Learning to Fly - 4

Chapter 4 - Making friends and influencing people

Carly felt awful, she'd been judgemental, and that really wasn't like her. Camilla had been devastated, and she'd stood back and been the sort of person her mother would chastise. When did her need to be independent and strong let her become a bitch? She slumped on the bed and shook her head. It was so unlike her. So she headed off to find her roommate. 

The communal areas of the staff accommodation were empty, apparently she was the only Cinderella character with nowhere to go on a Saturday night. Not about to start trawling the bars looking for Camilla, she changed her plans. 

Danica had told her when she'd arrived that after eight pm staff could access the gym, and as she had no idea where to look for Camilla - the resort and town were anything but small, she grabbed her kit bag and left the room. A workout on a Saturday night! She really was living the high life. 

The gym was large and virtually deserted when she arrived. So she made for a treadmill and powered up to a brisk walk. Back home she'd ran or power-walked most days, the beauty of living in a semi rural area. Machines were nowhere near the same, but it beat tramping through the snow, that plain wore her out. 

Her iPod lived in her pocket, so once she started to make running pace, she slipped the earphones in and let The Foo Fighters help her through the burn. She wanted to run at least ten kilometres, but after six her legs were paining. The treadmills looked out over the piste, and she'd enjoyed watching the more daring late skiers come down from their pursuits, so much so that she'd had little regard for her surroundings. As she slowed down she glanced to her left and saw two men she recognised from breakfasts in the staff canteen spotting each other on a bench press, then to her right someone else was powering up on  a step machine. Stopping after a warm down, she reached for her drink and towel. 

As she stretched and walked out a few niggles, she saw the sign for the pool. She'd brought her costume, so why not swim? It was just what she felt like. Dumping her bag in the changing room, she kicked off her shoes and socks, changed then walked to the poolside. Three other people were swimming, all cutting through the water in an accomplished style, so she dived in and started her own set of lengths of the twenty five metre pool. 

After eight or maybe ten lengths, she pulled herself up against the poolside and let the water support her, glad of the rest, relaxation. It had been a funny week settling into this bizarrely different lifestyle. But she'd survived. It was amazing to think a week ago she was at her leaving party in her home town, with people who'd known her all her life.

Now here she was swimming in a pool with three other strangers, she glanced around her, make that two other strangers, she was so engrossed in her own thoughts she hadn't notice one person leave. Another woman hauled herself out of the water and smiled at Carly as she passed.

Returning the smile, Carly turned back to the pool. Two more lengths then she'd go. She was tired it had been a long week her body wasn't appreciating the work out, but she was glad she'd done it.

It was only as she ended her second and final length of the pool that, she saw the only remaining swimmer stopping ahead of her, a man, and as he turned she groaned, almost choking as she swallowed what felt like half the pool. Lucas.

He watched her approach, an indescribable expression on his face.

"Carly." He gave a cursory nod as she reached for the poolside alongside him.

Without reply, she reached up and dragged her hair back from her face, re-securing it with her hair tie. 

"Are you going to ignore me forever?" He'd pulled himself up and was sat on the poolside when she turned hearing his voice. 

She'd doubted she'd even seen such an athletic man, not that she was looking, but he had such long defined limbs, so defined muscles without being over developed. Shaking her head she dragged her eyes to his and scowled at the knowing smile that occupied his face.

"You chose to be rude to me, I don't think I owe you anything!"

He laughed, "and you more than had a revengeful retort. I don't understand why you can't accept my olive branch!"

Shrugging, Carly stared at him for a second, "you've hardly offered an olive branch. Why can't you accept that we don't like each other and leave me alone?"

With that she turned to complete another two lengths, her body screaming in pain with every stroke. But her reward was an empty pool when she left, no sign of Lucas anywhere.

It was five hours later, three am, when the bedroom door opened and Carly heard Camilla stagger in. She flicked on a lamp to see a rather bedraggled looking roommate trying to slip into bed.

Instead of feeling vindicated that this usually immaculate woman could actually look a mess, Carly felt sad for her. She looked so forlorn, so desperate.

"You ok Camilla?"

After a prolonged pause, the other woman glanced at her, "fine..." Then there was the delayed, "thanks." Now THAT was an olive branch.

"You sure? You seemed so sad earlier, and now..."

Camilla laughed, "don't tell me, now I look dreadful." The laugh was harsh, not filled with humour, but self despair.

"You just look sad. That's all."

There was another long moment whilst Camilla seemed to study her,  and Carly wondered if she was looking for any signs of humour, but she knew that her concern was genuine, and within moments it seemed that Camilla believed that.

"I'm ok. It's just been a long day."

They shared a smile, then both settled down to sleep. 

Over the next few weeks Carly bit back the anger hat rose in her at the thought of Camilla's privileged life.  Camilla was popular in a glamorous way, it reminded Carly of the fashionable girls in school. Everyone wanted to be around them, they were the rich, the trendsetters, and Camilla was the same. This was a distinct group that Carly had never fitted into it, with her supermarket bought clothing and her discount haircuts. Many nights as a teenager she'd spent crying into her pillow over a snide comment or a cutting look, in fact it had marred a lot of her life, that desire to fit in.

But now for the first time in her life, partly though the confidence of being appreciated and valued over the last few weeks in a way she never had before, and partly because she no longer had the desire to fit in, to be approved by these popular groups, she didn't care. 

Over  the same time as she saw a personal catharsis, Carly was grafting hard. She loved the creche and continually shared thoughts and ideas with a very receptive Rochelle, and she felt appreciated and valued. In the job she'd left back in Scotland she was anything but, in fact ideas, thoughts and suggestions were quashed. So this was new and happy territory for her.

Whilst Carly and Camilla had halted the animosity, they were anything but friends, up until now the relationship had been limited to good mornings and good nights, and the occasional 'how was your day?'. That was until one evening when they ended up in the same bar and had a few drinks together.  

Carly would never say that Camilla was a best friend, but all things considered, she was happier to be amicable with her than at loggerheads. They sat together for an occasional meal, and had walked to town together several times. But as for sharing secrets or knowing anything more than basic information about the other, they were distant emotionally. Which is why Carly was so surprised when she received a note one lunchtime from Camilla.

"Will you meet me in Cafe Brauner 

after work? I finish at four thirty, I'm 

happy to wait. Cam."

Carly'd never made plans with Camilla before, and she'd never referred to her as Cam, so she was suspicious and curious over this turn of events. So Carly headed off as soon as she was finished work at five, promising to fill Rochelle in on all that happened.

Carly was still amazed at the beauty of the town she'd moved to, she'd thought the resort and hotel were magnificent, but the village was equally as quaint. As she strolled through the streets to the her rendez-vous with Camilla, Carly couldn't help but smile. Life was good.

Camilla was sat staring into a coffee cup rather vacantly when she slid into the opposite side of the booth to her. "You ok?"

But as she looked at Camilla she realised that this was a real turning point,  her roommate sat there, a woman tormented in a way Carly never had been, she looked close to the edge.

"What's wrong Camilla?" Carly hissed not wanting to draw to much attention to them. Camilla waited as Carly ordered a filter coffee from the waitress who'd immediately approached, then raised her eyes to Carly's.

"You're the only one I could turn to. No one else is sensible. I didn't know what else to do..."

Carly reached out and took Camilla's hand, stopping her fingers from tearing a napkin to shreds, "what is it? What the hell has happened? You're scaring me!"

By now Camilla was fighting tears, "I don't know what to do!"

The coffee arrived and was placed in front of Carly, once the waitress had retreated she glared at Camilla, "what is it? Are you ill? Are you in debt? What is it?"

Camilla but her lip nervously, "I think I'm pregnant."

Carly gasped, a dozen scenarios had gone through her head none of them were even close to the truth. Pregnant? 

"Are you sure?"

Camilla shook her head, "I'm late...I haven't taken a test though. But my father's stopped my allowance, I can't manage this on my own...I'll have to..."

Carly held up a hand, she was nothing if not an organiser, a problem solver. "Right. Money, future, plans...all nothing until you've done a test." She glanced at her watch, "have you bought a test?" 

Camilla shook her head, "I can't bring myself to."

Carly nodded, "I'll get one and meet you back at the room. Have you told...the father?" She couldn't briing herself to even say Lucas' name.

Gasping Camilla grabbed her hand, "NO! Don't breathe a word, he'll think I've done it on purpose or something...please!"  

Carly nodded a reluctant acquiescence, "ok. twenty minutes I should be back. Ok?"

Alpine villages and towns were not the best place to buy pregnancy tests after five in the afternoon. Back home she could've gone to one of the twenty four hour supermarkets to buy one at any time, here she had to visit three places and then beg a Herr Klaus to not close his  small pharmacist before she had purchased one.

During the walk back to the hotel, Carly's mind was overactive. An unwanted or rather unplanned pregnancy was the worst case scenario in so many people's eyes, Carly knew it was for her. The gossip mongers back home had field days over any such event, and she'd always been SO aware of the anxiety that would have caused her parents. She couldn'timagine being Camilla having to make the decision as to whether you kept the baby, faced up to partner, friends and of course parents, or...Carly shook her head, not wanting to think about things too deeply. 

Camilla was sat, head in hands, tears dripping through her fingers when Carly opened the door.

She tossed the box onto the bed and said quietly, "it takes a few minutes, you just need to pee on the stick."

Nodding she stood and took the box, "lucky I had three cups of tea waiting for you then!" It was an attempt at humour, but fell a long way short. 

As she stepped to the door, Carly's voice stopped her, "he should know, should be here for you!"

She didn't turn around as she shook her head, "no Carly, I can't do that."

Four minutes proved to be an interminably long time during which Camilla became paler and paler.

"Will you check it?" Camilla begged when Carly informed her the time was up.

So Carly lifted the stick and checked the window, reading the instructions her eyes glanced from the paper to the stick several times before she smiled, "it's good news, one line means NOT pregnant. Though it recommends you repeat it in a couple of days."

Camilla's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, "really? Oh my God!" Once again she cried, but this time for a whole different reason. Carly sat beside her and Camilla almost collapsed into her arms with relief. 

As she held her room-mate and waited for her physical shaking to cease, Carly let out a sigh, she had a feeling things were never going to be the same again.