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After Bodi had dropped off Charlie, she had rolled into bed without even bothering to shower. She was simply beat and she slept divine.
It had been one of those uninterrupted sleeps filled with lovely dreams which made her feel as if she owned the world.
A day full of walking and shenanigans had been followed by a full night of walking and shenanigans during which they visited a funfair which especially opened at night.
You see, Charlie had a thing for rollercoasters; they were her absolute favourite even though all her friends had grown out of them when they were 14 going on 15.
But not Charlie; a funfair was nothing to her without a rollercoaster and she had made full advantage of them that night.
When she finally woke up, her limbs ached in that satisfying way that you’d only have after spending an active day outside. It had been too long since she’d experience that, back home all she really did was work and when she didn’t; she was babysitting or simply spend her time in the safety and comfort of her home.
Charlie worked as a graphic designer for a magazine. In the 3 years she had been there, she had never really taken a day off nor called in sick.
Since she could basically work from anywhere with a laptop and a fast and stable internet connection, her boss had agreed to hire a freelancer for at least 3 months and should she wish she could stay another few weeks as long as she worked remotely.
Sometime late in the afternoon, Kim arrived home and was welcomed by a feast of fish, salad and freshly baked bread.
The girls settled outside and told each other about their days – or in Charlie’s case – her night. `
Hours later, the conversation had taken a trip down memory lane and Charlie and Kim were reminiscing about their school days.
The high school they had attended had been run by a Headmistress dubbed Trunchbull * and she left a lasting impression on every child who had known her.
There had been rules for everything.
How long bathrooms could be visited for, to the ‘Capped Pen Rule’.
“Do you remember what she used to say? How not putting caps back on pens was basically the reason why the school’s overhead costs were so high.”
“Remember? I still secretly cap each pen I come across.
Last week I held back after a meeting and … well you know.”
Charlie giggled, Kim was right and Trunchbull did have some odd rules. The one she had detested particularly had been the ‘Proper Name Rule’.
Not only did Trunchbull insist for all children to be called by their full names, she also demanded that they called each other by their ‘proper’ names during recess or any other leisurely activities for that matter.
Kim became Kimberley, Bea went by Beatrice and Eula reunited with Eulalia. For Charlie that meant that inside the school compounds (and even in a 5 mile radius if it was up to Trunchbull) she had to go by Charlotte.
The thing was that Charlie was actually named after Charlie Parker * and when she tried to explain that her name was indeed ‘just Charlie’, Trunchbull huffed and said ‘that’s ridiculous; I’m doing you a favour Charlotte’.
Kim then passed her a note which read ‘she might as well call you Umfufu’ *.
But Charlie, proud of her name and furious for being stripped off it said: ‘Ms Trunchbull, why don't you just do me like Kunta Kinte and chop off my foot?’
The school had never been so silent. Charlie was presented with everlasting detention and became a legend at their school.
Although the both girls had known each other and had been friends since they were babies, they virtually became inseparable after this as Kim set up an elaborate system to provide Charlie with a steady stream of sweets, comics and anything else to entertain her while in ‘lock up’.
The next few minutes were spent in joyous silence.
Each girl wrapped up in their own thoughts yet bound by mutual experiences.
“Charlotte?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really happy you came”.
Charlie smiled, “So am I Kimberly, so am I”.
Chapter End Notes:
Apologies for any errors.
*Headmistress Trunchbull is the protagonist from the Roald Dahl novel Matilda.
She terrorizes the children to such an extent that their loathing for her is only surpassed by fear.
*Charlie Parker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
*Umfufu. Eddie Murphy uses the name in his stand up show Raw.
*Kunte Kinte is a character from the critically acclaimed novel Roots by author Alex Haley.
Charlie quotes Will Smith from an episode of the Fresh Prince of Bell Air after he gets punished.
*Headmistress Trunchbull is the protagonist from the Roald Dahl novel Matilda.
She terrorizes the children to such an extent that their loathing for her is only surpassed by fear.
*Charlie Parker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
*Umfufu. Eddie Murphy uses the name in his stand up show Raw.
*Kunte Kinte is a character from the critically acclaimed novel Roots by author Alex Haley.
Charlie quotes Will Smith from an episode of the Fresh Prince of Bell Air after he gets punished.