Watching him from afar

Chapter 1

I first met Tom on my first day of secondary school, when I walked past a black, shiny car, from which he was clambering onto the pavement, murmuring an embarrassed 'bye, Mum' into the car as he dragged his rucksack from the seat next to his. His blonde hair was slightly unruly, and curls stuck out from lots of angles. His piercing blue eyes were bright and his cheekbones were prominent, framing his face. The white collar of his school shirt was neat and tidy, the black blazer hanging, unbuttoned, due to the autumnal heat. I think he must have seen me looking, because he smiled at me, brows furrowing ever so slightly. I grinned back, and adjusted the strap on my shoulder bag, and walking past. At 11 years old, I knew that he was going to have a huge impact on my life.

I spent a lot of time sat next to Tom in lessons, because, due to our surnames, Hiddleston and Haart both beginning with 'H', the seating plan often put us together. For example, we were together in English, a subject which we both thrived in, though him especially. He loved English, no matter what we were doing, though Shakespeare seemed to be his favourite topic. I asked him why he loved it so, and he told me he loved the language and the stories. It was adorable because he would jump around excitedly in his seat whilst we did it. When he did this, I would smile to myself, shading my face from him with the script of 'A midsummer night's dream' or 'Much ado about nothing'.

Another subject which he excelled in was drama. His stage presence, right from the first lesson was astonishing, and he owned the stage, flourishing movements and perfect accents making him an A* student right from the start. Our teacher, Mr Mandelle, was impressed that one so young could be such a brilliant performer and immediately requested he be in the school plays. I loved drama, and I have got better at I over the years, but Tom was ridiculously good.

I do remember once, when we'd been at secondary school for about a week, we did an exercise in drama, to help us get to know each other better. In our alphabetical circle, Tom and I, who were next to each other were paired up. We entered the classroom, and sat in our places as Mr Mandelle addressed us: "Okay, Year 7, settle down please. (Henry, don't do that.) Right, we are going to do an exercise today, to help us get to know each other a bit better. With the person next to you, share 3 facts. 1 of those facts must be a lie, and, when your partner discloses this information to the class, we'll guess whi home is the lie. Okay?"
I turned to Tom, and he turned back, looking at me with a quiet intensity.
"So, do you want to go first, Mae, or shall I?" His voice was shy; quiet.
"You." I replied, equally as shy.
"Okay. One: I have two sisters, called Emma and Sarah. Erm..." He hesitated, thinking. "I have guinea pigs called Herb and Smokey. And... My middle name is William. Your turn."
"My middle name is Erin. My favourite book is 'To kill a mockingbird'. And I have naturally curly hair" I said stroking my (actually naturally limp and straggly) hair.
"Oh, my god! You like 'To kill a mockingbird'?" He asked excitedly, blue eyes sparkling gleefully.
"Yes! I love it, have you read it?" I replied, giggling because of his cuteness.
"Yes, several times! Scout is wonderful isn't she? Such a brilliant character."
I nodded eagerly, delighted I'd impressed him and I'm about to reply when Mr Mandelle calls us back to attention again. As he was talking, I couldn't help admiring Tom, with his curly noodle hair, and super acting and politeness. I knew I wanted to know him better. Not necessarily in a romantic way. But I wanted to befriend him somehow.