Rejects // l.h.

2

I'm awoken with a start to the sound of a deafening bell chiming through the school. I sit bolt up right in shock. I hear the other three groaning and clambering out of bed. I open my suitcase and fish around for the school uniform. It's a white shirt, black tie and grey trousers. I quickly get changed and style my hair up into the usual quiff.

"You ready?" Asks Ashton.

"Yep,"

"Ok. Let's go," I follow them into the canteen to eat breakfast. Its plain white bread (the slices look like the tiles on the ceiling) smeared with lumpy butter and a glass of cheap, sour orange juice.

After three slices of the bread, I go with Ashton, Michael and Calum to the geography classroom. I hadn't realise we did proper lessons at this school before I came.

Carmen, Emily, Laura and Dani are also in our geography class. The teacher, a withered old man (I suppose Carmen was right about the teachers being old) smiles at me widely.

"Ah, hello, you are...?"

"Luke. Luke Hemmings,"

"Ah, yes. I am Mr Johns. Sit down, uh, next to Laura. Yes, next to Laura," His voice is shaky, probably from his old age.

I sit next to Laura. She smiles at me and twirls a strand of her hair around her finger.

"Hi, Luke,"

"Hey..."

Mr Johns gives me a text book and instructs us to read through page 37 and make some notes. Right. I could tell what Carmen meant by boring.

***

When the lessons were finally over, I walked with Ashton, Calum and Michael back to our room to get changed, we then knocked on Carmen's door.

She opened it. She was wearing a stripy shirt, short denim shorts and a flannel tied round her waist. It was such a simple outfit, but it looked amazing on her.

Shut up, Luke.

"Wanna go outside?" She asked.

"Yeah. Where's Em and Laura and Dani?" Asks Ashton.

"They got detention with Mrs Brackon,"

"And you didn't?" Smirked Ashton.

"Of course not. I'm a good girl," She smiles and pushes past us into the corridor.

"I'll believe that when I see it!" Calls Ashton as we follow her outside.

I can't help notice the way Ashton looks at Carmen. Does he like her? I mean, it's not surprising if he does. She's really hot.

Shut up shut up shut up.

There's a big tree at the end of the brown, dry field. The five of us sit under it, watching some boys kick a battered, dirty ball to one another. The sun is slowly sinking.

"Do you see what I mean by the lesson being boring?" Carmen says, picking at the dry, short grass. She turns to look at me.

"Yep,"

She smiles at me, and it's not one of her sassy or sarcastic ones. It's a real smile.