Sanctuary (A Dan Smith/ Bastille fanfic)

6. Chloe

I nearly decide to not go in to college ever again, but my mother basically drags me out of bed to get me there on time for my second day. I don’t tell her that I left early on my first day, but she doesn’t even ask. She doesn’t need to know what I do, as long as she thinks I’m obeying her at all times.

The morning of my second day is slow and uneventful. I have business studies which is a lesson I took back at home so I feel comfortable with it. During break time I don’t know what to do, instead I find myself wondering aimlessly around the college, looking for some people who I could be friends with. Back at home in Cornwall everyone is friends with everyone. You have your closer group of friends, yes, but if someone else wanted to join you for lunch you don’t think anything of it and simply let them involve themselves in the conversation. Here I can tell that it is a completely different situation, a college full of stereotypical cliques, none of which I fit into.

I decide that I need another cigarette to take the edge off and end up sitting down in the corner of the large playing field on my own. The closest group is just a few metres away from me but I really don’t think that they’ll care if I light up here. I keep my cigarette hidden to the side of me but can see people looking around for where the smell of smoke is coming from and I can’t help but laugh. Are these people really such prudes that no one actually smokes? No one breaks the rules; instead they just live life like they assume they are expected to with their rules and stereotypes. It’s sickening really.

When everyone seems to be leaving to go to second lesson I feel like I could easily go home but instead I decide to stay and go to this mystery psychology lesson. I don’t know what I could learn from it, especially this late in the year, but what the hell I have nothing better to do.

Turns out, I had a lot of things that I could have done that would have been better than that lesson. For starters I walk in and it seems like all seats are taken until I spot one seat at the back. I push my way through and discover the reason why the seat is empty; it’s the one next to the moody guy from yesterday, Dan. We both huff as we realise that we will have to endure each other for another 2 hour lesson and I make a mental reminder to try and turn up earlier to history and psychology so that more seats are empty and I’m not forced to sit with him. Although seeing him alone makes me weirdly happy; he must have just as many friends as me.

I can sense how uneasy he feels around people and he immediately tenses up when I sit down next to him. I want to try and put things behind us and introduce myself to him but he doesn’t seem like he wants to make small talk, especially not with me. Instead we’re silent throughout the whole lesson and I can feel that he would rather be anywhere else. Seriously, I thought I had a bad attitude but his is even worse.

By the time my third lesson comes around I want to do a runner and go home again but I find myself hanging around throughout lunch and going to English literature. To my surprise when I walk in there are a lot of seats so it’s not like I’m being pushed to sit next to someone that I don’t want to. I take a seat at the back anyway, being so used to fading in the background. I’m sat down for a few minutes before a girl with long blonde hair comes and sits by me with a huge smile on her face.

“Hey I’m Claudia.” She holds her hand out to shake and I eye it up. What is she, 50? She doesn’t dress like a 50 year old though. Her bright pink skirt is riding high up her thighs and her midriff is showing as she’s wearing a tight crop top. Christ, now I sound like a 50 year old.

“Chloe.” I say suspiciously as a response. No one has made any effort to talk to me and I’m afraid that she has lost some sort of bet and been told to talk to me. I don’t want to fall for it so I’m staying wary for now. Also, I know I said I don’t judge, but she looks like a fucking slut.

“I saw that you were in my psychology and business classes today. You’re new aren’t you?”

I blink a few times before responding. “Yeah, just moved up from Cornwall.” I nodded. Maybe she is just trying to make conversation?

“Oh wow, that’s really cool. That’s where your accents from then.”

“I don’t have an accent.” I glare at her, feeling my defence rising. “You have an accent.”

“Woah sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything! I just mean I was trying to figure you out and everything. It’s weird for people to come here half way through the year, that’s all.”

“Okay.” I grumble before turning around to face the front of the room. By this time I’ve decided that I don’t want to talk to her.

“Hey babe.” I see a blonde boy lean down and kiss Claudia on her cheek. He looks at me expectantly but I continue to stare forward. By this time I’m well aware that I’m sat in what he thinks is his seat. But I know that there’s no seating plan or anything so he can’t just claim this seat as his. “Hey?” I turn around to see his staring down at me.

“Oh don’t even bother babe, she’s a moody one.” Claudia giggles and then stands up to move to a different seat with the guy.

“Wow you’re a right bitch aren’t you.” I find myself speaking without even thinking.

“Sorry?” She responds loudly. By this time all eyes are on us and I hear one guy shout the words “fight”

“Apology accepted.” I cross my arms to the sound of “ooooohhh’s” by my class mates.

“I wasn’t apologising.” Claudia stands up and as an automatic response I do too to defend myself. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing talking to me like that?”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing acting like you own the place?” I snap back, again causing some more chuckles from my peers, pushing me on to fight back her words further.

“You’re the one who sat in my boyfriend’s seat.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think that we were still in school and had to sit in a seating plan?” It seems like the whole of the class is behind me on this one and I couldn’t be happier.

“Go on newbie!” I hear one boy shout and I look around to see who it was that shouted.

“Do you know what? Fuck this. I don’t need to be having stupid little arguments with stupid little girls with their head up their own arses. Newsflash for you; you don’t own this fucking college and by the sounds of everyone’s cheers, no one fucking likes you. We’re 18, grow the fuck up.” I pick my bag up and storm out of the classroom, leaving behind a room full of people whooping and clapping. I hold my head high well aware that I won that fight.