Awoken - chapter one

chapter six

Six

I saw Beau approaching me from the other end of the hallway. I smiled and expected him to return the favour but his eyes were diverted to the floor and his earphones clouded his hearing. Amelia tapped me on the shoulder.

'Come on, we're going be late and I'm not in the mood for one of Mr Sanders' rants.'

'One minute, I forgot my grammar book in my locker. I'll catch you up.' Once Amelia had caught sight of my apparent forgotten grammar book approaching, she dipped her head and animatedly winked, which was about as subtle as a slap to the face.

'Good luck. I'll see you in class' she whispered with a grin. Did I say whisper? I meant hollered, as she sped away in the opposite direction. I turned around and Beau was closer than I had anticipated. I put my hands out to stop him from walking straight into me, a gut reaction that made me jump back.

'Beau, is everything OK?' His face was solemn. As he pulled his headphones down around his neck I realised everything was definitely not OK.

'Look I really can't do this right now Grace.'

'If I upset you I'm sorry.' I didn't know what I was apologising for but the words flew out of my mouth without hesitation all the same. 'Did I do someth...'

'Just stop!' he interrupted brashly, with his hands raised out in front of him. I took a wary step back, not recognising the guy in front of me as his expression grew darker. 'To be honest Grace, I'd rather not discuss it, I've got to go.'

'I better get that book then.' I gestured towards my locker, realising that the lie about my grammar book would now work perfectly to get me out of this uncomfortable situation. He returned his earphones and strolled down the hallway sluggishly without a backwards glance. 'Bye then' I muttered into the growing distance between us. I was like a little girl with an uncontrollable crush. Let's just say if he had pigtails, I would have pulled them by now. I couldn't understand why I was beating myself up and reacting this way. He was so rude, I had apologised and he had stubbornly rejected me for no reason; my inner bitch agreed with a stern and unwavering nod.

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The day was young, my mood wasn't great, but I held onto the hope that it would all get better. I jumped into my tired old beetle that I had affectionately named Bob; now here was a guy I could depend on. He may have been extremely mature and falling apart but I loved him. I convinced myself he was both vintage and retro but my friends agreed with neither of those descriptions. The truth was, it was more than probable that one day I could be driving along the motorway and the floor of the car would just drop away. I'd be forced to Flintstone it to school; a painful and embarrassing thought but an all too probable outcome due to its state. For the fortieth time that morning, I tried my hardest to push Beau out of my mind. This was a chore with difficulty rating nine.

Once at college, I saw him again in the corridor. Beau walked towards me with his proverbial tail between his legs and a repentant expression on his face. I held my composure that threatened to topple over at any given second, like an unpredictable game of Jenga.

'Grace, I am so sorry about yesterday. Being a jackass comes a little too naturally to me sometimes.' Secretly I had accepted his apology the moment he had smiled at me but being the girl that I was, I went with my instincts. Make him sweat!