I ended up at school, riding a skateboard shakily while gripping Keith’s arm for balance. And then watching him fade away with a wistful sigh until the bell rang, lifting me from the trance, waking up to the reality of miserable torture.

Bodies swarmed towards the main doors and I was pushed in all directions, everyone struggling to reach their locker and get to class.

As I drifted through the hallways, my head was in the clouds until I bumped into my mortal enemy, Francesca. Her cherry-red locks whipped the air as she turned to face me, her steel-grey eyes glaring, lashes heavy with mascara so that it looked like she had stuck spider’s legs on her eyelids.

“Watch it, bi – Lavinia!” Her scowl morphed into a fake smile as Ms Lynch passed by with a curt, “Good morning.”

When she was gone, Francesca dug her French manicured nails into my wrist and hissed, “You still owe me.”

“Whatever,” I sighed, walking past and ignoring her calls to come back at once, bitch!

You see, I owed Francesca ever since I sabotaged her cheer-leading rehearsals before a big game and made everyone topple over just by accidentally stepping on one of the girls’ hands at the bottom row of the pyramid as I was passing by. Fran was at the top, and as the girl cradled her hand, the whole pyramid collapsed like a house of cards, and Fran sprained her ankle badly, leaving her unable to attend the finals. Now, because her ankle was healed, she was seeking revenge.

I felt a yank on my ponytail and whirled around to find Ollie grinning impishly at me.

“When will you ever leave me alone?” I groaned.

“When you admit you have a crush on me,” Ollie replied slyly.

“Ugh! I do NOT have a crush on you! No sane human being would have a crush on YOU!” I replied indignantly.

“But you are insane!” Ollie cried, then added hastily when he saw my expression, “– ly hot!

And that was how I was late for class. Ollie wasn’t worth it, but I still chased him all over the school until I caught him by the collar and dumped him into the nearest bin.

“That’s where people like YOU belong!” I spat at him as his legs wiggled in the air. “In the garbage!”

I stormed away feeling triumphant and a couple of guys passing by applauded. I wasn’t the school bully or anything - I just did what I had to do, and Ollie had it coming since that time he stuffed worms down my shirt in kindergarten.

The corridors were empty as I shoved my bag into my locker and got out my books. The bell had rung five minutes ago. AND I had grumpy old Ms Lynch first thing. Ugh.

Thank goodness I wasn’t the only late one – right on cue, Sally Anne swaggered over with her bag hanging off one shoulder and dragging her weight down to her right side. A black beret sat elegantly over a mass of tight braids with jangling blue, yellow and white beads threaded onto them. As usual, she had customized her uniform even more, if that was possible, with intricate floral patterns sewn along the hem of her micro-mini skirt. Her wrists were jingling with bracelets and huge hoops hung from her earlobes. Meet my best French female friend forever.

“Bonjour,” Sally Anne greeted me with a swift wave of her neon-pink tipped fingers.

“We’re très, très late,” I told her.

“So?” Sally Anne said.

“Exactly,” I grinned. “Maybe we should just skip school.”

“Non, mademoiselle. My parents would kill me,” Sally Anne pouted.

“They don’t have to know,” I nudged her with a sly grin.

“I like the way you think, mon ami,” Sally Anne smiled.

“Me too,” I said. “Come on, I’ll go get my bag and we’ll sneak out the gates.”

Ten minutes later, we sat in a coffee shop, sharing an iPod and a cappuccino, singing along to the sweet voice of Taylor Swift, loud enough to scare away customers.

I was about to tell her about Keith, but I decided she better not know, just in case she tries to steal him away. Keith was my own little secret; proof that my dreams have finally come true.

🌺🌸🌻

The sky was a deep velvety peacock blue, streaked with leaden grey clouds. The fairy lights sparkled in the dark and it felt like magic as I weaved through the trees, birds settling in their nests above and crickets humming the tune of my heart.

I sniffed the air and caught the sweet scent of jasmine flowers. My bare feet brushed on soft carpets of moss and my thin, wispy white dress floated around my body like a cloud. I didn’t know where I was going, but I felt like I had a purpose; like I had to be somewhere important.

And then I saw him, waiting by the waterfall gently gurgling over an array of rocks, the moonlight illuminating the majestic pearl-white stallion he was stroking. When his eyes connected with mine, my breath halted in my throat. Keith.

His dark curls shone navy in the dim light and his eyes glittered. He was dressed in a ruffled white shirt, black trousers and leather boots. When I reached him, he held out a hand and I took it, a crackle of electricity sparking between us.

My heart did a million somersaults as he moved my hand to stroke the pale mane of the stallion and it whinnied softly at my touch. I pressed my cheek into its silky hair, smoothing out the tangles with my fingers and breathing the warm treacly scent of hay.

Keith took my hand again and guided me towards the stream, where I dipped my toes into the icy flow, creating tiny ripples on the glossy surface. Keith led me away to the woods, the stallion in close pursuit, its hooves crunching on the bed of leaves.

It all felt like a dream as a mist formed around our knees and swirled spookily around the trees. Keith plucked a full red rose from a bush and weaved it into my hair, then twirled me around, the foggy moonlit world spinning.

We danced to the song of the cicadas as the grand white horse neighed quietly in the background. We danced until I could no longer hear the cicadas or the horse’s grunting, but only hear the sound of our hearts beating.

🌺🌸🌻

I rose from my bed, my heart echoing in my head and the scent of jasmine lingering in my nostrils. Was it really all a dream? I could still hear the cicadas, but that was because my window was open, the thin white curtains floating inwards like ghosts, or like the dress I wore in the dream…

I felt something fall out of my hair and blindly felt around my sheets until my fingers came across a single red rose petal. My heart skipped a beat.

Was it really just a dream after all?