Self-Destruction • Luke Hemmings

Chapter 9

I look around the class nervously. I'm not nervous to cause a scene, I always do it, I'm nervous that someone will know that I'm doing it because I don't understand the maths. The teacher is looking at her laptop, typing quickly. I stand up, my chair making a horrible scratching noise against the vinyl floor, and everyone looks up at me.

"What's wrong Faith?" The teacher asks, it sounds patronising to me, like she knows I'm struggling.

"I'm going." I say simply, tucking my chair in and walking towards the door.

"Do you have a note?" She questions.

"Nope." I reply, popping the p, before walking out of the classroom.

Instead of waiting around for 15 minutes for Aunt Bess' car to turn up, which will probably have the top maid driving it I start heading towards the exit of the school. I text Bess saying I'll be walking home with some friends, she probably won't question the fact I'm texting her before we are scheduled to be out of school, as she seems pretty clueless about kids.

I realise I should have waited for Michael and Calum, as they both live in the same street as me and would know how to get home. Unfortunately I only thought of the short term problems of me leaving school, and now I'm lost. I'm on the beach that I can see from my balcony, but I can't remember clearly which direction it overlooks.

I'm sitting on the wall, so my feet are touching the sand. I kick it in frustration at myself for being so stupid, if I could actually understand math I wouldn't be lost and I'd probably be walking home with Michael and Calum. I decide sitting here and moping isn't going to help the situation, so I get up and head off into a direction that looks slightly familiar.

I turn a sharp corner and walk right into something, I blink in surprise then realise it's someone's chest.

"Watch where your fucking going." I spit at the person, before even looking at whoever it is, I slowly raise my vision to look whoever it was in the face. It's a boy, he looks about my age, maybe older, and has his hair styled into a quiff, he wears black sunglasses and he he has a lip ring, which is something I've always wanted and my parents have continuously denied.

"Woah, I wasn't the one who wasn't looking where I was going." He replies smoothly, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly. I hate that smirk, and I want to wipe it off of his face.

"Whatever." I reply, crossing the street when I glance to the left and see a sign that has my road name printed on it, finally. I look behind me slightly and see the boy a few steps behind me.

"Are you following me?" I ask, looking at him unamused, he takes off his sunglasses, and tucks them into the top of his shirt, which reads 'you complete me ss' on it, not that I was looking or anything.

"Trust me, if I were following you, I'd be much less obvious about it." He laughs, then reaches into his pocket and takes out a packet of cigarettes. We're both now standing still in the middle of a pathway, I watch him put the cigarette between his teeth and reach into his pockets for a lighter. Everyone Australian boy I have seen and talked to so far is really hot, and smokes, that can't be a coincidence right, I open my mouth the ask for a cigarette, but quickly close it, but he notices.

"No, it's not a metaphor, I actually do light it, I do give it the power to kill me." He sighs, running a hand through his hair. I can't help but laugh, he thought I was going to quote the fault in our stars?

"Actually, I was going to ask if I could have one. Why on earth would I mention the fault in our stars." I say, pulling a disgusted face. He reaches back into the packet and hands me one. I feel really bad taking everyones cigarettes, I need to buy some for myself soon. I have my own lighter, so I light my own (I found it on the floor when I was lost) then walk off, hoping to leave him standing there.

In fact, he speeds up so he's walking next to me.

"Who are you?" He asks, looking at me skeptically, that question makes me think, who am I?

"Nobody." I reply, smiling slightly at me being mysterious. He looks at me for a second, as if judging me, I look up at him as well, and notice how blue his eyes are, they're literally the colour of the sea. The sort of eyes you could get lost in... I shake my head slightly as it ridding myself of these thoughts, I don't even know this boy.

"I don't believe that." He says finally.

"Who are you?" I switch the question on him, and he smiles as if he was waiting for this question.

"I'm the one and only, Luke Hemmings."