The Protector of Skye James

The Protector of Skye James

I sat at the back of the class alone and stared out the window. Frustration was growing in my mind as I tried to drain out the teacher's voice who talked to the class about the 2018 HSC exams. The harder I tried to drain out Mrs Huber's voice the angrier I became. Her voice was almost like a squeak that dragged on and on in the same tedious tone. It was so mind-numbing and maddening to listen to for an hour almost every day. Mrs Huber was my teacher for History, and as it was one of my most hated subjects, I pretended to be oblivious as her voice was a constant annoyance and a persistent reminder that I was in her class.

As I stared out the window, I focused on the greenery and fresh air that was blowing around outside. It seemed so much more delightful, it was almost like it was calling me to move out and enjoy the peace of the outside nature. I was suddenly disrupted from my daydream by a loud knock on the classroom door and I watched as the door opened. A boy paced in slowly, his face painted with a nervous emotion that seemed as if he was being careful to convey so nobody would notice. But I did. As he handed the teacher a slip, I focused on their moving mouths to guess what they were saying. Mrs Huber was suddenly pointing to the left of me, allocating him a seat. He inhaled carefully and finally with slight hesitation, he began to stride toward me. His body turned and he gently sunk into his chair. He removed nothing from his bag and placed it next to his desk, pulled out a mobile from his pocket which he sat on the desk in front of him. I turned away as he shot a glance at me. Soon after, the bell rang and as my class and I moved out, I let the loud discussion that was beginning morph itself into the background and let my own thoughts begin to stir.

At lunch, I sat on the steps near a classroom and hesitated as I watched the new boy from History walk towards my direction. Trying not to stare at him I distracted myself by shuffling through my bag for my favourite book, Water for Elephants. I stole a few glimpses at him as he was nearing closer and closer towards me. As I planned to take another peek, I looked up and he was standing right in front of me. He startled me a little but his expression was soft as I sat there silently waiting for him to say something. He wore a black cap that hid his face a little, dark blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt. I eyed him intently and almost missed his whispered "Hello". As hastily as I could, I said hello back.

"Can I sit here?", he asked, still peering down towards me.

Without a word, I nodded and returned to my bag in search of my book. I quickly opened the bookmarked page to begin reading.

Out of the corner of my eye, I sensed his gaze lingering on me, prompting me to meet his eyes. His gaze, a striking shade of the deepest blue, held mine with a gentle intensity. His dark hair and eyebrows contrasted against the beautiful colour. He softly inquired for my name.

I responded without hesitation, "Skye."

He smiled lightly, "I'm Samuel". He looked away sheepishly and swiftly stood up, grabbed his bag and walked away. I stared after him, feelings of confusion and intriguing washing over me.

The afternoon classes went by quickly. I soon arrived home, checked my emails and was tired enough to fall asleep by 9pm.

I awoke startled in the morning; my night was a little sleepless, and my body felt hot when I woke up. The sun was radiating through my bedroom window so I got out of bed and pulled the curtains across. I sat back on my bed and tried to wake up completely. "What time is it?" I wondered to myself. While sitting in the silence of the morning, I couldn't shake the thoughts of the new boy, Sam, sitting beside me the day before. I must have dreamt about him. I decided to force myself to get up and get ready for school, even though it was a little early.