Brand New Eyes

4. Double Trouble

4. DOUBLE TROUBLE

I half regretted coming here on impulse without fully recognising what I was about to do. I wasn’t even dressed for school but right now, I just really wanted answers.

I pulled out a twenty from my purse and handed it to the cab driver.

“Keep the change” I insisted as I stepped out of the car, shuffling my belongings with me. I forced the plastics bag with all my belongings into my handbag before throwing it across my body.

I stood there, motionless, staring at the recently renovated building that was my school for the fourth year in a row. I was repeating last year again.

Taking a deep breath, I remembered the events that followed the last time I was here. Just before induction weekend, the college was just finishing up summer school for the new first years. Everyone was there – literally. It was like prom night only without any restrictions and rules, glitzy outfits and the teachers treated you like you weren’t kids.

The images play behind my lids as though someone was replaying a slideshow. The dashing midsummer sun, me running through the car park and getting in my car as fast as I could with my art teacher behind me, trying to stop me. But she couldn’t. Not after what she had told me. About my father.

I cross the road and walk up the steps, slowly and calmly, not wanting to cause any attention but it did anyway. A couple of people look back around at me. At the girl who just lost her father. For an inner city state, it was still small enough for the residents to know pretty much everything about everyone, in particular, me. I was never popular and had no intentions to be. Aside from Michael, I didn’t really have many friends, they came and went.

But right now, I didn’t need friends. I didn’t need to make the starers make me feel comfortable. I was beyond my comfort zone. Right now, all I needed to do was ignore the stares form my classmates, people I’ve grown up with and find him.

I had missed my induction two weekends ago so I had to stop by the reception to pick up my timetable. Whilst I was there, I thought I might as well ask who this guy who’d found me was. It’d be nice to put a face to a name.

As I stepped forward and up the front stairs into second building – ignoring yet another round of starers, I pulled the scrunched up paper David had given me at the hospital.

Asher Van Der Blake was scrawled across the paper in perfect italics.

The name didn’t ring a bell but apparently he’d enrolled here. I knew many of my classmates but I was repeating this year and class only started a couple of weeks ago so there were new students in and out. There wasn’t a picture, so I had no idea what he looked like. But it would only be a matter of time.

“Where can I find him?” I asked the receptionist who looked like she had better things to do rather than help me out.

“Well, he’s in your Advanced Literature class next period. You can catch him there” she replied, handing me over my timetable. I smiled, nodding. Great, now I had to go to class.

I was probably pushing my luck when I asked further, “Any chance I could look at his ID picture, I don’t know what he looks like” I said, biting my lip.

She gave me back a shocked look for a second before she slumped back into her screen, looking exhaustive.

I guess not, I thought, before turning my back and exiting the room.

Great, now I’d have to go look for a John Doe.

My head still hurt from the accident and I was starting to get a migraine as I walked into the Literature corridor.