Julia stood up from her chair. Just as she was about to leave, Riley caught her arm, making her stop in her tracks. She turned around and looked at him.
He stared at her longingly and asked, "Was there..... really something on my face?"
For a few seconds, Julia couldn't say anything. She stared back at him, not knowing what would happen if she told the truth. She felt her heartbeat quicken from the tension between them.
"I......" Julia bit her lip and just nodded. She could feel his grip tighten on her arm when she did so.
"Oh..... sorry. I just wanted to check with you...." Riley apologised, suddenly feeling bitter.
"I-it's okay." Julia sighed. 'That was a close one.' She thought. There was an uncomfortable silence. Breaking the tension, Julia asked, "Um.... what do you have next?"
Riley looked up at her. He wasn't expecting her to say anything else. He thought she had already left. "Oh, I don't have another class till eight thirty."
"I have art now. Um.... I'll see you at recess??" Julia suggested.
Riley nodded and waved goodbye. Julia waved back and turned to walk out of the classroom. Riley sighed. He could feel the breeze coming from outside and decided to head out too. He needed some fresh air, even though it was already so cold in the classroom. He had about an hour left till his next class and he wanted to clear his mind. Thinking of going for a walk, he gathered his books into his bag and stood up. Walking out of the classroom, he could see the other students from his grade. Breathing in the air, he walked towards the front of the school.
Opening the door of the office, he walked in, looking around to see that it had changed slightly. Two shelves stood against the wall. One containing lost property and the other full of folders for every class in the school. School photos lined the walls, in big frames according to their grade. Riley cringed at the sight of his own photo. There was also a student's desk for signing notes, mainly for the older students. He stopped at the front desk. The office lady sitting there looked up at him.
"Yes?"
"Can I have a permission to leave slip please?"
"Third shelf, fourth folder." The office lady pointed towards another shelf towards his left, lined with folders full of different kinds of notes.
Riley thanked her and turned to the shelf. Taking the fourth folder from the third shelf, he took one of the slips out and put the folder back. Grabbing a pen that was sitting on the student's desk, he began to fill out the form.
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Permission to Leave
Name: Riley Matthews
Grade: Year 10
Reason of leaving: Collecting something from home.
Leaving Time: 7:45 am
Given Time:
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Riley put the pen back and gave the slip to the office lady.
Reading the slip, the office lady informed him while filling out the "given time" section,"You have half an hour to go and come back." She gave the slip back to him. "Before you go, give this to the man at the front gate and he will let you out. Do the same when you come back and he will let you back in. But note that if you come after your thirty minutes are up, it'll be counted as a lack of punctuality."
Riley nodded and thanked her again. He walked out of the office and headed towards the front gates. There was a man supervising the area, which Riley presumed was the one he was supposed to show the slip to. He approached him slowly.
"Hello, sir." Riley greeted.
The man turned around. "Hello. What can I do for ya?"
YOU ARE READING
Meant To Be
Teen FictionJulia Annesley and Riley Matthews. They've been friends ever since they were young and now they're in Year 10. After years of friendship, they realise that they actually like each other. But for Riley, Julia isn't the only one he likes. He finds him...
