Who the fuck it Lily Lucasily?

Finally. It is the last day before Christmas Break at St. Gabriel Boarding School. We're all gathered in the chapel for Christmas service. I'm sitting at one of the behind benches with my back against the wall and my arms around my skinny legs. My best friend Laura is sitting beside me. Her brown eyes are fixed on page 463 in the hymn book where my eyes are also supposed to be. But there is no way that I'm able to focus. In about 20 minutes, when this is all over, we will be released. Laura's mom will pick up Laura, me and my older brother Oliver and drive us back into freedom, back to Manhattan. 

    In stead of joining in the singing of "It came upon a midnight clear" I look around. 

Victoria is sitting a few benches ahead of me. She runs her perfectly manicured fingers trough her blonde, glossy and slightly wavy hair. She points discreetly towards the group of boys sitting opposite of her and whispers something to Gabrielle who giggles. Oliver is sitting in that group of boys. I'm not sure but it looks like he is smiling at Victoria. 

If I should mention two of my absolute favourite persons in the world it would be Laura and my brother. Laura has been my best friend since we met at the age of nine on a September's day in the park. I was playing basketball with Oliver when she and her French nanny passed by. They were walking Laura's birthday gift, an eight-weeks-old King Charles Spaniel. Back then I desperately wanted a puppy so the moment i saw them I passed on the ball to Oliver, ran towards Laura and asked her if I could say hello to her dog. Of course I could and Laura, Oliver, puppy Rose and I played in the park until Laura, Rose and her Nanny, who by the way is called Manon, had to go back home to Laura's park avenue apartment so she could get dressed for dinner before her parents came home. 

   Laura and I played around like this several afternoons in September and October but one day, when it was getting cold and the first leaves were falling off the trees, she asked me if I would like to see her room. Sure I would, so the park avenue princess followed me to her castle. Actually it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Laura's penthouse apartment a castle. Her mom welcomed us with a smile as the doorman opened the door for us and we stepped inside, me in my trashed, red Converse and Laura in her little golden ballerina flats.

As the only child of one of New York's most successful business men Laura had, and still has, everything she could possibly dream of. Even though I've seen Laura's place a thousand times I'm still impressed by the classic elegantly decorated and always perfectly clean apartment. 

I often wonder how Laura can be so insecure and so modest when she has everything. Not only can she buy all the clothes, shoes and accessories she wants but she is also beautiful. She has long brown hair, pronounced cheekbones and beautiful brown eyes. Compared to me she is a little bit taller and slightly curvy. Her skin is pale and she always wears a little bit of pink blush but keeps her makeup natural. She is always well-dressed in clothes of high quality (and price) and her style is simple, clean and preppy. Often she wears ballerina flats and a cute and girly  yet simple dress, or a classic high-waisted skirt, mixed with Tifanny's jewellery her dad brings home from business trips around the world. 

What I love about her in particular is how caring she is. She always puts everyone else first, she always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better and she can always find a solution to every problem. She is very conscientious and sometimes it's a bit too much but I'm probably just saying that because I wish I had her willpower and commitment. 

I don't know whether it's Oliver or Laura who knows me best but it's obviously Oliver who has known me for the longest time. He has always been one of the people closest to me and he has always been protective in the way that older brothers are supposed to be. Especially after our mom died when I was seven and he was nine. If he heard me crying at night he would sneak into my room and lay down beside of me in my bed and silently we would cry together. Those days seem like forever ago now. He changed a lot as he became a teenager. Suddenly he became interested in other girls than his little sister. I felt a bit slighted but I had Laura so I was okay. Since then he has had too many girlfriends to count. He says that girls are all in love with his big brown eyes, his adorable smile and his slightly curly hair and he's probably right. Maybe Victoria is falling for it too. When we get out into the car I have to ask him about that..

Lily Lucasily