The Quiet Kind

Red: Chapter 5

She knew nothing. She was beautiful, but I felt angry. Angrier than I think I have ever felt. Maybe if she knew, if she had been there, and known how bad crashes could be she would realise that you can't just... just say things like that and pretend that it is right, just because you're beautiful. 

I shouldn't have sat next to her. I preferred the front. The front was safer. What had I done? I couldn't concentrate on Mr Marshall. All I could think about was her. Yet for the first time of the day, I felt strangely settled. 

"Sorry I am late sir, some kid in the corridor said that you weren't the best teacher here so I had to show him my books, which I have remembered by the way," Devan said panting, with the books still in his hands. "But don't worry, eventually he admitted that it was true so your flawless reputation is maintained," he continued, and bowed slightly to Mr Marshal after his speech, like a knight.

Sir did not tell him off, rather he invited him to sit down and explain his 'charity work', as he put it, at the end of the lesson.

At the end of the two hours Mr Marshal told us we could leave and I sat and watched the other people pour out the classroom with a girl at the end who rushed after her friends who had forgotten about her. Alice watched her with a kind of understanding. I wasn't sure why because everyone looked at her like she was the only person in the room, so I didn't think she knew what being the invisible kind was like.

"Alice, Devan," Mr Marshal said as we walked to the front of the classroom. "I understand that there were mitigating circumstances last year, but this year please keep focused."

"If you understood, you wouldn't say that sir," She said with a daring smile.

"Do you want to pass?" He said and started to sort through the piles of work on his desk.

"Don't you want to hear my courageous story?" Dev asked to break the silence which had built up. The man smiled.

"I don't want to have to give you a detention Devan."

"Sir, you are magnificent," and with that we walked into the corridor.

"He's a nice guy deep down," Alice said without looking to either of us.

"Yes," Devan said and then ran after Kev when he saw him in the corridor with a blonde girl.

They walked up to us. I stood behind them.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Sydney said and looked Alice up and down, wrinkling her forehead and cheeks.

"Really? I saw you on animal planet last night. Real mean with that zoo keeper weren't you? Bit him and everything."

Sydney just continued to look her up and down. The rest of them were silent.

"Let's go," Dev said and gave Alice a kiss on the cheek and hugged me. Then, we watched as walked away.

"Is he always like that?"

"Like what?" She asked.

"Happy."

Alice smiled without answering, her eyes fixed on them exiting the block.

"What brings you to this fine establishment then Red?" She asked without looking away from the door Devan had exited out of.

"I moved to England to live with my dad."

"Why, when you like your mum so much?"

I shrugged, hidding.