Thursday: December 9th, 2015
I could feel the cold creeping through my socks and numbing my toes as I walked out of Winter Wonderland and towards the nearest cafe. Rolled up scroll in hand, I could already feel the bitterness sinking in. Not only was my 'partner' not with me to do some of the harder parts, but I had to speak to stupid fake Santa again to get the clue. The ninth day of Christmas was not off to a great start.
Finally reaching the warmth of the cafe, I removed my scarf and jacket, ordered a hot chocolate to my table, and pulled up a seat. I didn't know how long solving a riddle would take. So, for the first, I figured I was best off doing it in the warmth. Untying the candy-cane looking ribbon, I unfurled the roll of paper before smoothing it out on the table in front of me.
"Under a pickle?" I mumbled under my breath as I read and reread the clue.
Taking a picture of the riddle, I sent it off to Ria and Jojo while I continued to ponder it more. I told Jasper I would also send him the clue the moment I picked it up, but a part of me wanted to already be prepared with the answer before I did so. To show him that I was still that smart girl he used to be friends with.
I know getting Ria and Jojo involved was cheating... but I couldn't help myself.
Ria: It's either related to the 'close to your heart' part or the pickle.
Ria: But why pickle?
Me: No clue.
Jojo: I tried googling pickles and Christmas... why is it a thing that people buy ornaments shaped like a pickle? That's so weird.
Ria: JOJO YOU'RE A GENIUS!
Jojo: I know.
Jojo: But how am I this time?
Me: Yes. Please explain.
Ria: I tried googling pickles and London...
Ria: Zara, do you know another name for a pickle?
Me: ... No?
Jojo: Gherkin?
Me: O:
Me: The Gherkin! OMG!
Me: Thanks guys!
Jojo: I don't get it.
Ria: It's the nickname of a building in London.
Me: I'll let you know when I've picked up the entry ticket. Love you both!
Quickly finishing the rest of my hot beverage, I forwarded the picture to Jasper with a note that I'd be heading to the Gherkin. He didn't take long to reply to me.
Jasper: Just got out of my class. I can't believe how quickly you solved that. I'll meet you there?
Me: I mean, it was pretty easy. And sounds good.
A part of me felt a little guilty claiming the hard work of my friends. But at the same time, I needed a win with him. My ego needed it.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
The oblong-shaped skyscraper with its curved structure and endless windows framing the exterior stood tall in the air, reaching for the grey clouds above. I never really questioned its nickname growing up, more because when I was younger I accepted the reality of a lot of things instead of questioning it. Now, as an almost adult, I wondered how 'the gherkin' was the name it landed. Because surely it had worse nicknames given its shape...
It didn't take much longer after exiting Bank station for the monstrosity to fill my sight. As I walked along the footpath down Cornhill Street then onto Leadenhall Street, the familiar tall, black-haired boy in school uniform appeared in front of me, coming from the other direction. Noticing me, a smile slipped onto his face as he raised a hand and gave me a wave.
My heart squeezed at the idea of Jasper's face lighting up because he saw me. But the memory of that night, the venom in his eyes before he laughed at me for thinking he'd kiss me resounded in my brain, inhibiting any form of pleasure spreading across my face.
"Hey," he greeted when we had met in the middle, his breath visible in the frigid air.
"Hi," I mumbled back. "Should we head over?"
He nodded, hands tucking into his pockets as we turned down St Mary Axe, the very street the Gherkin was located on.
"I'm still impressed you figured it out so quickly," he said, filling the awkward silence electrocuting the air between us.
"Yeah, well... wasn't that hard."
"It was, Zara. Give yourself some credit. I mean, you figured it out within half an hour. It's phenomenal. You're still as smart now as you were back then."
Him talking about who were were back then brought a sharp pain to my heart. Because everything here had changed in the years I had been away. The one constant I thought would always exist—Jasper—also had changed beyond what I fathom. So I did all I could handle in that moment to not give away my guilt that I hadn't actually figured out the riddle on my own, and I shrugged.
Sure enough though, as we rounded the perimeter of the Gherkin, we came across a lady dressed in an elf costume. It took everything in my power to not laugh at her.
Eyes going over us and zeroing in on the festive scroll in my hands, the smile spread across her face. She seemed to be embodying her character more than those in Winter Wonderland, despite that she certainly stook out like a sore thumb in the sea of grey and black jackets around her.
"Congratulations guys!" she cheered when we approached. "First to solve the riddle." She handed a large, laminated slip of paper to us. "That's the description of today's activity held at 4pm at Hyde Park, right back by Santa's Workshop," she said. "Use the afternoon to practice." Then she winked at us.
We had said absolutely nothing to her, but she continued to ramble nonsense, evidently bored while standing out in the cold on her own. But eventually when we managed to get a word in, we thanked her and headed off.
"Can I shout you a drink?" Jasper asked me as we turned back onto Leadenhall Street.
"No, it's fine. I'll meet you at the competition later," I said.
But his hand reached out, grabbing my gloved one before I could move further. "Please, Zara. It would be nice to read through it together, discuss strategy... All that." His obsidian eyes bore into mine as his brows turned down earnestly. I couldn't quite pick the emotion that swirled in his gaze, but he seemed almost sad about the fact that I wanted to go.
The part of me still wary about his actions the other night said to leave it and head home. But the other part of me, the one influenced by Ria and Jojo's kind demeanours, insisted I give him another chance. Shaking my head, I heaved a sigh and decided I should go with the latter, but still keep my distance where I could. "Fine, but I'm buying my own drink."
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
"Can I read that?" Jasper asked after I just finished reading it. We were still waiting for our drinks, but I passed the slip across the table to him.
Even when we were kids, the concept of 'reading in your head' was something Jasper struggled to grasp. So as he began to mutter the instructions under his breath, I couldn't stop the corners of my lips turning up, liking the fact that some things had stayed the same about him.
He looked up at me. "So it's an obstacle course?"
Shrugging, I replied, "Seems so. Means we will probably need to climb and crawl through a bunch of stuff."
"That sounds pretty easy."
"But we will have to hold hands most of the time."
Small smile slipping across his face, he said, "That's nothing too awkward."
"Speak for yourself," I muttered under my breath, but he seemed to catch it.
"How many times do I have to apologise?"
"Well, why did you have to be such a jerk?"
"I told you. I had a lot going on."
"So? The Jasper I knew never took his feelings out on others just because he was overwhelmed about something else. Especially not in a vindictive way."
"Well the Jasper you knew is gone and had to face a lot of shit when his best friend left him."
"I didn't choose to leave!" I snapped back.
He had no response to that, gaze falling down to the table as his jaw visibly clenched. "I'm sorry, okay? I really shouldn't have played with you like that. I just... I was drunk, not in the right mindset, and felt like getting back at you would make me hate you less."
"Get back at me for what?"
He shook his head then rubbed his temples with his fingers. "I told you I would tell you at the end of the competition."
"Don't get what all the mystery is about it," I mumbled.
"Please... let's drop it, Zara."
"Fine." But instead of strategising, instead of talking about anything, once our drinks arrived, we sat in silence, sipping them slowly until they were emptied.
Then we bid each other goodbye and agreed to meet at Hyde Park at 3:30pm before the challenge starts.
∘◦ ❈ ◦∘
Comments (0)
See all