SHIFTED.✔

38

Drama was boring. Chris flirted with Katie all through lunch. She flirted back. Chris was a nice guy. They had a similar sense of humour. I hoped things would go right for them. When the five-minute bell rang they were still flirting. I headed off early to history. I was leaning up against the wall talking to Terry when Keean came around the corner. He sat on the end of the verandah facing us and leaned his back against the post. I pretended not to notice and tried to keep the conversation going with Terry but she had to rush off because she'd left her lunch box behind. I looked at my feet then glanced over at him. Keean was staring, deep in thought, straight at me. I smiled a little not sure what else to do. He didn't smile back but let his eyes drop to my body.

I looked at my feet again and crossed my arms in front of me. When I looked back at him he had the corner of his thumb in his mouth.

"Sorry about butting in with Harrison before. I hope I didn't ruin anything for you."

I shook my head. "No. He was getting annoying. I didn't know how to tell him to stop."

Keean nodded and gave me a thoughtful look. "That's right. You're not good with boys."

I chuckled. He'd remembered I said that. "Yeah...that's right."

"So are you better with girls?" I frowned at him. He had a serious look on his face. "You and that Katie seem pretty close."

Anger instantly rushed from my feet to the top of my head. What the hell was his problem? Just when I thought maybe we were on the same page he comes out with a stupid statement like that. He jumped to his feet with a stressed look on his face.

"Sorry! It was a dumb thing to say." He ran his hand through his hair. "Shit! I'm sorry!"

"She's my best friend you wanker!" I picked up my bag and strode off, not knowing where I was going. Then I ran into Katie around the corner. She could see something had happened so I told her.

"What a dickhead!" She sighed and led me by the arm back to the classroom. Keean was gone. He wasn't there for the rest of the lesson and never turned up for Phys. Ed either.

Nick was at me again as we left the classroom. I really wasn't in the mood. As Katie and I got to the bottom of the stairs I half turned my body to look up at Nick and was about to tell him to go away when I was grabbed on the top of the arm. "Hey," I said and spun around to see Keean's intense face.

"I need to talk to you."

Nick stepped forward to intercede.

Without taking his eyes from me Keean put his hand out and shoved Nick in the chest. "Fuck off, Harrison!" He sounded so angry that Nick put his hands up and backed off. Keean led me away.

Katie and Nick stood at the end of the building watching.

Keean pulled me further along the path out of their hearing and stood me against the wall.

"You're hurting my arm!" I hissed.

"Sorry." He let go and took a deep breath. Keean ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry I said such a dumb thing. I don't know why I said it but I'm sorry."

"So you think I'm a lesbian?" I glared at him, furious.

"No," he whispered.

"What if I was a lesbian? What business is that of yours anyway?"

Keean looked down at my body. "I don't want you to be a lesbian."

I gasped, "Oh."

"Crone!" Mr. Cristaudo yelled.

Keean swore under his breath then called out. "Give me a minute, Sir."

Katie touch Mr. Cristaudo on the arm. She said something so he waited beside her.

"I'm a fuck head." Keean sighed and stared intensely at me. "I said a really dumb thing. None of it is any of my business. Harrison, your friend, whether you're a lesbian, whatever. It's none of my business and I'm sorry. Okay. I'm sorry I dragged you here to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt your arm." He held his palms out towards me as if in surrender. "I gotta go." He took a deep breath and swung his arms up behind his head. Keean glanced down at my body again then back at my face. He grinned painfully at me. "You look great in that dress."

Then he turned and walked towards Mr. Cristaudo. I stood there stunned. I heard Katie calling my name so I looked up at her. She had a worried look on her face. Nick was right on her heels.

"Are you okay?"

"I guess." I shrugged and looked past her. Mr. Cristaudo was wagging his finger in Keean's face. He wasn't reacting but nodding at whatever Cristaudo was saying to him.

"Come on," I said and started to walk away. Katie was smart enough not to ask me anything because Nick was still there.

"Cristaudo's going to really do him this time." Nick grinned. "Serve the cock head right. What did he want anyway?" We both looked at him. He shrugged knowing he wasn't going to get an answer then he grinned again. "How about we go get a coffee?"

In unison Katie and I said, "See you later, Nick."

He stopped in his tracks. We kept walking. Nick said, "Okay. I know when I'm not wanted."

We grinned at him and gave him a little wave. When we got around the corner we burst into laughter.

Katie was at me all the way home. She wanted to know word for word what Keean had said. "See he does like you. Shit I reckon he's obsessed," she paused. "You should have seen his face in English every time Nick said anything to you. I think he wanted to punch him."

I felt a headache coming on because I was so confused. "Katie if he liked me why hasn't he tried to flirt with me or stuff like that? Isn't that what boys normally do, you know, like Nick's been doing all day."

She shrugged and cocked her head at me. "Maybe he has but you haven't picked up on it."

I tried to think back at the times he had spoken to me. On the bus, I suppose that was a possibility. Telling me about Victoria, I didn't think so. Then there was the Phys. Ed incident. He was definitely hostile that day.

"I don't think so, Katie. He's been more unfriendly than anything. I just don't get him."

"Maybe he's really shy. Maybe that's why he doesn't mix well, who knows." She added, "I guess you'll have to wait and see what happens on Monday." She grinned then used her hands to imitate words on a sign.

"Coming soon. Charlie and Keean. Episode four hundred and seventeen."

"Not funny, Katie." I pretend pouted.

It took me ages to go to sleep that night. I felt sure Keean Crone had worked out I had a crush on him and was playing a cruel joke on me. I wasn't sure how I would handle his next episode but I had a huge urge to punch him in the face.

Copyright © 2017 by Donna Fieldhouse. All rights reserved.

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