Trust

II

"So, what have you learned today, Lisa?" Miss points at me and my eyes surf over my book, looking for something I can say.

"When you are...um...calculating the surface area and the volume of a hexagonal prism, the connection between the two values is that the last digit will always be the same?" I take a guess, because I hadn't listened to a word she'd said all lesson. I could do it, and I understood it, so I hadn't listened because I basically found it boring. And more important things were on my mind right now. Like how - no. Maybe if I don't admit to myself, it won't be true.

Miss frowns at me and clicks her fingers in front of my face.

"Lisa, listen! I told you you were wrong!"

"Aww thanks Miss, that's great for my self-esteem!" I say, sarcasm and false cheeriness on each syllable. The class laughs though, so I guess that's one point to me. "Can't the bell just go already?" I sigh and look at the floor, disinterested in what my teacher wanted to say to me. Thankfully, though, she moves onto another victim, and I was saved. Eventually I hear a ringing, the blessed bell at last, and jump up from my seat immediately, ready to run straight upstairs. Everyone else is walking out of the door, but Miss calls me back.

"Lisa! A word!" I slope back to her desk, bag on one shoulder. Calum's already gone, and Kieran went with Josh. "Your attitude is appalling. I don't know how long you will be at this school, and I don't care whether you like it or not, you will respect adults here." I mumble an apology, but it's all an act. I just want her to let me go, and I think the acting-all-sorry-and-younger-than-I-am way is the best. It works, I think, and her face softens. "Look, I know that nobody's perfect, and I know you're a good person, and you are really good at maths, but you must respect your elders!" She smiles. "Off you go," she says. I smile sweetly back and walk out of the classroom, scowling as soon as my back is turned. I pull my hair out from behind my ears, so a little falls over my eyes, and make the ascent to the languages floor, 'accidently' bumping into Nervies.

I don't actually know what his name is, like, his real name. I think it starts with an 'R' or something, but I honestly don't know. Maybe it's Raymond, like that French chef guy.

"Why do you always try to hurt me, demoralise me? What have I ever done to you? I've never hit you, I've never kicked you, I never spoke to you before you decided you had a problem with me!" He faces me, his cheeks red from crying and I can't answer. I'm not sure I even know the answer properly myself.

"Who said I wanted you to talk to me?" I said, a hardness to my voice.

"You always talk to me! What makes you so much better than me, so much so that you can talk to me but I can't talk to you!" He puts his hands to his face and I suspect that means he's crying again.

"A little tip: you can't cry in school. You can't cry in front of people. You have to learn this stuff! Maybe, if you weren't such a swot, and you didn't always seem so weak, and you were just altogether a better person, people might actually like you!" I look at him with disgust. Does he seriously think that crying will make his situation any better? He should have figured this stuff out in his first week, because that's what everyone else did. Some had a head start on these socially acceptable things, but no one was behind. He's meant to be smart. He still hasn't realised this.

"I'm not like everyone else, I've never fitted in, I-"

"Oh, do me a favour and shut up! Nobody cares!" I walk off to English, where hopefully Calum will be waiting. I need someone to lift my spirits.

---

"Hey, Lisa, what's wrong?" Calum notices my bad mood immediately, like all the best people always can.

"Just...just people." I sit down next to him and I feel like I'm about to scream.

"Nervies?" He says. Everyone seems to know that I hate him the most. Good.

"Yeah." I sigh. "He just gets on my nerves, like, so much! He seems to act like some kind of three year old, social wise anyway!"

"I don't know if that's completely his fault." Calum says in a quiet voice, as though he's scared I will blow up.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I'm not concerned, or that curious, but I just wonder how it could be anyone else's influence. He seems like the kind of person who has everything (apart from friends and any kind of social life).

"I think...I dunno, but I think his parents are sort of...I think it's stuff at home. Family problems." Calum gets his homework out of the bag for me to copy.

"Yeah, well, he's not the only one." I say under my breath to myself.

"What did you say?" Calum asks, pushing his homework over to me so I could copy it onto my sheet.

"Oh, nothing." I say, panicking a little. No one else was meant to hear anything.

"You said something about him being like...I dunno, but you said-"

"I said nothing, Calum! Just leave it!" I retorted, angry at how he wouldn't just leave me alone. Yes, we were friends, and I was grateful he was letting me do this, but I wasn't gonna start pouring my heart out to him. Nobody gets to see that. Nobody.

---

Chapter two

Do you like it? I hope so

Liek

So much

What do you think of the characters? I quite like them I guess ha ha

So yah

Please vote and comment and stuff

And private messages are always welcome :)

Luv you all lots ❤ xxx