Switching Sides | A Jamie Johnson FanFiction

• Part 7

"Do you have a pen or not?" Demi asked me for the second time; I'd tried to ignore her the first, as the exam was about to start, but she was persistant. Reluctantly, I handed her a pen from my pencil case before turning back to the teacher who was running through the exam rules.

The sound of Demi chewing gum next to me was so distracting and I tried to block it out, but then she started clicking her pen too, making more and more noise which I could hear the most as she was about 6 inches away from me.

When the test finally started, Demi seemed to settle down at little, but she wasn't focusing on the exam; across the room, Jethro wasn't looking at his test paper either. Demi was staring at him, fury burning in her eyes.

What happened between them? I found myself wondering.

"Miss Taylor, eyes on the paper, please." The teacher said, as Demi rolled her eyes and reluctantly turned back around.

The exam seemed to last years. When I eventually answered the last question and a few seconds after the teacher called for us to stop, I finally relaxed.

As the bell rang, we all packed our stuff away, when I realized Demi still had my pen.

"Um, Demi...please could I have my um, pen back please?"

She barely gave me a second glance as she handed the pen back. As I put the pen back in my pencil case, I looked at my hand to see that some paint had rubbed off from the pen. Taking it slowly out of my pencil case, I examined it to see that the grip was completely white where Demi had been holding it. She was caught red-handed.

___________________

"Nah, I'm still not seeing it Bella." Callum said, handing the pen back to me.

"Only because you seem to be incapable of believing Demi would do anything wrong." Ruby replied.

"So you agree?!" I said hopefully, but Ruby sighed, putting the book she was reading down.

"It's not really proof, Bella. It's evidence."

"Is there a difference?" I said quickly.

"Yes. A big one." She sighed.

"But there was that can of white paint on the pitches this morning! It must have been her that wrecked them." I pressed.

"Well, she did come in late with the teacher I suppose, but that doesn't make her guilty." Ruby said.

"Can't believe you're taking Demi's side here, Ruby." Callum said.

"I'm not taking anyone's side. All i'm saying is there's no real proof." She said, then suddenly her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait."

"Wait? Wait what?" I said a little two eagerly. Why was I so adamant Demi had done it? 

"Jethro's dad funded those pitches." she said, raising her eyebrows but it seemed she still didn't believe it. "And he and Demi broke up."

"Well then, won't need Sherlock to solve this case." Callum said, obviously bored of my apparently ludicrous ideas.  

"Anyway, change of topic," Ruby said, turning to me, "My sister's going out with some of her friends to a football match next week, and I was wondering, since the house will be pretty much empty, if you wanted to come over?"

I hesitated, wondering what my mum would say when I asked her; I didn't want to start making promises that I couldn't keep.

"Sure." I said with a smile, deciding to bite the bullet rather than waiting and possibly getting replaced if I stayed waiting too long.

____________________________

After the last lesson of the day, I was making my way to the car park to get the bus home when I stopped in the corridor as a group of boys blocked my path. They were looking at something on the wall. It took me a few glances to realise what it was: the team sheet.

I'd been so busy with everything I'd completely forgotten about the football trials. Looking down the list, I saw Jethro's name, Alex's, Elijah's and at the very bottom with a few others under the subheading 'reserves', mine.