Welcome to Deadwood

Chapter Six

   I leant against the wall in the corridor, pressing one foot up against the plaster, so that the sole of my shoe scraped against the paintwork. My rucksack was by my feet, already emptied of books.I had left Math five minutes early as to be sure not to miss her. The bell signifying the end of the school day rang loudly throughout the building, followed by the sound of students, bustling out of their classes, chattering loudly about plans for the weekend ahead. 

   The door besides me opened and students hurried out of the room in their exclusive little groups, clutching folders and textbooks to their chests. I think they had just had American History, from the discussions on The Colonial Period I could hear; I had taken the course last semester and so recognized their confusion. Leah emerged from the classroom, talking to some girl I had never seen or spoken to before. When she saw me she seemed surprised, but slowed down and said goodbye to her friend, joining me by the side of the hallway. 

   “Hi?” Leah said, her forehead creased in confusion. 

   “Um, hey,” I replied. 

   “I didn’t see you or Isaac and lunch today, I had to sit with some sophomores I knew at middle school.” 

   “Oh, yeah, I asked Isaac to show me where to sign up for societies and clubs,” I recalled. “I wanted to see what kinda’ things there were, if I did want to join any of them.” 

   “That’s cool,” her eyes widened, “there are some good ones.” 

   “Do you belong to any of them?” I wondered, continuing to keep an eye on the classroom door. 

   “I used to help with one about the environment, but it was mostly those hippies from the other side of town and they just tried to convince the teacher to let them grow marijuana on school property.” 

   “I bet that went down well,” I laughed. 

   “Yeah, not so much,” Leah exhaled, giggling. “So, was there something you wanted to talk to me about or,” she dragged off and motioned to the classroom I had been waiting outside. 

   “Oh,” I suddenly realized what she had assumed I had been doing, why I had been standing outside in the corridor. “Actually, I was, umm, waiting for someone else,” I couldn’t think of another way of saying it, a way which wouldn’t hurt her so much. At this exact moment, Amaya came from the classroom, her hair falling over her face as she searched through her bag for something. “Amaya!” I called out, making sure she didn’t walk past me. She looked up at me, perplexed, but stopped and started towards us. 

   “Right!” Leah exclaimed, glancing between Amaya and I. “I knew that, that makes total sense,” her cheeks turned pink and she looked down at her scuffed sneakers to avoid meeting my eye. 

   “But we’re still doing something tomorrow, right?”

   “Yes, Isaac texted me,” she nodded. “Your house, do you want me to bring anything?” 

   “Nope, I’ve got everything I need here.” I urned briefly to Amaya, who was waiting patiently at my side, and Leah began to blush again. 

    “Oh, right, of course, I understand,” she conceded. 

   “No,” I urged, “Leah, that’s not what I meant.” 

   “It’s fine.” 

   “The weather’s meant to be nice tomorrow, I thought we could go swimming, there’s a kind of lake near my house-” 

   “-That sounds perfect,” she said, feigning a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, have a nice evening,” Leah waved to both of us before walking quickly down the hall, desperate to escape this excruciating encounter.