...identified herself through
streaming music
changed her onscreen
name
Nick Drake lyrics

a day once dawned
and it was beautiful
a day once dawned
from the ground

the distance, artificial
in the case of her small town
in a school of seven hundred
she got to know basically everyone

moving between groups
she found
the boundaries were breaking down
and she could be anyone she chose

cinephile stoner
it-girl reader
PE master
geek ringleader

everyone got home
logged in
and spent their evenings
in front
of the computer
typing to each other

she first spoke to Sam
that way
it couldn’t have been
another

they first met when
he smacked
her ass as she walked
past his friends at lunch

she fixed him
with fierce eyes
ignored the jeers
and watched his
boldness wilt
before her

they didn’t have a class
together
for two years never spoke
until his add came through
to her account

his email was
avrillavigneisshit@hotmail.com
she pressed accept
and didn’t check the name

started typing didn’t know
it was him till he apologised
expressed regret
and she surprised
herself
by not holding a grudge

they spoke
typed
late into the night
the next day
at school
he seemed to be
everywhere she
was he must always
have been there
but she blocked him out
through anger

now he smiled at her
across aqua-blue flooring
and the corridors
all turned red

she logged in early
just to see his name appear
in her contacts
then waited
for him
to speak
to her

she liked that he
was unrefined but still
inclined to talk about
his feelings all
the stuff that really
mattered

they disagreed on ecology
he thought rare species
should be allowed
to go extinct
she respectfully disagreed

behind the scenes
respective friends
schemed to get them together
they gathered in the forest
in pretty awful weather
everyone ran away
so they were left alone
a stolen flask of Vladivar
the music on his phone

he took her hand and told her
he was crazy
about her
he wanted
to kiss her
he wanted
to hold her

she moved her face
close to his
till it couldn’t get closer
she moved herself onto his lap
arm around her shoulder

it was pretty great
till he threw up on her shoe
so the moment she had dreamed of
didn’t quite come true

but he was feeling what she felt
and that was pretty special too
so they stuck together
everything he did to demonstrate
his love just made hers stronger

they kept on speaking online
helped each other through the shit times
of standardised tests and future angst
she was English, he was Maths
together they amassed a bunch
of unconditional offers

they planned to be together
they planned a holiday
we deserve good weather they said
I’m sick of sideways rain

we’ll take a flight from Glasgow
in Amsterdam touch down
our love and the world

is so much bigger than this forest
and our town