The Search for Rebecca

Chapter 5:

(To the Americans (yes I checked the demographics) form/registration is just a morning class type thing)

The ride to school was long for both Peppa and Pedro, both of them trying to distract themselves from Candy's incessant rambling. 

"So Peddy, enough about us, tell me about you." Candy expressed energetically; Candy bit her lip to make herself look coy, but instead she looked like she was trying to bite the dead skin off her lips. Pedro hurriedly looked to her, "Well, you two already know who I am so there's probably no need for that." 

Peppa interjected, "Nonsense, Peddy, I'm sure you've had a massive character change since we last spoke. I don't believe for one second that you're the same shy boy as you were when you left us?" She cringed at how harsh she sounded, and hoped that he hadn't perceived it the way it had sounded. Maybe banter wasn't her thing, she thought.

"I-uhh, well I suppose not," He paused for a moment, thinking about how much Peppa had changed, and was fueled by a sudden burst of envy, "actually, yes, I have changed. I had a girlfriend for a bit, but we broke up when we found out I was moving back.  I didn't want to do long-distance, she was upset but I think it was best." Candy stroked his arm and responded "Oh, Peddy that must have been hard for you?" 

"Yea, it was. I didn't want to move back here, I'd left the town behind, but I guess a tiny bit of me wanted to see how everyone was doing." Pedro paused, again, and glanced in the rear view mirror to see Peppa's reaction, she was clenching her teeth, and they made eye contact, but he carried on, still a streak of jealousy within him, "Hey, you two wouldn't mind giving me Rebecca's number, would you? I think we used to have a connection and her's is one familiar face I would love to see right now." He glanced again, then realized he'd gone too far, Peppa was biting the inside of her cheek and was picking her cuticles. 

Candy whispered to him, "I would, but we don't like her, she's a bit of a," she looked around her, as if she would find someone secretly spying on her, "bitch."

The mundane frame of the school popped into view, quick enough for the conversation to come to a halt. Peppa sat up straight; when the car stopped she muttered a thanks and then ran out of the car. Candy fell desperate for one of the many looks Peppa and Pedro kept sharing , "Do you think it was me or you who caused that?"

"I don't know." He didn't look at her. They sauntered up to the front office of the building, Candy basking in the attention, while Pedro tried to hide from people's stares. 

Peppa had already ran to her locker to deposit all that she'd needed to, when she remembered that she'd left her bike in Pedro's car. A wave of panic flew over her; she blinked her eyes, rapidly, as she thought of a solution. She was deep in thought when she shuddered at the touch of someone gently grabbing her arm, it was Danny. She looked at him, like a deer caught in headlights, until he spoke:

"Hey Peps, are you ok?"

She broke out of her trance, "Yes, of course I am, are you?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. So, d'you do it?- The homework, I mean."

"No, Danny, you really shouldn't be relying on your girlfriend for that. And besides, don't I mean more to you than just a machine that does your homework and kisses you when your breath doesn't smell of that artificial colouring in those knock-off Tesco Haribos."

"Sheesh Peppa, what's got you in a bad mood today- is it that time of the month again?"

Peppa looked him up and down, in disbelief that he could ever say something like that to her. She tensed her jaw, biting down on nothing so as to stop herself from speaking. 

"Danny, are you kidding me?" She looked around to see her audience, great- he'd drawn attention to them. Peppa wasn't new to having nosy classmates feasting on whatever argument or drama there was going on in her life, she knew how to deal with it, "Danny, we've talked about this before," They stared at each other intensely, "do your own homework from now on."

She whipped around and sashayed away from Danny and the crowd, confidence, she thought, was key. She considered walking past the usual stairwell that Rebecca and her friends would congregate in, but then decided against it. All she had to do was get through the day and then a bliss few hours of sleep will greet her. Peppa walked around the school building, making sure that each lap was 10 minutes long, then after 5 laps she speed-walked to registration; as usual, she was the last one there. 

All the teachers had been informed of her 'situation' and chose never to question it when she was late, but they didn't really know her 'situation' because no one fully knew. Not even Rebecca - Rebecca had known but that was before their argument. There was a loud buzz from her bag, so Peppa reached down to get, what she assumed was, her phone. Ms Badger tutted, followed by the exclamation, "Peppa, in my classroom you shall not disrespect me, and not listening to me is not respecting me. Hand over your phone now!"

Peppa walked up to her desk then leaned in and whispered, loudly, "You know I hate to disrespect you Miss-"

"Ms, Peppa, I've told you this before."

"-Yes, Ms, I apologise, but I really need to text someone, I think I forgot to make my brother lunch this morning, and he might be texting me to tell me, I usually wouldn't but I just thought that you were very understanding, and you're my favourite teacher, and-"

"Yes, yes, of course dear, and if you have forgotten and need to talk to him then I will allow you to go to the front office and call him from there?"

Peppa nodded, with an empathetic smile on her face, like the kind people give you when things are going wrong in your life so they smile with their mouth, but not their eyes. Ms Badger was a sucker for a suck-up, which Peppa made sure to take advantage of.

When she'd returned to her seat, she saw the name of the person who had texted her - Danny: 'Hey Peps, sorry about earlier but I really need to talk to you it's about last night it's really important luv u' 

Danny needed to tell her 'something really important', which meant that he was probably going to apologize and reschedule. She texted back:

'Ok, see u after school.'

Within seconds of her texting back he had replied with:

'No i need to see u earlier than that it cant wait'

She ignored him, and leant her chin on her sweaty palms. She watched the uncut grass sway outside, and was reminded of when she was little; the grass towered over her and her little brother, George - making it an impossible maze for them to play in. She remembered how their lawn mower broke and when they'd used their Grandpa's mower they only managed to find their spotty ball after the very last patch had been mowed. It was a syrupy feeling of nostalgia, just like the rest of her wistful memories that had been cleverly covered by the storm that was her present. 

Peppa's head jolted as she was interrupted by the creaking of the door, and the tall, familiar, silhouette of Pedro, standing in the doorway,

"Hi, I was told this is my new registration room?"