FicWad

My heart felt as if it was weighed down with stones as I slipped my key in the door and slipped inside in a total daze. I’d been dreaming. I’d cried so much I’d hallucinated. There had to be an explanation. Things like….that…. just don’t happen. No chance. Never. Nope. I reached up to my face with my hand, touching my lips with my fingertips. I was completely numb. I could barely break my gaze with the floor as I climbed up the stairs and drifted into my bedroom. I flopped down on my unmade bed, my hands clasped on my chest, my hair (now escaping from its braid) leaving squiggles around my head. I stared up at my blank ceiling, breathing lightly. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come to terms with what had happened out on that quiet street in the sunset. Then it suddenly hit me. I’d been slightly confused at the lightness of my shoulder as I’d been walking home, but I’d taken it that I’d been in such a daze that weight had become completely unrecognisable. Even my footsteps had been light, but now I realised that I’d left my heavy schoolbag in Gerard’s car. But somehow, I didn’t even care. I lay there on my bed feeling so blissfully happy and confused. As the sky outside grew dark and shadows began filling the corners of my room, I couldn’t bring myself to move from my position. I wanted to stay still, the remnants of the sensation of his lips on mine, the weight of his arm around my shoulders were the only evidence that the past two hours had been real, hadn’t been a dream. I closed my eyes and without realising, fell into a deep sleep.
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For the first time in fifteen years, I felt happy to go to school. I had a reason to be there, and it wasn’t to get a good education so I could get out of this dead-end town. The battered car pulled into the school parking lot and my heart flipped. Mr Way got out, his battered briefcase in one hand, and my schoolbag in the other. “Hayley!” I walked towards him, trying (and failing) to stop a huge smile from spreading itself across my face. “Hi.” I said, looking up at him, his hazel eyes meeting mine. He smiled back at me, “Hi.”
“You left your…” He stopped suddenly and two younger girls walked past us, he cleared his throat, his teacher’s voice back again, “You left your bag in the classroom yesterday. Please be more careful with your things.” He handed my bag to me, a serious look on his face, but there was a tiny twinkle in his eye. He looked like a little boy with a secret. I mumbled a reply, something along the lines of “Sorry sir, I’ll be more careful…” as more kids began to stream past us and into the school building. I took the bag from his hand and slug it over my shoulder. “See you later for art.” He said, hurrying past, his own battered satchel over his shoulder. Anyone could mistake him for a student here. He wasn’t at all like any of our other stuffy, old fashioned, boring and uptight teachers. He was special. Well…to me anyway.
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“Well, come in you mad herd, sit down, shut up.” Mr Simpson said as he let us into the classroom. And that was his good mood.
“We’re looking at acceleration again today, get your stuff out from last lesson.” I reached down to get my physics book out, only to close my eyes and sigh at the realisation. I had all yesterday’s books in my bag. I’d not been able to switch them over, what with my bag being at Mr…Gerard’s. That was another thing I had to get my head around, as if there’s wasn’t enough. Since me and Gerard had… we’d basically got on with life as normal. It hadn’t crossed my mind what we’d do next. We couldn’t just “go out”. We weren’t supposed to. We weren’t legally allowed to even….
“Hayley, not doing any work today?”
Crap.
“it’s only because I see you’ve not got your book out, or your pencil case or your textbook. Oh, and that you’re staring into space like you’re dreaming of some handsome prince to come and save you from my physics class.” Mr S stood looming over me. I felt my face flood with colour as the giggles and pure, blatant laughter sounded around me. I looked down, trying to hide, but Mr S was determined to embarrass me some more.
“Where is your physics book? Have you eaten it? Have you fed it to your dog? Have you thrown it out of the window and it’s now blowing about in the breeze?” The laughter was louder now, and my face was redder. “I…I left it at home sir…”
“Well you’d better get some paper and copy up all of today’s work then, hadn’t you?”
I bit down on my bottom lip, seriously pissed off now. I snatched two pieces of lined paper off his desk and began scribbling notes down on them. If only I could explain that the reason didn’t have my books wasn’t my lack of organisation….it was my lack of memory due to complete and utter love for one guy. One man. My art teacher.