Beside You

Chapter 1: Schooling

Chapter 1: Schooling

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 School. It comes five times a week, every year for almost half our lives and yet I still hate it. I rested my head on my left hand while I twirled my pen in my right hand and half listened to Mr Acheron rant on about something. It was just excellent that I had double maths first on the first day of school. My eyes flickered to the clock and there was only a minute left. I completely tuned Mr Acheron out and watched the clock tick slowly.

I looked over to Derek who was seated next to me and nodded to the clock. He looked just as bored as me but his eyes lighted up when the second hand ticked closer to the twelve. Three… two… one…

The sound of the bell was like the sound of our freedom.  We gathered our things quickly and then power-walked out the classroom to find Jen. Jen was only next doors in so we waited while her class slowly trooped out.

“Seriously, only she takes forever in a classroom,” Derek rolled his eyes.

“Socialising with other people probably,” I replied. “Something neither of us can do easily.”

“So true.”

Calum came out of the classroom and I froze slightly. I’d forgotten over the holidays that he was in Jen’s class too.

“Hey El,” he greeted.

“Hey,” I said, blushing, just like every time I saw him.

“How’ve you been?”

“Alright-“

I didn’t get the time to ask him how he was before Jen came out of the classroom and dragged Derek and me away.

“Well see ya later!” Calum called.

“Thanks a lot Jen, I was getting a good conversation started,” I complained.

“What was that going to be? Blushing and mumbling?” she retorted as we started climbing the stairs.

“You really are a great friend,” I said sarcastically.

“She’s probably too busy with her admirers,” Derek teased.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

“I think it is fair.”

“Oh, I think you should know before you see for it yourself that Calum’s got a girlfriend.”

I stopped dead in the middle of the staircase. “Who?”

“You know Maddie Harris?”

“Think I’ve heard of her,” I muttered sullenly. What else was I to expect? There were a lot of way prettier girls who liked Calum too. “How did you know?”

“I saw him coming to class with her hand in hand,” Jen said simply. “I feel like I’m your undercover agent.”

“It’s your duty as El’s friend to help her out seeing you’re in a lot of the same classes as him,” Derek pointed out.

I went the other direction as them seeing my locker was on the other side as theirs. I neatly put my books away before grabbing my snack and my books for next period. On the way downstairs I saw Calum and his friend Luke and Michael at his locker. And sure enough, Maddie was standing there too. I tried to not feel jealous and hurried downstairs into the courtyard.

Jen and Derek were sitting under a large oak tree that shaded us from the sweltering sun.

“I just saw him,” I said, sitting down.