The Half You See

Chapter 5

I rested my head on the cool looking glass and gazed as the world whizzed past at quite an impressive pace. The gentle tap my mask made on the glass every time there was an unusually large jerk in our otherwise smooth journey eased my mind; it slowly cooled the surrounding plastic on my face allowing me to fall deeper into my thoughts and daydreams. The rhythmic rocking of the car was soothing and seemed to relax me, until the prospect of six hours of school came to the foreground of my mind and filled me with a new anxiety. I saw the glares I received as I approached the school grounds; young girls with daggers for eyes and ice-cold exchanges with boys of my peer group..."welcome to the best years of your life"...being the most hated person in school.

My outward appearance was enough to drive people away; that combined with the fact that my stutter becomes all the more prominent when talking to people my age makes for a very unusual combination. Rumours have already been spread about the mysterious disappearances of some pupils and many blame it on me, I can see why they might do, being obviously inhuman people assume that I’m some kind of monster. There must be plenty more creatures in that school, I might just not hear of them or they’re far easier to disguise. The creaking brakes awoke me from my thoughts and I watched as my driver opened the door for me; leaving me with no other choice but to step out into this hateful environment. I thanked the driver and without leaving my eyes off the ground made my way into the school building and into my tutor room.

School corridors are far less intimidating when they’re empty, luckily my locker was very close to the room I needed to get to so I made a quick stop to empty my satchel a little by putting my P.E Kit in the locker. Cautiously I looked around as I turned the key, people like me are prone to surprise attacks from unsuspecting students. There, all done. I quickly scurried to my tutor and seated myself at the back of the class, away from the general hubbub of your typical classroom. Sitting next to the window had its advantages, I could escape the noisy enclosed space and watch as small robins sang to one another and fluttered in the grey sky. Their red breast occasionally catching the small fractures of light as it escaped the suffocating clouds, before being captured again leaving the robins to continue in their search for warmth. The bitter wind whipped at the trees, sending them back and forth, toying with them. I was so engrossed in the happenings outside that I paid no attention to the happenings inside, consequently I never noticed that a book was heading straight for my head. Knocking me off guard and onto the cold floor, I prayed that my mask was still on.

“Oh crap, sorry!” I heard someone call out and the sound of footsteps grew louder “I didn’t expect the idiot to have enough sense to duck”

I looked up at him, thankfully with my mask exactly as I had left it. The first thing I noticed about him was his unusual hair colour; a deep purple with an upturned fringe of a lighter shade coupled with amethyst eyes. He smiled warmly as he lifted me to my feet, for which I was very thankful, although expressing it was a very different matter.

“T-t-t-thank you” My mouth seemed to seize up and words got caught in my throat, unable to escape.

“Good going, Gaylord!” Echoed another voice, male obviously, he must have been referring to the person holding me up as I distinctly felt him twitch at this name.

“You must be Jalia, the girl in the mask” He said softly “I’m Fulbright, although I prefer people to call me Bret” He outstretched his hand inviting me to shake it.

I nodded and shook it, while thinking carefully about what I was going to say.

“N-nice to m-meet you, F-Fulbright” I smiled at him, which he returned. I quickly realised my mistake and tried to recover it “I m-m-mean, B-Bret” He chuckled but was interrupted by the same boy walking over to analyse the situation and find some witty remark designed to annoy Bret further.

“So Gaylord has made friends with the freak, I suppose somebody’s got t-“

I never heard the last word of the sentence because Bret had quickly kicked him to the ground, holding him down with his foot. His fists clenched with rage and strength in his legs I’d never seen before. The boy choked and gasped for breath, clearly winded from the overwhelming kick to his stomach.

“How many times have I got to tell you Numbskull?! Gaylord is my surname! NOT my name!” Bret shouted.

A giggle rippled in the room at the mention of Gaylord, but I don’t understand why. Of course modern connotations with ‘Gay’ refer to men’s homosexual orientation, but the name Gaylord simply means a happy lord. Something like that probably wouldn’t be understood by the less intellectual students of my year. However, Bret remained undeterred as he demanded an apology from the winded boy on the floor; Bret increased the pressure on his chest by slowly pushing down with his foot, this seemed to work as the boy was quick to apologise. He walked away from him, freeing him from his grasp. The boy quickly got up and fled back to the safety of his friends, while Bret quickly flashed me a smile as he made his way over to me.

“Sorry about that,” he said apologetically “mind if I sit here?”

I shook my head; I didn’t want to embarrass myself further with even attempting a reply. He sat down beside me and glanced over at my book.

“Edeline, eh? That’s a pretty surname” He sounded pretty sullen about it, I decided I should at least attempt to lift his spirits.

“G-Gaylord is a v-very regal s-surname” I took a deep breath “I like it v-v-very much”

He smiled a little; I suppose I wasn’t very convincing.

“My parents had a habit of embarrassing names....my first name is Fulbright, my middle name is Abcde (Ab-si-dee) and to top it all off my surname has to be Gaylord” He sighed loudly and slumped in his seat “You’ve got it easy”

I shook my head. He clearly had no idea of the constant struggle I have to face every day when I come to school. He tilted his head, encouraging me to explain myself.

“I-I-I-I-I...” My mouth was open but my voice made no words. I stopped when I felt a hand on my head.

“Aw...” He smiled and patted my head “how cute”

‘Cute’? I have half a face, half a head of hair and a crippling stutter...what part of this does he think is cute?! I looked at him baffled, causing him to laugh lightly as the teacher walked into the room.

The teacher addressed the class in the usual manner, but I could sense there was something different...the air had an unusual smell to it, something I’d never smelt in my life. Stood in the doorway was a young girl, slouched with a bag on her back and looking about the room. She looked at me.

She smirked.