A Beautiful Forever (4 page)

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.

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.

The next morning starts with a living area littered with hung-over
bodies. A new housemate was a call for a mid-week celebration at one of the
local pubs. Our flat is only a five-minute walk from Waterloo station, so we
took the train (although maybe I should call it the ‘Tube’ now) to London
Bridge and walked to a place called the Southwark Tavern, it was amazing – I
felt like I was in a movie or something because pubs just don’t look like that
in Australia. Well, not any that I’ve come across anyway.

It’s on a corner and has this round tiled façade, with
leadlight windows and these old-style lamps that were awesome – they looked
like the old gas lamps that had to be lit manually every night. I felt like
taking photos but didn’t want to stand out as a tourist when everyone else was
acting as though they belonged. Inside it was wood panelling as far as the eye
could see with leather cushioned bar stools set around high tables.

We ate my first English pub meal and drank to our heart's
content. It was a great initial night and my roommates all seem to be really
nice people. Naomi is a bit full on, but if I can just call upon the old Elliot
from when I was a solicitor, I can manage to keep her at arm’s length.

All up there are six of us in a three bedroom flat, two in
every room. I’m with Brian; he's an accountant working in the city – he seems
alright; he's a pretty small mousy looking guy with glasses and a pointed nose.
Naomi and Petra are the only two girls, and they share the largest room. Gavin
and a guy called Shane, share the third room.  Shane looks like your typical
Aussie surfer stereotype. He's a little shorter than me - around six foot, has
longish blond hair, blue eyes and a medium build. He talks in a slow laid back
manner, sounding as though he spent a lot of his teen years with a bong in his
hand, he says he works in advertising – doing what; I have no idea.

Work wise, the rest of them are all in hospitality – either
behind the bar or waiting tables at a restaurant. I guess that means that the
flat will rarely have all of us there at the same time – a good thing I guess
as it could start to feel pretty crowded if we were constantly on top of one
and other.

I don’t start work until Monday, so I have a couple of days
to hang out and sight see. I’m planning on taking the tube in, so I can do one
of those London open top bus tours. That way, I'll be able to shamelessly take
tourist photos to send home for my mum, who is already begging me to post
pictures on Facebook for her.

Naomi decides to invite herself along, saying that she has
only been here a month herself and hasn’t really done the tourist thing yet.

“Listen Naomi, I was kind of hoping I could just do this one
alone,” I tell her, trying not to sound completely rude.

“Oh, well… that’s ok, I’ll go another time,” she says,
looking completely disappointed.

“Oh come on Elliot, be a good sport – what’s the harm in
taking her with you?” Shane puts in.

“Fine,” I sigh, “Just be ready to leave in ten minutes.”

We head off early and get to Waterloo station before most of
the shop fronts have opened. It kind of reminds me of the train stations in the
City Circle back home because it’s almost a mini shopping centre.

As we follow the signs to the station entrance, I’m
surprised when I see a girl, who looks just like Paige, standing in front of a
hairdresser, I almost stop and go to her, but I realise that I must be mistaken
– this girl’s hair is sleek and straight, not that mass of curls that Paige
has.

Walking away, I'm filled with disappointment, it makes me
realise how much I wish I could see her again.

I’m a little on the early side this morning for my trial
shift at Stylz. The roller door isn’t even up yet. So, I stand around in front
of it with my jacket folded over my arms. The shop front is inside on the main
level of the station so at least I’m not standing outside in the cold, freezing
my arse off.

I gently run my hands over my hair to make sure everything
is in place. I used plenty of product and straightened it to a glossy shine.
When I do my hair this way, I feel like I should be in a Pantene ad, flicking my
hair around and talking about how fabulous their conditioner is.

It’s not long before a girl comes walking towards me,
fiddling with a set of keys. Her smile appears to be friendly and her curly
black hair bounces as she walks. As she gets closer she extends her hand.
“Hello, you must be Paige. I’m Andrea; we spoke on the phone yesterday.”

Reaching out to take her hand, I smile brightly, it’s show
time. “Hi Andrea, it’s lovely to meet you,” I say as I look her over, she has a
small, slim build and smooth light brown skin with dark chocolate coloured
eyes. On closer inspection, I notice her hair has red highlights scattered
through it. She wears little more than lip gloss for makeup and is dressed in a
pair of black pants and a fitted shirt with ‘stylz’ written in poison green
letters across the bust.

Unlocking the roller door, she presses a button, and we
stand back to watch it rise. She gestures me through the glass door, and I
follow her in, looking around as I do.

The inside is like any other salon you’d visit, with chairs
and magazines in front of a reception counter. It kind of reminds me of the
Just Cuts I used to go to before I started my apprenticeship.

“You called at the perfect time,” she tells me as she
bustles around preparing to open. “My other stylist up and quit on me two days
ago, and I have been run off my feet. The other girl, Amanda, can’t do
Wednesday through Friday, so I’ve had no one! We get a lot of walk ins in this
location, so I have actually been turning people away,” she looks at me
pointedly; her eyebrows raised, “which is not good for business.”

“I can imagine it wouldn’t be,” I respond astutely.

She walks over to me with a t-shirt in hand, “Here, put this
on. We have a fairly busy morning ahead of us. I really hope you’re good
because I booked knowing I’d have you here today.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “I mean, I’ll be fine. I’ve worked in
busy salons before.”

“So you’re in the UK indefinitely did you say?”

“I did say that, I have dual citizenship, so there’s no visa
to force me back.”

“What made you want to leave Australia; it sounds like the
ideal?”

“Time for a change,” is all I say. She tilts her head in a
‘fair enough’ gesture and starts to direct me around the salon to help her get
things ready. When we flip the sign to say we are open there’s already a
customer waiting.

God I wish we had open top buses in Australia; they really
are a great way to travel around. We see pretty much every landmark you have
ever seen on tv before, the palace, Big Ben, parliament, and a whole bunch of
other amazing places. It’s astounding to see them all in real life, even though
you recognise them all, they’re now a three-dimensional object in your mind
instead of the filtered image you normally associate them with.

It’s lunch time by the time we’re finished, so Naomi and I
go and find a café to have something to eat.

“I can’t believe I have waited so long to do that,” Naomi
says, in between bites of her open sandwich.

Nodding, as I chew my mouthful steak sandwich, I wait until
I can swallow to speak. “It was number one on my list. I wanted to get a bunch
of photos to send back home before I start working.”

“Well you certainly did that,” she responds.

“Yeah, I got a little snap happy I think,” I laugh as I
start flicking through the photos and post them to my Facebook page, there is
already a message on my wall from my mother reminding me to send her my UK
phone number, I remind her that I installed Skype on her computer and phone,
but private message my number to her anyway.

Naomi starts chattering away about all the culture and
history in London, but I’m not really listening. I nod my head occasionally as
some of her words reach my ears, although I’m mostly in my own head. Images of
both the girl I saw at the station and Paige flit through my mind and the more
I think about it, the more I think that girl was Paige.

I suddenly feel a great need to return and push back from
the table. Naomi stops speaking mid-sentence and looks at me in wide-eyed
surprise.

“I’m ready to go back, I’ll see you there?” It sounds like a
question but I'm actually telling her.

“Oh,” she says looking around at her half-finished food,
“um, I’d like to go back with you, but I’m not really finished yet… actually,
don’t worry. I'll come now.” She gathers her things off the table, and I pick
up her bag, handing it to her.

I make polite conversation with her all the way back to
Waterloo station, avoiding any personal questions. I’m not being mean to her,
but I don’t want to be overly nice and mistakenly give her the impression that
I’m interested.

Nerves build up inside my chest as we walk towards the hair
salon. Without warning Naomi, I stop walking and look in, hoping the girl I saw
is still there. When my eyes find her, I watch her movement as she talks to a
customer while taking their money at the counter. I’m now positive it’s Paige.
She’s smiling and animated and well, beautiful. An odd feeling overcomes me as
I watch her, it’s like I’m being enveloped in some sort of mist, and she’s the
only person I can see around me.

“Do you know her?” Naomi asks from beside me. Turning
towards her voice, I need to blink a couple of times before she comes into my
focus.

“What?” I ask in return.

“That girl in there, do you know her?”

“I think I do,” I say as I start moving toward the entrance
of the salon.

“Just make sure you keep up your weekly treatments. You've
over bleached your…” I stop talking as the bell above the door jingles and a
person I never expected to see again walks through. Betraying my mind, my stomach
flits about happily as I look back to the customer and try to finish. “Sorry,
you’ve over bleached your hair. We will have to cut it really short if you
don’t take good care of it.”