Before He Fell┊Neil Perry

VII

Roussin, Georges. 'Ophelia'. 1854

Words: 1,630

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Lunchtime arrived, and they gathered around their usual spot in the expansive dining hall, the hum of conversation and the clinking of cutlery floating through the air.

Charlie sat beside Beverly, devouring his food with an enthusiasm that left little time for any actual chewing. Beverly couldn't help but grimace at him, turning her attention back to her book, 'Sense and Sensibility'. Every page or so taking a bite of her lunch.

Under the table, Beverly occasionally felt a tap or a brush against her foot. Each time she glanced up, she caught Neil's eyes across from her. Their gazes would meet, and Neil would quickly avert his eyes with a small smirk playing on his lips. Beverly responded with a playful squint of mock annoyance before returning to her book. This silent exchange continued intermittently throughout the meal.

Then, Neil tapped her foot again, this time harder. Beverly looked up, placing her book on the table and meeting Neil's gaze with a questioning look.

Neil nodded subtly and stood up, addressing the group that he was heading to the library. Murmurs of acknowledgement followed, and he and he glanced down at Beverly, giving her a lopsided smile before gesturing for her to join him.

Rolling her eyes but unable to resist his smile, Beverly got up and followed him.

"What do you think of Keatings?" He asked as they walked down the hall.

Beverly considered for a moment. "A bit eccentric... but seems alright," she replied with a shrug. "Better than Mister Portius anyway."

Their footsteps echoed down the corridor as they walked. Neil jogged a few steps ahead to open the library door for her. "I want to find his old yearbook," he explained.

A toothy smile instantly grew on her face "Ooo, I wonder if he was a looker" she joked, laughing lightly.

"Was? Are you telling me Keating hasn't made you swoon?" Neil teased playfully.

"Not as of yet," she made a mock sad face, as though disappointed with herself. "Though I've seen the way you look at him"

"Oh, come off it" he snickered

"Oh, sir," she said laughing, fluttering her eyelashes and lowering her voice to imitate him, "recite me some poetry." The pair's laughter echoed down the hall as they opened the library door, the librarian guarding the front desk instantly gave them a stern look and the pair quieted down. They exchanged guilty glances, trying to stifle their giggles as they made their way toward the shelves.

They wandered down the labyrinthine corridors of towering bookshelves, Neil leading the way with Beverly following closely behind. Her eyes flitted over the spines of the books, and amongst the familiar titles and subjects, her gaze settled momentarily on a navy-blue hardcover poetry anthology, prompting her to instantly grimace.

"I better not need those pages next year," she muttered under her breath, shooting a glance at Neil. He turned back, a knowing smile tugging at his lips when he spotted the book.

"We might have him again next year, Bevs," Neil remarked, turning his head forward again as they walked. "So, it might not matter."

"You might not even be in my class next year," she reminded him. Neil's expression faltered at the thought, a brief frown crossing his features before he resumed their course through the library.

"Don't say that or it might come true," he chided her. "Who knows, instead of the hunk that sits next to you this year... you might get Cameron next to you."