A Pocketful of Stars

A Pocketful of Stars — page 5 — 3 While they talk I get distracted by the countdown on my phone Fifteen minutes That's when tickets to the biggest video gaming convention convention of the year are released Dad promised he would go with me if I could get us both tickets I've been saving up my birthday money for it The thing is they can sometimes sell out in minutes so you have to be quick Hurry up Safiya Mum calls I look up and find her at the door of the coffee shop tapping her feet impatient impatient to leave Mum and I look so similar we could almost be twins apart from our hair and my glasses We both have olive skin and brown eyes Except Mum has black curls that float down her back whereas my hair hangs by my waist in limp waves Mum the play doesn't start for another half hour I protest Secretly I want to stay here long enough to buy the tickets before we go inside But if I tell Mum that she won't understand I want to find our seats early get comfortable And that takes half an hour Mum sighs opens her mouth to retort and then storms out of the coffee shop I can't help but roll my eyes Mum can be so hot and cold sometimes like a sunny winter's day Things can be going really well and then suddenly everything everything changes

A Pocketful of Stars — page 6 — 4 The truth is even though Mum and I look alike we're not very similar in other ways Often it's like we're on different pages of the same book always just missing each other as the page turns Come on Saff Elle says reaching for my hand She's used to mine and Mum's bickering now When we get into the theater foyer it's packed and I walk with Elle until we find Mum outside the auditorium auditorium tickets in hand She hasn't seen us yet Elle says she's going to pop to the restroom quickly so I stop for a moment and watch Mum standing there alone Her eyes are far away like they're in a different world entirely Mum's been so intense about this show more than I've ever seen her before You'd think we were going to the West End in London not the local theater in our tiny town A staff member approaches her and Mum's eyes focus again No thank you she says when the woman asks if she needs any help I'm just waiting for my daughter and her friend She comments on how lovely the woman's woman's earrings are and her face lights up as she tells Mum that she made them herself Soon enough they're in a full blown conversation about jewelry making even though Mum knows nothing about it Mum's good at talking to people Being a lawyer She knows exactly what to say at all times I'm different different I only know how to express myself in video games Instead of words I use spells and incantations

A Pocketful of Stars — page 7 — 5 Once the woman leaves Mum's face falls into a frown She checks her watch and glances anxiously across the foyer just as Elle taps me on the shoulder That's when Mum sees us Except she sees Elle before me because she stands out way more than I do with her bright red mane like a beacon of light There you are Mum says relieved but I can hear the annoyance in her voice too I check the time Five minutes until the convention tickets are released I'm just going to the restroom I say Be back in a second Mum lets out a noise that sounds like a monster is living inside her She hands me my ticket barely looking looking at me now You'll have to find your seat alone she warns like I'm five years old and not thirteen Once Mum and Elle have disappeared inside the auditorium I run back outside the theater and back into the coffee shop where they have Wi Fi I log in to my account and watch the countdown Two minutes Did you want a drink the person behind the counter asks I stare at him blankly You're not really supposed to be in here without a drink he clarifies a little more sternly I hate being scolded My eyes dart between the coffee shop guy and the

A Pocketful of Stars — page 8 — 5 countdown on my phone and I panic frozen I try to open my mouth but it's like it's glued shut I am not good under pressure with strangers So I just shake my head and run back out on to the street Well done Saff I think feeling embarrassed If Mum or Elle were here they would have been able to talk to him and say Yes just an orange juice please and buy the tickets to the gaming convention and everything would be fine Instead I stand on the street where the Wi Fi doesn't work and there's hardly any signal I try to load the page over and over until all the tickets have sold out and the page shows a big sad smiley face with a pop up bubble that says Maybe next year To make everything worse by the time I get back to the theater the play's already started Mum's going to be furious I slip into my seat after stepping on about five people's toes almost knocking a drink out of someone's someone's hand and getting a few tuts from older people And when I'm finally in my seat I shrink so low that I'm surprised I haven't morphed into a turtle hiding inside its shell I look over at Elle and she gives me a small thumbs up before turning back to the play Mum's next to her on the other side ignoring me I watch the two of them whisper to each other during the play like best friends At the interval Mum goes and grabs her and Elle an ice cream vanilla for Mum strawberry for Elle

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