Incharge

Chapter 22

Nick Owens

Scarlet had no right to do what she did. Making out with Kit in front of everyone? Kit? She didn't want that- I know she doesn't. For how shit Scarlet had been Saturday night, I was mad at her. But no one told me that being mad at someone so fucking beautiful was this difficult.

Every time she tried to talk to me I physically had to bite down on my tongue to make a show of my anger. I am just so desperate for her to snap at me. God, she is hot when she is mad.

"We need to have a shower schedule."

"A what?"

"I don't want to try and get into the bathroom and you be in the shower," Scarlet rifled through the drawers of the small wooden desk under the window for some paper and stationary, "so we need a shower schedule." She sat down and started drawing a schedule for us to follow.

All I could do was shake my head at her and begin to unpack my clothes, stuffing them in various shelves in the singular cupboard. Only Scarlet would draw a schedule for taking showers.

I didn't even protest when she took the paper and sellotaped it to the bathroom door. For a few minutes, it was just us unpacking and organising everything for the upcoming days of activities.

The guide didn't talk much but when she did, she talked solely of our agenda. We were to have an early dinner with the other head boys and head girls so we could have a bonfire in the evening.

Scarlet and I don't know much - or really anything - about the pupils from the other schools. Harrowhill is a privately funded school hidden up in a countryside town in the middle of nowhere while some of these other schools were right in the heart of city living.

I abided by the schedule and used my 'shower time' to change my outfit instead. Although I would love to wear my sweatpants to dinner, it seemed rather inappropriate. I threw a pair of jeans on with my spare jersey shirt and peered at myself in the mirror satisfied.

Scarlet had also changed into a draped white top and grey suit trousers which held her curves nicely - perfectly. As we walked through the halls, it was hard not to catch a glimpse of her hips swaying.

The dining hall was not hard to find. The stairs took us back down to the front desk where we asked a different, less happy secretary to direct us. She rather lazily waved her hand in the air and gestured for us to go through the third door on the right.

We could see we had entered the correct room when we saw the huddles of young people waiting for instructions in the four corners of the room. Scarlet suggested that we sit down thinking others would follow suit but I turned her down saying we should just wait with the rest of them.

A girl, not much older than us burst through the doors, "Good afternoon leaders! I am Delia Patterson and I will be taking you on this year's leadership course." Delia walked around the table and placed small slips of paper beside each set of cutlery. "Could you all sit where I have placed your names please."

After a few moments of muffled exchanges and trudging feet, we were all seated at the table. I was seated beside a small, scrawny looking boy with mousy blonde hair and thick lenses - your typical nerdy guy - and a bigger, more boisterous ginger guy on my left - definitely a fellow rugby player. Scarlet was sat across from me two seats down, also between two different boys.

Delia walked to the head of the table and gave us our first instructions, "Please greet those around you and enjoy the upcoming meal. Everyone is free to leave whenever they want but the table will be cleared at 4:30pm so the team here at Willowlands can set up for the bonfire tonight." She smiled a final time before walking out of the room leaving all of us in silence.

At first, I thought that talking with the other pupils would be awkward yet I wasn't the one to initiate conversation, "Isaac Cohen, Grey Lodge Academy." The ginger boy stuck his hand out for me to shake.

I shook Isaac's hand and introduced myself. "Nick Owens, Harrowhill Prep."

"Harrowhill? You're the rugby captain, aren't you? I think I played you last year."

Talking with Isaac went smoothly and the scrawny guy beside me talked to the girl beside him so everyone around me was making pleasant conversation.

Food came out quickly and everyone reached over to fill their stomachs. Many of the people here had traveled further or for longer than we had and it didn't surprise me if they were hungry. Isaac and I chatted for a good hour when our school roles came up in conversation.

"Our head girl is Chelsey Yang, sitting at the end of the table opposite us; short black and red bob." I shifted to look at the person Isaac was describing. She was pretty and seemed like an all around nice girl.

I gestured towards Scarlet, "She's Harrowhill's head girl, Scarlet Collins."

Isaac took a moment to look Scarlet up and down, "Damn. Good grades as well?" I nodded tentatively - unsure of where this conversation was going. "Single?"

"No clue, might be a situationship there." I grinded my teeth together as this conversation had taken quite the inappropriate turn.

Laughing, Isaac rubbed his jaw, "There'll definitely be one soon..."

That's enough from you Isaac.

I hurried to conclude our chat while trying to get Scarlet's attention. When she finally made eye contact with me, I signalled with my eyes that I was ready to get out of the room. She looked down at her phone causing me to look at my watch too. It was now just approaching three o'clock and a few other head boys and girls had already left the table.

Scarlet got up and followed me as I got up from my conversation with Isaac. "I was talking with this girl Fatima, she sounds really nice. Who were you talking too?"

"No one important."

"Still with the short snappy answers?"

"Yes."

Scarlet sighed, "Do I have to guess why your being so annoying?" I shrugged in response. "Kit means nothing to me. I kissed him so Emmy would stop flirting with that Harold guy - or whatever his name is."

I raised an eyebrow, "Was that all?"

We continued to walk hastily back to our room, "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

I stopped Scarlet outside our door. "Because, Gorgeous, I know you. And you don't just do something like that if it doesn't benefit you too."

She smirked up at me, "What if you don't know me?"

I leaned down to face her, "Well, you better be okay with me finding out exactly who you are. Inside and out."

"No need to make it dirty." Scarlet flicked her hair over her shoulder, hitting me in the face, as she walked into the room.

This is going to be a long, long week.