Apex Academy

Part 7

Elliot had spent the rest of the week bunking off of his classes. A.Jay had managed to explain to a few teachers that Elliot was recovering, She often came by to deliver his homework and to offer to help him study. 

"I honestly don't understand any of this," Elliot grumbled as he stared down at the worksheet that he was supposed to be completing  Renee was seated beside him and was watching the concentration on his face with a slightly amused expression. She almost felt bad for him but was honestly enjoying the pained expressions and remarks that he kept making to ease his pain. 

"Octavio said that he will be coming over to the dorm to play some video games with me, I think a few others may be coming over as well, Maybe you can ask one of them for help," Renee suggested with a shrug and stood and leaned over Elliot to grab her black hoodie. She pulled it on and released her black hair from the uptight bun and let it fall to her shoulders. Elliot looked up from his worksheet and glanced up at her in awe, She looked stunning. He mentally scolded himself for thinking about Renee in such a way and turned back to the sheet. 

A  few minutes went by and Elliot had begun to spin into insanity. He was broken out of his thoughts when the dorm door swung open and Octavio fell into the room and landed with a thud on the carpeted floor. Elliot held back a laugh and collected his worksheets and a pencil and sauntered over to his friend and offered him a hand up. "I think that I will leave you and Renee to game alone, I have to concentrate." He stated as Octavio's green eyes landed on him.

Octavio felt a slight pang of sadness at the thought of not being able to hang out with Elliot, They hadn't hung out together in awhile and he was beginning to miss how he felt when her was with the trickster. "Uh, Okay. Catch you later?" He fist bumped him with a grin and rushed over to Renee who had finished setting up the XBOX. "Hell yeah, I am so kicking your ass"

Elliot walked along the corridors and headed in the direction of the cafeteria, He knew that not many people would be out of their dorms as it was beginning to get late and everyone was winding down from the lessons that they had, had that day. He let out a sigh and entered the cafeteria and waved at one of the night cooks before taking a seat at a round table and placing the worksheet down and began scanning through it again. 

"You look lost dearie, Equations got you puzzled?" A Scottish voice questioned causing Elliot to jump a little and look around for the source. He spotted a ginger haired female smiling over at him. She had been seated at the other table and had watched the younger boy come into the cafeteria, She was in a higher grade than he was but she hung out with all the same people as he did and had heard a lot about him. She pushed herself out of her seat causing the metal legs to scrape loudly along the floor earning a long glare from the cook but the women didn't seem bothered and gracefully pulled the chair over to Elliot with a warm and inviting grin. 

"I have been working on this sheet for the past hour." He mumbled in defeat and dropped his pencil onto the table and ran a hand through his curls. "It is due tomorrow and my dorm mate decided to have game night instead of helping me." He paused and felt himself blush slightly as he realised that he was rambling to a complete stranger. The women let out a gentle laugh and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Maybe I can assist you on your work?" She offered and pulled the sheet closer to her and scanned it over and hummed. "Oh my, These are difficult." 

Elliot watched as the women mumbled and muttered words under her breath and was slightly glad that he had bumped into her, Not that he would ever admit it out loud. She was about to speak but someone clearing their throat interrupted them. "Lookie here, Dr Somers." A female voice sneered in a hostile tone causing shivers to run down Elliot's spine. 

The women in front of him was thin and dainty, She had pointy facial features, dim eyes and brown hair. What creeped Elliot out the most was the fact that she was holding a rat in her hands as if it was a normal thing to keep around. "I see you have found a boy toy, It is about time you got some action." The women laughed and took a seat opposite Elliot and eyed him over. "A year younger, Impressive." 

Elliot blushed and looked down at the table not knowing what to say to the intimidating women that was clearly trying to mock the Scottish lady. "Oh piss off ya old bag, Can't ya see I am helping the wee boy?" The redheaded girl spoke with venom in her words. "Why ya gotta bother me?" 

The newest arrival at the table ignored the Scottish female and turned her gaze towards Elliot and hummed. "I hope Mary isn't bothering you, She has a nasty habit of being nosy." Elliot noted the name of the Scottish women and let out a dry cough. "Actually she is being helpful, W-well she was until you turned up." 

Mary had finished scanning the worksheet and had just caught onto what Elliot had said to her nemesis and felt a warm feeling spread through her, Everybody was scared of Ash and never made any effort to go against her, Yet a boy she had just met was delivering sly comments towards her. Even Ash looked taken aback and impressed. "I must be taking my leave, I have plans to attend to." Ashely stated and stood up and glided away. 

Elliot shook his head. "Why is everyone here sort of rude?" He questioned himself and turned back to Mary who was smiling softly at him. "You remind me of my little brother, Newtie." She sighed. "He was such a sweet kid, I miss him dearly." She shook herself out of her thoughts and pointed to a few calculations that she had scribbled down to help him understand the maths better. He thanked her and finally completed the worksheet with her help.

He had expected her to leave once he had finished but instead she pulled out a large and full notebook and pencil case and a laptop and began flicking through the book with a thoughtful expression. Elliot folded his worksheet up into a square and placed it into his pocket and raised a eyebrow. "May I asked what happened to your younger brother?" 

Mary looked up from re-reading her notes and gave a sad smile and nodded. "I don't mention him often." She started and shut the notepad carefully and turned her full attention towards the boy in front of her. "We used to spend every summer together, Our parents got divorced. I remember that he was always interested in space and wanted to fly to the moon, I myself was interested in time travel and other aspects of science." She laughed and wiped away a tear that had began to build up. Elliot felt his gravitate towards hers and take her hand in his own. "After the divorce we barely ever got to see each other but we always phone called...Eventually the calls stopped and I was busy with applying to college that I hadn't had chance to check in on him. I wish I had." 

Elliot nodded and braced himself for what he was about to hear. Mary took a shaky breath. "He went on a school trip but he never made it. The school bus had been targeted by some nasty people and the driver lost control when a loud explosion went off at the back of the bus and-" She shook her head. "Nobody survived the crash, They searched the wreckage for hours and all they found was his shoe." She squeezed his hand gently before focusing her attention back on her laptop and began logging into it. It dinged loudly. "After that my Mother blamed herself for allowing him to go on the trip and she went of the rails and hasn't been seen for years." 

Elliot was speechless, This bright and talented women was broken but clearly holding herself together. "My Mom has a form of dementia. My brothers Roger, Ricky and Elon...They went missing in action and are presumed dead, My older sibling Evan is abusive just like my father and has recently been expelled from the college." He sighed and shared his family life. Mary stared at him for a few moments before moving from her seat and engulfing him in a gentle hug. He was surprised when he didn't flinch or react like he had the first time when Natalie had hugged him. Mary's hug was a lot different than Natalie's was. It was gentle and tender and soft and warm and it made him feel safe. "Thank you for listening to me Elliot." She mumbled. She pulled away and took her seat. "It is getting late, You should head back to your dorm and get some rest." She grinned. 

Elliot was in agreement with the older women and stood quickly. "Come find me if that women bothers you again." He stated causing Mary to look at him in shock. "Oh my, Don't ya go worrying your pretty head over me dearie." She winked over at him causing him to blush and stumble over his own feet as he headed out of the cafeteria leaving a happier feeling Mary Somers to finish her project that also had to be handed in, in a few hours time.