The Story of Tonight

Chapter 3

The rest of the day, I didn't see Lin again. I couldn't quite tell why, but something in his appearance had startled me enough to keep my brain busy with him. His eyes? Their darkness was interesting, but nothing unusual. His sonorous voice? Also, nothing too unusual, though pleasant. Maybe... Maybe it had been his look. His look that made him seem to be able to see beyond how things appeared to everyone else in the room. As if he knew something, all the others didn't.

At home, during dinner, my thoughts still kept spinning around him. Why had he even changed school? Especially in his last year? Had he made trouble in his former school? However, he really didn't seem like the type of guy to make trouble. Though, it had never been my strength to comprehend people I barely knew.

However, later in the evening something else crossed my mind. I remembered which day tomorrow would be. Tuesday.

Every student at our school was obliged to pick at least one extracurricular activity from the wide variety of offers. For me though, it had never felt like an obligation. In fact, I was more than happy about the opportunity of taking a theatre course every Tuesday to practise this hobby of mine.

Since it was foreseeable already last year that in this year the majority of students in this course would be 12th-graders and therefore students in their last year of school - me included - our teacher, Mr. Silvers had thought of something special to say both, a 'farewell' and a 'thank you' to all of us. After all, most of us had been in his course since we had joined the Oakwood High School back in 7th grade.

Suring 11th grade he had let us form small groups of no more than four people to write our very own plays. Of course, he knew, we'd have to work really hard to accomplish something like that, especially since he hadn't given us any limits concerning plot, characters and scenery. Though, he had told us that it didn't have to be any longer than 45 minutes, which would probably already be tough to fill.

I had teamed up with two close friends of mine, Gwen and Josiah, who had already accompanied me throughout primary school.

So, in our first lesson this year, meaning tomorrow, we'd quickly read through all of our plays and then decide on which one to play in our remaining year.

The rest of the evening, I (more or less) prevented my thoughts from drifting back to Lin by trying to keep them on the upcoming election tomorrow after lunch break. Thus, I finally fell asleep, contemplations still circling around the following day.

As I got to my classroom the next day - as always, exactly when the bell rang - I immediately subconsciously checked the room for Lin. It took me no longer than the blink of an eye to find him sitting on the same seat as yesterday and I found myself silently smiling as I remembered our conversation or rather its end. It had been a while since someone last succeeded with puppy dog eyes on me. Now he even had the guts to wink at me. This boy seriously had no scruples

Left with no other choice, I took the seat in front of him again. From the very beginning of the lesson on, I felt like having his gaze in my back. I kept staring at the clock, not feeling able to endure these two hours of Maths, and the following ones of History and English classes before my theatre course. Furthermore, with Lin's stare in my neck I felt a steady urge of turning towards him, returning the gaze.

Still, somehow, I managed focusing on the exercises our teacher, Mr. Galesworth, gave us, and thus surviving Maths class, at least for today.

Our History and English class, which both we had to take in the same room and with the same classmates as in maths before, passed as slowly as maths had. However, they eventually were over and I found myself racing to the cafeteria, to get my lunch as quickly as possible, so I could get to the theatre sooner.