If I Could Change History

Chapter 2- Sunken Ship

Everyone was chattering as we walked into our new form room with our new form tutor, Mrs Chopra. She was Indian and by her side stood the new girl. Mrs Chopra swiftly bought silence and began to point out our seats. I was put next to the new girl, Keiko Watanabe, I didn't see her at line-up or in the playground since she was caught in traffic.

Everyone at school knew that you should never ever, ever, ever take the road leading off from the nearby small shopping centre. You will be horrifically late to school. But Keiko used common sense and decided to walk up the hill to get to school only (thankfully) fifteen minutes late.

She was a pretty Japanese, with long hair and bangs, jewel-like brown eyes, dainty thin nose and pretty heart-shaped lips, a sharp v jawline. Keiko Watanabe could easily take Dorothy's crown of 'the-cutest-girl-at-school'.

Everyone on our table began to ship her with the new guy.

"They'd look so cute together!"

"Hey Keiko, did you see the new guy?"

Keiko shook her head and bowed her head again to copy our timetables into the school journal.

"I think he's Chinese." I said, "Half Chinese."

"I heard he was half American or something." Fletcher called from underneath the table where he'd dropped his pen,

"Where on earth did you get that from?" Niamh snorted, "Leo said that he was half Polish."

My ears pricked up at that.

I nudged Keiko, "What do you have after break?"

"I have Art in A3."

"Oh me too!" I tried a grin, "just follow me when we go, after we line up you're in front of me in the register I think. We have two periods of form time on the first day back."

Keiko gave me a relieved but grateful smile, "Thanks."

"It's alright, I was lost round the school when I first came." I said, trying to light a spark of conversation.

"We moved around a lot, I'm not new to being new. We used to live in Italy."

I couldn't help but note with a little grin that Keiko did have the slightest Italian accent, "That's really cool! How was school in Italy?"

"It was alright I guess." Keiko gave a little shy shrug, "I still prefer Italy to England though."

I could imagine her, living a pretty Italian-style house with red climbing plants arching over a painted green door with green shutters over the windows, more red and orange flowers hanging from the window sills, Keiko, sitting on the doorstep with a golden Labrador.

The shrill bell went off and everyone made a move for their bags but Mrs Chopra yelled that it wasn't time to go and that we only had an hour left, it wasn't a surprise that everyone groaned, the first day was so boring.

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After Art, Keiko and I ploughed down the forever winding narrow stairs, Keiko huffing and puffing behind me. I'd had to hike up to the art block twice a day the last two years since our old form tutor was an art teacher, so my legs didn't ache as much as Keiko's probably did.

"Geography," she stated as I pushed open the double doors at the end of the stairs, staggering down some more stairs and into the sunken garden. 

I didn't blame Keiko when she gave a soft sigh at the sight of more stairs leading to the main corridors where the Geography classrooms where. The sunken garden was- obviously -sunken, with two sets of slate gray stairs flanking it, there was a sunny range of colourful bushes- including pretty rhododendrons- marching down the middle and ten white painted benches on either side. 

Along the side that was closest to the Main Corridors there where five shelters with climbing roses up the side. The benches in the shelter where currently vacant, but during lunch times, rain or shine, the lovely red-brown shelters where crammed with students to the point that teachers had to put a limit up to only 8 people a shelter.

We finally dragged ourselves up the stairs and somehow up some more to the second floor; the Geography Department. Keiko, looked as though she was about to keel over and die, 

"Are you ok?" 

We both looked up and saw Hiroshi. Wait. I swear he was in B, did he get moved to A? 

"I'm alright. Thanks." Keiko stammered and muttered to herself something in Italian.

"Oh, um." I began awkwardly, feeling I should introduce the two, "Hiroshi, this is Keiko, she's moved from Italy."

"A-a few years ago."

"Keiko, this is Hiroshi, he's also Japanese."

She looked up, looking slightly curious and offered a slight smile to him, who smiled back- genuinely.

"Hey, I'm just gonna go see who's in our class." I awkwardly excused myself and went down the line.

Everything looked the same from last year, except from a few new people, Steph, Hiroshi and Zahir. I gave a hug to Maddie and stopped to have a short-lived conversation with Fletcher. When I turned round to go back to Keiko and Hiroshi, the two where already in deep conversation, mostly using Japanese.

"Nope!" Niamh yelled somewhere across the corridor, "It's official; I ship Hiro and Keiko!!"

I think I ship it too, they did look cute together. I headed back to the duo walking far too quickly, I didn't see the new guy coming right at me.

Sending me, my book and my bag flying.

Silence swept into the corridor now only dominated by my class, until someone giggled,

"Awkward silence!" accompanied with slightly strained laughter.

The new guy didn't offer to help me up which I was actually rather glad of but helped me pick up my stuff and let me get up by myself. 

"Sorry, I thought I was late." he said, his face a strange mixture of beetroot red and unwavering calm.

"No, it's ok."

I was so relived that no-one had announced that they shipped us, or I would've died of embarrassment. And I am no hurry to have an interaction with the new guy again.

"Come in class." called the geography teacher, unlocking the door.

Behind my back, I crossed my fingers to not be seated next to the new guy. Please.