The Hopeful, The Hardheaded and the Homework

Chapter Eight: Conflict and Confusion

"Nice guy. Is he always like that?"

Olive heard Jacob pipe up behind her where she stood against the wall staring wide eyed at the door through which Enoch had disappeared. She knew he had maths next, and how much trouble he would be in for skipping class right in front of Mr Barron's eyes. The instant dislike Enoch had taken to the American exchange student was alarming.

"More or less, yes."
Emma's voice chimed in and Olive looked over her shoulder to her fair haired friend who had appeared over Jacob's shoulder and come over to nudge her.
"Come on, we're going to be late...Enoch will sulk for hours."

But she didn't understand why Enoch was sulking. All through English Literature, while she should have been analysing a passage of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein', it bothered Olive and twice Emma had to elbow her to stop her highlighting the novel itself.
Enoch was confusing at the very best of times, and it intrigued far more than bothered her most of the time. But he was being different now. It wasn't even his sudden dislike to Jacob that was unusual, it was how suddenly defensive he was being. Olive had seen how often he looked at her in History, unexpected to say the least as it was usually her who looked at him across the vacant seats between them. It was like he didn't like her having anything to do with Jacob, quite an about face given the strong impression he gave of disliking spending time with her himself.

She had just been being friendly. It was interesting having a student from the States in class with them now. Olive wasn't for a moment interested in him the way she was interested in Enoch, something that she was sure he didn't notice.

Unless he did and that's why he was fuming. Maybe he was so embarrassed and mad with her being she'd encroached his personal space and kissed him. Olive had been second guessing herself the whole night about why she did it. What on earth had possessed her to think that kissing Enoch O'Connor was going to be well received. When he hadn't pushed her off in disgust or even grumbled at her to leave him alone, Olive had let out a huge sigh of relief. His skin had been cool to the touch and was so pale that the redness that had flooded his face was easily visible.

Olive propped her chin up in her palm where she had rested her elbow on the table. Enoch wasn't anywhere in the cafeteria today. He was clearly avoiding everyone and she wasn't surprised given his outburst.

Jacob Portman had joined them, mostly at Emma's encouragement, at their table and was now squished on the other side between her and Hugh.
"Olive?...Olive?...Olive!"

"Huh?" The girl snapped out of her concerned daze at Hugh's slowly raising voice and Fiona's elbow in her ribs. "Sorry..."

"I said, is Enoch a good tutor?" Hugh repeated with the same good natured albeit teasing grin as ever as he popped a chip into his mouth.

Olive felt the blood rush to her face yet again. The moment that Millard had told Emma, her best friend hadn't let it go all morning and now Hugh was starting too. Was that why Enoch was so upset today? He'd made it perfectly clear he didn't want to get a reputation for being nice, much as Olive knew there was some of that goodness deep down.
"He's not as impatient as I expected him to be and he really helped, thank you very much." She mumbled and Fiona beside her giggled at her automatic defence of the broody boy.

"I'm sure he did. He's bloody brilliant at biology. It's more the fact that you've done the impossible that I can't believe."

"I keep telling you all Enoch's not so bad as you all make him out to be."

Someone laughed and Hugh snickered his agreement as Jacob spoke up with a raised eyebrow, his accent thicker than ever surrounded by British teenagers. "Well he's not good at first impressions."