Starry Eyed

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

As promised, I was guided back to school and greeted by the one and only counsellor available at Huntley. I was booked for three meetings a week to get over the 'absolutely understandable guilt, agony and torment' that went with 'seeing your roommate's spirit pass on'. Which was just code for 'finding his guts spilling out on the floor'. My mother took me in to the school office to sign me back in; my father waited in the car, still grouchy about my decision to stick around for the term. He'd wished me a polite goodbye, but I could tell he thought I was being super thick-headed.

The school didn't feel like the box of murder I had been promised. The walls seemed as wide as they usually would, and I wasn't seeing blood drip from the ceiling or pooling on the floors, as everybody had expected me to. I think my method of coping was to pretend it never happened. I acted like James had never existed in the first place. It was working better than I could ever have imagined.

Mom stood beside me with her arm around my shoulder as we waited for staff in the office. A few kids walked by, staring at me like I was a ticking time bomb. Once upon a time they might have snickered and made jokes, jeering about some boy cuddling up to his mother. But they had all heard the news. Everybody knew who I was these days.

At last, a staff member came to serve us. She was one of the older secretaries, with her silvering hair pinned back so severely, I wondered if she still had blood flow to her brain. My mother went to introduce me and sign me back in, but naturally, the woman recognised the kid whose roommate had just committed suicide.

"Oh, you're Luca Jones," she cooed, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry about what happened, honey. Have you been notified about your dormitory change?"

Mom raised her eyebrows, confused. I was pretty bewildered too. "Room change?"

"Perhaps you were never told. Luca's been moved to another dormitory. Only healthy, you see," the woman nodded sadly. "They moved the other boy, too. Finn somebody? His roommate never made the first term. You'll be sharing."

A thousand different thoughts ran through my mind. The loudest words were particularly colourful. But neither of these ladies knew who Finn really was; they didn't understand what this meant for me. I thought of pranks gone out of control, students with scorches and burns right up their arms, and completely froze up. I could have cried or screamed or ran right out of the room. But I didn't say a thing.

"Room 24, second floor," the secretary smiled, handing me a key. "Here you go. I believe some students moved your gear in last weekend, so everything should be there."

"Thank you so much," Mom replied, smiling back without a clue. I couldn't even manage to say a single word in defence of myself. I was powerless in the situation anyway, and I couldn't just verbally take Finn down to get out of this mess.

I'd never appreciated James enough, until now.

We made our way to the second floor, counting numbers on doors as my mother chattered away.

"It's a new beginning," she bubbled. "I'm sure this boy will like you. He lost his roommate, too. Ah, here it is! Room 24."