Another yawn escaped my lips as my English teacher continued to express her undying passion for poetry. I stopped listening to her high-pitched voice when she was only ten minutes into the lesson. My chin rested on the palm of one of my hands as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Slowly glancing around the classroom, I notice the same vacant expression in everyone's faces. On the back rows at the other side of the room, a couple of people had dropped their heads to the table, on top of their folded arms. In the corner, someone was on their phone; a boy with slightly pale skin and short, chocolate brown hair, his head resting on his arm on the edge of the desk. He stared intently at his phone which lay on his lap, frequently tapping the dimly lit screen. A small smile decorated his face before he locked his phone and discretely shoved into his trouser pocket.
Suddenly, the bell violently rang in the corridor and everyone hurriedly packed their books into their bags and raced towards the narrow door. However, the boy in the corner slowly rose to his feet and placed his belongings in his bag before throwing it over one of his shoulders. He casually strolled to the doorway which was now empty and disappeared down the corridor. I gathered my things and rushed out of the door to escape a potentially awkward conversation with my obnoxious English teacher.
Fresh air filled my lungs as I stepped outside, taking a deep breath. I wrapped my arms around my body in order to attempt to protect myself from the cold, harsh weather and began walking towards the main building. Turning a corner, I spotted Jessica's bright blonde hair in the centre of a small crowd of people.
"Bailey!" I braced myself as my excited friend pushed through the crowd and ran towards me.
"Jessica!" I returned her loud greeting, even though she was only a few feet from me, and opened my arms wide. We both jumped into each other's arms, giggling at our childishness.
A tall boy approached us and put his arm around my bubbly friend after we had pulled apart. He smiled down at her adoringly and she grinned back up at him before focussing her attention back to me.
"So, where are we having lunch today?" She stared at me curiously awaiting my answer.
"I was thinking maybe the little café down the street," I looked down at my hands and started picking at my nails. "It's a nice little place and it's only a five minute walk."
"Sure, sounds great! I love the hot chocolates there," I raised my head again and she turned to the boy who stood beside her, "are you coming?"
"Yeah, I will do," he replied, pulling her into him a little more. Jessica's eyes lit up and she turned back to me just as the warning bell rang.
"We'll see you later?"
Giving her a nod, I waved them off and turned on my heel. Carefully manoeuvring my way through the busy corridors and avoiding being shoved into the walls and opening doors, I stepped into an almost empty corridor and straightened my bag which hung on my shoulders. I ran my hand through my knotted hair and pushed it away from my face as I dodged people walking in the opposite direction. Each classroom on either side of the corridor was unoccupied and left in darkness. As I approached the end of the narrow corridor and reached my left hand for the handle of one of the doors, both doors suddenly swung open causing me to jump back, however my hand was caught in the handle, violently dragging me towards the concrete wall. The boy from my English class appeared, walking through the doorway. As he strode past, he noticed me hissing in pain, in the corner of his eye and stopped in his tracks.
"I'm sorry," he stretched his arm towards me, "I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" I nodded my head, not making eye-contact. He gently wrapped his hands around my injured one and inspected it. "Does this hurt?" He applied a small amount of pressure to the point where my fore finger meets my knuckle causing me to wince slightly.
I breathed in and glanced up at his face. His piercing blue eyes stared down into mine with curiosity and a hint of worry. His short fringe fell over half of his left eye and his lips were slightly parted as he awaited an answer from me, "I'm fine, don't worry."
He opened his mouth to protest but I slowly pulled my hand from his hold, "thank you but I'm okay, I should probably get to my next lesson." He sighed quietly and nodded. I gave him a small, warm smile then began to walk past him and headed for the doors at the end of the corridor. I felt his eyes on me and I pulled one of the doors open and turned a corner.
