A coastal town, out of season. A narrow street lined with tall Edwardian townhouses. I was at work in the attic of one of them using a drawing board and T-square instead of a Mac. The studio had wooden beams and high ceilings that followed the slant of the roof.
There was a girl there wearing a dark coloured cardigan, white blouse and black trousers. She was small and pretty with long, straight black hair. I’ve never seen her before but I know that we knew each other very well and I trusted and respected her unconditionally – like an older sister rather than a girlfriend.
She took me into the storage room at the back and pointed up to the skylight set into the roof. The wind was blowing clouds across the sky. As I watched, the clouds broke apart and began forming into distinctive shapes. They became cars and trains but not realistic ones, these were blocky and oversimplified, the kind of cars and trains a child might draw.
The wind changed direction and the clouds now came towards us, forming into the shapes of fighter planes – Lancaster bombers, Tornadoes and Spitfires. They floated silently lower and lower until they were close enough overhead for me to see how detailed they were. Every rivet and strut and panel was perfectly formed but the planes themselves were all gunmetal grey and solid as if they’d been carved or injection moulded.
They glided past, following the line of the street. Soon they were level with the window and my friend pulled me back as a Harrier Jump Jet clipped the side of the building with it’s wingtip, demolishing most of the wall in front of me.
Scared and confused we ran from the house and along the street. The fresh, sea air had a calming effect and before long we were walking steadily, so content in each other’s company that we didn’t feel the awkward pressure of having to make conversation.
There was a field on a hill leading up from the cliff. Lots of people were gathered there, many of whom I recognised - close and distant friends; work colleagues; casual acquaintances. They were standing together in loose groups of five or six and looked as though they were waiting for something to begin. I smiled and waved at a few who spotted me but I didn’t stop to talk to anyone.
I saw a lad I remember from University. His name was Phil but I don’t recall his surname. He was on my course but we didn’t know each other very well. He was one of those people that I neither liked or disliked, we just had nothing whatsoever in common so simply never became friends. I haven’t seen him or even thought about his existence for over twelve years which is why it’s strange that suddenly, it seemed very important to me to say hello.
He was striding across the field along with four very attractive women. They were heading for small, squat building that looked like it could be a cricket pavilion. As I ran over to them, they were almost at the door and inside it didn’t look like a pavilion or clubhouse at all. The interior was like the foyer of a block of very new flats – lots of strip lighting and bare white walls. Phil had opened the heavy fire-door by the time I got to him. I gently tapped his shoulder and he turned around to face me.
‘Phil! How are you? Remember me?’ I said, and told him my name in case he’d forgotten.
He obviously had because he looked at me as though I were a complete stranger. Was it him after all? Yes, I was positive.
‘Come on Phil, Nottingham? Graphic Design? 1997?’ I repeated my name but again, got no response. The four women were confused and looking at him for instruction.
I just presumed he’d forgotten. I explained over and over again who I was and how I knew him but he never said a word. Eventually my friend grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards a few steps.
‘He’s blanking you, you idiot.’ She told me. ‘He knows who you are and he’s deliberately ignoring you. Just leave him be, walk away.’
‘No, surely not.’ I said. But then I heard the women giggle and knew it was true. I glanced round and saw him whispering to them, a smirk on his face.
‘Right, well fuck him then,’ I thought and turned around to tell him exactly that but he’d already gone inside the building. The fire-door slammed shut behind him.
I shook my head in total outrage and my friend quietly led me away.
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