Kept by Elle Field
Elle Field is a twenty-something chick lit author who lives in London with her boyfriend.
She enjoys exploring and photographing Blighty's capital, seeing far too many musicals, and eating her way around London's culinary delights.
Kept was her first novel, which was followed by Geli Voyante's Hot or Not.
The sequel to Kept will be released in 2014, along with The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose.
You can read her blog, follow her on Twitter and find her on Facebook and Goodreads.
She enjoys exploring and photographing Blighty's capital, seeing far too many musicals, and eating her way around London's culinary delights.
Kept was her first novel, which was followed by Geli Voyante's Hot or Not.
The sequel to Kept will be released in 2014, along with The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose.
You can read her blog, follow her on Twitter and find her on Facebook and Goodreads.
To set the scene, this is told from the perspective of Obélix, who is a character in my first novel Kept. He is the best friend of main character Arielle, and this piece of flash fiction is a Christmas scene from their childhood. Those of you who have already read Kept may recognise a few things - I hope you enjoy it!
- Elle x
- Elle x
‘Come on then,’ she squeals. ‘What did you get?’
Should I tell her? I know she lets me play with hers, but this is different... isn’t it? To actually ask Santa for one of those for Christmas, then get it... Well, I know I won’t tell the boys at school - they wouldn’t understand - but Arielle should. I mean, she’s my best friend.
This is the girl I spend every day with when we’re not dragged off to visit dull relatives or spend quality time with the parents, which are the absolutely boring reasons why we haven’t seen each other for four whole days. This girl is my very best friend, despite the fact she’s a... y’know, a girl. And I’m not even sure what quality time with the parents is as it tends to be what we seem to do every other weekend anyway - play board games, eat lots of food and, if we’re really unlucky, visit my dull relatives.
I run my fingers through my rusty-coloured red hair, then tug awkwardly at my new black and turquoise plaid shirt that my Aunt Meryl bought me for Christmas. I think she must be colour blind - it seems to clash horribly with me, with who I am - I think maybe she must have had my cousin Daniel in my mind, or maybe Daniel switched the tags on our presents. He seemed rather pleased with his new Michael Jackson cassette album, which I’m certain was meant for me. Daniel could never moonwalk like I can; Dangerous is wasted on him.
‘Ummmm...’
‘Obélix!!’
Arielle looks annoyed. She’s stood precariously, wobbling madly on her new bright blue and yellow roller skates. She must have got them for Christmas as I’ve never seen them before.
‘Well, remember how I used to use yours?’
‘Use my what?’
She skates over to her dad’s new car. It’s a shiny new Land Rover that’s exactly the sort I’ll have when I’m older and a tip top vet. It will have more mud on it; it needs to look the part. Mr Lockley doesn’t have to worry about that though as he works in a boring office, like my dad.
‘Arielle, don’t lean on Bertha,’ Mr Lockley calls to her. ‘You’ll scratch the paintwork.’
He’s chopping up their Christmas tree - she’s so lucky that her parents let them have a real tree instead of the crappy old plastic tree we have to haul in and out of the attic every December.
‘Bertha’s the car,’ she explains, skating back over to me. ‘They got rid of Nessie. Oh, and use my what? C’mon Ob, what did you get?’
‘A pony.’
Her eyes light up. ‘An actual pony? Oh, Ob. That’s amazing. Daaaaaaaad,’ she calls. ‘Ob got a pony for Christmas!’
Mr Lockley turns to look at us and I blush a deep red. I hate it when I do that. I look like a tomato, and I hate them.
‘Not that sort of pony,’ I mutter. ‘A My Little Pony.’
Arielle doesn’t even register any surprise at this. She’s more concerned that that’s my lot, the sum total of my haul this Christmas.
‘Still playing vet, huh? Well, that’s cool. But, what else did you get? C’mon Obs, I’ve already got a billion My Little Pony toys of my own to play with. What else can we play with? What else did you get?’
I daren’t tell her that I’m quite happy just playing with my very own My Little Pony rather than having to use hers, that I’ve barely touched any of my other presents.
‘Ummm, a Mr Frosty,’ I offer. It’s still in the box.
‘Wicked!’ The skates are coming off now. ‘Let’s go in and play with it.’ She clocks my face. ‘We can use the ice to fix your pony. Maybe it was in a fire in the New Forest and we need to make a magic ice drink to make it better?’
I smile broadly at this. This is the reason Arielle Lockley is my very best friend.
‘Get yours too,’ I say. ‘It was a really terrible fire. Lots of animals were hurt.’
‘I have some new Sylvanians too,’ she calls back at me as she rushes into her house. ‘The rabbit family. I’ll bring those too!’
This is going to be the best afternoon ever!
Should I tell her? I know she lets me play with hers, but this is different... isn’t it? To actually ask Santa for one of those for Christmas, then get it... Well, I know I won’t tell the boys at school - they wouldn’t understand - but Arielle should. I mean, she’s my best friend.
This is the girl I spend every day with when we’re not dragged off to visit dull relatives or spend quality time with the parents, which are the absolutely boring reasons why we haven’t seen each other for four whole days. This girl is my very best friend, despite the fact she’s a... y’know, a girl. And I’m not even sure what quality time with the parents is as it tends to be what we seem to do every other weekend anyway - play board games, eat lots of food and, if we’re really unlucky, visit my dull relatives.
I run my fingers through my rusty-coloured red hair, then tug awkwardly at my new black and turquoise plaid shirt that my Aunt Meryl bought me for Christmas. I think she must be colour blind - it seems to clash horribly with me, with who I am - I think maybe she must have had my cousin Daniel in my mind, or maybe Daniel switched the tags on our presents. He seemed rather pleased with his new Michael Jackson cassette album, which I’m certain was meant for me. Daniel could never moonwalk like I can; Dangerous is wasted on him.
‘Ummmm...’
‘Obélix!!’
Arielle looks annoyed. She’s stood precariously, wobbling madly on her new bright blue and yellow roller skates. She must have got them for Christmas as I’ve never seen them before.
‘Well, remember how I used to use yours?’
‘Use my what?’
She skates over to her dad’s new car. It’s a shiny new Land Rover that’s exactly the sort I’ll have when I’m older and a tip top vet. It will have more mud on it; it needs to look the part. Mr Lockley doesn’t have to worry about that though as he works in a boring office, like my dad.
‘Arielle, don’t lean on Bertha,’ Mr Lockley calls to her. ‘You’ll scratch the paintwork.’
He’s chopping up their Christmas tree - she’s so lucky that her parents let them have a real tree instead of the crappy old plastic tree we have to haul in and out of the attic every December.
‘Bertha’s the car,’ she explains, skating back over to me. ‘They got rid of Nessie. Oh, and use my what? C’mon Ob, what did you get?’
‘A pony.’
Her eyes light up. ‘An actual pony? Oh, Ob. That’s amazing. Daaaaaaaad,’ she calls. ‘Ob got a pony for Christmas!’
Mr Lockley turns to look at us and I blush a deep red. I hate it when I do that. I look like a tomato, and I hate them.
‘Not that sort of pony,’ I mutter. ‘A My Little Pony.’
Arielle doesn’t even register any surprise at this. She’s more concerned that that’s my lot, the sum total of my haul this Christmas.
‘Still playing vet, huh? Well, that’s cool. But, what else did you get? C’mon Obs, I’ve already got a billion My Little Pony toys of my own to play with. What else can we play with? What else did you get?’
I daren’t tell her that I’m quite happy just playing with my very own My Little Pony rather than having to use hers, that I’ve barely touched any of my other presents.
‘Ummm, a Mr Frosty,’ I offer. It’s still in the box.
‘Wicked!’ The skates are coming off now. ‘Let’s go in and play with it.’ She clocks my face. ‘We can use the ice to fix your pony. Maybe it was in a fire in the New Forest and we need to make a magic ice drink to make it better?’
I smile broadly at this. This is the reason Arielle Lockley is my very best friend.
‘Get yours too,’ I say. ‘It was a really terrible fire. Lots of animals were hurt.’
‘I have some new Sylvanians too,’ she calls back at me as she rushes into her house. ‘The rabbit family. I’ll bring those too!’
This is going to be the best afternoon ever!