Mysterious Boy - McLennon

11.

John arrived at school at around quarter past 8, the bus having picked them all up rather early. He was wondered if Paul was in just yet, and the boy had said he was going to be in school not long before. John supposed he had stopped texting a few minutes ago as he had set off walking, which made him glad the boy wasn't texting and crossing the road or something.

He reached he end of the corridor, looking to the right and noticing Paul wasn't there. John frowned, before looking to his left.

Paul's friends were there.

John figured he may as well ask the two boys if Paul was in just yet... he began to walk over to the widow they were stood in front of, watching the taller of the two seem to laugh hysterically at something the smaller one said. One was George, he seemed to remember the taller one being George...

"George!" Both boys immediately turned to look at John, who stood there as he remembered what to say. "Sorry, uh... Excuse me?"

"Yeah?" 'George' asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"I was just eh... Just wondering if you'd seen Paul yet this morning..."

"You're Paul's friend from yesterday, ain't ya?" The tall, lanky lad asked, his braces showing as he looked John up and down in the same judging way as he did yesterday.

"Aye... That's me." John nodded. "John." He reached a hand out for George to shake, and the other boy looked at his hand with slight confusion.

"George." George eventually took the offer, and John then offered his hand for the boy next to George to shake.

"Ringo." 'Ringo' shook back, an actual smile on his face. "You said you were wondering if we seen Paul?"

"Aye, yeah. Have you?"

"No. He doesn't get here till usually around 8:35. Drops his brother off every morning, you see." George told him, his voice seeming less accusing this time around.

"Doesn't his Dad at least drop Paul's brother off?" John questioned, his own eyebrows furrowing at George's answer.

The two boys in front of him turned their heads to face each other in sync, giving each other a nervous look. It was George who turned back first, looking John in the eyes as he simply stated the words...

"No." George stated in a monotone voice.

John sensed that the two didn't like talking about Paul's father, for whatever reason, and so just closed his mouth, gently nodding with slightly understanding eyes.

It was silent for a few seconds, until Ringo finally broke that silence.

"Anyway..." He spoke, much to John's relief. "Would you like to stay here with us? Paul shouldn't be long now, It's half past already..."

"Sure." John nodded, a gentle smile appearing on his face. He moved a few steps forward, and all three of them leant back against the light violet colour of the school walls.

There were people walking up and down the corridor in front of them, and John studied each of them, hoping each person who turned the corner was Paul. He couldn't wait to see the lad's face... Maybe it was strange, but it was true.

John's phone buzzed, and George and Ringo both tuned to him. The auburn haired boy pulled the phone out from his pocket, smiling when he read the notification.

PrincessPaulie1 is typing...

PrincessPaulie1 sent a message!

John smiled widely as he entered his password, and George and Ringo looked at each other once more.

PrincessPaulie1 - Hey! I'm walking through the main gates right now. Where are you?

JLennon9 - With George and Ringo :)

PrincessPaulie1 -  Give me 5.

Then he went offline.

"Paul messages you?" George asked, and John looked up at the older boy, confused.

"Yeah, why?"

"He never texts us... Not really anyway. The last time he probably texted us was saying happy birthday to me back in August, and that was over iMessage, not like... Snapchat." Ringo explained.

"How long's he been texting you for?" George asked, and John could sense a slight feeling of jealousy.

"Only a few times since last night..."

George opened his mouth to say something, but Ringo stopped him. John turned to look in the direction that Ringo was now smiling in, wondering why George had paused his sentence. There was Paul heading towards the three of them with a small smile of his pale cheeks.

"Hey." Paul smiled.

"Hi." They all responded, and Paul stopped, looking John in the eyes and giving him a bigger smile. John returned the smile, and for a moment it seemed like they were the only two in the entire corridor.

"What's this with you having snapchat, Paulie?" George asked from behind John.

"I've only had it a short while... People were talking about it and so I figured why not download it?" Paul smiled, before asking. "Why, do you have it?"

"Aye..." George nodded.

"Oh. My name's PrincessPaulie1, if you wanna add me."

At that, George finally smiled, Ringo too, as they both got their phones out. Paul turned his attention briefly to  only John.

"You're in my English, yeah?"

"Mhm. We were together yesterday." John nodded.

"Oh yeah..." The younger boy smiled, sweetly chuckling.

The rest of them remained on the corridor for another few minutes until the bell called out in the halls, and students began to either enter rooms or head towards their classes. Paul beckoned for John to follow him, both of the boys saying goodbye to George and Ringo.

People were flooding into the classroom, and the two boys headed, once again, to the back of the room. They took their seats, John taking out his pen and Paul taking out his pencil and rubber.

"Why do you write in pencil, Paul?" John asked, rather intrigued

"Well... My handwriting is... not the greatest. Look." The boy reached over for the blue book, flicking it open and showing John. The older boy couldnt help but notice how Paul struggled to stay in the lines, and his handwriting was so messy it could be compared to that of a 7 year old. "They suggested I rent a laptop, but not everyone has money, y'know?"

"Hm." John nodded.

"I make mistakes easily, so it's just more convenient for me to write in pencil. Also, it's nice not to smudge my writing anymore, being left handed and all."

John nodded, rather enjoying the boy answering his questions.

"Can I ask you more questions?" John asked, opening his book as the teacher had requested in the background.

"Aye, go ahead."

The older boy thought for a second, before coming up with soemthing.

"You favourite thing to do at home..." Paul seemed to go silent in thought for a few seconds.

"It has to be... It has to be when I'm watching movies with my brother, and he starts to fall asleep on my knee." Pul smiled as he spoke. "And then I tell him I'm tuning it off because he's almost asleep and he tries to convince me to keep it on because he's awake..."

John's wasn't expecting such a detailed and loving answer, but it put a smile on his face. It made him realise something about Paul and his little brother's bond.

It was inseparable.