super-sight', as Mum once coined it.
"She's awake!" A voice exclaimed, clearly relieved. Cassie? I thought my little sister was away on a weekend-long sleepover with her friends...
As I tried to get up, my head ached worse than ever, like I was experiencing my very first hangover. Wait, did I raid Dad's wine cabinet - somehow succeeding in opening the sturdy lock - and end up lying in darkness? Confusion was overwhelming me a little too much.
The air surrounding me smelt like old trees, mixed with the scent of fresh flowers further away. Then, with a pang of shock, I suddenly remembered where I was. The forest.
A lump formed
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