Hello Me

Chapter 6

Taking a deep breath, Ellie placed a foot onto the steps of the school bus and willed herself forward. Nerves, fear and exhaustion swirled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of what might await her on this bus. Would Lisa and her cronies be waiting for her, ready for another fight? Would everyone have heard about what happened in the art class yesterday? Would she be the laughing stock of Stokebridge on day two?

Sighing deeply, Ellie made her way down the narrow aisle of the bus. There was clearly some kind of pecking order, with the youngest kids at the front, getting progressively older the further back she walked. Panicking, she scanned the rows for a seat, half realising that no one was laughing at her yet or punching her in the face.

Suddenly Ellie felt someone grab her arm and yank her into a seat. She flopped awkwardly into the empty chair, her bag whipping around to knock her on the head.

"Sit here, gorgeous" Lewis grinned at her. It was not the most graceful entrance she had wanted to make the next time she saw the handsome boy, but the sheer relief of it being him, and not Lisa or anyone else, made her feel light and giddy with happiness. She grinned a ridiculously wide smile.

"I saved you a seat," he said, by way of an explanation for the arm grabbing.

"Thank you," she said shyly, rubbing her arm where he'd pulled her. It had hurt a little but she was beyond grateful that he had saved her from having to sit next to someone unpleasant. Scanning the seats behind her Ellie released with delight that Lisa, Ceri and Rachel were absent. They must live in a different part of town and would catch a different bus. Her ride to school and back would be safe and easy, at least. And Lewis! She whipped her head back around to look at him, blinking furiously. Was he really here? Wanting to sit next to her, and saving her a seat? Wait a second, had he just called her gorgeous?

Lewis was watching her with a lazy grin. Seeing her looking around the bus he leaned in and murmured in her ear, "They're not here. Different bus. You're safe." So he had seen what happened yesterday. She felt her heart sink a little.

"You saw what happened, huh?" she murmured back, quietly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are they always that mean? Or protective, maybe I should say?" She raised her head to meet his eye and saw a serious face looking back at her. He nodded slowly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry about it. Those girls are just like that...they don't like anyone new, better looking or smarter than them coming onto what they think is their patch. They're harmless, really. There are certainly worse kids in our school that you really wouldn't want to mess with." Seeing her eyes widen with alarm he smiled and corrected himself. "Don't worry you'll never even cross paths with them. The really seriously bad kids are too stoned to bother with the likes of us or don't even come to school half the time, they're too busy nicking stuff to buy drugs." He spoke so matter of fact about it. Kids taking drugs and stealing in Stokebridge? She felt terribly naive and innocent, and not for the first time since she'd moved.

"I saw you stand up to Lisa and it was impressive," he continued. "That's what you've gotta do with girls like her, she needs taking down a peg or two."

Ellie took a breath and spoke her mind. "The way Lisa was talking you'd think you two were connected at the hip, though to hear you speak it sounds like you can't stand her!" Ellie held her breath and hoped she was right. He laughed again.

"Typical Lisa! Just ignore her," he said with a smile. Tucking one leg under the other, he turned to face her, resting his back against the bus window. "So. Tell me more about you. Where did you grow up?"

So this was what it felt like to float. Ellie wasn't sure her feet were even touching the (dirty, cracked) floor as she glided down the hallway to her registration class. Those twenty minutes on the bus with Lewis had been the best she'd experienced in weeks. No, the best in months, maybe! He'd asked her questions about her life, her past, her thoughts and feelings, listened attentively, and nodded and smiled in all the right places. And he'd called her gorgeous! And maybe even said she was prettier and smarter than Lisa if she remembered rightly. Her mind was full of his green eyes and grin; his presence next to her in the narrow bus seat had set her pulse racing. She realised with a flicker of concern that she hadn't asked him much about himself – all the questions had been focused on her. Well, there's always the bus home, she thought, hugging herself with delight. Her happiness must have made her more approachable as the girl she sat next to in registration class had chatted a bit with her in a polite, friendly way, and a girl in her maths lesson had asked her a couple of questions about the problems they'd been working on and had thanked her, gratefully. Maybe the tides were turning. Things were looking up.