Chapter the First

I never understood what love is. Is it something that must be found or made? Something that gives or takes? Is love all it’s cracked up to be, or is it the very pinnacle of human emotion?

My mother fell in love. A young frenchman by the name of Jean Louis Andreu. Tall, fair-headed, and very handsome.

They had met in college of their first year. Mother said she knew he was the one the moment she laid eyes upon that striking, blue eyed man. They were both majors in finance and commerce with a shared penchant of fine dining and late evening strolls at the town park. They were young and very much in love. Three years later they married, and two years later came myself. 

6 pounds and 5 ounces with blue eyes and blond hair, just like my father. I grew up in a rather large white house with charcoal roof tiles and a room to my own. I was an only child and received the lavish attentions of two very successful business executives and all the dolls and play sets I desired.

It was a quaint life in the suburbs of Versailles, of the region Île-de-France, where I was surrounded by historical buildings of which my parents took me to and the many friendly tourists during the summer who fawned over my baby-doll looks and sky blue eyes.

Up until the summer of my seventh year.

It was a cold winter that year and the flu epidemic was severe. Every house, cottage, apartment and building racked with sore coughs and rending headaches. As the pandemic toned down, the three-person family of the white, smoky roofed house heaved a great sigh of relief as the flu passed over them. We were the lucky ones. Or so we had thought.

Not long after its steady decline, my father was struck with the full force of the flu, as if it was trying to make one last hurrah before it faded into oblivion. Seven days later he acquired pneumonia, and seven days later he died.

Seven was obviously not lucky for me. In fact, I hate that number because it reminds me of father’s strangled coughs and ashen, bloodless skin as he tried so desperately to overcome the infection which tore up his body through his lungs.

No one, not even the doctors understood how it happened. He was a healthy man who just recently entered his early thirties; there was no outlying reason why he was the one who got sick, and why he suffered because of it. I’m only glad that it was short.

Mother eventually couldn’t take being in a place filled with the happy memories of a once three-person family. It was only the two of us now. Since she didn’t want to leave her homeland, we went to a far flung town just twenty-four miles offshore. And all the while I thought it was a cruel, cruel world I lived in. 

The town was called Chérie Amire.

What a fitting name I now think.

~It’s A Beautiful Day~

“Mother! I’m leaving now!” I hollered up the stairs.

“Oh wait, honey; I’m coming!” she frantically returned, bounding down the biscuit coloured carpeted steps to the front door.

I waited on the dark violet and magenta flowered welcome mat as she trotted over to me and gave me a hug and kiss goodbye.

“Now don’t forget your enrollment form and I.D.!” she chimed, handing them over to me with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. She acted like a young exuberant child. It was strange to think she had once been quite the opposite.

“I’ll be going now, then!” I said with a wave as I exited through the mahogany door.

“Bye, sweetie!” I heard her call after me.

I waved back once again. And soon, her waving figure disappeared out of my sight.

~

“How surprising,” he commented, looking at the papers in his hands.

My eyebrows furrowed in a display of confusion.

“What do you mean Laurence?” I asked as he sorted through the documents.

“Ah, nothing bad,” he smiled, “It’s just most new students forget their enrollment form and I.D.”

My eyebrows did a complete opposite of before and sky-rocketed upwards as I responded, “Really? How come?”

He shrugged it off and nonchalantly replied, “I don’t know why. They just always seem to do. Although, you wouldn’t happen to have the $25 as well now would you?”

His right brow lifted teasingly. I grinned and exaggeratedly handed him the money with great flourish as he did in return chuckling.

“You’re a nice one,” he said still laughing a bit.

The heat soared in my cheeks as I responded quietly, “Thank you.”

“Well,” he said, leaning back in his indigo clothed office chair, “I hope you enjoy your time at Chérie Amire, Mirabelle.”

I mumbled another utterance of thanks and left the Student Council Room feeling very much flustered and excited.

Before class started, I thought I would take a jaunt around the school and get used to the new hallways, rooms, and perhaps even some students. Before long, I found myself in the courtyard, quite at a loss for which section of the building I was located in. The centre I presumed.

“Um, excuse me, could you-” I started to ask a passing student who just walked right on by without even a glance my way.

Well! Pardon me, the new student, for merely asking for directions! I thought to myself.

I tried asking two more students, but they did the very same as the first.

Extremely vexed, I cried out in frustration, “Is everybody rude in this school?!”

Not actually expecting anyone to answer me I was surprised when a gruff voice rang out in response.

“You sure did look pretty ridiculous trying to get people to speak to you,” said a red-haired boy leaning under an ash tree.

“Excuse me?” I sputtered in complete disbelief at the sheer impertinence of the students of this school. Well, except for Laurence, but he’s the Student Body President.

He continued to speak, having the gall to say, “You heard me.”

Flabbergasted, I retorted back, “Of course I heard you! Just how dim-witted are you?”

Piqued, he clenched his teeth and hands. 

I was slightly worried about staying since he did look like some sort of rebel motorcycle dude, but I decided to stand my ground anyway.

His fists soon slacken and he relaxed to give me what was probably a charming smirk.

I wrinkled my nose vaguely at his self-professed superiority. What a guy.

“Seems like dollie has a backbone. And who might you be?”

I sneered at him and replied, “Oh, and wouldn’t you like to know.”

He sighed and opened his arms in defeat.

After a second he surrendered, and I rewarded him with my name.

“Mirabelle. Mirabelle Claire Andreu.”

~It’s A Beautiful Day~

-End of Part One of Chapter The First-

~It’s A Beautiful Day~

Kade.

He was thickheaded, volatile and obstinate.

As much as I tried to avoid him despite him being the first person other than Laurence to speak to me, my encounters with that sarcastic idiot were far too many to be considered coincidence. And so, I denoted him a stalker as well.

Oh, and look at that, he’s just on time.

“Mira,” he started to say as he walked towards me.

“I’ve told you a million times to not call me that, Kade!” I chastised before heading the opposite direction.

“Why not? I already hear Isabel and Angeline calling you Mira, and you’ve just met them too,” he dissented.

“Ah, but you see, they’re actually nice to me,” I retorted.

It seems that I’m always edgy around this guy. Play nice, Mira. You just came here, no need to make enemies.

“Is that so? I don’t see you being nice to me either,” he replied with a conclusive air.

Forget it. You don’t play nice with this guy.

“Why should I be nice to someone whose first words to me were ‘you sure did look ridiculous,’ instead of a simple ‘hello!’” I mimicked and threw my hands up in exasperation before walking away.

“...Pretty.”

I spun on my heel, my cheeks daring to redden in front of this intransigent guy.

“Excuse me?”

“Pretty. I said ‘pretty ridiculous,’” he clarified.

My eyes hardened as my hand slowly balled into a fist.This..! This guy!

My body seemed to act on its own as I crossed the space between us with three strides and propelled my whitened knuckles at him. Then, suddenly remembering who I was, and where I was, my enclosed palm skidded to a halt an inch from his face.

I blinked.

I surprised myself with that. Was I really that mad? Was he even worth it?

Still self-stupefied I stood staring blankly at Kade. He gazed right back, seeming to process what just happened as his face shifted from shock to anger to... admiration?

He lifted his hand up slowly from his side and enveloped my loose fist, bringing it down from his face. Instantaneously, the closeness of our bodies came into realization, and I jolted away from him, my hand being yanked from him in the process.

“I- Uh...” I mumbled and cast my eyes away from his unfaltering gaze.

I groped for words while my hands were clasped at my chest’s center as if in an attempt to make myself insignificant from him. ‘Oh, don’t mind me. The girl who nearly punched you and is now trembling in front of you,’ they seemed to say.

He took a step towards me, those misty gray black streaked orbs still pinpointed on me. I jerked back a step.

“I- Uh...” I repeated. Then, inwardly face palming myself, I fled.

~It’s A Beautiful Day~

“You did what?” asked Isabel incredulous.

“You ran away from him after almost socking him? Oh! That’s so-” She burst into a fit of unrefined giggles.

“Just laugh. You don’t have to restrain them,” I murmured dejectedly, waving her admittance.

The virescent eyed ginger ruptured into unbridled laughter. If it hadn’t been about me and my escapade I would’ve thought she had a nice laugh, especially after her curbed chortles.

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry. I still shouldn’t, but I can just imagine the look on his face as your fist came flying at him,” she chuckled.

“Heh,” I croaked.

And the worse part was that it occurred yesterday, and I had been avoiding him since. I couldn’t hide forever and on account of something as trivial as that.

“But you know,” she said, now calm, “you can’t avoid him forever, Mira.”

I just literally said that in my head.

“Why don’t you go talk to him? He’s standing right over there behind you,” she pointed.

“Wha-!” I spun around, and low and behold, there he was.

I turned to leave in the opposite direction, but I found him unexpectedly blocking my way.

“Wha? How’d you..?” I sputtered, my mouth gaping like a fish.

“Explain yesterday, Mirabelle,” he concretely queried.

“I-” I started. He said ‘Mirabelle’.

I exhaled defeatedly and answered him.

“So you’re just a little upset, is that it?”

I replied in the affirmative. I wasn’t just about to tell him that I had thought he was saying I was pretty.

Taking it in, he gave a small nod to himself and grasped my hand.

“What’re you-”

He swiftly dragged me away. I endeavoured to wrench myself free.

“Hey! I’m asking you-” I stopped midway. There’s no point in trying to struggle or complain. He’s in determination mode.

We stopped underneath an ash tree. It’s the same one from as before when I first encountered him. He lets go of my wrist and faces me. I take that opportunity to slap him across his cheek. Not hard, just to let him know my annoyance.

“That’s for dragging me halfway across the school,” I said, putting my hands on my hips for extra effect.

He opened his mouth slightly in surprise but then closed it and continued to stare at me. I raised my eyebrow in wait of his comeback.

“I like you.”

Didn’t see that coming.

The heat rose up exponentially in my face as I considered his words. Did he? Does he? Mean that?

He must be joking, but as I took in his serious though faintly blushing countenance, I knew it wasn’t a jest.

I stood there still dumbfounded as his arms snaked around my waist through my collapsed arms at my side.

“Hey! You-” I started embarrassedly when I abruptly came into close contact with his face.

He was close. Too close. I could see every dark line amongst the perpetual gray that lured every fiber of my being in.

I brought my hands up against his chest to push him away. Bad decision. My palms felt toned muscle beneath his cerise printed shirt. As I lifted them back up he pulled me closer to him and my fingers jammed into his abs.

No. Please don’t say you have a six-pack.

I didn’t find out as softly rough lips pressed against my jaw, startlingly close to my own. I froze, utterly entranced by the rich feel of them against my skin.

He drew back with his arms out straight holding me two feet in front of him.

“Friday. After school. Let me show you around town, Mirabelle,” he said quietly, gently.

My head bobbed in reply. He smiled kindly and let me go.

“I’ll see you then,” he said and left.

I stood transfixed to the spot.

A zephyr flitted through my sun struck locks as dangling, softly ridged leaves quivered above me, tipping lightly their deep chartreuse selves upon my head. A bird twittered nearby as the sighing of the ash induced dappled shadows that undulated across the malachite grass. A fleeting gust suddenly flustered my hair aloft, stirring myself from my daze.

“Wait, WHAT?!!”

~It’s A Beautiful Day~

-End of Chapter The First-