varnishes,
~~~
~ in a corn field with no corn
We trek across the bumpy terrain, kicking away half empty bottles of coke and beer, dodging packets of tobacco, cigarette butts and abandoned bonfires. He walks slightly faster than me and I struggle to keep up with him, wondering if i'm doing the right thing. I mean, this is trespassing. This is illlegal.
But at the same time it's exciting and new and scary and completely crazy.
"How're you keeping up, piano girl?" Andy asks me, turning to me and smirking. I stumble over a piece of rock sticking out of the muddy ground and I let go of his hand.
"Don't call me that," I mutter, taking a moment to regain my balance. Andy squints at me through the sunlight, hands on his waist. I walk past him on a grassy side of the barren field. I can see the sports hall and rugby pitch from where I am stood, and I start to make my way to it.
I don't hear him approach but suddenly he is at my side again. "Why not?"
"Because it's annoying."
"What can I call you then?"
"My name?"
"Nah."
"Fine. Call me what you want. I don't care."
"Alright, jeesh. Chill out."
I don't say anything. I see the music block come into view from beyond Mrs Smith's field and I approach it warily, cautious of someone inside seeing us. But luckily all the blinds are shut and there are still a few minutes of lunch left for us to return to maths.
"How do we get out of the field?"
"Through PE."
I carry on walking forwards. "Are you alright?" I ask him, suddenly aware of how quiet he is. He's a little further back, kicking the heads off of poppies.
"Yeah."
"Oh, okay," I say. I speed up. He doesn't. I squeeze through the gap in the rugby pitch when I find it, and I start to walk down the sports walkway.
I look through the fence to Andy, and to how still he is stood. His body faces the school, but his head faces the field, and his attention is focused on the road past the school, the busy street, the fields beyond that, the hills, the sky.
I walk without him.
~~~
