Firelight, the Exchange Student

This story is for English. Basicalley it's about my favourite ZU'er firelight and she comes over for about three monthes...
So basically, this is dedicated to her, and her apreciated help for my English Assessment.


Rachel. B
By T.G Malone

The airport was busy considering it was so early, and my little sister almost got herself lost a good few times. She would stop, look, and then stare at whatever was in the shop windows. My mum would hurry her along, and my older sister Leila would stand at least three metres, mumbling about how embarrassing we were, like most teenagers do.
My nerves were hyper, knowing that the exchange student would be living with us in less than a few hours. What would he be like? Would he be like those annoying clingy people who just can’t take a hint? Or perhaps he would be the type who are always dark and just want to be left alone? The thoughts swam round my head, wondering about what the guy looked like, be like, act like… heck, I even went on to wondering what he’d eat like.
‘Stop daydreaming Tommy.’ said my mum, pulling along my little sister Sinead like a rag doll. ‘Pay attention or we’ll all get lost.’
That was the annoying thing about being the only man living in the same house with four women. They all seem to target you specifically. I mean, even the dog was a women!

I watched as people walked off the plane, some tanned, some skinny, and a plain weird looking guy with a afro and Hawaiian shirt on. Then I saw a group of children run off, all hyper and fidgety, led by a women who wore a blue and yellow uniform. We all figured she must’ve worked at the airport, as she held a clipboard in her hands and the airports badge pinned to the uniform.
She led the children through a set of doors, and in front of a group of people (including us).
‘They must be involved with the exchange.’ said my mum.
‘They are. We had to do this when I was going to America.’ said my sister.
I looked at all the faces, and wondered which one of them would be living with us. There were a few rough and grubbing looks towards us, mostly coming from the boys. The girls however were all squeaking and breaking out in giggles with their friends.
‘Anna Anderson.’ a girl with freckles and ginger hair walked towards her, her hands behind her back. ‘Are the Robertson’s here?’
A small family stood forward, and after an awkward five minutes of paper work and the such, Anna walked off with her family for the next three months. We waited for awhile -50 minutes at the least- until our name popped up.
‘Rachel Bell?’
A brown haired girl stood forward, and looked around the room nervously with a weak grin.
‘The Malone’s?’
Oh no… I thought. Not another one…
I stood there frozen to the spot, but the rest of my family walked up to her. They smiled at each other, with the words ‘Hi,’, ‘Hey’, and even a ‘Howdy’ being used.
Me though? I just stood there, staring at her. She looked like she’d be fun, the cheerful hyper type. But five women? I’d never survive…
In the end, Rachel looked at me. I walked towards her, and said ‘Hey.’ with a casual nod of the head.
‘Hi.’ she said. That was when we first met, and my mind was swimming in an awkward pool pf thoughts.

During the car ride back, the sun had started to rise. The clouds were all red and blue, getting brighter as time drove on. Rachel stared out the window, looking at the different building Scotland had to offer.
‘Your apartments are so small.’ she said, her eyes stuck on them all like glue.
‘Here we call them flats,’ said my mum, not taking her eyes of the road. ‘I guess they are smaller here. You never really notice little things like that.’
We drove on, with Rachel asking more questions about the buildings and anything related to Scotland.
Her questions were interesting, and even made me pondered me at times. We had a laugh at times when she started confusing Robert Burns with William Wallace, and even she laughed with us.
I could tell Rachel had some kind of spark inside her. Something that only young children had. The differences between her and the other girls I knew of my year were high, but in a good way. Most girls would’ve been shy at this time, but Rachel had already started to fit in.
The car parked right outside our house, with Rachel smiling and about to pick up her luggage.
‘I’ll take that.’ I volunteered. She looked at me and smiled.
‘Thanks. Nice shoes by the way.’
And with that, my mum led her into the house with Rachel and my sisters following her. Sinead was acting all nervous, but Leila was acting all… what’s that word… different. She was always like that when guests came round. Always hiding away the teenager she was and acting like someone with great hospitality. It really bugged me how women had split personalities, you’d think living with four (now five) of them I’d know them like the back of my hand. Unfortunately, I was wearing gloves.
Carrying a heavy bag across the front garden, we all stood on the porch waiting for mum to fish out the keys from her bag.
‘Don’t tell me I forgot them, if - ah! Here they are!’
She unlocked the door, and walked into the dark house.
‘Sinead put some lights on, and Leila turn the heating on.’ ordered my mum. Normally they would’ve both objected, but because of our guest, not one of them dared to. Unless they wanted a thrashing of mum that was.
‘So Rachel, do you-’
‘Aaugh!’ she yelped.
We all turned round, our heads snapping like thunder.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked my mum.
‘You-have a dog?’
‘Yeah, that’s Milly.’ I said.
At her feet, was the border collie, sniffing at her ankles with her tail wagging to and fro. Her eyes looked beady and her ears pressed back against her skull.
‘I think she likes you.’ I said.
But Rachel looked frozen like an iced statue. Her arms were shaking and her face looked petrified.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘I’ve kind of got a little fear of dogs.’
Her eyes met mine, and a little smile crossed my face.
‘It’s not funny!’
‘I know… I’m sorry.’ little gaps of laughter escaped one at a time. ‘So you’ve got a fear of dogs eh?’
‘Just the big scruffy kind.’
‘Don’t worry, Milly acts tough but she’s really just a coward. Look.’
I patted the dog behind the ear, and she sniffed at my face. She could clearly smell the chocolate I had treated myself to. Rachel bent down, and patted the collie. Milly sniffed at her, and Rachel calmed down a little.
‘See, she’s fine.’
‘Yeah…’ she said. ‘Thanks.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’
And with that, mum led her upstairs to her room. Leaving me down there with a hyperactive dog and heavy luggage. I made a mental note to make sure that Rachel never got the chance to meet the wild canine husky dog Kelso that lived down the street…

Everyone had gone to bed, but I decided to stay up. My paper round started in half an hour so I really thought it was best to keep myself awake and lively. But I sensed that someone was as restless as I was.
Nothing good on TV… I thought, might as well go early.
I walked out the hall, and into the cupboard. I pulled out a bright luminous orange bag, with a strap round it for the paperboys to carry them round the shoulder to the waist.
Milly walked up to me, thinking as always she was going to get a walk when I put on my shoes.
‘Later… I promise.’
‘Tommy?’ I looked up the stairs, and saw Rachel standing at the top of the stairs. She was wearing the wildest of clothes. She had a white bandana on with red lines and patterns, and a purple jacket on with a pink scarf round her neck. She wore loose baggy jeans with a glitzy star belt on.
Wow…
‘Tommy? Is that you?’
‘Yeah,’ I hushed. We spoke only in whispers, our tones quiet and light.
‘Where do you think your wandering of to?’
‘I’ve got papers to deliver. You should go back to bed, you came pretty early.’
‘I’m not that tired. In fact… would it be ok if I went with you?’
‘What?’
She tiptoed down the stairs in sandals, quiet as a mouse. The stairs were silent, not a squeak or crack escaping their wooden lips.
‘I wanna come with you.’
‘You sure?’ I asked. ‘It’s cold and dark.’
‘I know, but this would be a great chance to get to know the place.’ she looked in my eye, and stared deeply. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
I looked at her, not breaking the focused stare between us. Her eyes were gentle and calm, but forced me at the same time to agree.
‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt.’
‘ALRIGHT!!’ she yelled, her voice echoing through the house‘s walls.
‘Ssh!’ I hushed.
Rachel clasped her mouth, and whispered gently, ‘Sorry.’

The paper round was uneventful, but passed slowly. We talked about all sorts. Food, culture, girl/boyfriends, games, that sort of stuff. She was a fan of Lord of the Rings, Zelda, and most things fantasy-ish. She had other hobbies, like baseball and horse riding, but it was hard explaining to her that those things weren’t very common in Scotland.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked. ‘Baseball’s a great game! How can you all not like it?’
‘We probably would, but it’s always damp and wet.’
‘I guess so… but still. I would’ve liked to send a few baseballs flying.’ she said with no smile. I had just done Smith, and was making my way to the last to on Merrylee Rd.
I felt slightly bad, as if I had just broken something and gotten away free. Perhaps it was guilt…
What did I do? I though. You can’t blame yourself cause of the weather… but still.
We walked along the main road, and suddenly things brightened up.
She raised her arms, and stole one of the last two papers.
‘Got it!’ she yanked it off.
‘What are you doing?’ Rachel ran in front of me, and stuck out her tongue, teasing me.
‘It’s called freedom.’ she said. ‘You should really try it sometime. All work and no play makes Tommy a dull boy! What would William Wallace say of he saw a Scot being boring… tut tut.’
And with that, she ran down the road.
‘Hey, wait!’
I chased after her, her scarf blowing fiercely in the Scottish winds. Her laughter echoed in the air, and her hair followed wildly behind her. She turned from one corner to another and I found myself running out of air.
I made a final sprint after her and managed to grab hold of her. She pulled back, and looked at me, her lungs gasping for air. Then, she started laughing wildly.
She’s insane. I thought. Insane? Perhaps… but in a good way of course.

The first month flew by, and Rachel had made herself friends at both home and at school. She had grown popular with many types of people at Hillpark, but she always hung round me.
‘They’re all too… blah!’
‘Blah?’
‘Yeah, you know… blah!’
‘Right…’ I said, nodding my head as if I understood. Blah?
Her favourite subject was Art, an the art teachers favourite pupil was Rachel. Now that girl had talent. I remember one drawing in particular. It was one of a wolf and a girl dressed in white. She had a way of calming the wolf, making it look more like a peaceful fox than a wild canine.
Rachel herself was somewhat proud of the work. Apparently she had had some inspiration from a friend called Saderox. They had never spoken face to face, but they were somewhat close.
Her and Locke Valentine would always flirt with each other, as if they were just dying to ask the other out. I was kind of tempted to be Cupid and set something up between them myself, but I figured it wouldn’t be a wise choice. Heck, most of my choices weren’t wise choices. Like this one time, when I snuck a Gameboy into church, and I played Golden Sun for almost an-
Oh wait, that’s a different story. A very different story.
By the second month, I managed to figure out more of her deeper.
‘I’m kind of a pyro…’ she said.
‘Pyro?’
‘I like get in some kind of trance when I stare into fire. It’s like it’s dancing and hissing, deadly to the wood and yet scorching to the eye.’ she said, her eyes now floating off somewhere else. Then, she snapped out of the trance. ‘See what I mean? I can get really deep at times.’
‘Nah, we’re all like that sometimes.’
‘Really?’ she asked. ‘When are you like that? I’ve always thought of it as kind of bizarre.’
‘Bizarre? Coming from the pyro?’
She smiled, and brushed back her hair.
‘So? When are you like that?’
‘In the end mostly. When things are near their finish, I always am focused and determined. I can always feel this thing inside of me…’
‘I know how that feels.’
‘I bet you do.’

We stayed up late for the last week, watching at least two movies every night. It was mostly anime’ but we couldn’t resist movies like The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Escaflowne, etc. On Saturday we didn’t even sleep. We watched a few movies, then snuck out (her idea). We went to the park, and stared at the stars.
‘I like it here.’ she said. ‘It’s all… blah. But in a sort of nice way. You know?’
‘Yeah… of course.’
‘I’ll come back you know,’ she said. ‘When I’m older. Then we can talk again.’
‘Can’t wait.’

My family waved at her as she left on the plane. Myself included of course.
We had promised to keep in touch, via e-mail. She said that her name on the internet was mostly Firelight, and gave me her e-mail address. I gave her mine, but of course, I’d still miss talking to her face to face.
As the plane flew of into the sky, taking away Firelight, I couldn’t help but wonder why she had trusted me so much. I trusted her equally of course, but I didn’t know why.
‘Goodbye Rachel.’ I said, giving the final wave.
Whatever the reason, I could barely wait to meet her again in a few months time.

Fin,

Thanks Firelight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!