[in progress] As hearts collide {chicklit}

Chapter thirteen - are you joking?

After the end of my birthday surprise turned sour, I'd kept my interaction with Jim minimal. His protective nature was endearing, but entirely unnecessary. I just wanted to be a normal teenager and go out, meet someone and enjoy time in their company. Even if that person happened to be Ben.

The following week signalled the release of our A level results and I'd been riding a wave of emotions in anticipation. What if I didn't get the grades? I hadn't really thought about my path in that much detail... it was more of a dirt track, with a couple of errant footprints running through it.

The morning of, I made the decision to get in and out of there as early as possible. Results were available to collect at school from 8am, so I left home at 7:30 and made my way in to avoid the crowds.

Taking a casual walk, I was struck with the realisation that it was the last time I'd ever make this journey - truly an end of an era. I thought back to all the times I'd walked this way to school. Replaying the memories in my head, my thoughts drifted to when Sam went to Priory. In the mornings he'd often walk on infront of Jim and I, pretending to be in a hurry. But secretly I knew he loved to listen to our stories and conversations - sometimes I'd hear him sniggering at something we'd said to one another, which made me grin. It felt like a big kudos if you managed to make the big guy giggle.

My heart sank at the thought that I'd not heard his laugh in years. And I would never hear it again. A lump lodged in my throat and I swallowed, trying and failing to release it. Alex was right, it had got easier, but it never got better.

Nearing the school gates, I saw that I wasn't the only one who'd thought to come down. A group of ex-sixth formers were already congregating outside, idly waiting for their results. I said a few brief hellos as I made my way to the back of the queue.

As I waited patiently in line, my phone beeped. It was Jim.

Morning, want to collect our results together?

I felt guilty that I hadn't even considered inviting him along. I quickly fired off a text to let him know I was already here. Seconds later my phone started to ring.

"Hello?"
"Are you still pissed at me?" Jim asked, sounding flustered.
"No," I lied, biting on my bottom lip.
He sighed. "So that's a yes..."
"No, it's not. I'm fine. I just wanted to get my results before the queues, but I'm shit out of luck. There's already loads of people here."
"Ok... I'm literally walking out the door now, I'll be there in 10." He hung up before I could say anything else.

Several minutes later, as the gates were opening, I saw him crest over the hill on his skateboard. He was wearing his old ripped jeans, a faded black t-shirt, that was closer to grey and his hair was sticking up like a crazy person. He grinned when he saw me and pushed his foot on the ground to build momentum. When he reached me in the queue, he hopped off his board and flipped the nose with the front of his shoe, sending it up and into his fingertips. It was quite the move.

"I made it!" Jim said, looking proud of himself.
"Well done." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
"So not mad at me, but definitely in a mood..." he noted, which made me scowl.
"Oh shut up!" I scolded. He laughed lightly and held his arm out to let me go through the gates first.

As we walked in, my heart started to race when I saw tables filled with boxes of envelopes, which were grouped by the alphabet. Jim walked towards the end of the tables, being "Wheeler" and I stayed to the middle.

Approaching the desk, I told the person manning the boxes "Emily Morgan." They nodded and sifted through the box, finally settling on my results. As I took the white A4 envelope from their hand, I could feel my stomach roiling.