𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗼 Shorts

❀ Wonderland - 5

Last part!

"Do you have any raisins?" She asked abruptly, turning back to him.

"No..?" He replied, suspicious.

Her lips twitched. "What about a date? They're so good soaked in tea!"

And there was the pick-up line. "I don't have any fruit at all," he said.

Sighing, her shoulders slumped. "You're so jammy."

"Jammy? I said I haven't got any fruit."

"It means dense," she explained.

He shook his head and stuck his hands in his pockets; it was a stance that made him feel slightly more protected and less awkward. And God forbid he ever feel awkward. "No, I'm just choosing to ignore you."

She took a step forward. "What a shame..."

She kept walking until they were only a stride apart. Her eyes caught his and held them captive for a moment before she blinked. "Do you have a map? I just got lost in your eyes."

Dennis swallowed and took half a step back. "You're an odd one. You know that, right?"

Her smile lit up her eyes like a firework show. "Of course. It makes me much more of a muchier person."

He was pretty sure he'd heard that phrase before, but as soon as he opened his mouth to ask his feet were swept from underneath him.

"I'm late! I'm late!" Billy Whizz called, by way of apology.

"Pesky Whizz rabbit!" Dennis yelled back, waving his fist.

"Dennis!" Someone shouted. "Wake up!"

Dennis' eyelids unwillingly peeled apart and settled on the back of the student in front of him. He held back a few half-hearted expletives and raised his head sleepily, coming face-to-face with his teacher.

"If you'll insist on sleeping in my lessons," she said clippedly, "please do not distract the class by muttering about rodents!"

There was a smattering of laughter before the teacher glared at the offenders and they quietened down. She stalked to the front of the class and turned to face them.

"Now, to recap," she said, "Lewis Carroll was one of the most famous children's writers of all time. Author of Alice in Wonderland, he was also a poet - examples are in the back of the textbook."

Dennis' interest piqued. For the first time that week, he actually cracked the spine of the book he had been using as a pillow and skipped to the back. He had a look at the one that looked the oddest - it had an illustration next to it of a man and a walrus talking to some muscles on the beach. He skimmed a little of the poem:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax,
Of cabbages, and kings."

Dennis frowned, remembering his dream:

The time has come, the Walltruss said,
To speak of many things.
Of stews and chips, appealing snacks
Of steak and onion rings

Dennis exhaled heavily and closed the book. He'd never heard the poem in his life, much less read it. How did Plug recite a version of it in his dream?

A paper ball hit the back of his head and he whipped around to find the perpetrator. Curly nodded down at the paper, and Dennis picked it up. It read: you alright?

Dennis nodded firmly and turned back to the book. It wouldn't hurt just to read a few lines, surely.

By the end of the lesson, Dennis hadn't paid any attention to what the teacher had said, but for once she actually didn't mind; she was astounded as she watched the boy read what must have been a few chapters of the book in front of him by the end of the lesson. His concentration befuddled her, but she didn't question it.

"You must've absorbed some of that crazy book while you slept on it, Den," Curly quipped once they were out in the corridor.

"Yeah, by that thing in biology - osmokiss?"

"Osmosis," Dennis corrected. He paused. "What d'you mean?"

"You were talking about all sorts of stuff while you were asleep," Curly informed, adjusting his rucksack and glancing askance at his friend. "Nuts and bolts, cakes, bricks, and curries, to name a few."

Dennis groaned, his stomach giving an unhappy curl at the thought. "Don't talk to me about curries - I've gone right off for at least-"

"Who's she?" Preface interrupted.

Curly craned his neck. "Who?"

Dennis didn't have to look. As soon as Pieface said it, he could see her. Her long black hair stood out from the crowd like a beacon. He couldn't see her face - she was rooting through her locker. She was wearing a brightly coloured patchwork cardigan.

"I haven't seen her before, Den!" Pieface said, peering over other peoples' heads to get a good look.

"You guys go ahead," Dennis said, stopping a few lockers down from her. "I'll catch you in the canteen."

Curly shot him a glance. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I just need a moment."

Curly's eyes cut to Jadis suspiciously, but he respected Dennis' privacy and towed Pieface down the corridor with him.

Dennis approached the girl slowly. "Jadis?" He cringed. His voice was higher than normal. Unsure. That, and the fact that he hadn't meant to say her name yet.

She turned at the name though, and raised an eyebrow. It was her alright, from her looks to her mannerisms it was like she'd been plucked from his dream and cast down to earth to slap him in the face (figuratively).

"Hi?" She said, giving him a once over. "Who are you?"

He hadn't expected her not to know. "Uh - I'm Dennis."

She stuck out her hand. "Jadis. But you already knew that...?"

He shook her hand, laughing internally at how much of an oddball she was, even in real life. No one their age shook hands on meeting a new person, for God's sakes!

"News must travel fast in this school," she mused.

"I... I haven't seen you around before," he commented. Lame, he berated. I'm pretty sure that's a variant of a classic pick-up line.

She thankfully took no notice and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I just transferred here."

"Right. Obviously." He struggled for something else to say, then blurted: "Um, do you want to- do you want to sit with us, at lunch?"

"Sure, if the rest of your 'us' won't mind," she said with a smile.

He ducked his head, feeling his neck heat up. "I'm sure my friends won't. Mind, I mean." A thought occurred to him. "Have you got money for food?"

She nodded. "Of course. I've heard they do a delicious pineapple upside down cake in the canteen, I didn't want to miss out!"

While his jaw practically fell open, she turned back to her locker. It was already a mess of textbooks, her coat, and her stationery, and she simply couldn't find the book she wanted. She muttered a quiet word and the book snapped into her hand. Spells for the Modern Witch. With another word she disguised it as a geography textbook and slid it neatly into her bag before closing her locker and smiling innocently at Dennis, who was still looking at her like she was some meteorite that just smashed through his bedroom window.

Inwardly, she wondered how long it would take for the awe to wear off.