Chapter 1- Dark Strangers
The pitter-patter of the rain against the windows matched my grey mood entirely. The classroom smelled of damp hair and wet clothes, and I wrinkled up my nose distastefully at the stench. As much as I loved the rain, I still hated the smell of damp.
My chair squeaked a little as I sat down, wringing water out of my ponytail, drips running down my cold, pale hands like rivers. I was sat by myself in the back corner of the classroom, again, just like I was every day.
Go figure. I thought, my eyebrows raising slightly. Nothing ever changes.
I reached up and clutched the pendant on my necklace for comfort, it's smooth, hard surface cold from the sudden drop in temperature. It was golden bird, poised as if it were about to take flight, about to break free of the chain forever.
I sighed and looked up as the teacher, Mr. Munroe called for attention. I hated maths, even more so now that we had had a teacher change. Ms Williams had been replaced due to a long term sickness, and whilst I hadn't liked the subject she taught, at least her personality was bearable. That was a lot more than I could say for Mr. M.
"Now if you could just turn to page 114 in your higher mathematics books, we can all get started." He called from the front of the classroom, in that same high nasal voice of his.
I had to stifle a giggle. Whatever Mr. Munroe may have lacked in personality, he made up for in his entertaining fashion sense. His short, round frame was decorated with a tweed suit, the trouser legs far too short and so showed off bare leg the colour of paper, and grey, hand knitted socks. His footwear could be described as what was commonly known as 'grandad shoes' which contrasted with his bright, rather distasteful shirt. The whole disaster was finished off by a matching bowtie and a flower brooch stuck onto his right shoulder.
I shook my head, grimacing at the sight of his portly frame going back and forth in front of the whiteboard. Groaning, I opened the book at the right page and waited for further instruction, after shrugging off my jacket and placing it out to dry on top of the radiator.The rain had even soaked through to my top, but I would just have to hope that it would dry out over the next hour.
My mind quickly wandered from quadratic equations to other, more interesting subjects. One of the pro's at being at the back of the classroom was that you could daydream without interruption, and I did a lot of daydreaming. And doodling. Anything that wasn't maths.
I was starting to think about tea that night when I was pulled from my reverie by the sound of the classroom door being swung open. I looked up as a dark figure entered into the classroom, dripping, soaked from the sudden downpour.
There were few times when the class went silent, and this was one of them. The strangers face was handsome, made up of strong, chiseled features and brilliant green eyes flashed underneath charcoal black locks of hair that were currently stuck to his forehead in wet clumps. I noted how, despite the lack of sun and constant bad weather, his skin was tanned, and his toned physique showed underneath his sopping t-shirt.
Realising I was gawping, I turned away quickly, looking out the window in what I hoped was a disinterested manner. Most of the girls at the front of the classroom were whispering and giggling to each other, and I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry I'm late sir." He said, shaking his head, the drips from his hair making puddles on the floor. The cocky grin said it all.
"Find a seat." Mr Munroe quickly snapped, his irritation clear. "I will accept your apology as it is your first day, but do not be late to my class again."
The boy just smirked and nodded, before scanning the class for a spare seat. All of the girls stared giggling, purposefully making room for the handsome newcomer, gesturing the seats next to them whilst batting their eyelashes.
Please. I shook my head and returned to facing the window, disgruntled.
The rain was starting to ease off a little, and the grey clouds were now visible through the windows. It was a relief to see that the blue sky might have been making a comeback. I shivered. I never wanted to do maths in the best of moods, let alone when I was cold, wet and hungry. I couldn't wait for the final bell, when I would be able to run to the comfort of home, and take a hot shower before pulling on my cosiest pyjamas and snuggling underneath a blanket ready to watch a film, coffee in hand. I looked at the clock. Fifty-five minutes and counting.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" I jumped, pulled from my reverie by a voice next to me. The new boy was smiling down at me with a set of perfect, pearly white teeth, throwing me off guard.
"S-sure." I stuttered, blinking in surprise. He grinned and plonked down next to me, shrugging his bag off and shoving it under the desk. I swallowed. As much as I had admired his good looks, that didn't mean I wanted him sat less than a metre away from me.
"He's a real jolly one isn't he?" He grinned, nodding his head in Mr. Munroe's general direction. I merely smiled in response, distracted by the death stares I was getting from the other girls. Great. That's just what I need. I bit my lip and looked down, suddenly very interested in the maths question in front of me. "You got a name?" He inquired, too cocky for his own good.
I raised one eyebrow, "Aalia. Aalia Archer." I sound like such a dork.
"Alex. Alex Dashwood." He winked at me.
He is so not taking me seriously. I nodded and started to play with the end of my ponytail, something I did often when I was uncomfortable or nervous. I could still see the other girl's if-looks-could-kill stares out of the corner of my eye and I decided to give them one of my own. It wasn't long before they hastily turned round again, looking satisfyingly sheepish.
Alex watched the affair with a hint of humour playing on his lips, but he said nothing. I looked at him sat next to me, and shook my head in disbelief before turning back to writing out the question. Without realising what I was doing, I started to doodle in the corner of my book, and it wasn't long before artistic designs covered most of the page that I was supposed to be solving equations on. I sighed and ripped it out, knowing what Mr. Munroe would say to my 'graffiti'. I threw it to the side,and began to re-write the date and title with a huff.
"Did you take art? These are really good." Alex was studying the swirling shapes on the paper with a look of keen interest. I hadn't even noticed he had picked the paper up.
"Thanks." I whispered, suddenly very conscious of how close he was to me. He smelt like the forest, like pine needles and bluebells.
"Did you take art?" Alex repeated, raising an eyebrow.
I felt like an idiot. "Oh um, no. No, I didn't."
"Surprising, and disappointing. I was hoping you could show me where the art room was tomorrow morning." He frowned slightly. "This school is worse than a maze, I can't find anything."
I had to laugh at that, and he stared at me when I did. "I'm sure I could still show you, if you wanted. I have photography at the same time, and that room is right next to the art room." I bit my lip, not sure where my new found confidence had come from.
Alex nodded, relieved. "Thanks."
We lapsed back into a companionable silence, and didn't speak for the rest of the lesson. When the bell rang though, Alex turned to me as I shrugged my jacket on, warm from the heat of the radiator, but still slightly damp. "Where did you want to meet?" He asked.
"Hm?"
"Tomorrow morning." He grinned, rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah." I replied, feeling stupid. "Um, I'm guessing you know where the cafeteria is?" Alex nodded. "Meet me there, around 8:00am?"
"Cool. See you then Aalia." He kissed me quickly on the cheek, leaving me with a surprised look on my face, before winking and walking out of class without another word. I felt my cheek, my skin burning from the kiss. Maybe I was wrong. I thought, maybe some things do change.
