Chronicles: The Makings of a Streetwalker

[Lisa]

Mentally I was kicking myself for digging myself deeper and deeper into this hole of lies. There is absolutely no way that I'll be able to keep this up. Eventually she'll figure it out, eventually she'll see right through my lies and eventually she'll see that I'm nothing but a poor boy from a poor family in the ghetto. I need to tell her the truth now, as inch my way closer to where she is standing, I need to laugh it all off and say 'just kidding', before it goes any farther.. Of course that's not what I do. Instead I smile another one of my fake smiles and agree. "Indeed.." I nod, "I think we could all become great friends."

Again she makes me smile, she seems to have that effect often. Normally I would think only people who are funny can do that but something about Giselle.. Just being in her presence makes me smile. "November." I reply, "On the fifth.. When's yours?" Then she starts counting on her fingers and tells him how many boyfriends she's had. Oddly I don't find myself intimated by her anymore, but curious, more and more curious. I hear myself asking, "Have you kissed any of them?" I've never had a girlfriend before. I've surly never kissed a girl.

Not from my side of town, I think, but I don't say it out loud because of the obvious reasons. "Okay, than it's a deal. I'll walk you half way home and we'll meet again.. Perhaps here?"

The subject of her mum seems slightly.. weird. Giselle seems more awkward about it than actually worried about her mums health. I tilt my head to the side, like a confused puppy, as if that small movement will allow me to enter her thoughts and know everything.. About her mother and more. I decide not to press the matter, however. If she wanted to share more, she would have and perhaps she will when they meet again.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

Ragetti looks almost confused as he sits there on the tree. It's like he's waging a war inside his head or something. Just when I'm started to get worried about him and ask what is wrong, he smiles and replies to my question instead. I have a feeling he doesn't want to be pressured into meeting my friends, but I really do want him to meet them. After all, Ragetti is really nice. He's different than the other boys. So I decide to ask, "When does your father come into town for business next? You could ask to come along with him and I could see you then and introduce you to my friends!" To me, it sounds like the best plan ever. I hope Ragetti agrees.

Ragetti smiles when he tells me his birthday. I like his smile. It seems sincere. I quickly tell him my birthday, "April sixteen." I find it curious how his birthday is in the fall and how mine is in the spring. I guess we're opposites. I smile myself when Ragetti asks if I've kissed any of my boyfriends. I laugh and say, "Of course I have, silly! What else are boyfriends for?" I pause and think about my ex-boyfriends before adding, "Tom was a horrible kisser. Adam drooled too much. And Samuel was good, but he was bad at French kissing." Then, automatically assuming that a boy like him would have a girlfriend, I say, "Tell me about your girlfriend."

I think for a moment when Ragetti suggests meeting here again. I quickly nod. I come here a lot. I should probably be heading home though before father gets upset, so I say, "Maybe we should start back home then now? I don't want to upset mum and dad."

Ragetti gives me a weird look when I tell him about my mum. I blush bright red. It's almost as though he's seeing straight through me or something. I almost feel bad for lying, but what was I suppose to say? It's not like you want anyone to know your mom is a hooker.

[Lisa]

With a smile, I start to climb back the way I came on the branch. It is getting rather dark out and though I'm sure Giselle wont get us lost, her parents are probably worried sick about her. And literally, for her mother. I really should get her home to her sick mother. As for me, well, I already know what's coming when I get home, so really I'm not worried about another hour or two.

Once I get to the spot where my over sized branch meets the trees trunk, I hop back onto the grass and turned toward Giselle. "I'll ask father over dinner tonight." I say and sit at the base of the tree. "I'm sure he wont have a problem with it." My feet are slightly damp from the water, making my shoes a bit uncomfortable when I slip them on, but I learn to ignore it.

April. I smirk. Something about her did seem very... spring like. If that made any sense. She just had this air about her that reminded me of that new life, the first blade of grass I would see poking out of the snow back in England, the first feeling of a warm breeze after so many days filled with cold winds. Here, in the Caribbean I don't get that. In the Caribbean it's always summer. The seasons don't change the way they did back home. With Giselle, in some odd way, in my own small way, I can get that feeling again. With Giselle I can see the first ray of spring sunshine in her yellow hair. I love the fact that her birthday is in spring. I somehow knew that before she even told me.

And then she asks about my girlfriend. But I don't have a girlfriend. And I've certainly never kissed a girl. This time I tell the truth. "I've never had girlfriend." I admit. "I've never even kissed a girl before." I say and look at her lips, wondering what it would be like, how it would feel to had someone elses lips gently press against his. What would that be like? I want to know. "What's is like?" I ask and feel my face turn a dark shade of red. "Do you have a boyfriend now?" That was probably the more important question.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

I watch Ragetti climb down the branch and hop onto the ground. I suppose I really ought to get my shoes on if we're going back to my house. Not really caring that I'm getting my shoes soaked, I yank my stockings and shoes back over my wet feet and take one last wishful look at the water. Suddenly, a question pops into my brain and I ask Ragetti, "Do you ever go swimming?"

I'm glad when Ragetti says he'll talk to his father about my plan. Smiling, I say, "That sounds great! He's probably coming into town this week then, right? I know most of the lords visit the town at least once a week if not more."

Ragetti has an odd sort of smile on his face after I tell him my birthday is in April. I raise an eyebrow curiously at him and wonder why he's looking at me like that. I don't ask though. If he wants to tell me, I'm sure he will.

When Ragetti says he doesn't have a girlfriend, my eyes widen in shock and I burst out, "Wait...never? You've never ever had a girlfriend and you're the son of a lord?" As far as I know, all the boys from the town have girlfriends that they like to parade around. When he asks what kissing is like, I pause for a moment before replying, "It depends on who you're kissing. Kissing Adam was too wet. But kissing Samuel was like having the wings of a butterfly brush against your lips. If you do it with the right person, it can be quite a nice experience."

I frown when he asks if I have a boyfriend now. I had been messing around with a few different guys lately. So I say, "Well, I kissed Jeffery two days ago, but it's not like we're officially together. I haven't had a boyfriend since five days ago when I broke up with Adam."

[Lisa]

I glance at the water and raise an eyebrow at her random question. Then again it's not as random as some of mine have been, is it? I turn my gaze back to her. "Sure.." I reply and stand up, brushing off my dirty knees as though that would clean these old, horrid, hand-me-down slacks. "When I was in England we didn't do it much, but now, my cousins and myself go to the beach whenever we can. Even though we shouldn't. My mum always says it's dangerous to go there." That wasn't a lie. My mother always did say things like that, when she wasn't in a drunken stupor. "You?"

Looking around at the trees and stuff, I make myself appear nonchalant about the conversation. "Well, father doesn't talk much about his work." I say, "He's one to leave work at work and home at home, though he wouldn't mind answering questions if any of us have had them." Lies, lies, lies..

If my face wasn't red before, now it was the color of a fully ripened tomato. There was nothing more embarrassing than this. Well, that's not true. I imagine, Giselle finding out about all the lies I told her. If she were to see my house, my parents, my family, know the truth about where I got this black eye.. Well, I think that would surly be more embarrassing. But when she goes on about kissing, I find myself listening intently. Would I be a good kisser? Is she? She talks about how the others were but never mentions if she's good of bad. Does she know if she's good or bad, or just assume? I wanted to know. I wanted to know so badly...

But...

That was an awfully long list she had. And I had no one.. No experience. What if I was horrible? What if I drooled to much like Adam? What if she was bad at it? Did I really want my first kiss to be a bad experience? But I couldn't imagine her being bad. Again, pleasant thoughts of spring time filled my mind. But I didn't want to be just another boys name on her long list of boyfriends. As odd as it might sound, I'd rather be Ragetti; Giselles very close friend, instead of, Ragetti; boyfriend number seven, better than six, but soon to be replaced by eight.

No, I'd much rather be her friend.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

Ragetti seems surprised at my question, but I guess both of us are kind of full of surprises. After all, he's surprised me quite a bit with his questions. As he brushes off his slacks, I suddenly notice just how dirty they are. They look kind of ancient. Of course I won't tell Ragetti this, but I assume his father is one of the poorest lords in the town. I grinned when Ragetti tells me that he swims with his cousins whenever he can. I immediately reply, "I love swimming! I can't do it much though. Fathers says it's inappropriate for girls. But sometimes, I sneak away and come swimming her by myself."

I frown as Ragetti tells me more about his father. I am liking that man less and less by the minute. He seems very self-centered. I mean, what kind of father doesn't tell his family about his work? I decide to voice this aloud, "Your father doesn't seem very nice. My father tells me all about his work. Sometimes, he tells me stories about things that happen at his work if he's in a good mood. Doesn't your father ever tell you stories?

Ragetti turns a crimson color as I start talking about kissing. I ignore that and continue on with telling him about all my boyfriends. I still think it's sad that he's never had a girlfriend. I mean, what kind of boy doesn't have a girlfriend at this age? Once I finish telling him about all my different boyfriends and about which ones were good or bad kissers, I pause and sneak a sideways glance at him out of the corner of my eye, "So is there a girl you like? You know, one you'd want for your girlfriend?"

I decide to go on, "I can give you some kissing strategies if you want. I'm an expert. Well, at least Paul and Samuel said so. I do know one thing for sure though; girls like it when you catch them off guard. They like it best when you just walk right up to them and kiss them. The surprise is definitely part of the fun."

[Lisa]

I grin, liking the fact that she's not just like any regular rich, proper girl. She's not afraid to sneak around and do things she shouldn't do. "Well maybe I've found myself a new place to go swimming then, eh..?" I smirk.

"Well, yes, he tells us about his work.. He just doesn't like talking about business all the time. It's not that he never tells us things, he just thinks that talking about it to much is bad." I argue, a bit annoyed by her reaction to my father. Not that any of what I said was true, but the whole point of lying was to make father look good.

Her next question takes me off guard. "I- um.. Well I've never really thought about it.." I muse. "I mean I've thought girls were cute and all but.. I just never really thought twice about having a girlfriend." And then she goes on more about kissing.. I stop walking for a moment and glance at her, then continue walking. "I imagine the surprise is the best part. Kissing is supposed to be exciting right, and anything that is a surprise just makes that thing more exiting.." I agree, almost awkwardly.

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

Ragetti grins and I grin back at him. He has one of the nicest smiles I have seen in a long time. When he talks about finding a different place to go swimming, I nod eagerly. Suddenly, an idea forms in my head and I suggest, "Hey, what do you think about meeting back here in a few weeks and going swimming?"

When Ragetti talks about his father, he seems...weird. It's like he's frustrated at himself and not his father. I'm not quite getting it. Frowning, I ask, "Well, what does he talk about then if he doesn't tell you much about his work? Does he ever read to you? My father does." Father read to me every night up until I was nine-years-old.

I frown again when Ragetti starts talking about girls. How can he not have thought about having a girlfriend? I mean, all guys think about girls, don't they? It would be totally unnatural for them not to think about girls. But when he agrees about a surprise kiss, I nod excitedly, "Oh yeah, the surprise is definitely best. You should've seen what Benjamin did to me! I had a crush on him for a while and one day out of the blue, he just comes up and kisses me on the lips!" I sigh and try to remember that glorious day. Keeping my eyes closed, I say, "It was the best kiss ever."

[Lisa]

"Sound great!" I agree and glance at her out of the corner of my eye. Her smile is so pretty I can't keep from smiling again. I'm glad we've made more plans already, I like Giselle and want to be her friend.

Keeping myself from frowning I answer, "Yes, if my mother doesn't, my father does.. They both like to." I fake a smile. To me the fact that her father reads to her like that is so odd. My fathers never read a single word to me. I don't even know how to read. I kick a rock as I'm walking and try not to let my thoughts effect my expression.

To me, all this talk about kissing and relationships was just... not right. I mean we're only ten for gods sake. Ten year olds should be running around playing and laughing, not tallying up how many boyfriends or girlfriends they've had or comparing kisses. To me it just wasn't right. Then again maybe that's just how the rich people did things... Well either way that just wasn't for me. Finally I stopped walking and looked at her. I like everything else about her, but not this. I try changing the subject and continue walking, "So what else do you do..? Ya know, for fun and stuff.."

[~ Mistress Beckett ~]

"Alright then," I answer, happy that Ragetti is agreeing to meet up with me for swimming. I love swimming. It's one of my favorite pastimes. A new idea pops into my head and I suggest, "Why don't you bring your cousins along too? I'd love to meet them!"

Ragetti gets kind of an odd expression on his face when I talk about father reading to me. It's almost as if he thinks it's strange or something. But he answers my question and so I say, "Do you have a favorite book then? Hey, maybe we could bring books and read out here by the waterfall sometime!" To me, this sounds like lots of fun.

I can tell Ragetti doesn't like talking about boyfriends or girlfriends because he suddenly gets quiet and then tries to change the subject. I frown and answer his question, "Well...I do some chores for mother. But mostly, I hang out with my friends or hide out in the pub and listen to gossip. How about you?"

I can see we're nearing the town. Ahead of me, I see a familiar figure. It's Samuel, one of my boyfriends. I wave excitedly and call out, "Hey Samuel!"