A Life Worth Living

Chapter 1

What if, whilst your life is flashing in front of your eyes, you find a reason to live?

Inches away from death’s door, was the last place Lexi expected to be re-living her life, well not re-living, more watching it from the sidelines. As she took her last breath, her eyes narrowed in, taking one last look at life itself Never to see anything ever again. Her breath escaped her mouth, along with a sigh. Of relief? Possibly, or of torment? Perhaps. But never the less it was her last. As the darkness clasped over her body, and the light began to shine behind her eyes, She saw herself as a child. The moment she was born.

She was a small child. Three pounds, six inches. Her electric blue eyes, shone in the light in the delivery room at the Austin hospital. Her proud parents looked down at her tiny body, as the doctor handed her to her mother. Her mother, a true beauty. She had brown curly hair, pale skin and a smile that could brighten any room. But right now, her hair was fizzed, her skin was flushed and her smile was so large, so proud, so happy. Her eyes watered as she looked down on her tiny daughters face.

Her father stood beside her mother. His grin, so large, so proud, so indignant. He looked down on his daughter. Pleasure radiating off his face. He held out his hand to his tiny daughter, she took his finger, her soft grip, wrapped around his little finger. A small cry escaped her mouth, which soon became an echo throughout the hospital.

“What’s her name?” The doctor asked as he removed his gloves. Her mother looked at her father, a smile splitting her flushed face.

“Lexi.” She replied

“Alexia.” Her father said, explaining it to the doctor. How his first sister was named Alexia, but she had died in a horrible car accident at the age of fifteen. The doctors face fell, but then he looked at the small, beautiful girl in her mothers arms. This was the reason he got into the business, this was why he woke up ever morning, a smile on his face. Fell into bed every night, completely exhausted, with a smile on his face. This job he loved, this job was his life. And delivering life was his forte.

At the age of two. Lexi had began a terrible attitude. A personality that only she could understand. One that drove her parents to the brink, and back again. Her tears, her screams, her cries. All for one thing, one thing that her parents had no idea what it was. Only Lexi knew, only she could understand the pain behind her cries. It was either, her nappy, or her little heart longing for the attention of a loved one. Feeling so alone, so deprived of happiness, that she expressed it through tears, screams and cries. Lexi was like any other two year old, although her parents were convinced she had them plugged, had them sort out, she knew when to strike, when it would annoy them most. And by god she was good at it.

As a toddler, Lexi had become more and more independent. She had figured out that if you draw on the walls, you were in big trouble. That if you used the toilet, it was a lot more comfortable. She was becoming what every person becomes at one stage in her life. She was becoming an individual, becoming independent and loving it. Her first day at kinder had been a complete war zone. Dodging blocks, puzzle pieces and tantrums, was hard, but she tried her best. She smiled at the other kids, and then they cried. So she stopped smiling. Her plain, emotionless face still lit up the entire sand pit at the kinder. As she built, her castle and began to believe that there were tiny mermaid princess’s inside the sand, she began to believe she was one herself Imagination, was a key supplement in Lexi’s life. She loved to use it. And use it she did.

At the tender age of five, she headed off to Prep, her first year in a Primary School. To Lexi, it seemed exactly like Kindergarten, only larger, scarier and there was more, and older people, around. She felt as if everyone was looking at her, in her shiny, brand new black school shoes. Her

white school hat, her checker school dress, and her socks pulled up half way to her knees. People who seemed like giants strolled past her, looking at her and then away. She felt so small, so innocent, so unprotected She wanted to hide, wanted to disappear. When a loud ringing noise, startled her she began to cry. All her fears released in her tears. As an older boy took her hands, she wiped tears off her face with her jumper sleeve and followed him, as fast as her tiny feet could take her. He stopped at a door and pushed her inside. Fifty, small beady eyes stared at her as she walked into the room. She flopped down on the floor beside a girl and crossed her legs.

“What’s your name?” The tiny girl asked looking into Lexi’s blue eyes.

“Lexi.” She replied smiling at the girl.

“I’m Tara.” She said, her face so proud that she had remembered her name.

In grade six, Tara and Lexi had arranged for a Limo to come pick them up for their last day of school. Tara’s mum had booked it with Lexi’s mum and they had invited five other girls from their class. As they pulled into the school yard, the Limo pulled to a stop, in front of the Front Office. The seven girls clambered out of the Limo and stood beside it as their proud parents took photos and began to cry. They all couldn’t believe how fast their girls had grown up. It felt like just yesterday they were giving birth to their, now graduating, daughters. Lexi hugged her friends. Wondering what would happen to them after primary school, when they all went to different schools. Lexi was going to live in the United Kingdom. She was going to miss her best friend Tara, but she promised to write and inform her of all the gossip in England.

As her flight landed in Heathrow Airport, Lexi unbuckled her seat belt and pulled her carry on’s out of the overhead compartment. She looked down the aisle of the plane and smiled. Wondering what everyone, on their planes, story was. She imagined that some were escaping a troubled life, to start a fresh. Some were running away from a marriage disaster with their new found love, or were just on business. Lexi made her way off the plane, followed by her two parents. Through customs, Lexi imagined what waited outside the glass doors. Freedom a new life and a new school, with new friends and new foes. As their parents opened the door to their new home. Lexi admired the street, the garden and the surroundings of her home. It was possibly one of the nicest places she had ever seen. Living just outside London, she couldn’t wait to see the shops, towns and styles of her new world.

Her first day at high school had been hectic. She had been forced to say ‘G’day Mate’ a million times, and had her heart set on never hearing, let alone saying the words again. Her school books were brand new, hr clothes were brand new and her life was beginning to feel old, like she had, had enough. But it was only her first day at school, perhaps tomorrow, things would brighten up. She was wrong. She had been tripped over in P.E class and cut her knee. Whilst in the First Aid office, she had been reading a chart, explaining how to aid a person suffering from a fit. Lexi wondered what it felt like to have a fit. Wondered how your body would cope with the shuddering, the shaking and the hurting. She hoped to god she never had a fit. Just as she looked over at the office door, it swung open. A short, chubby boy came through the door holding his stomach. He lurched forward towards Lexi. Within seconds, before she could move, she was covered. Completely drenched in vomit. Not only was it vomit, it contained the boys lunch. Lexi could distinctly see the carrots, the muesli and chunks of bread. Today was not her day either.

So for the next three years, Lexi pondered what life would be like in Australia, where she had lived before she moved. Her best friend Bray, the vomit boy, had asked her a million times about Australia and how the weather was compared to England. Every time she explained it, he asked if she missed her home. But in Lexi’s heart, she was home. It was only on her year eleven graduation that she realised how far she had come since she had left Australia. And most of all she remembered her friends, and the day they celebrated their grade six graduation. When she returned home that day from school. She connected her laptop to the Internet and looked through her emails.

She sent six emails out to her friends in Australia, wondering how they were going, what they planned on doing after high school, and how they were going to peruse their lives.

Lexi’s first two years at University had been tough, studying journalism, she had struggled, but with the help of her new found best friend, Tina, she had overcome the dreaded classes and passed with straight A’s and an internship with one of London’s finest female magazines, writing interest columns. On her first day of the job, she had met the boss, the queen bee of Cure Magazine. She was tall, blonde, big breasted and drop dead sexy. She seemed like the kind of person who would have men falling face first into her cleavage. Which, of course they did. Lexi wasn’t to fond of her new head boss, but she would hardly ever see her. Instead she had to hand her work into her Editor. Who’s brown smouldering eyes, light brown hair, toned muscles and charming smile made Lexi’s body melt. Phin was one drop dead sexy, god on earth. And all the ladies in at the magazine worshipped the ground he walked on. His heart stopping laugh, and amazingly attractive voice did more than speak to the ladies.

Lexi had moved into an apartment with two other people. A red headed girl name Liz and a plain guy named Shane. They threw killer parities once a month and celebrated almost every holiday in the world, just to give them a reason to drink. Lexi was staring to get to the age where she wanted to date. Hell she had been at that age for years, she had just never acted on an impulse and tried to pick up a guy in a bar. She was old fashioned, believed in courting and meeting eyes across the room and being drawn to one another. She was only drawn to one man in her life at this time. Phin, her editor. The way he had said ‘This piece is positively, attractive.’ Had made Lexi wonder if he had meant, the column or herself She had pushed the thought aside, but it was still there.

Tagged with: Life • Living • Worth

Filed under: Magazines

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