Sense of Reality (Alan Ashby)

Here's The Map And The Pen; The Place You Pointed At

I sat on the edge of the oval, idly watching the rest of my year level tire themselves out. I had handed Miss Hart my pass, but she merely waved it off, saying,

'I already knew that you were here. Just like every other year.' I laughed, and replied with,

'You know me too well, Miss!' I put in my earphones and blasted my music, leaning back against the football goal post. I looked down at my lap, studying my iPod lock screen. True to form, Alan and all of the other sporty guys finished the testing first. I heard Mr Dean congratulate Alan, who finished a few minutes before the others. I continued giving everyone the silent treatment, and switched songs. It was Jaime All Over, by Mayday Parade. I hummed along, softly singing under my breath as Derek sang,

'Down and to the left,  

Here's the map and the pen; the place you pointed at, 

Be California's best, 

All I ask, all I ask,

And please don't tell me that I'm dreaming-'

'You like Mayday?' I was interrupted and, startled, slammed my head back against the pole. My legs, previously stretched out in front of me, had jumped up, also pinning me against the pole. Who was staring at me? Ashby, of course.

'Wow, you've actually heard of someone out of the top 40?' I snapped, my defenses flying up.

Don't! Just because he's heard - however fleetingly - of one your favourite bands doesn't mean he's the good guy! I thought, relaxing a bit. Alan reached forward and took out my earbuds.

'Yes, I have actually, shouty. It's Jamie All Over. I love that song.' I stopped myself from snorting out loud. I grabbed my earphones back from him.

'Very good.' I said slowly, unsure of where to go next. He smirked at me, knowing that he had left me speechless.

'What's your favourite Mayday song?' He asked, still holding his smug half-smile. I pondered this for a moment. I could tell him my actual favourite, or come up with a witty line.

'What's wrong, cat got your tongue?' He asked, teasing me.

'No, but that actress,' I started, pointing over at Hayley, 'has a habit of making things sound way to tragic.' I finished, standing up and dusting off my jeans. 'And if you don't mind, I'm going to fade out as the soundtrack sings.' I walked off on him, feeling immensely proud of myself. I bit my tongue to stop myself from smiling too widely.

'You're like a black cat with a black back pack full of fireworks.' Alan said, stopping me in my tracks. 'Dark clothing, dark makeup. And a tongue that's going to explode with insults whenever anyone goes near her. Good song choice.' I heard him walk off, back to the others who had finished the course. I scowled.

Great song choice, me! I congratulated myself, sighing deeply.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, though Jessica sat next to me in math. It turns out that she's a genius at the subject, so I got a high mark in the surprise test at the end of the lesson. It was designed to put us under pressure and make us remember in the short term. Alan didn't bother me at all, but his words still weighed on my mind. Why was he coming up to me? I hope he didn't make a habit of it.

'Hi Diana.' A voice said to me as I was walking to the bus stop. I turned around and looked into the brightly-outlined brown eyes that Jessica claimed as her own. She had gotten bolder with her makeup, so today she had traced them with bright blue. There were more sparkles at the corners of her eyes, and a thick trail of eyeliner.

'Jessica.' I said, blinking.

'So, how's the homework load?' She asked, stepping into place with me, and tugging on my arm a little bit to get me to move.

'Uh... it's... it's fair.' I said. Someone seeking me out? This was new. Silence strung between us, before I realised that I should ask her a question back. 'How about you?' I didn't really care for her answer though. But I made an effort. I have to be able to talk to someone at school. Even if it is a try-hard.

Jessica shrugged in response. 'Just math.'

I blinked again. 'But... you finished everything! I watched you.'

'Yeah, but I've been given extension work. Fun.' Jessica rolled her eyes at me.

'Definitely.' I murmured, watching as the bus pulled up to the stop. I hopped on board, swiping my Myki across the scanner at the front of the bus. Jessica continued without tapping on. We got a seat near the back of the bus, and I leant back against my seat, shoving my bag between my legs and the seat in front of me. Jessica dumped hers on the seat across from us, before wrestling mine out and throwing it to join hers.

I looked at her and she defended her actions by saying,

'This bus almost never fills up the first twenty seats, let alone the whole bus.' My eyebrows raised. 'And it is quite obvious that you've never been on this bus due to the fact that you questioned me.'

'I didn't ask a question.'

'But you were thinking it.' This girl was nuts. She was doing a complete 180 from yesterday, when she ignored me after homeroom. And she had the nerve to guess my thoughts. Although she had been on the money with that one, it didn't mean I liked it.

'So, if you never take this bus, why are you on it?' Jessica asked, taking out an apple from her bag. It was a dull red colour, and just fit into the palm of her hand. She bit into it and a bit of juice ran down her chin. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

I had no clue why I was on this bus with her. I looked out at the sign and saw that two buses came to this stop. Mine and hers. Before I could contemplate getting off the bus, the driver pulled away. I looked back at Jessica.

'You pushed me onto this bus. Mine comes in five minutes back at the stop. Why?' I asked back.

She shrugged. 'Want to come back to my place then, seen as you are on this bus anyway?' Her eyes glittered cheekily.

'Sure...' I answered. 'Why do you want to hang out with me, though?' I asked. 'I mean, I completely dissed you yesterday!'

Again, Jessica's answer was in the form of a shrug. 'You hung out with Jay and now he's not here. You seem... Lost.'

A/N

Title cred: Jamie All Over

So... Thoughts? And I'm sorry if you didn't understand the last chapter. I'll fix that up right now.