A Beautiful Forever

chapter 4

Elliot

Waiting at the baggage claim I look around to see if I can find Paige, I lost her at some point as we went through all of our passport

checks. I manage to spot her as she hauls her bag off the carousel and starts to wheel it away.

“Paige!” I call after her. She stops and looks around for the source of her name, eventually spotting me.

She smiles at me, and I feel lucky all of a sudden. “Hi Elliot, have you found your bags?”

I look at the crowded carousel and shake my head, “No, not yet, I just wanted to say bye I guess. Maybe see which direction you're

headed, we could share a cab?”

She shakes her head, “There’s no need. There is a shuttle bus that takes me to where I’m staying.”

My hopes deflate as I realise this is good bye. I’ve really enjoyed her company. “Oh, well… maybe I’ll see you around some time.”

She laughs, “I doubt that Elliot, London is a lot bigger than Sydney - it was nice to meet you though. Good luck finding yourself.” She

lifts her bag and starts to walk away, waving over her shoulder at me as I stand here doing nothing.

“Yeah, you too,” I call after her as I watch her walk out of my life.





Paige


My room is tiny - I can maybe take four steps in one direction and only three in the other. There’s a small wardrobe, a minuscule

desk and chair as well as a single bed with a polka-dot quilt on top. The carpet is royal blue, and the walls are stark white. It's clean

and doesn’t have any funky odours hanging about, so for that I’m thankful.

I drop my bag at the foot of the bed and lay down, the jet lag already seeping in and dragging my eyes closed. I sit up, not wanting to

fall asleep and ruin my night by being wide awake. With no TV in my room, I would actually like to spend it sleeping.

Reaching into my bag, I find the folder of papers I had printed out before I left Australia. I’m a trained hairdresser, so I made a list of

salons to call about work in an area close to the city, that I thought I might be able to afford to live in. I’d done some research on

share accommodation but got really confused with what the different ‘zones’ meant. I’m planning to go and have a look around to

see what’s what tomorrow. But for today, I’ll make phone calls to enquire about a job; I have limited funds so a job is high priority.

Leaving my room, I head for the hotel shop, sucking in my breath when I'm blasted by the cold air the moment I open the main door

to cross the small courtyard. Still hugging myself against the cold, I purchase a prepaid phone card and return to my room to activate

it. The first place I call is a shop called ‘Stylz’ in Waterloo.





Elliot


I get out of the black cab in front of the block of flats I am staying in and look around. It feels so strange knowing it’s the end of

January but feeling so freaking freezing. Lifting my bag, I climb the short flight of concrete steps leading up to the rendered white

building and press the button for number twelve.

“Hello?”, a female Australian voice answers.

“Hi, it’s Elliot. I just arrived from the airport.”

“Of course, I’ll just buzz you in.”

As I hear the buzz from the entry door I push, “Got it, thanks,” I call out.

“Great, see you up here,” she says, I can hear the clunk over the intercom as she replaces the handset.

As I ascend the stairs, I can’t get that stupid Abba song out of my head, it’s the name of the town I’m staying in - Waterloo. I hope I

get over that fast because I’m not an Abba fan and three months with that song in my head is going to drive me mad.

A petite blonde girl is waiting at the door when I round the corner, wearing jeans and a woollen turtleneck. Her brown eyes widen

when she sees me, and I get the sense that I will need to keep my distance from her now that I have put my screwing around days

behind me.

“Wow, you must be Elliot. I’m Naomi, Stephanie told me you were good looking but wow!” Her mouth is actually open right now. I

think this girl might be missing a filter or something.

“Hi,” I nod walking inside the flat as she steps to the side, but only just enough so I actually have to brush past her.

“Let me show you where your room is, and then I’ll give you the tour,” Naomi tells me leading me through the lounge room where

another guy and girl are sitting draped across each other watching tv.

“Hi mate, you must be Elliot,” the scruffy looking guy says, he’s wearing tracksuit pants that have a massive hole in the knee and a

hoodie that's also seen better days. His dark-brown hair is sticking up all over the place, and I’m not sure if he has a beard, or just

hasn’t bothered to shave for a few days. He gets up to shake my hand. “I’m Gavin and this is Petra.” He indicates the tiny girl with a

dark-brown pixie haircut, and large chocolate coloured almond eyes set in a face with small but pointed features. She gives me a

finger wave but remains seated.

I nod my head at both of them as I shake Gavin’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you both,” I respond.

“I’m just showing him to his room,” Naomi tells Gavin, who nods his understanding and doesn’t hesitate before he flops back on the

couch.

I follow Naomi down a hallway with four doors leading off it. She stops at the second one on the left and opens it. Inside are two

single beds and two wardrobes, and some mess - that’s all. One bed is unmade and there are clothes on the end of it.

“You’re sharing with Brian. He's at work right now. But he’ll be home by dinner, so you’ll meet him then.”

I nod my head and rest my suitcase on the end of the second bed. I didn’t realise I was sharing a room with someone but whatever;

it's only three months.

Naomi is standing in the doorway watching me unzip my bag while she twists, side to side, happily twirling her hair around her

fingers. I pause my unpacking and look at her with raised eyebrows.

“Do you want me to show you around?” she asks.

Straightening up I look at her, as I place my hands on my hips. “Thanks Naomi, but I think I’ll be ok. It’s pretty much kitchen, living

area, bedrooms and bathroom at the end right?” I say nodding my head to indicate where each room was situated.

“Well, yeah,” she says giggling a little.

“Thank you Naomi,” I say pleasantly, placing my hand on the door.

She takes the hint and slowly walks back from the door as I close it so I can unpack my bag in peace.





Paige


Wow, that was easy. I have a trial shift set up already – tomorrow! Shit, I’m petrified all of a sudden that I’m not going to be able to

find my way there, or that I’m going to get a terrible case of jet lag and cut some poor person’s ear off! Bouncing my legs up and

down nervously, I look at my phone screen and notice that it’s picking up a Wi-Fi signal. When I select it, it has the name of the hotel I

’m staying at, and blessedly it connects without needing a password.

I search for a trip planner to tell me how to get to Waterloo Station. The salon is in one of the shop fronts housed in the actual station

so finding it shouldn’t be hard, but it’s going to be over an hour’s journey – I’ll need to make sure my phone is fully charged so I'll

have something to do.

I’m starting to wish I had sprung a few extra pounds for one of the rooms with a television. I have games and books on my phone, but

it would be nice to kick back and watch something.

My stomach growls and I realise that it’s been hours since I’ve eaten. I remember seeing a McDonalds on the shuttle ride here so I

grab my things and start walking.