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Golden rays of morning Texas sun crept in through the dusty window, lighting the small classroom with a gentle orange glow. Accompanying the light was a slowly building heat, gradually building in the classroom and making the twentyish youths inside sweat under their excessively elaborate school uniforms.
The boys wore long, dark trousers and yellowing off-white button-up shirts, all accompanied with shiny shoes, scruffy blazers and caps that came in a variety of sizes (none of which fit their heads). The girls on the other hand wore inconveniently ruffled dresses under poorly stitched pinafores, the long garments often ill-fitting and dirty from where they had been dragged along the ground.
Annabelle Parker absentmindedly fidgeted with the fabric of her dress skirt, soaking in the sun from her seat at her desk by the window. She was a quiet yet blunt girl who frequently went whole lessons without so much as opening her mouth once. It’s not that she didn’t like school - she was truly grateful that she had the opportunity for education as a young woman in her small town - she just… often felt like she didn’t belong. That she wasn’t like her peers, somehow. That no matter how hard she tried, she would never fit in with them.
Her attention had long since been stolen away from the lesson, her gaze instead fixing on the glass jar of cents on the shelf behind her teacher’s desk. It contained all of the school’s accumulated donations, each coin catching the Texas sun and reflecting into the glass, creating intricate patterns of light. She often found herself gazing at the jar, imagining the feeling of the sun-warmed coins slipping between her fingers… She shook her head, clearing her mind of the unwanted thought.
When she was a child, Annabelle used to get herself into trouble with her Mama for taking things that didn't belong to her (especially shiny and valuable things). She would rifle through her Mama’s jewellery box, taking the shiniest bits of the polished metal and stashing them in various places around her bedroom. Her Mama used to scold her with a smile, indicating that she was just as proud of her daughter as she was angry with her.
But her Mama wasn't around anymore, so the only one stopping her from indulging in her harmful pastimes was herself (well, her Daddy certainly tried, but beneath his intimidating exterior, he was just a sweet and soft man who couldn't stop Annabelle even if he tried).
Mentally barring herself from staring at the jar, Annabelle turned her gaze to the window, instead staring at her own reflection. Her thick swathes of wavy blonde hair were swept out of her face, revealing her suntanned skin. Her face was dotted with various freckles from her time out in the harsh sun, and her bluish green eyes looked tired, indicating her evident boredom with the contents of the lesson.
Mr Twilliger (a short, boring, and wholly unassuming man whose voice seemed to have been genetically engineered to make people unable to listen for more than five minutes without immediately falling asleep or start wishing for the sweet release of death to save them from his lesson) was in the midst of alphabetically recounting the American states for the third time in the span of the lesson, seemingly trying to make his students join in with his recitation (to no avail).
Annabelle was about to surrender herself to sleep and close her eyes when something caught her eye in the corner of the window’s reflection. She turned her head around, directing her attention to the opening classroom door. Mr Twilliger turned to the opened door, finally halting his recitation as he addressed the newcomer just out of Annabelle’s sight.
“Goodness, my apologies. I had forgotten that you were coming in today.” Mr Twilliger stumbled over his words, clearly taken aback by the unknown newcomer’s sudden entrance. “Please, my boy, come in!” He instructed, beckoning the stranger in. Annabelle’s breath caught in her throat.
The boy was taller than most adults in the town, yet he couldn’t be any older than Annabelle. His skin was a warm, golden tanned colour that looked half-sun-bronzed, half natural. His hair was cut short, dark brown curls cropped to just above his ears. He wore scruffy, mud stained trousers that seemed too short for his long legs, and a (seemingly) home stitched tie over what seemed to be his best dress shirt (but still looked excessively baggy and worse for wear). He wore thick-soled leather boots, perhaps contributing somewhat to his height. Dark brown eyes scanned the classroom, the hue turning to an enthralling amber shade when hit by the light. There was a strange beauty to the boy that Annabelle couldn't quite place. She felt a heat creep into her cheeks when his gaze landed on her briefly, filling her with both butterflies and a deep confusion at the feeling. This was new.
“Class, this here gentleman is gonna be joining our lessons from now on.” The older man announced, looking at the tall boy as if waiting for him to speak.
Instead, the new boy anxiously shifted his weight from foot to foot, nervously flexing his fingers as he looked around. Mr Twilliger coughed, alerting the newcomer to the fact that he had not yet fulfilled his half of the social contract.
“Oh! Uh… Ma’ name’s Jeremy Jambalaya. I live at the cattle farm with ma’ Daddy and ma’ sister, Josie. I’m sure you’ve heard of us.” He said, his accent thick and his voice coming out somewhat forced.
Seemingly satisfied with the (admittedly very few) words spoken by the new student, Mr Twilliger waved for Jeremy to take a seat. The boy’s gaze scanned the classroom once again, eventually landing on the only free desk; the one directly in front of Annabelle’s.
He walked down the aisle between two rows of desks, trying his best to avoid eye contact with his new classmates. Before taking his seat, though, he met Annabelle’s eyes, giving her an awkward closed mouthed smile which she quickly returned with equal anxiousness. He sunk down in the rickety wooden chair, wincing as it creaked in a disconcerting way.
Annabelle couldn’t see over the boy’s head, his great height seemingly not lessened much even when sat down. She didn’t mind, though - his head blocked the donation jar from her view, forbidding her from getting distracted by it. Maybe she wouldn't be the only one stopping herself from indulging in bad habits after all.
~
On the hill in front of the school, there is a single southern live oak tree. Its branches span out to around 80ft, giving whoever resides below some much needed respite from the often overwhelming heat of the Texas summer sun. Regardless of the season, though, Annabelle often found herself sitting under the tree while waiting for her Father to arrive and walk her home from school.
“It’s not safe for a beautiful girl like you to walk home alone, Annabelle.” He would tell her. While she didn’t wholly agree, she didn’t entirely mind the time she got to spend sitting in the shade, watching from the hill as the people below went about their lives, like a spectator watching a sports match with great interest.
Despite the tranquillity of it all, a part of Annabelle longed to be down there. She wanted to ride her horse through town and take part in all of the hustle and bustle, not sit up in the safety of the tree’s shade and wait for a man to come and protect her. She tried to move past the thought - there was no point in wallowing in the things that she had no control over.
“Mind if I join you?” Annabelle jumped at the unexpected voice from behind her, not expecting her tranquillity to be interrupted. Despite having only heard it for the first time today, she immediately recognised the owner of the southern twang.
“Jeremy!” She exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise.
The lanky boy smiled, giving a shy half-wave in response to her greeting. He lingered there for a moment, once again shifting from foot to foot as he anxiously awaited her response to his question.
“Please, sit!” Annabelle blurted out, gesturing to the spot next to her on the ground.
The boy sat on the grass, looking to Annabelle with a thankful smile before turning to look out over the world below the hill.
“It’s real’ busy down there.” He said, his voice coming out strange and forced sounding once again. Annabelle quirked her eyebrow in confusion but brushed it aside. He was probably just nervous to talk to new people.
“Yeah.” She agreed, returning her gaze to the various scenes playing out below. “I’m Annabelle, by the way. Annabelle Parker.”
“Nice to meet ya’, Annabelle.” Jeremy replied pleasantly, turning to her and extending his hand.
She stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before hesitantly taking it, not used to shaking hands with boys so casually. His hand was larger than hers as it enveloped her own, shaking it thoroughly. Was this normal? Was this what young women were supposed to do?
She had always known that she would eventually need to find a nice boy to settle down with. But, truth be told, she had never really felt the same way towards boys that her fellow classmates seemed to.
For as long as she could remember, Annabelle was always the odd one out in that respect. When the other girls were gossiping about the boys who were smiling at them at church, Annabelle would stand to the side and smile, pretending that she understood that feeling of instant attraction that they all seemed to feel. But here… With Jeremy’s hand wrapped around hers… She felt it. She really felt it.
He released her hand, turning back to look out at the distance.
“Tell me, Annabelle, what are your plans for the weekend?” His tone was careful and practiced, like he was taking the first step into uncharted territory.
“Well… I suppose I’ll probably go into town with my Daddy.” She responded with a shrug, trying to hide the disdain that was creeping into her tone. She loved her Daddy - she really did - but she hated going into town. When she was in town, she needed to play-pretend at being something she wasn’t.
“And do what?” Jeremy asked, eyes still fixated on the people riding horseback down below.
“Go shopping for dresses. Looking for a husband.” She said, no longer trying to hide her displeasure. For some reason, she felt like Jeremy would understand.
“Seriously? You want to do that stuff?” Jeremy scoffed, looking at her with a dumbfounded yet knowing expression.
“Yeah! Well… I mean, it’s not like I have much of a choice…?” Annabelle countered, eyebrows furrowed at confusion at his tone. Jeremy shook his head.
“Tell me, Annabelle Parker, if you could do anything in the world this weekend, what would you do?” He asked, a strange look filling his infuriatingly captivating eyes.
“I suppose… I suppose I’d probably go horse riding. I’d go up to the city, and I’d have some fun. Without my Daddy, that is - it would just be me. Well… Maybe me and a friend.” Annabelle offered, voice trailing off as she awaited judgement and mockery. A woman wanting to venture out to the city on her own? It was ridiculous. She mentally cursed herself. Why was she vocalising these thoughts with this strange boy?
Jeremy sprung to his feet, a wild smile splitting his face. “Let’s do it, then! You and me! It’s 1880 for crying out loud! Why should you sit around shopping for dresses and looking for husbands when you could be out there, having some fun?”
He stared down at Annabelle, grinning as if he had just suggested something ground-breaking and brilliant - which, in a way, he had.
Annabelle shook her head in disbelief at his boldness, horror filling her at the thought of riding out into the city with this strange (yet oddly charming) boy.
“Excuse me?” She laughed uncomfortably, shuffling slightly back from the boy who stood before her, the almost-setting sun illuminating him from behind, outlining him with a brilliant golden glow. “You’re insane. My Daddy would never let me go riding out alone, let alone with a farm boy like you.”
Jeremy’s smile faltered somewhat, but didn’t vanish. He sat himself back down on the grass, closer to Annabelle this time. When he next spoke, his voice was softer and less forced. Less awkwardly deep and… was Annabelle just imagining it, or did it sound more feminine?
“Annabelle, when I first saw you back in class, I could tell that you were a kindred spirit. So, I’m gonna tell you somethin’, but I don’t want you to go tellin' anyone else.”
Annabelle met the boy's eyes, chest fluttering somewhat at how close he was. “Okay, I won’t.”
Jeremy took a few deep breaths, meeting her eyes.
“I’m a girl.”
Annabelle stared at him for a moment, frozen in a mix of confusion and disbelief. She didn’t know whether she should laugh at his sorry attempt at a joke, or shout at him for making her think that he was going to tell her something genuinely serious. But then she looked at him; really looked.
Jeremy’s gorgeous hazel eyes were framed by long, dark eyelashes; his lips were plump and ruby coloured; his shirt was excessively baggy, enough so to conceal curves. Annabelle gasped, drawing back somewhat.
“You’re a girl.” She affirmed, eyes wide with thinly veiled shock.
“Yes, ma’am.” Affirmed not-Jeremy, leaning back against the thick trunk of the oak tree. “The name’s Josie.” She said in her true voice, punctuating the sentence with two finger guns which (judging by the look on her face) she immediately regretted and deemed inappropriate for the tone of the conversation.
“Josie… But isn’t that-?” Annabelle began, realisation dawning on her face as she began to put the pieces together in her head.
“Ma’ sister’s name? Yeah, it is.” Josie began. “But most people just call me Butch.”
“Why…?” Annabelle stared at her, struggling to keep up with the onslaught of new information.
“Well, ma’ Daddy wanted ma’ brother to start goin’ to school so he could get a good city job one day - maybe at the bank, or somethin’ - but he didn’t want to 'cause he's thick as nails, and I wanted to try new things. So, we made a deal; without telling Daddy, of course. Every day, Jeremy goes out to the city and does whatever it is that boys do. Meanwhile, I put on some boy’s clothes and head off to school, pretendin’ to be him. Then, in the evenings, we go home at the same time and tend to the cattle together so Daddy can't tell who came home first. Pretty smart, ain’t it?” Butch smirked, gaze fixed on the shocked-looking Annabelle.
“Besides, I think I look better in these clothes, anyways.” She said with a small laugh, adjusting her tie.
"I can't believe it..." Annabelle exhaled, leaning back onto the tree trunk as she attempted to process the new information.
Silence fell between them, brown eyes meeting green, locking for a beat too long before tearing apart. Neither looked at each other, both missing the flush that dusted the others’ cheeks.
“So, Annabelle…” Butch pulled herself together, trying to recover her cool, calm persona. “Do you wanna go out riding to the city on the weekend? Just two girls… not shopping for dresses and not looking for husbands?” She feigned confidence as she fidgeted with her hands.
Annabelle pondered the offer for a second, looking from the girl in front of her to the world playing out below the hill.
There are some moments in life where you make decisions that you know will change everything. These big, irreversible decisions that shift the seemingly straight and narrow track of your life onto a whole new one - one that’s impossible to disembark from, leaving you to tumble further and further down this winding and unpredictable track. Looking at Butch, Annabelle knew that this was one of those decisions. Was this strange, new girl who she had just met worthy of derailing Annabelle from her straight, safe and predictable track?
“Sure, Butch.” She said, voice filled with a confidence that she wasn’t sure she had until she heard it come from her mouth.
Butch grinned at her, eyes reflecting a mix of pride and relief. “I’ll look forward to it.”
The pair sat in comfortable silence for a moment, no longer looking down at the seemingly unreachable people below. They instead watched the sun setting over a world which now seemed theirs to conquer. How could a girl she had only just met fill Annabelle’s heart with the warmth of the sun and more? She didn’t understand it, and maybe she didn’t need to. Annabelle broke the silence.
“My Daddy will be here to walk me home soon. Probably ten minutes or so.” Annabelle sighed, not wanting her time sitting with Butch to end so soon.
“Well, what do we do until then?” Butch asked, hearing ten minutes as the blessing of getting to spend more time together rather than the curse of needing to part.
“Well… We could…” Annabelle tried to find the words, trying to dispel unwanted thoughts from her head.
Tell each other secrets, Butch.
Hold hands, Butch.
Run away together, Butch.
“Go back into school and steal that jar of cents? The one on the jar behind Mr Twilliger's desk?” Annabelle blurted out, immediately cursing herself for perhaps letting the worst possible suggestion slip out. She couldn’t bear to look over to Butch. She probably looked horrified, she was probably getting up and leaving, she was probably-
“Well, sure, Annabelle.” Affirmed Butch, big brown eyes wide and twinkling like a dog infatuated with its owner. Her voice was eager and genuine without a trace of doubt or disgust to be found. “I’d love to.”
The taller girl stood, smiling warmly at the look of bewildered shock on the blonde’s face. She lent down slightly, extending a hand to help the shorter girl up.
Annabelle took Butch’s hand, and things didn’t feel so confusing anymore. In fact, they felt clearer than they ever had.
She was gonna go steal that jar of cents with Butch, and she was gonna have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
Her life was spiralling off-track, and she loved it.