THROUGH THE WINDOW

Chapter 9

FAY'S POV

"FAY! FAY!"

"Hey! Watch it!"

" What's your problem?"

"Oof!"

"FAY!"

Sh*t! I was hoping I would avoid her for much longer. I bumped many people at the school hallway as I rushed towards the nearest door. Two weeks had passed since that incident. Two weeks have I avoided Chelsea. I even tried wearing a hoodie but it seems my time is up. I opened the door I found and entered, closing it behind me. I lay myself on the door, waiting. Her voice became louder and louder. I waited and waited. Soon enough, the voice dimmed. I released my breath which I didn't know I was holding.

" Hello Fay Fitzybl. It's a long time since I saw you."

" Oh! Hello Mrs. Clair."

It seemed I was in the counselor's office. Mrs. Clair looked at me from her desk. Files were piled on the desk.

" Hope there are no more boy trouble."

I laughed nervously. Since the incident in 9th grade, I had gone for counseling from her but stopped by the end of 10th grade. And besides I wanted to forget the incident completely. And also the culprits weren't caught for some reason .

"Well...I should be going out. Sorry for disturbing you."

I held the door handle almost turning when she called my name.

" Wait! I almost forgot. Have you started applying for any colleges?"

"Actually I have already applied to some colleges."

" That's good. Do you need any SAT materials for you to study?"

" No, thank you. I got from the librarian."

" Well, okay. You can go now."

She went back to her work and I opened the door, hearing the warning bell for the next class.

The bell rings. The last class of the day is over. Phew!

" Don't forget that tomorrow you should submit your essay." The teacher said.

I was the last one getting out. When I reached the door someone pulled me towards the lockers. I almost screamed thinking that what had happened before will happen now. The person covered my mouth and faced me. I saw his grey eyes before they were covered by his long shabby black hair. I started hitting him.

" Hey! Stop it! It's me. Brandon."

" I don't care. You gave me such a huge scare."

" Sorry...Ouch! Stop!!"

He held my hands and pushed them against the wall. He was tall so I found myself looking up. I saw a blush creeping over his face before he released me and tucked his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He looked away and gave me a piece of folded paper.

" Sorry for that. Umm... I wanted to give you this drawing. Umm...Bye."

" Wait..."

But he had already gone. I opened the paper and saw a drawing of a hibiscus flower. Below it, he had written...

THANKS- Brandon

The drawing was beautiful. That's when I remembered. Brandon and I have shared most of our classes since tenth grade and somehow found myself sitting beside him. He has always been a loner and I normally find him dawdling something on his book during classes. Rumors had it that he was the most sought after boy by girls after Ashton. That may be because he had a bad boy kind of look coz of the piercings and tattoos. I may have been one of his admirers if Ashton hadn't caught my eye first.

I had one day had the nerve to peep at his notebook when he was called to answer a question and that's when I saw a half drawn flower. He caught me looking at it and scowled at me the whole lesson, hiding his notebook from me. At the end of class, he came towards me .

" What's your problem?"

"The drawing is beautiful. I hope you'll show it to me when it's done."

He tried to block me as I was leaving, expecting I cower or something but I managed to leave. After that, I barely saw him until today.

I hadn't noticed I had gone outside until someone blocked my way.

" Finally caught you."

I looked up and saw Chelsea's flushed face. Busted!

" I'm mad. What the heck, Fay?"

" Umm...what do you mean?"

" Don't play coy with me. You have been avoiding me, haven't you?"

" Well...was I?"

I backed away from only to find a wall.

" This time you are not escaping until you tell what's going on. My brother acts weird after coming back home then you. Did something happen between you two?'

" Nothing happened."

" Then what's going on?"

I tried thinking of a good excuse but none came up. So I told her everything. She stood there with her arms folded as she listened. When I finished I looked away, expecting her to say I was stupid or something.

" Why does your dad want you to not be with my brother?"

" I don't know. After that he barely talks to me but he's always around. More than usual."

" Does it relate to what happened in freshman year?"

" I think so."

"Ok."

" Ok...what?"

" I'll help you avoid my brother."

Huh?

" Why?"

" Your father is suddenly around and wants you not to be with him. "

" Chad is your brother. You will just do that to him without any good explanation? What's wrong with you?"

I had not noticed that I was causing a commotion until Chels dragged me away and saw a crowd forming. She told me to enter her a car and we drove away towards the library. When we reached there she faced me. She looked so serious.

" Fay... You are my best friend and I care about you a lot.
I believe something is going on that seems to be connected with my brother. "

" And what do you think that could be?"

" I have a confession to make. Since you and my brother met, I've been feeling that I was being watched. I had ignored it but after I set you up with my brother, I've been feeling that presence a whole greater and it is making me run a little bit scared."

" Did you call the police?"

" Yes I did but nothing has come up."

" But that doesn't mean it's related."

" Whatever you say but I'm not gonna allow you to see my brother and vice versa..."

" What?!"

"...And besides you've been doing a great job so far."

" But..."

" You'll be late for job. So get out."

She unlocked the door of her car and pushed me out with my bag. Then she left.