Luisa had a busy week in both Cataindar and at her Grandmother’s. Her training continued with Finn and the abbot and all her practice above ground was beginning to pay off in Cataindar.

She was brought to her first proper Cataindar trafod, an all-day meeting in which the leaders of the guildens drunk a lot of moss-tea, nibbled bitter knott-root biscuits and argued about a myriad of small issues that governed the practical running of Cataindar. 

Her grandmother had taken her to the Ruthin’s medieval town centre to be measured for her new school uniform.  The small Welsh woman doing the measuring purred at Luisa. She smiled, showing a mouth full of criss-crossed yellow teeth, while tightly wrapping a measuring tape around Luisa’s waist.

“Ah, always a pleasure measuring for Ruthin.” She rolled her r’s in the true Welsh way, “Such a fine school, a great institution.”

Luisa saw the cost of the uniform on the till, and guessed there could be another reason for the lady’s pleasure. 

In the taxi back with her Grandmother Luisa suddenly realised that tomorrow she was supposed to be meeting with Matthew.  Even though it was somewhat bizarre, she was kind of looking forward to it, maybe even a little nervous?  She had always got on with Matthew, but she didn’t really know him that well.  She thought about it; Matthew was a link to her normal life.  Yes, she was. It would be cool to chat to someone else from White Manor with everything that was going on.   

*  *  *

Matthew had just woken. It was 4:45am in Salisbury, and he had slept lightly waking up almost hourly in expectation. It was still dark with the first poke of dawn on the horizon.  Matthew shouldered his pack and left the house. The door closed with such a discreet and conspiring snap that he felt a sudden surge of genuine gratitude towards his aunt for possessing a home with such well-oiled locks.

He walked the distance to the train station briskly and in a wonderful mood.  He inhaled the rich bouquet of country air and looked out at the undulating landscape and reflected; there was a certain magic to the countryside in the early morning. He past fields alive with birdsong and the mooing of gentle cows.  Matthew boarded the train to Wales with a rush of excitement.

He changed at Newport and then alighted once again at Ruabon. At Ruabon Matthew waited at his platform, awoke from a daydream by a loud traditional train whistle in the distance. The steam train to Llangollen proudly chuffed its way into the station pumping out great plumes of white smoke while arriving at its own leisurely pace.  Matthew was immensely impressed with this Victorian wonder and took some boyish delight in manually pulling the chrome handle to open his carriage door.  A lady soon came, not to check tickets but to hand out complimentary tea and scones to the passengers.

Wow. The difference of being in Wales!

Matthew sipped his tea while watching the Welsh hills roll past as the train dutifully chugged along with the occasional scream of its whistle, until in the distance the town of Llagollen approached.  

Llagollen was a beautiful medieval town with buildings and spires carved from ancient Welsh stone.  The train followed the side of a large rushing river, and pulled into Llagollen station that sat under a grand arched stone bridge.

Matthew hopped off the train and began taking in the town, it possessed an old world charm only found tucked away in the best villages of the British countryside.  Whereas White Manor had only a large Tescos that everyone could go to for everything, this village still had a grocers, a bakers and other family-owned shops that had stood in the same place for centuries. Following his map he made his way to Llagollen hostel and despite the strange look from the receptionist he managed to successfully book himself a room. 

*  *  *

Luisa, began the walk to Llagollen, she was wearing some of the more fashionable London wear she had bought on a trip to Hounslow with Stacey. She was wearing skinny jeans, her un-worn converse and a cool graphic t-shirt. Putting them on had given her a tweak of remorse, she would be missing out on everything at home.

She eventually arrived in the town and walked down to the station and saw Matthew waiting in the distance.  All of a sudden Luisa felt incredibly shy. What the hell was she going to talk to him about?  She immediately felt ridiculous for thinking she could say anything to Matthew.  She didn’t even know him that well!  Despite this, she continued moving forward and walked down the stairs to the ancient station platform. Matthew hadn’t seen her yet.  As Luisa approached she saw he seemed to be talking to himself.  Luisa suppressed a smile. He was definitely different to other boys at White Manor.

*  *  *

Matthew was waiting at the station with his heart absolutely hammering in his chest.  What the hell was he doing?

Jesus-flipping-Christ Matthew get a grip!  You’ve got here, don’t mess it up now!

He had planned four conversations so at least he had something to talk to Luisa about.  He quickly took his conversation notes out of his pocket for a brief review and repeated the lines to himself.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luisa descend the steps.  He quickly slid the paper in his pocket and turned to see her.

He watched as she gracefully bounced down the steps, a gentle breeze teased a strand of Luisa’s chestnut hair across her face which she carefully tucked behind her ear.  She was wearing fashionable clothes, and Matthew inwardly groaned at his own very standard dress.  She looked incredible, even more healthy than he remembered, her blue eyes positively shining from her summer tan, she just looked so grown up not in school uniform. He couldn’t believe this was happening; she was actually here! The best of all was her smile, as her lips lifted, he felt like heart was dancing in his chest, she was smiling. Smiling at him. He couldn’t help but beam back.

“Hi Luisa.”

“Hi,” she said, and they hugged awkwardly.

Frikking heck!

Matthew was completely overrun with feelings to say anything at all, one part blind happiness and three parts pure terror. He could feel his face go red.

No Matthew, come on!

For the next few moments he had forgotten absolutely everything that he had so painstakingly planned and just tightly gripped the collection of notes in his pocket, hoping that by some kind of osmosis the ideas written upon them would return to his mind.

“So… umm,” Luisa was looking at him quizzically, raising an eyebrow,

Oh my god that’s so cool she can raise one eyebrow

“What do you want to do Matthew?” Luisa said, still smiling a little.

Matthew recovered himself enough to put together a rational sentence.

“Oh I passed quite a nice café up there, do you want to get a milkshake or something?”

She nodded smiling back at him,

“Sure.”

Me and Luisa Wynn are going for a frikking milkshake. This is the best.

They walked over the bridge to the small café. Matthew, was quiet trying to calm his heart but it was like a little boy on a bouncy castle had taken control of that organ and was running to each side throwing himself into the wall.

 The waitress sat them down by the window, giving them a beautiful view of the rushing river.

 Their milkshakes arrived and Luisa turned the thick chocolate with a straw.  Matthew did the same and felt his nerves calm a little.

“So how has your summer been Matthew?”

“Urgh, it’s been pretty rubbish, I’ve been trapped in my aunt’s house in Somerset, the grown ups just waste all their time drinking wine and playing scrabble.  She has a really annoying friend that my dad seems to think is hilarious.  I’ve been so bored I actually made, like, an improved version of monopoly, where you can hire gangs to burn down other player’s hotels and…. anyway, I explained it to everyone and no one would even play.”

Luisa let out a chuckle, “That game sounds pretty cool, Matthew-Monopoly?”

Matthew smiled too looking down into his milkshake.

This is so awesome.

“So yeah, I have been really bored!”

“I’ve been literally trapped in my grandmother’s too, she is absolutely mental. In a mean way. I think she may actually been a witch in a past life, then just come back as a big dick in this one.”

Matthew inhaled some his milkshake and they laughed together.

They finished their milkshakes and explored the town, looking in window displays before entering a new-age shop of magic.  Matthew took a look at a large statue on the shop floor, it was a tall statue of a naked woman with a dragon curled round her feet.  The price tag around it hung £199. 

“I think I might get this for my Dad,” he said in mock-seriousness. 

Luisa whispered, “Oh my god no Matthew it’s horrible!”

“Horrible? Luisa this is a fine, fine piece of art. Or I could maybe submit it as my summer art project for Mrs. Hansen.  Just say that I did it.”

Luisa was laughing hard and, feeling a little more emboldened, Matthew continued.

“I could actually say we did it together, maybe that would be more believable, she knows I’m horrible at drawing.  You are good at Art, she might give us a ‘C’ each.”

“Matthew I’m rubbish at Art - you don’t know, you aren’t even in my art class!”

Matthew stopped laughing and looked at Luisa quite seriously.

 “No, you are really good actually, I’ve seen one of your paintings displayed on the front stairs, by English, the unicorn.  You are amazing at drawing, I wish I could draw like that Luisa.”

“How did you even know that was mine?”

Matthew could feel himself blush and suddenly became very interested in the texture of the price tag. “I um, you just have a very, unique style, my parents are journalists, I know this kind of stuff…”

He was interrupted by the shopkeeper. “Oi you lot, if ya aren’t buying, then move along will yeh! I’m not running a bloody museum here!’

*  *  *

Luisa and Matthew exited the shop laughing and Luisa, feeling a sudden flood of courage took Matthew’s arm, just like she had seen Stacey do.  Matthew held it awkwardly for a moment but then relaxed, and they continued to walk and talk with their arms linked. 

She wanted to know more about this mysterious Matthew. She asked him about his parents and he stiffened a little, but explained in a very precise way. He told Luisa about their divorce.  How his Mum now spent her times on a Yacht in the Caribbean, with the owner of the newspaper that both his parents used to both work for, how she didn’t even really call him anymore. His dad was just starting to be able to write articles again after becoming an emotional train-wreck after the split. They had to downsize houses, twice, and he had to obviously leave Tiffin’s private school and go to White Manor.

He took a big sigh, “And that is it, the life-and-times of Matthew Tomlinson.”

They sat on the bench in front of the gushing River Dee.  The water looked beautiful, churning and gurgling over the large boulders in its way, reflecting the late-afternoon light.

“Are your parents together Luisa?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t actually know my dad, my mum just kind of, never told me who he was, she doesn’t really talk about it.” Luisa sighed. Thinking of her mum brought back the feeling of a hand squeezing her gut.

The next words just came out by themselves.

“My mum’s actually really ill.”

“What?” Matthew turned to her, “What do you mean?”

Once Luisa started talking about her mum she just couldn’t stop and everything came out, about her mum in hospital, why she was in Wales and then about Ruthin School, horrible Tess and ‘initiation’, as she talked Luisa realised that she was supposed to be starting there in just a few days.  She tried to continue, but these thorny thoughts slithered from her head and wound round at her heart.  She suddenly couldn’t talk and bowed her head and bit her lip, hard.

Oh come on Luisa please don’t flipping cry.

 A tear fell from her eye.

Shit.    

She felt Matthew very cautiously extend his arm around her, like he was half expecting her to throw him off.  But she didn’t, and she lent into him a little and his warm arm pulled her close.

“Listen,” Matthew said into her hair. “Don’t worry about Ruthin.  I can tell you right now, you are not going to that school.

“Why?” Luisa croaked.

“I’m going to burn it down.  I am actually going to buy twenty cans of petrol, and burn the whole thing down, tomorrow. A thousand years of bollocks up in smoke. That should do the trick.”

Luisa snorted a laugh into Matthews shoulder and pulled back with a tear-streaked smile.

“Matthew that is actually really sweet.  But then you would go to prison, and I quite like having you around.”

She looked at Matthew, at his small smile.  His face was full of caring, his shining haze eyes searched Luisa’s own.  She had never really had someone her own age notice her like this before. She looked at his small, kind mouth and she could hear his breathing become unsteady, quickening. She saw his eyes flick down to her mouth too.  Luisa suddenly realised how terrible she must look.

“God, she said, wiping her face on her sleeve. God Matthew, I’m sorry, you must think I am a mess.  I really am, my life is pretty bloody messed up right now.” She said with a pitiful shaky laugh.

“I don’t think you are a mess Luisa.  I really don’t.  You are in a tough spot at the minute, but you are definitely not a mess.  You are pretty cool. Way cooler than me.”

 Luisa smile was cut off by ring of the town’s church bells their loud ding-dong reminding Luisa of another inconvenience.

“Oh crap, Matthew I have to start heading back now or my gran will go mental.”

“Oh, can I walk you back?”

 Luisa bit her lip. It was a long walk back to the house, she was about to refuse almost automatically but she caught herself, a small part inside told her very clearly that she really wanted to accept.

“It’s a bit far...”

“That’s OK, I would love a walk in the country.”

Luisa smiled “OK… Thanks Matthew, if you are sure, yeah - that would be really nice.”

They strolled along old country paths heading back to Luisa’s grandmother’s house.  They passed though ancient ruins lit by the setting summer sun, miniature woodlands, following a track carved from a thousand years of footsteps, footsteps that once walked this route to a famous abbey in times long forgotten.

Matthew was absolutely loving the walk and wanted to look and explore every side path and ancient ruin, but they didn’t have time.  As they walked they joked about people from school and walking so closely to one another their arms kept bumping together until Luisa linked with Matthew’s arm once again. 

As they began to near the hill to the house Luisa grew quiet.  With each step, Luisa began to feel a small ball of dread build inside of her. She didn’t want Matthew to go.  She let her arm drop a little and Matthew did the same, as their arms lowered, inch by inch their hands gently fell together, and Luisa felt Matthew’s fingers interlock with hers and they walked silently, holding hands up the hill to the house.

--

Well if you have seen a little different part of T. E. J. Johnson today! :-)

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I'm updating from the When Words Collide writer's conference in Calgary, Alberta. I just met wattpad star LDCrichton - pretty sweet! 

Have a great weekend my friends.