✓ | BLOODY KNUCKLES.¹

━━━ ii. unrequited love.

chapter two.

          "IS SOMEONE..."

ALLISON points at an empty seat in front of Scott, voice timid and low but Scott heard it effortlessly lifting his head and shook it, tongue briefly frozen. "No?"

"No, no, no, no. No, it's all you, all yours. Uh, it's totally vacant." Scott rushed out, shaking his head in many semi circles Arthur is surprised he isn't tumbling off his chair. Biting his bottom lip, he stifles his laughter. His body nearly fell off his seat when something small pummeled his shoulder painless, whipping his head around Lydia rolled her eyes in disbelief, he mimicked her and returned the blow by pushing her table away from him. She growled under her breath and pushed it back in place, Arthur shoved it back and the desk nearly toppled over with her things.

He snickered shuffling his chair away from her piercing glare as she clenched her fist around her pen. "I will strangle you."

"You're a bit short." He retorted, his long legs facing her resting his left arm on top of his chair.

A scoffed escaped her blush pink lips. "Hasn't stopped me before." One by one phones chimed to life including his, furrowing his eyebrows he faced his desk and picked it up, worried whether it was something bad or good.

'The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway, leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under ━ '

          " ━ 'an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness'." The stranger's female voice was followed by her heels clicking reading the message from her own phone, Arthur looked up. Her dark auburn sat on her shoulders, dark nearly black eyes dressed in a cream black dotted blouse, a navy pencil skirt and nude heels. She holds up her phone smiling at everyone, pleased she's captured their attention. "This is the last line to the first book we are going to read. It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off, everyone."

           The smoky eyed muted his phone shoving it in his pocket. Looking up at her he met her dark gaze, she smiled and he returned it, smaller. English has always been his least favorite, it bored him to the point he thought Adrian Harris was the one lecturing.

          Arthur's foot tapped the ground staring down at the work he hadn't started. He couldn't concentrate with his stomach begging to be fed again every five minutes. He wondered what the cafeteria is serving today, hopefully something other than lasagna.

           "Mr. McCall?" Ms. Blake called motioning him to follow her out. Arthur clicks his tongue gazing back down at his work he tries to focus once again.