Welcome to Deadwood

Chapter Two

   It was a relief, when third period finally ended, to go outside into the fresh air, to follow Isaac and Leah to the front steps of the building. The air was crisp but not unbearable, helped by the fact the sun had broken through the thick layer of cloud, illuminating everything with a golden hue. I had never seen a school so immersed in greenery, the forest almost engulfing the entire building. There was a small patch of grass out in front of the steps, with trees and a few picnic benches for students to sit at. 

   Isaac motioned to halfway down the stairway, crouching down and perching on the edge of one of the worn marble steps. I, although a little confused, sat besides him, with Leah on my other side, seated a little closer to me than I would have liked, considering I had barely known her three hours. They took foil wrapped packages from their rucksacks, little boxes of cut up fruit and broken biscuits. 

   “I’m sorry, I didn’t bring lunch, is the cafeteria near here?” I asked, looking between them in confusion. 

   “God, did they not tell you?” Isaac frowned. “The school’s too small, there isn’t a large enough student body for it to be worth cooking for us all. They really should have told you this.” 

   “So, we have to bring our own lunch?” I replied, just to clarify. 

   “Yeah but it’s not too bad,” Leah considered. 

   “Especially if you’re like Leah,” Isaac laughed and started to count things off on his nine fingers. “No wheat, no gluten, no dairy, no-” 

   “-Hey, and I’ll live twice as long as you because of it,” she scolded, as Isaac proceeded to take a packet of cigarettes from the breast pocket of his jacket, flicking it open and sliding one out, holding it between his lips. 

   “You’re allowed to smoke on school property?” I gaped, used to the rigorous discipline of my previous school, the rules that had been driven into us ever since we were freshmen. 

   “I’ve caused this school too much grief over the years,” Isaac shrugged uncaringly, striking a match and lighting the end of the cigarette. “I think they’ve almost given up on me.” 

   “They have given up on you,” Leah corrected him. 

   “If it means I can have a smoke whenever I like, you know what? I really don’t think I mind,” he admitted, turning away and flicking the ash over the railings of the front steps, onto the grass below. “You can have some of my lunch,” Isaac said, unwrapping his lunch with one hand and passing me a sandwich. “Are you okay with tuna fish?” 

   “Tuna’s great,” I nodded ardently, taking the sandwich from him and smiling gratefully. “Really, thank you, this is all so good of y’all.” 

   “I love it when you speak Texan to me,” Leah sighed, almost speaking beneath her breath, as if I would not hear her. 

   It was then, as I looked out towards the other students, that I first saw her. I was curious to why there was no-one walking around in varsity jackets, or girls huddled together in cheerleader or band uniforms. It could not have been more different to studying at an inner city school, where the number of students surpassed the amount of space and classrooms available. She was sat under one of the willow trees, holding a green apple in one of her delicate hands. 

   I will never be able to tell you what drew me to her on that afternoon, or whether it was a single thing entirely, but one thing was for sure, I was absolutely captivated. It may have been the way she set herself apart, or the way her skin seemed so pale, it was almost translucent. There was an elegance to her I had never seen before, a fragility, as if a gust of wind would come along and steal her away from me.