Summer Soap (Episode 8): More college shocks, and a visit to craft fair

Natalie stared James in the face, waiting for the punchline, but he just moved on to another equation. She gave him thirty more seconds before her patience ran out.

“What do you mean we have next week off!?”

James jumped in his seat, and Natalie felt the weight of a dozen glances from the other students in Boole Library. She leaned in, making sure to whisper this time. James leaned in as well, turning his ear toward her for good measure.

“Do we really have next week off?” It seemed too good to be true. She’d heard the phrase tossed around, but thought it was a reference to exam season, or an elaborate prank like the senior skip days back home.

Granted, she never played truant for an entire week of school, not even during her final year. It still seemed more plausible than an academic institution granting its students an entire week of free time.

“Yeah, it’s Reading Week starting Monday, remember?” he turned back to his statistic as though Natalie was any less confused than she was a moment ago.

Natalie looked around at the bookshelves, wondering how she missed the memo. Her stomach sank a bit at the prospect of completely forgetting an entire assignment. She grabbed a folder from her bag and began to rifle through it for her syllabi in case she missed any due dates. Were all books in the library eligible? Would she need to write a report on it?

“What are we supposed to be reading?” Natalie asked, and James shook his head.

“It’s just a chance to catch up on any backlogs of work for any students who might have let a couple of things slide.” he said, lowering his voice and raising his brow like he was sharing a conspiracy and not a regular feature of the school’s academic calendar.

“And are you?” Natalie asked,

“Of course not,” he scoffed, “what do you take me for? A responsible adult?”

“Hypothetically,” she muttered, not believing it for a second.

I’ll save you the study, I intend to spend my Reading Week sleeping in.

Natalie left their study session reeling. A whole week to do as she wished. Even get a head start on homework if she wanted.

She wasn’t going to, but it was nice to have the option on the table.

******

They were putting up Christmas lights. It was October 31st, and they were putting up Christmas lights. Her dad would call that blasphemy.

Without the buffer of Thanksgiving, it seemed that Ireland got a head start on their Christmas cheer. It was enough to remind Natalie the clock was ticking. She had little more than a month before she was headed back to the States for the holidays.

When she saw the lights being pinned to Brown Thomas, it occurred to her that she’d need to start contemplating what gifts she wanted to buy for her family, and Serena had suggested looking at the Craft Fair held in the Glucksman museum, currently bursting at the seams with artists and craftspeople displaying their work for wandering customers.

Natalie wandered between artists’ booths with Serena, looking through their wares, hoping for inspiration. There was one man selling carved versions of topographical maps that her dad would enjoy, but they were far outside of a uni student’s budget. Her brother might enjoy some of the wall art detailing the local wildlife, but they didn’t look like they’d survive the plane ride over.

“Are Irish-themed gifts expected since we’re here,” she wondered, as they looked at a collection of wooden figures, “Or is buying presents inspired by our time abroad self-centred?”

“I think themed gifts would be fine,” Serena replied. 

I guess they’d seem more authentic if they came straight from the island.

Natalie crossed the room to look at a table set with jewellery. Unlike the silver options from a booth on the first floor (which meant a flight of stairs above the entrance on the ground floor), these were made from ceramics that had been painted and carved. They were not only beautiful, but affordable as well.

A set of earrings made of roses etched into clay had caught her eye when both of their phone’s buzzed. Natalie pulled out hers while Serena admired some necklaces on the other end of the table. “James wants to know if we have any plans for this weekend.”

“Tell him I’ve got nothing going on,” Serena answered, paying for a raven pendant and slipping a box into her purse. Natalie typed out both of their availability and paid for her earrings.

Her family’s garden back home had roses, and Natalie knew where her mom was concerned there was no such thing as too many earrings.

By the time she’d tucked her purchases away, Serena had pulled her own phone out, taking Natalie’s arm so she didn’t have to look where she was going.

“How do you feel about visiting Blarney Castle on Saturday?”