It's 11:30am and I'm still on the verge of falling asleep. The pending Physics lesson isn't helping me stay conscious either. All of a sudden, my eyesight is gone. "Guess who?" A voice I've grown accustomed to spoke behind my ear. I reach up and hold his wrists, simultaneously turning around and smiling at Cooper.
"Go away." I grumbled, a slight hint of graininess in my voice.
"Is that how you treat someone who bought you a coffee?" He mutters tauntingly
"I love you." I grab it from his hands and greedily gulp it down. Instantaneously, it starts burning my entire mouth and throat. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" I urgently pant. Desperately, my tongue is outside of my mouth making me resemble a dog with its head out of the window. Cooper, clearly concerned, stands with a smirk and an awful attempt at looking worried for my welfare. "I hate you."
"What? You just said you loved me! I can't deal with your mood swings. Are you on your-"
"Speak one more word and you're dead Brady." I give him the look that vaguely translates as 'I will kill you in your sleep' "What are you doing in a year 11 class anyway 6th form boy?"
"I failed my Physics GCSE, so here I am." I laugh until the door opens and an obnoxious voice starts to shout.
"Alright, in your seats." The balding middle aged teacher shouts. Cooper wanders off to his seat on the other side of the room and I, slightly more awake, slump in my seat to hear the wonders of Physics. Whilst this teacher is waffling on about things I guarantee I have near no interest in, I glace over to Cooper to see him jotting down notes every 2 or so minutes. "So, I'm going to ask...Maya." I look up in utter panic. I not only have no idea what I'm meant to be learning, but also, not a clue what on this Earth the teachers just asked me. I scan around the room desperately for some sort of inspiration. My eyes land on Cooper as he's watching me commit social suicide. He jokingly shakes his finger at me and shakes his head. The teacher spots this and turns to Cooper, "Perhaps you could share the answer then Mr Brady." He looks at Cooper like he's caught him out. Uninterested, Cooper sighs and states clearly
"It's Newton's third law, Sir." The teacher raises his eyebrows and nods. He turns to me and speaks,
"Maya, take notes." I swiftly put my head down and write 'Newton third law or something'. I'll ask Cooper about it later.
At lunch, I wander around the school aimlessly. I haven't yet returned to the dining room out of pure fear that history will repeat itself. Absentmindedly, I completely miss the door opening and walk straight into it. Stepping back, I clutch my head and screw my eyes shut. "Oh shi-, are you okay?" I grimace but nod. I slowly regain my eyesight to see Cooper, followed by Mason, exiting my English room.
"Hey, it's a reunion!" I slur. My head really hurts, I think I can feel a lump. Cooper turns around to look at Mason. Mason watches me slightly bewildered.
"Maya, are you okay?" Mason, or Mr Brady, says slowly.
"Like, are you twins?" Cooper looks at me like I am stupid and Mason just watches like he's concerned about whether I need medical assistance.
"No. 10 year age gap." One of them says. My visions starting to go blurry. I think I stumble out some sort of illegible response before someone takes my arm and gently pulls me into the classroom and onto a chair. I can vaguely hear them talking lowly amongst themselves but I don't care to listen. I lie my head on the desk, I'm really tired. Someone sits next to me and someone leaves the classroom in a hurry. I can hear someone talking in my ear. How rude, I just really want to sleep. "Come on Maya. Stay awake for me." I sleepily mutter a 'shhhhh' and then my conscious state ebbs away.
It was a few hours after when I finally woke up. I was in the medical office with Cooper, Mason, the school nurse and my dad surrounding me. I'm so screwed. "How are you feeling Maya?" Cooper cautiously asks drawing all attention in the room to me (if it wasn't already on me).
"Okay..." I lie. My head is about to explode. Okay, maybe not that far, but implode at least. Cooper just looks at me in disbelief.
"Great, well I've got to go. I might see you in a few weeks Maya." My father speedily warbles whilst rushing off. Not waiting for a response from me. I wave anyway and look down to see me stretched out on an extremely uncomfortable bed.
Mason turns to me and seems to think out loud, "Who do you live with Maya?" I look down at my phone to see no missed calls despite the fact it's over an hour past the end of the school day. I dodge the question and start to sit up. Cooper rushes over.
"Nope. Lie back down." I shake my head, impressively increasing the pain in my head.
"I need to pick Alfie up." I try again unsuccessfully to sit up but Cooper gives me a look and I lie back down.
"Surely your mum can pick him up?" Mason speaks confusedly.
"Nope. Not from beyond the grave."
Cooper silently hands me his phone which is open on the Notes page.
"Put where Alfie's school is and I'll go and get him." I type in the name of the local primary school and Cooper nods and leaves. The silence is deafening with just Mason, the school nurse and I.
"And then there were 3..." I whisper jokingly. The nurse looks at me and smiles whilst Mason is still in a world of his own.
"Actually 2, this one has to go." The school nurse replies playing along. I nod and wave.
"Who do you live with Maya?" Mason speaks less hesitantly and more stern this time.
Shit.
YOU ARE READING
Behind The Name.
Teen FictionMaya moved house. And school. And area for that matter. With a younger brother to take care of and an inability to ride buses, it's proving difficult. And there's Cooper. The clumsy, stupid idiot that's somehow loveable. But where will this ride tak...
