22nd

"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment, where is it to be found?" - J.B. Priestly

There is no feeling that truly compares with the mixture of child-like excitement and fascination that blooms in your chest as you open the curtains in the morning to see everything covered by a thick blanket of snow. It’s especially thrilling since I’m still getting accustomed to the icy winters in England, and this is only my second experience of snow in real life.

        I explain this down the phone to Immy as I gulp down bitter instant coffee and scoff a bowl of cereal.

        “Wait, so have you ever seen snow before? Do you even recognise it? Or is it like, hey why is the world suddenly white?” she asks.

        Laughing, I reply, “Imogen, you do know that they have TVs and computers and stuff in Australia, too?”

        “Whatever, smart-ass,” mutters Immy. “Have you ever seen it in real life?”

        “Once,” I explain. “We were here in February last year, visiting family, and there was this sudden blizzard. Our flight home was delayed by, like, a week.”

        The conversation continues for a further few minutes, during which we finalise our plans to make the most of the snow day that’s cancelled school and meet up; until I eventually have to hang up and get dressed.

        “Oh, don’t forget to bring James along too!” I exclaim, before clicking off and ending the call. I’m not entirely sure whether geeky, introverted James will want to come out with us, he may well have other plans - although with his small selection of friends, it seems unlikely. It occurs to me that Imogen, who has always held the idea that popularity is the be-all and end-all of everything, doesn’t actually seem that bothered by the fact she’s going out with someone who would find it pretty impossible to fall any lower on the social scale. I smile a little.

My skills of speed dressing come in handy once again this morning, fuelled by an eagerness to get out into the snow. As I pull a hoody over a thermal top, I hear my older brother’s voice. Jay is leaning agains the doorframe, a lazy grin playing on his expression.

        “Bring James where?” he enquires.

        “Dunno, exactly.” My reply is slightly muffled by Imogen’s scarf round my neck and over my mouth. “Immy said she knows some place great for sledding.”

        At this, Jay’s face lights up. “Ooh, can I come?”

        I take a moment to consider. In a way, I don’t want my brother annoying me all day, but without him present I risk becoming a third wheel to James and Immy (or, as I’ve taken to calling them - much to Immy’s embarrassment - Jimmy).

        In the end, I shrug. “Sure; you may as well bring your girlfriend, too. The more the merrier, right?”

        Then, as an afterthought, I grab my phone from my desk and type out a quick message to Ed, asking he and Simon along too. The screen flashes almost instantly with the response, saying he knows the place Immy’s referencing and they’ll meet us there.

        With the surprisingly long list of people coming sorted and a pair of duck egg blue wellies that I’m pretty sure belong to my mum on my feet, I’m set.

❄

Snowflakes have ceased falling now, although the coating on everything is thick. I relish in the feel of the pristine white blanket of snow crunching under my boots as I step out the door. With a glance to the corner of my road I spot Imogen smiling at us. One of her mittened hands waves enthusiastically. I note that the other is clasping a blushing James’ bare hand.

        At that point, Jay departs from the group to meet his girlfriend, after being given thorough verbal directions to reach what Immy simply refers to as ‘the hill’.

        We begin to head on our way and I’m glad the small roads are yet to be plowed; the three of us can walk side by side easily, with no worry of cars. Well, the walking itself isn’t quite so easy. The snow is at least five inches deep, making our movements sluggish.

Eventually, after a slow journey peppered with slips and a lot of laughter, we reach the hill. It’s clear why it’s been given that name - there are no buildings on the steep hill, just a few clusters of pine trees.

        A gasp leaves my lips as I take in the sight. The scene looks like something from a postcard, snowcapped evergreens against a bright white sky.

        With a sound vaguely resembling a cheer, I start sprinting (or at least, speed walking) up the steeply inclining hillside, leaving the other two giggling behind me.

        When I’m about two thirds up, breathless and rosy-cheeked, I spot the familiar raven and blonde haired heads of Simon and Ed, on the edge of one of the clumps of woods. As I get closer, I see that they’re kissing. Ed’s on his tiptoes in the snow, a hand on the nape of Simon’s neck to draw him closer.

        I’m debating whether to interrupt them - would it be rude? or would I seem weirder just to stare at them snogging? - when the decision if made for me by the calamitous noise of Immy and James reaching the top.

        At the sound the couple spring apart, Simon remaining as cool as ever but Ed’s cheeks flushed - whether it’s due to the cold or the embarrassment or simply kissing his boyfriend, it’s hard to say.

        “Hey Scarlett,” Simon says happily, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. Then, he turns to the others. “Are these your mates, Ed? Scar?”

        Ed seems to at least partly snap out of his flustered daze (I’ve decided the blushing is definitely caused by embarrassment, which amuses me) enough to introduce them. “Oh, yeah. Si, these are James and Imogen; James and Imogen, this is my boyfriend, Simon.”

By the time Jay arrives, hand resting on a girl’s waist, there are five snow angels imprinted on a patch of previously flawless snow. The moment he spots them, Jay drops down alongside them, fanning his arms and legs in and out. This is a shock to his girlfriend, who seems to think at first that he’s passed out, or something. When she then giggles and rolls her eyes at him, I decide I like her

        “Hey, I’m Scarlett,” I say. “Jay’s sister.”

        “Nice to meet you, Scarlett,” she replies with a polite smile. “I’m Charlotte.”

        Charlotte is tall - taller than Jay, in fact - with curly brown hair cut into a stylish bob. Glasses rest on the bridge of her nose, in front of eyes that are an identical shade to her hair. She’s certainly pretty, in a quiet, studious way. She’s also not who I would pair my loud, boisterous, misbehaving brother with, but apparently it works.

        I catch Charlotte’s eyes flickering behind me to my four friends, who are wrapped up in an animated conversation, which mainly seems to involve Ed and Immy speaking loudly and Simon inputting occasionally, James even less frequently.

        “Guys!” I call and, somewhat miraculously, they all put the conversation on hold and turn to face us. “This is Charlotte, my brother Jay’s girlfriend.”

        “Aw, Jay got a girlfriend,” Immy comments, with the kind of familiar interest only someone who’s practically a family member can have. “I’m Imogen, by the way.”

        “James,” says James.

        “Hi Charlotte, Jay.” Simon acknowledges him with a nod. “I’m Simon. This is Ed.”

        Apparently, Ed doesn’t appreciate having someone else speak for him, as he protests: “Hey, I can talk, y’know!”

        Simon just smiles, “I know, love, you barely ever shut up.”

        What ensues is banter between the two that none of us onlookers understand, since they’ve both clearly slipped into Ed-and-Simon world. Surprisingly, it is James who breaks the quiet that has fallen over the remaining five of us.

        “Is anyone else kind of freezing to death here?”

        “Yeah,” Jay agrees. “Snow angels first probably wasn’t the wisest idea we’ve ever had.”

        “Jay you’ve never had a wise idea,” I retort jokingly. He doesn’t respond, instead bends down and snatches a clump of snow in his gloved hands. Ridiculously, it doesn’t occur to me what he’s making until it’s hurtling towards me and colliding against my shoulder.

        Involuntarily, I squeal and Imogen laughs hysterically at me. I grit my teeth, partly just to stop myself from grinning and ruining the image, as I ball up the most tightly compacted snowball possible. Sadly, my lack of snow play experience means it misses her by inches, only causing her to laugh harder. I scowl.

        Nearby, Ed and Simon are still entirely engrossed in each other, oblivious to the chaos unravelling next to them. Stealthily I roll up another ball of snow, inwardly cursing that I forgot to wear gloves, then approach Ed from behind. Simon spots me and catches my eye; for a moment I think he’s going to forewarn his boyfriend, but he just continues what he was saying without a hitch. I go for the cruelest form of snowball fight, grabbing at the back of his coat and shoving the snow down his back.

Part of me feels a bit too mean, but the response from Ed is worth it. He lets out the most high pitch scream I’ve ever heard and spins round, hazel eyes bright. “You little -“

        A snowball sails through the air and hits him on the head, getting stuck in his scruffy dark blonde hair. He winces, but it’s clear he’s biting back a laugh. Simon, on the other hand, isn’t being so restrained; giddy laughter shakes his tall, skinny frame.

        Ed screws his face up in a look of pure concentration and bends down to gather his own clump of snow. Quickly, he throws it towards Imogen, but she’s too fast and ducks just in time for it to hit Charlotte, who’d been standing behind her.

        At this, all anarchy breaks loose. Within a matter of minutes everyone is covered in the white stuff, especially me. Perhaps that’s the downfall of being the only person in the group that everyone - save for Charlotte - knows.

        By now, everybody is shivering. Jay was right: getting ourselves pretty much coated in snow before we’d had a chance to do the sledding we set out to do definitely wasn’t a wise idea.

        It appears Immy was thinking the same thing, as he speaks up. “Uh, did anyone actually bring a sled for us to go sledding in?”

        Despite the fact we all feel like we’re verging on hypothermia, we can’t help but laugh as everyone realises we have sincerely failed at our sledging outing. Thankfully, James has a solution.

        “My house is like five minutes away,” he says. “There’s a couple of sleds in the garage. If someone wants to come with me to help me carry them, I’ll go get them now.”

        Of course, Immy is the first to volunteer to go with him. My lips quirk up into a smile. I watch as the pair set off down the hill, skidding and grabbing onto each others’ shoulders to stay upright.

Feeling oddly exhausted, I head towards the pine trees where I’d found Ed and Simon earlier and slide down against one. I can feel the icy wetness of the snow underneath me seeping into my jeans but I can’t bring myself to mind. In front of me, the four others are chatting and laughing.

        A few minutes later Immy and James are back, lugging two basic plastic sledges along with them. Upon seeing them, Charlotte cheers and they roll into even more laughter. My heart swells as I watch them; the sight of all these people I care about, together and enjoying themselves, fills me with immense happiness.

        Suddenly, for no reason I can identify, the group burst into song. One moment they're talking and the next they're singing - dreadfully off key, of course.

        "Just hear those sleigh bells jinglin', ring ting tinglin' too!"

        I haul myself up and attempt to brush down my clothes a bit, although it's pretty pointless since as soon as I reach the group, I'm practically pushed onto one of the hard plastic sleds. I squeal, but it's too late; a pair of hands are already on my back, pushing my forward.

        Everything becomes a bright white blur. The icy wind is cold and sharp against my face as I rush down the hill, my stomach in knots. Out of the corner of my eyes I spot a shape I can just about recognise as Immy racing alongside me. It seems to last forever, like I'm infinitely sliding high-speed down the hill with my eyes watering and a scream caught in my throat.

        When the sledge eventually skids to a halt at the bottom of the hill, adrenaline is coursing through my veins, giving me the energy to pick up the sledge and haul it back up the steep hill. I'm pretty much on flat ground when my wellies fail to grip onto the snow underneath me and I trip, dropping the sled from my flailing arms. A pair of hands grab my shoulders and yank me up, narrowly preventing me from landing face first in the snow. I recognise it as Ed holding onto me as I catch my breath.

        "Easy tiger," he says under his breath, helping me regain my balance.

        My mind can't help but flick back in time to another voice in another circumstance saying that same expression. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly; I don't want my emotions to get the better of me, not today when we're all so happy. Breathe in, breathe out, I instruct myself, until gradually my heart beat has calmed down and the image has faded from my mind's eye.

        Through out the rest of the morning, everyone has multiple turns on the sled. We manage to get through a huge compilation of Christmas songs, and our stomachs are aching from so much laughter. Eventually, we're all too worn out - not to mention bitterly cold - to stay out any longer, so we begin to head back down the hill, heading first towards James' house to drop off the sleds, then back to mine and Jay's for hot chocolate.

        James falls into step with me as we leave his house. "Hey."

        "Hi, thanks for getting those sledges for us," I reply. In front of us, Immy is talking to Charlotte. Her voice is just about audible from here; I catch just enough words to figure she's recalling a winter from when she was little, when she made ice cream out of snow and it ended up just tasting of mud.

        "So, um, Scarlett," James says hesitantly. "Do you - do you reckon Immy is, like, y'know..." He trails off, clearly feeling awkward.

        "Are you trying to ask me if Immy's into you?" I ask with a smile. He nods fervently. "Well, I couldn't tell you; Girl Code."

        James' face drops slightly, though he tries to cover it up.

        "Although," I continue, thinking of the excitement in Immy's voice as she'd relayed their first date to me down the phone and unable to help myself. "I certainly wouldn't say that she isn't into you."

        At this comment, James grins, and I grin back, like I've been doing so much this month, especially today.

❄

The seven mugs of steaming hot chocolate are heavy, all crammed on to the small tray. I walk slowly into the lounge, careful not to spill any of the drinks. Immy and James are on one sofa, with a space next to them the perfect size for me to fit into; Ed and Simon are sprawled across the other; Jay and Charlotte are squashed onto the armchair. Grace the cat is also present, fast asleep in front of the fireplace, in which Jay has got a fire crackling.

        "One with chocolate sprinkles and no cream," I call, and Charlotte raises her hand. I pass her the drink, then move onto the next.

        "Scar, you should get a job as a barista at a coffee shop," Jay comments as I pass him his mug then settle down onto the sofa, hands cupped around my own.

        "Yeah, today's been good practise since you all decided to be completely annoying and ask for slightly different drinks."

        It had taken the best part of five minutes to sort everybody's drinks: soya milk for Simon, cream and sprinkles for Jay, cream for Ed, sprinkles for Charlotte, marshmallows for James and soya with marshmallows for Immy. For myself, I went all out with an extra teaspoon of cocoa powder, plus whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows. Personally, I reckon I deserve it after being assaulted the most in the snowball fight earlier.

It's only that night, when everybody has eventually gone home and I'm drawing my curtains, that I notice that no more snow has fallen and what's currently there has already started melting. But it's hard to feel that disappointed, considering the day I've had.

        And it's only as I lie on my back in my bed that I remember about my Secret Santa, and the fact I haven't recieved my gift today, for obvious reasons. I drift off quickly, and dream about heavy snow and Christmas carolling and a person's silhouette which I chase and chase, but never catch.

note: i want it to snow :((( next chapter hopefully coming tonight, then the final chapter (omg) tomorrow! hope you liked it - ella x