Seeing His Eyes - Chapter One.

[Continued]
It was eight o’clock, on a Monday morning. Eurgh. It was terribly cold, but I knew I had to get up, or Ellen would get cross with me.
School was horrible. First off, they made us wear these horrible red jumpers, thinking we’d be warm enough, obviously not. Secondly, the lessons I classed as the boring part of the day, but multiplied by five.
The school was in the same city area, where I lived. The city was filled with vandalised barbed wires, red-bricked buildings, and old cars. It was not a nice place to live, and I’d lived here since I was three.
People were rude and violent. They filled the streets with the common fights, and eventual deaths. This included my parents. My parents seemed to get in a lot of trouble. They would get drunk, walk the streets, and pick fights with old teenagers, creating unnecessary arguments.
The roles had swapped. I thought it was meant to be me in all of the fights, getting home late, then finally getting a lecture by my parents. My life was flipped.
I had to look after my younger sister, who was twelve. She was worried about our parents as much as I was. And she was scared about their marriage.
They didn’t just pick fight with strangers, but also with each other. Their arguments weren’t unnecessary; they had meaning behind them. They couldn’t love each other anymore. I wasn’t convinced they ever were in love.
I looked at myself in the mirror. My long, brown hair was wavy from the constant turning in my sleep. I looked tired, again. I quickly cleaned myself up, and put a touch of makeup on. I ran to the wardrobe and collected the uniform and put the bundle of clothes on. Peering outside, I saw the morning sky. It looked dark, too dark.
I ran down the stairs, loudly, hoping to wake the dead-beings, my parents. Of course they heard me. I poured myself some cereal and quickly scoffed it down, whilst putting my hair into a plait.
Damn it, I was going to be late.
‘Jenny? We have to go!’ I shouted at the top of my lungs. Yes, she heard me. She ran down the stairs holding her little rucksack. She quickly grabbed an apple.
We got out of the door and walked up the street. We walked in silence, as usual. The only conversation we would have, would be about our parents.
I looked at the passing vehicles. School buses, Teacher’s cars, general cars... The city was waking up, and I was worried. It was yet another school day, in this miserable place. There was bitterness to the wind as it struck my face fast. I quickly pulled my scarf up to shield my face from the monstrous beast.
Then I saw him. Well I didn’t know who he was exactly... but I recognised him. Where had I seen him? I walked a little bit faster, hoping Jenny didn’t notice. This boy’s face was familiar, especially his hair, his deep red hair. Yes, I knew him! He was the boy from my dream! Of course he didn’t know me, but this feeling of seeing him in flesh made my stomach flutter. He was beautiful.
He was walking in the same direction as I was, but a few paces in front.
Jenny looked at me with curiosity, and then looked toward the boy.
‘Do you know him?’ she asked.
‘Erm... No I don’t, he must be new.’ I whispered.
Jenny nodded. She was the curious sort. A bit like me in a sense, as she would lock herself in her room and start painting, while i was the writer.
We got to school just in time. It was a relief; I did not want a detention, first minute of the school week. I walked to my form room and threw my rucksack on the table in front of me. Ellen looked at me quickly.
‘How are you this lovely morning?’ she joked.
I couldn’t tell her how mystified I was about my dream last night. I couldn’t tell her about seeing him. All I could reply with, was something straight forward and casual.
‘I’m okay thanks, and yourself?’
Ellen and I had been friends since year 3, when she moved into the area. We weren’t very alike, but we got on well, and became close friends. She understood me very well, until year 10, when I became really distant around everyone, after knowing my ability to see people’s past. I had found out some things I wish I had never known. There wasn’t a lot to tell about Ellen, but things became complicated. She noticed I was staying away, but she never said anything.
We left for first lesson, which was English. Fun. I walked to English on my own. I wasn’t with any of my friends; I was in top set. I wasn’t all too smart, I was just confident with the subject. But I always sat on my own, quietly.
I sat at the front of Mr Adam’s classroom in the corner, well out of site, which was the reason I had chosen to sit there in the beginning of the term. Mr Adam’s had planned to change our seats the next lesson, which I was not pleased about.
I sat in silence, waiting for the lesson to start. 'This guy' walked into the room, quietly. He was tall. He walked up to Mr Adams’ front desk and spoke with him, then sat down to the left of me, on the other side of the room. He was sat next to Jake, an annoying, childish boy, with no true brains... but the ability to stay in top set.
Mr Adams introduced the new boy quickly. His name was Alexander... I blinked with shock. Wow, how did I know? How could I have dreamt that up?
I looked back towards him and noticed people fussing over him, I quickly turned my head.
The lesson went terribly slowly. I hated it, people talking a lot. I wanted it to end; I wanted to get away.
I looked behind me. He met my eyes and I blushed. We looked at each other for a long while; he started to smile somewhat delicately, like he knew me, I was his familiar face. I smiled in return, and then turned my head. He was something new, something different. Something special.
He didn’t look like he wanted the attention he was getting, but at a school like ours, it was something to talk about, a new conversation. If someone asked him something, he answered quickly. I was desperate to find out who he was.
The school bell rang, finally.
After a few more lessons, it was eventually lunch. A time to think about the lessons we had had. The boring hours we had wasted. I was curious about this, Alex. And so I walked off, away from my friends. I was mystified by the aura he seemed to have, the feeling he left in my stomach.
I walked fast, searching. I was lost though. I didn’t know this part of the school well. So I turned around. It was getting nippy, and I thought I needed to do some research, so I walked into the main school library.
The library was a little bit scratty, but was newly done. It was small but had new bookshelves added. I looked in fascination to see people sat in front of the bookshelves reading. This was not what I had wanted. So I found a quiet corner, exactly where I had wanted. The shelf filled with books, on psychology. I sat down with my knees to my chest and a book on my knees.
I was deep into the book, when someone was moving in my direction. They picked a book up.
‘Mind if I sit down here?’ they asked.
I glanced up to see Alex. His eyes were blue and soothing, he was smiling at me.
‘Of course not, you’re in my English, right?’ I smiled back at him.
He sat down, opposite me, with the book on his lap. ‘Yes, I am. Sorry, but what’s your name?’ his voice was as delicate as his smile was. He looked at me in amazement.
‘Amelia. You’re Alex aren’t you?’ I didn’t need him to tell me, I just wanted him to know I hadn’t really paid too much attention.
‘Yes, it is. Wow, how were you so sure?’
I blushed in response.
We looked into each other’s eyes, studying one another. His hair was an obvious shade of red, a red you would notice a mile off. His eyes were large and blue, like the sea.
The bell rang. And I wanted to stay. I had to speak to him a bit longer.
‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’ he asked.
‘Go ahead,’
‘Could we perhaps, meet after school? Only I would like to have someone to show me places, and you seem to fit that place perfectly.’
‘I’ll need to let my sister know first, but I’d love to. I’d like to get to know you. I’m sure you’ve had a lot of people asking about you...’
He laughed at my thought. ‘Yes, they’ve been asking a lot of questions, but they seem to be simple. They have nothing decent to say.’
I laughed in response.
‘I would like to get to know you too, you seem really nice, there’s something different about you.’
‘Am I meant to take that as a compliment?’
‘Yes.’ He replied. ‘I’ll see you soon, outside the gates?’
‘I’d like that.’ I replied.
He turned to walk away; I followed him with my eyes. Stop it! Stop staring! Arr!
I had to get to form, I had to apologise to Ellen. What would I say, that I was out trying to find Alex, that I was in the library, that I was planning to see him tonight. She’d automatically assume I like him, which is true, but... I think he likes me. Or am I wrong?
As soon as I got to form, Ellen didn’t even turn to say hello. She carried on talking with some people, without acknowledging that I had appeared.
What had I done wrong, apart from miss lunch with her? Or was she in a mood?
‘Hi, You okay?’ I asked her.
‘Fine!’ she said sharply, with a sting to the finality of her word.
Fine... calm down! I thought that I should now stop bothering with her. If she didn’t want to talk, that was fine by me. So I sat in silence, aware that my existence meant nothing to a lot of people in this room.