Dream Catch Me (Student/Teacher)

Dream Catch Me - Chapter Twenty One

I dawdled off to lunch, remembering I had made plans with Jaz. I didn't want to face the hoards of people in the lunch room, their judging eyes digging at me from all sides. I fished my phone out of my pocket and saw I had a txt from Jaz. 'Where are you?' it said. Lunch had been going for at least 15 minutes, and I hadn't texted her back. 'Can you meet me at the courtyard by the library?' I texted back as I started to walk towards my lunch spot. While I didn't want to meet with Mr Hunter, I didn't want to face my peers. I slid open the door to the courtyard to be tackled into a hug.

"Jane!" Fletch squealed. Squeezing me tighter. I couldn't breathe, especially because of my ribs. But also because of the strange sensation of being hugged. I don't revel in the warmth of other peoples arms, but Fletch's were comforting like a friends hug. Different from Joe's hug, that's for sure. The words were caught in my throat while I struggled to breathe. He let me go after a minute and when I hadn't replied he held me by the arms and stared into my eyes. "Sorry, you okay?" I nodded, letting the slight presence of tears in my eyes drain away a little by blinking rapidly. I gave a weak smile before I greeted him, "Hey Fletch." I peered over his shoulder to be met with the worried eyes of Joe. He was searching my eyes for some kind of signal that I was okay. I smiled at him too and said, "Hey Sir."

He didn't have the chance to reply before Fletch started talking non-stop. "Where've you been? I was worried you got caught up with those bitches again. Anyway, you've been ignoring me all day! I saw you in biology but you left me for someone else! Who was she?" Fletch was full of energy, maybe I was his outlet. I can't imagine Joe would be that much of an outlet source. "Well, she's my friend Jaz. She works at the cafe Al's where I met her when she served me a coffee."

Just then, as she heard us talking about her, Jaz walked in through the sliding door and I saw visible relief in her eyes when she saw I was here. "Geez Jane! Where've you been?" I mumbled a reply that somehow sounded reasonable enough. Something along the lines of "Bathroom" which wasn't exactly a lie, I was there but no one had to know what had happened while I was there. It was silent for a moment before I had noticed that both Fletch and Jaz were staring at each other; both with a slight blush on their cheeks.

"Oh," I spoke up interrupting their moment. "Ah Jaz, this is Fletch and Fletch this is Jaz." For the first time since I met Fletch he was almost speechless. Barely able to form words he had turned into a teenage girl. They both said a quick 'hi' before they made a silent decision to go and sit on the bench in the courtyard and start talking. I felt accomplished somehow, like I had given them some happiness by introducing them to each other. I had a good feeling about those two, they seemed like they would get together. You know the typical story. High school sweethearts who marry and live happily ever after?

I walked over to Joe who was standing awkwardly in the corner. "Hey," I spoke before I crouched down carefully and leant against the courtyard wall, next to a rose bush. The smell was beautiful. I wasn't quite sure how they could grow in this small room like area, it had limited sunlight but extra shelter. Rain couldn't get in. It had a roof after all. I always admired a rose. They had those thorns that if you didn't see could stick you and draw blood. So you'd have to stand back and admire them from afar of you didn't want to hurt yourself.

"Hey," he replied softly. It was quite for a minute or two before he spoke again. "Look, I know you didn't want to go to the university. But after I thought about it I realised that even though you may not appreciate it at the time, it could help you in the future." he was fidgeting his hands nervously. It was frustrating so I reached over an grabbed them as a reassurance that I wasn't mad. "I know," I simply replied before closing my eyes, leaning my head back and letting the limited sunlight stream through the Perspex roof and onto my face. Sun was a treat in the winter time, we were plagued more by the frosty footpaths and snow covered ground than sun, so when it did come around we did everything we could to keep it there and abuse it while it stayed.

I opened my eyes after a while, noticing Joe was looking at me from where he had sat down next to me. It was a questioning gaze, but I ignored it while I pulled the pill bottle of pain killers from my bag and swallowed them with the bottle of water I had. "You're supposed to have them with food Jane." Joe scorned disapprovingly. I rolled my eyes. He worried too much, I wasn't going to die.

He must've noticed my eye roll as a refusal to eat food, and I found a wholemeal sandwich launched at my lap not 5 seconds later, faster than you could say 'Eat this sandwich'. The force at which it was thrown indicated to me that Joe was not a force to be reckoned with until I had at least attempted to eat it. I unwrapped it from the plastic wrap and took a small bite of the wholemeal crust. "The bread's nice," I complemented and took another small nibble. "Thanks," he replied. "I made it myself." I was impressed, not many men can bake and those who can wouldn't readily admit to it either. "Do you bake or cook other things?" I asked curiously.

Joe was ashamed now, as he bent his head and blushed slightly. "I'll take that as a yes," I muttered loud enough for him to hear and giggled lightly at his behaviour. The silence that we sat in for a while was comfortable, me eating my sandwich and him eating his large lunch. Fruit, sandwiches, crackers, cookies, it seemed he didn't really hold back on his diet. And when I asked him about it he shrugged it off and said he was a 'big boy' who needed a lot of energy.

I pulled out my iPod at some point during the lunch hour and gave him a bud to put in his ear. We listened to my music, gently bobbing our heads to the beat and muttering the words lightly. I didn't have to worry about Jaz and Fletch, they were hitting it off quite well, very well. Jaz was a quiet sort of person while Fletch was more outgoing but they brought out the better qualities in each other. I had my fingers crossed for at least one relationship to work out.

The end of he lunch hour came all too quickly and we had to pack up our food scraps and leave the courtyard. I was getting attached to the courtyard, and I knew when it came time to leave this school I would miss it the most. It was just as well the bell rang in time, as the rain droplets started to fall steadily and they rushed down the gutter pipes, making for a noisy courtyard. All four of us parted ways, except for Jaz and Fletch who had accounting class in the same period. I walked with the throng of other students to my next class, just simple chemistry. There weren't any distractions of any kind, not any unwanted feelings and memories, and definitely no Mr Hunter to distract me. It was a peaceful period, I got lost in the different formulas and equations of chemistry and was relieved when the teacher announced there was no homework for tomorrow as we'd be out at the open day.

-

It was last period when the rain really started to pick up, big black storm clouds darkening the daytime sky. The presence of these clouds made everything to the students seem more dreary and boring but to me it was great. I loved the thought that water could fall from the sky and flow in different rivers in gutters, travelling all over the town before disappearing under the roads into the waste water systems.

The heavy rain and the warning of thunder and lightening sent our whole gym class into the library for a study period, instead of the usual run around the grounds. Joe wasn't taking our class, unlike the past week where he had been filling in, and we were left with a grumpy and disgruntled teacher called Mrs Walker. The wiry hairs from her chin and the canyons of wrinkled in her face struck fear into those who dared to cross her. In simple words, she was a teacher. The whole lesson was silent and that gave me enough time to finish my homework and study for some subjects for my upcoming exams in a couple of weeks.

School was let out and I walked outside leaving the safety and cover of the schools shelter and heading into the sheets of rain and sleet. I had to walk fast, while I loved the rain the cold temperature and the rate at which it was falling caused me concern and I didn't want to stay off school sick for two reasons. I didn't want to stay home in the firing line of my mother and although I hated to admit it, I was looking forward to the open day. Joe was right like I had feared, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

I walked quickly through the streets until I came across Al's, it was becoming my haven of sorts. I went in and sat down, only long enough to dry my hair out and grab a coffee to go. Walking meant I was running a little late and didn't have time to sit down and fully relax after my day at school. I looked around but didn't spot Joe anywhere, he must be held up somewhere, I thought.