Falling


The storm clouds rolled in like dark, grey shadows, creeping across the once blue sky, covering the glorious sun, plunging the beach into utter darkness. The ghostly wind whistled in her ear, throwing her long blond hair in every direction and ushering in the new violet clouds. Their colour was that of a newly formed bruise. However, despite the bruises that were plaguing the heavenly sky, the glass shattering scream of the wind and the cold that whipped her face and sent multiple shivers down her spine, she stood there feeling more free, peaceful and happy than she had her whole life.
She looked down from the chalky white cliff, at the pebbles that created the beach below. She stared at the spectrum of browns and creams and marvelled at the emptiness of the beach. Not a soul in sight and she was alone, finally. Just her, her thoughts and no one else to distract her from admiring the world around. She drew her eyes away from the sparkling brown gems and allowed her self to take in the magnificence of the sea. She hadn’t realised that the approaching storm had transformed the beautiful, calm, green sea that shimmered in the infinite sunlight, into a navy monstrosity, whose chaotic waves crashed manically into the cliff that she was standing on. The sea spray rose higher and higher with every minute, a foamy hand scaling the cliff trying to reach out for her but never rising high enough to touch her velvet skin.
She took in a deep breath, her nostrils filled with the salty aroma of the beach. She bent down to stroke the fresh blades of dewy green grass, her fingers entwined with the waxy blades and as she disturbed them they released the musky sent of a natural, damp meadow.
Standing up again, she was forced backwards by a gust of wind. It appeared angry, tormented as it screeched in her ear and smacked hard against her fragile chest. But however hard the wind pounded against her, she was unfazed by it as though it were nothing but a light breeze. She held out her pale arms and leaned forward, just the wind supporting her and keeping her from falling. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cool sea air, listening to the wild waves slam against the cliff. Her heart beat slow and her breathing steady, completely contradicting the danger she was in. Luckily for her, the pressure of the wind never faltered and was strong enough to hold her in place.
The anticipation of what was coming made her anxious. She had been waiting there all day, waiting for the rain to come and wash away all of her worries, waiting for the thunder to distract her from her fears, waiting for the lightning to strike and awaken all of her senses. She didn’t even flinch when the first icy cold drop fell onto her cheek and ran down her smooth skin.
Only moments later the clouds unleashed their full fury, sending down showers of perfect raindrops. Her golden blond hair changed colour into a mousy brown as the water drenched it. Her flowing white dress clung to her figure and the rain seeped through the satin, soaking her skin. Each drop sent a shock around her body and yet her posture didn’t change, her arms still out by her sides and her body still leaning forward relying on the wind for support. She tilted her head backwards and let the rain splash her face. The cold water felt so refreshing and her straight, serious face instantly changed into an angelic grin. Her rosy lips turned up at the corners and parted to let out a small chuckle, the pure rain fell into her open mouth and the cool drops ran down the back of her throat.
The thunder clapped so loudly it made the cliff tremble. The pounding waves and crashing thunder collaborated to create a great crescendo of sound, the crescendo fused with the whistling wind, harmonising to make a strangely beautiful noise. She listened intently to this magnificent song, focused on this very moment, memorising each note of the melody, the natural smells of the beach, how each drop felt on her skin and how even though there was no light, the pebbles still shimmered and glistened as if they were radiating their own light.
Then, there it came, the climax of the storm. A great shot of lightning shone through the grey and purple clouds, illuminating the dark, lifeless sky. Its immense beauty was doubled as its mirror image was reflected to the ocean below. Her heartbeat increased in correlation with the lightning, it was as if this sudden bolt had sent a shot of adrenalin through her veins.
She felt empowered. Nothing could touch her.
Vindicated.
Liberated.
Free.
“Hey, “a man’s voice called from behind her, his voice had an edgy, worried tone to it. She immediately realised what she must have looked like to him, she was standing at the edge of a cliff with outstretched arms and her whole body was leaning forward. It was clear he thought that she was going to jump.
“Hey, what are you-“he called, she turned to reassure him that she had intentions of jumping but she lost her footing, before he could finish speaking she was already over the side.
She didn’t scream or shout, her heartbeat was steady as was her breathing and she fell with such precision and grace it was like she was a professional. She executed a perfect swan dive, however she failed to see a ledge on the cliff and she smacked her head against the edge. The blow to her head made her loose consciousness and she plummeted the hundred foot drop to the water. She twirled in the air like a falling snowflake, twisting seamlessly in the icy air. Before reaching the menacing water that awaited her, she opened her eyes. Her vision blurred and her head pounding, she found it extremely hard to focus. She blinked hard, trying to fix her obscured vision. It worked just in time for her to see a dark figure staring down at her from the cliff; he seemed to be shouting something at her but her head was pounding so hard she was unable to hear it.
He dove off the cliff avoiding the ledge that had caused her so much trouble. He was gaining on her, zooming through the air at an impossible speed; the determination in his eyes was the last thing she saw.
Smashing into the water was as painful as falling on concrete. The impact produced a sound louder, sharper and harsher than the mighty boom of the thunder. She attempted to scream but it just got caught in her throat, her open mouth let the salty sea water flood in and choke her. She swallowed but the burning sensation at the back of her throat scalded her like she had swallowed fire. The darkness crept closer filling her with emptiness until she became a hollow shell of nothingness, but still she fought on. She was desperate not to let the darkness take over completely. However, her resistance was futile as the force of the shadow became an unbearable weight, pulling her down deeper and deeper until the glistening light above had disappeared and she was surrounded by darkness.


1.
Everyone hides. We act and pretend, put up walls and barriers, hide behind masks and facades. We lie and fake our way through life so that no one ever knows what’s really inside. We take on personas and live up to our stereotypes and never let anyone close enough to see who we really are. But when everyone’s fake, who’s real? When everyone hides, how can we find ourselves? How can we find each other? Sometimes when you crack the wall, break through the barrier you find something more amazing than you could ever comprehend. Something precious and good. Something that warms your heart. But what if underneath that mask there is something dark? Something dangerous lurking behind it. Evil. What if you find that you’ve uncovered something that was better off left hidden?

Turning into the schools car park I couldn’t believe how early it was. It was the earliest I had been up in six weeks and the dark purple circles under my eyes were a clear sign to my exhaustion. I lifted up my glasses and wiped the sleep from my eyes with the back of my hand, trying to pay attention to the road. I wished that I was still on my holiday. This was only a two day week – which I thought was ridiculous, why didn’t we just start on Monday? - But I knew that by Friday afternoon I would be absolutely exhausted.
A boy darted in front of me and I slammed my foot down on the breaks, forcing my car to an abrupt stop. Judging form the lost, bewildered look on his face I could tell that it was his first day at this school. He looked about my age and I thought it was incredibly stupid of him to transfer schools with just one year left. I was tempted to honk my horn at him, warning him not to run in front of moving cars again but he just stared at me with his emerald green eyes. They were the most peculiar set of eyes, beautiful and enchanting; they sparkled in the autumn sun. It was strange; these eyes were like nothing I had ever seen before and yet they seemed familiar, like I knew them from somewhere. I couldn’t move. I was in a trance; staring into his eyes, my whole body went numb. I couldn’t explain it but I couldn’t pull away from his gaze. I blinked trying to escape from the trance and when I opened my eyes he was gone.
I must have circled the car park three times before I finally found a space; I regretted my decision not to come in early and I felt incredibly stupid, thinking that it would be easy to find a space on the first day of school. My cherry red Volkswagen Beetle purred as I eased it to a stop in the space that seemed to be a million miles away from the school gate. I couldn’t believe my luck, all of the spaces in the car park and I got stuck with the one that was the furthest away from the school.
After writing myself a mental note to come in earlier tomorrow, I proceeded towards the rusted hunk of metal that was the school gate. I saw a variety of different cars in a rainbow of colours. I passed a flashy, silver Porsche. Its glossy bonnet reflected the sunlight and blinded me. I realised that this car must have cost a fortune but it was still no comparison to my baby. It was the perfect car for me, cute, fast, compact and I could spot it from a mile away (a very helpful feature when you go to a school with a car park so big it could take a hour to find the right car). The fact that its colour exactly matched my glasses was just a coincidence but I kind of loved it. Its strong body was so hard it felt indestructible and, as recently demonstrated, it had great brakes.
Finally reaching the end of the car park, I stopped in disbelief at the sight in front of me. My sister’s car, parked in the best spot. I couldn’t believe it; she’d left after I did so how did she manage to get this space? Then I remembered the tons of boys that would gladly get up at the crack of dawn to reserve this space for her. Don’t get me wrong, Rose isn’t spoiled or stuck up enough to ask any of these love struck teenagers to do this for her but, luckily for her, she didn’t have to. These boys would do just about anything to get her attention. Rose was the kind of girl who was naturally stunning, even without make up. The kind of girl that grabbed the attention of every boy in school without even trying. She was loud enough to be heard over a screaming crowd (seriously, no exaggeration, you could hear her before you could see her). She oozed confidence and nobody messed with her, not only because nobody wanted to but because she wouldn’t take any crap from anyone and was prepared to deal with those who gave it to her. She was incredibly thick skinned and didn’t care what people thought of her. We were complete opposites. She was rock, hard as stone and nothing anyone said could wear her down. I, however, was chalk, I gave the impression of being hard but the little digs and snide comments people said wore me away and with it my confidence and self esteem.
I walked past the car still feeling sorry for the delusional boy who thought he had a chance with my sister. Reaching the gate, I tried to see past the crowds of students; little groups of friends surrounded me, all of them gossiping about what they did on their holidays. Getting up on to my tip-toes, I looked over the mob. At first I saw nothing but a sea of navy blue blazers and bobbing heads. Looking at those awful blazers, I was extremely thankful that year thirteens didn’t have to wear uniform. Then, looking to the back of the mob I finally saw what I was looking for. There, standing at the other side of the sea of students was Rose and her boyfriend Michael.
I was surprised not to see them straight away. Michael’s hair was like a shining beacon of light, so blond it was almost white. It was almost the same colour as mine except mine wasn’t quite so light. Both of our hair colours completely contrasted with Rose’s dark brunet locks. Michael was the popular boy in our school. He’d only moved to Heatherfield about a year ago but already his name was known by everyone. He was the football team captain, rugby team captain, head boy, had the best grades in our year and, quoting most of the girls in our school, ‘unbelievably fit’. Of course I didn’t think of him as ‘fit’. I mean, I acknowledged that he was good looking but he was going out with my sister and it was slightly disturbed if I referred to my sisters boyfriend as ’fit’.
After fighting my way through the crowd, I eventually got to where Rose and Michael were standing.
“Hi,” I said, half really happy to see them and half extremely glad to be out of that mob. Rose glared at me, clearly annoyed that I had kept her waiting. I felt like shouting at her “We can’t all have our parking spaces reserved for us” but then that would be followed by her saying “What is that supposed to mean?” then I would have to explain the whole “every boy in school fancies you and they save that space for you everyday so that you don’t have to drive around for ten minutes trying to find one,” and I wouldn’t feel very comfortable saying that with Michael standing right next to me. So instead I bit my tong and ignored the glare.
“Hey Angela. Did you have a good break?” Michael asked oblivious to the tension between Rose and me. I opened my mouth to answer him but before I could, Rose interrupted,
“Where the hell have you been? We’ve been standing here like idiots for nearly twenty minutes!”
“Sorry” I answered as solemnly as I could, trying to get her to calm down “This guy jumped in front of my car, then I couldn’t find a parking space and when I finally did, it was the furthest one away and then I had to fight my way through this” I gestured towards the students who were blocking the gate. I watched Roses face, hoping it would give an indication that she had forgiven me but, although she stopped glaring at me, I couldn’t tell what she was feeling. Her eyes widened, I braced myself for a big lecture about how I should leave earlier and then they wouldn’t have to wait so long for me.
“Oh my god, are you alright? Did you hit him? Is he alright? Where did it happen? Why did he jump out at you? Do we know him? Oh my god he’s dead isn’t he?” Rose asked. This was just like her. One little thing happens and she turns it into this big deal. She was such a drama queen. I knew she would never let this go with a simple “Oh it was nothing”. So I had no choice
“Yes. No. Yes. Just outside the car park. I don’t know. No, I think he’s new and no, he is definitely not dead”
“Oh, OK, that’s good” She said it in a disappointed tone. It was as if she wanted something to have happened. However, I couldn’t blame her, in this town nothing exiting ever happened. Not that that was a bad thing, it’s just that after living in this town your whole life, it can get pretty boring here.
“Come on” Michael said in an assertive tone, knowing that my answers hadn’t quite satisfied Rose and if we didn’t act fast then all she would be talking about all day would be my almost car accident. ”If we don’t go now we’ll be late.”
Michael took Roses hand and the three of us walked into school together. I felt a bit like a third wheel, to everyone else I must have looked like the tag-along that wouldn’t get the hint but Rose and Michael didn’t mind and neither did I. I quite liked being by myself. I realise that tagging-along with the schools ‘It’ couple didn’t really count as being by myself but it was close enough. Being by myself gave me a chance to think, really think about things. I wasn’t a talkative person, not like Rose. I was quiet, I kept to myself and that’s how I liked it. Being alone let me do that, I didn’t feel obliged to keep up a conversation with someone and I was free just to think. I still had friends though; I still enjoyed people’s company. I wasn’t some loner who spent all of her time by herself. I had great friends. We were all so different and we all bought something special to our group. Some of them were loud and kept the conversation flowing, some of them were comedians and had everyone in tears with their jokes, some of them, like me, were quiet and trustworthy and helped everyone out with their problems and secrets. Together we made the perfect friendship group. Then there was my best friend Evelyn. She didn’t really hang around my group of friends but we still hung out with each other. Describing Evelyn and hyperactive and insane would be putting it mildly. We’d known each other since we were about one year old, the only people I’m closer to than Evelyn would be my mum and Rose so were nearly inseparable. Although, sadly the only lessons we had together were psychology and science. We both had separate friendship groups so we didn’t often spend break or lunch together so I suppose, during school, we were, in fact, separable.
Walking towards the main building, I realized how different the school looked. The grass looked greener than usual and it was no longer overgrown like it had been before we broke up for the holidays. I guess the school had finally made room in their budget for a lawnmower. It was weird how this subtle change would make such a difference in the appearance of the school. Looking at the school in a different light, taking the time to notice the small things, I realised that there was a lot of improvements. The loose tiles that made the pathway leading from the gate to the main building were no longer loose; the gate that was turning orange with rust was now a glossy black where they had repainted it, even the school building itself had transformed from a dull, dingy, depressing grey into a clean, bright magnolia. Now, instead of a detention centre for the offenders of the law, the school actually looked like a sanctuary of learning. I think that I was the only student in the whole school that had noticed these small changes because I think that I was the only one who cared. To be honest I don’t think that ninety nine percent of this school’s students cared that the school looked terrible in the first place; the only thing they cared about was the fifth period bell.
“Ang, what lessons have you got first and second period?” Rose turned to me, away from Michael but their hands were still linked
“Umm,” I searched my brain for the answer to her question but I couldn’t remember. It was the first day back, how could she have expected me to learn my whole schedule of by heart already? Conveniently, just before I was about to go rummaging through my huge school bag for my class schedule, I remembered “First I have English then I have Maths.”
“Second we have Maths so we’ll just meet you at the stairs.” By ‘we’ I immediately recognised that she was talking about Michael and herself. They nearly had the same class schedule except for English, Maths and Science where he was taking the advanced courses. Michael had tried to get Rose to take the advanced classes with him, as she did have the grades but she didn’t want to do an extra hour of each of the three subjects every week. So instead she chose a hair and beauty course. When she said ‘meet you by the stairs’, yes, she literally did mean stairs. In the summer our group would go and sit on the field and bask in the warmth of the sunlight whilst we have the short run of good weather but for the rest of the year we preferred to sit inside. Our school is split up into blocks for each subject and the Art block is desolate at break and lunch, so we decided to go there. We started off just sitting on the floor but eventually we all congregated around the stairs that lead to the class rooms, hence the name ‘the stairs’.
“Yeah, OK then. See you there,” I replied just before the bell rang indicating that we had five minutes to get to our first lesson. I would have waited to say goodbye to Michael properly but I didn’t have time as the English block happened to be at the other end of the school. I didn’t think that he would really mind that I didn’t say goodbye as I was going to see him again in two hours anyway. So I rushed off to English ready for the torturous hour I had to endure with Mr Burton.


2.
Strolling into the class room, I noticed that the entire class was already in their seats. I started to panic; my mum would kill me if I got a late mark on my first lesson back. I glanced to the front of the room to Mr Burton’s desk and was filled with relief to find that he wasn’t there. I walked over to my table that was located at the back of the room. Everybody was sat in two’s, everybody that is except from me. I liked that I wasn’t forced into sitting next to anyone, that I didn’t need to rely on anyone because, like I said, I am better by myself.
Mr Burton came in two minutes after I did. He walked, as ever, with his shoulders hunched. His eyes were bloodshot and he had an expression that looked like someone had just slapped him. I noticed that his bald patch had grown over the summer and now a majority of his head was naked. Two girls, who were sitting in the second row, giggled when his head caught the florescent lights and it shinned like he had polished it. Mr Burton wasn’t that old, he was in his mid thirties however he looked as if he were in his late forties. He had just had a baby and I had once read somewhere that stress causes premature aging. I felt sorry for the man, he was a really good teacher and he was really nice too but his late nights with the baby had caused him to look withered and old, he also sounded tired and lifeless.
Mr Burton’s entry was closely followed with a boy’s. He was tall; I’d say at least six foot. He had perfect olive toned skin and his hair was the same light blond colour as mine and Michaels. His plump lips were the perfect shade of pink. His straight, squared jaw made him look more manly than boyish. It made him look lean, strong and incredibly, impossibly, irresistibly handsome. He was wearing a plain white tee-shirt. Through the shirt I could see his toned torso and muscular arms. He paired his Tee-shirt with light blue jeans. His outfit was ordinary, simple but then again, with a body like that he didn’t need flashy clothes to make him look good. Clearly the rest of the girls in my class agreed with me, as when he entered most of them gasped. Some whispered and others like me just stared, not believing that a god like him could possibly be in our school, let alone our class.
When Mr Burton looked around to finally acknowledge the boy he just said
“Ah, Mathew isn’t it?” The boy nodded and then Mr Burton introduced him to the class
“Class, this is Mathew Azariah. He’s new so please be nice and show him around” My thoughts went straight to his name, Azariah, what kind of name was that? Maybe it was a hot guy thing because Michael’s last name was Moroni and I thought that was quite weird too. I liked how Mr Burton said ‘please be nice and show him around’, as if he had to ask. I mean could Mr Burton not see him? Didn’t he notice the girls’ reaction when he walked in the room? Trust me the girls were going to be nothing but nice to him and as soon as the bell rings all of them will flock around him to see what lesson he had next. After that all of the ones that had that lesson too would be asking, no begging, him to walk to class with them. I felt pity for him; he looked so unprepared to what his first day would bring. He didn’t look ready for a group of deranged girls to follow him around everywhere. However, on the plus side, he was on the fast track to popularity.
“Umm, where should I sit?” I was surprised by how Mathew’s innocent question hit me so hard. The only available seat in the whole class was the one next to me. No, I liked being by myself, I didn’t want a partner. That, right there was when I realised what a total freak I was. What normal girl in their right mind wouldn’t want the ‘fit’ new boy to sit next to them? I didn’t, I really didn’t. Good looking boys are usually jerks, players and bullies, with the exception of Michael of course. Not that I was judging him before even meeting him, its just I didn’t want to meet him. I could hear Roses voice in my head shut up he’s fit and you get to spend four hours a week sitting next to him. You’re crazy not to think yourself lucky. Just shut up!
Mr Burton eyes scanned the class room, I new it was only a matter of time before he realised that there was a seat next to me. So I did the only thing that I could do, I thought. I thought of Mathew not sitting next to me, I thought of Mr Burton making him sit in Jamie Hudson’s seat. Jamie was never in school so I wouldn’t mind if he sat next to me on the odd day that Jamie decided to show up for class. I pictured Mathew sitting next to Sarah, who, judging on the blissful expression on her face, was picturing him sitting there as well. I imagined those two would have a great time together. I know it was a strange thing to do, to think, but it always sort of worked. If I thought of something, then it usually happened.

The first time it happened I just put it down to coincidence but it happened again and again. It was freaky, this one time I was shopping with Rose and I found a really nice top. It was a turquoise blouse and when I tried it on it looked great on me. Rose said that it complimented my eyes and that I looked like a supermodel. I knew she was just being nice but I really did like it. Unfortunately I made the mistake of falling in love with the blouse before checking the price tag; it was £40, well out of my price range. I only had £10 as I didn’t think I would find anything I liked. I felt a lot more comfortable in a Tee-shit and a pair of jeans than I did in a frilly, girly blouse. The truth is, I only came into these shops to humour Rose and I never bought anything.
Even though the price tag was right there in front of me, I still didn’t want it to be true. What was the harm in double checking? I went to the checkout to ask what the price was and all through my mind I just thought, be £10. Tell me its £10. Please say that it was supposed to be on the 75% off rack. She eyed the price tag and I knew what she was going to say. To my surprise she looked up and me and said
“Oh. This price tag is wrong it’s actually only £10,”
“What?” I asked shocked
“Yeah, it’s supposed to be over there” She pointed to the 75% off rack. She turned away, puzzled by my dazed expression. No, I thought. No, that was just too weird. What were the chances that it would be the exact amount of money that I had with me? What were the chances that this blouse actually was supposed to be on the 75% off rack? Then I realised that the chances were too slim, that it wasn’t chance at all. It was me. That because I thought of it, it happened.
Ever since then I tried not to use my unusual gift. I didn’t think that it was fair that I should get whatever I wanted and besides all I wanted to be was normal. My gift was the opposite of normal and so, I ignored the fact that I even had it.

But, at this moment, I couldn’t help it. Someone was going to force me to work with someone that I didn’t want to. Force me to give up my spare seat. It may not seem like such an ordeal to anybody else but to me it was a major thing. So, I thought. Mr Burton’s eyes drew nearer to me and I held my breath and looked down. Maybe he wouldn’t notice me if I didn’t make eye contact. After Mr Burtons eyes moved past me I knew that my thinking had worked and I let out my breath. My sigh of relief was louder than I had meant for it to be. The whole class turned around to see who had made the noise. My face turned red with embarrassment, my cheeks burned and all I could do was look down to hide my shame.
“What about there?” I looked up to see Mathew pointing at the vacant seat next to me. Damn, I had blown it. Why did I have to be so stupid as to let out a loud sigh whilst trying not to draw attention to myself?
“Yes, go and sit next to Miss Cole” To my annoyance, Mr Burton agreed with his suggestion and Mathew started towards my table. As he made his way down the aisle I saw Saffron Maxwell and her group of brainless followers ogling at Mathew. I glimpsed at Sarah who didn’t hide her clear disappointment very well. I envied her, she had an empty seat next to her nearly every lesson and now my empty seat was no longer empty.
Mathew continued towards his new seat, not even noticing the group of girls staring at his backside. When he sat down he gave me a polite smile. His gleaming teeth were as pearly white as a Hollywood movie star’s and his infectious grin made me smile back. It was an impulse, I didn’t think about it I just smiled. His smile filled me with warmth and I felt unexplainably happy.
“Hi. I’m Matt,” he held out his hand.
“Hey. I’m Angela but everyone just calls me Ang” I reached out to shake his hand but as our hands touched I felt a jolt of electricity course through my body and I jerked back. He was unfazed by this and continued, “Do you remember me?” This question took me by surprise. Should I remember him? I was pretty sure that if I had seen him before, I would have remembered. I looked into his eyes; they were wide and eagerly awaiting my answer. Then I realized, his eyes, his glowing, green emerald eyes that sent me into a trance the last time I stared into them. It was him, the boy who I almost ran over.
“Yes, you jumped in front of my car earlier. Do you have a death wish or are you just plain stupid?” His eyes narrowed and the eagerness in them disappeared. They were unreadable but I knew that what I had just said wasn’t what he wanted to hear. I ran over what I had said and realised that I might have offended him.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you stupid, or offend you its just that I get a bit worked up when I nearly kill someone,” After I said it he just laughed. Not obnoxiously like I had just fallen flat on my face or spilled a drink over me. It was a quiet laugh to himself, like I had said something funny that only he would understand. Whatever he thought was funny I didn’t get it.
“Oh no, you didn’t offend me and don’t worry you didn’t nearly kill someone.” As far as I knew nearly mowing someone over with my car counts as nearly killing someone. What he thought was dangerous and what I thought was dangerous were obviously two very different things. I didn’t push the subject further; clearly he was just one of those daredevils that live their life with the insane idea that they are invincible.
Mr Burton had set up his stuff before Matt and I could say anything more to each other
“Could everyone please get out their copy of Pride and Prejudice.” Mr Burton said. I groaned as searched through my bag for my copy.
“You don’t like Jane Austin?” Matt asked after hearing my groan of complaint at this terms reading material.
The first though that ran through me head was: he knows Jane Austin? I mean, I know she’s like one of the greats when it comes to literature but trust me, if you asked half of the boys in my class who wrote Pride and Prejudice, fifty percent wouldn’t know, thirty percent would know but wouldn’t admit it and the other twenty percent were – how do I put this nicely? – Actually interested in English literature (geeks) or guys in tune with their feminine side (gays) – sorry to be so blunt. I know you should judge people based on appearance, books and covers and all that, but I had pretty good intuition (not to mention what Rose would call a gay-dar) and I was not getting any homosexual vibes from him nor did he radiate the geeky vibe. Confident, insanely good-looking, nope, no geeky signs.
“No, I love Jane Austin. It’s just, well, Pride and Prejudice annoys me” I know I shouldn’t have said that. Only a freak could get annoyed at a book.
“Why?” I don’t blame Matt for wondering, Pride and prejudice is a great book, a classic but I couldn’t help feel irritated when I read it – and yes I had read it before, whilst other girls were going out, bogging, twittering, texting and other activities you’d expect of a teenager, I spent my time reading. It’s OK though; I acknowledged my geeky-ness and was proud of it which was exactly why I was under no delusions that I had any chance whatsoever with the new boy. He was miles out of my league. However there was no reason why I couldn’t just talk to him.
“Your going to think I’m stupid but Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship just aggravates me. I mean, they obviously love each other but their so worried about what other might people think, they refuse to admit to their feelings. I just think that if you truly love someone you shouldn’t care what anyone else thinks and you should just say how you feel.” He was silent; I knew he thought I was stupid to get so worked up about a book.
“Very insightful.” Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that reply. I was waiting for a “your right that is stupid” or “Umm, Yeah, whatever” and then muttering “geek” under his breath. That’s what most boys would have said but not him, maybe he was different.
“Hey, I’ve forgotten my copy, first day and all,” he said with a shrug. “Can I share yours?” I was just about to say “Yes, of course,” and then spend the lesson focusing more about the hot boy that was inches away, daydreaming, fantasising about that could never be mine, instead of actually reading the book but before I did, I looked down to his open shoulder bag. Inside was a copy of the book and I realised that he very well knew it was in there. I pointed to his open bag and said,
“Isn’t that your copy there?”
He looked down, took out his copy and then replied, “Oh, I guess I didn’t forget it after all,” He smiled at me again. Then it occurred to me, anyone who could think up a scheme like that so quickly must have experience in that sort of thing. He was flirting with me and I had fallen for it. Why was he bothering with me though? I shook that thought off. It didn’t matter why, I was just sure that no matter how charming or hansom he was, I couldn’t let myself caught up in his little game. He was a player and I was nothing more than an easy target.
I spent the rest of the lesson ignoring his existence, like it was any other English lesson. However, even after pretending he wasn’t there, I was still filled with relief when the bell rang and I could get away from him. Just like I had thought, as soon as the bell rang our table was surrounded by every girl in the class, all of them fighting for Matt’s attention. It was difficult to get out of the class room at first, I had to barge my way through the crowd but after I broke free from the impenetrable wall of girls it was easy enough to walk to the door. Just as I was about to leave the class room, I heard a voice from behind me.
“Ang,” Matt’s voice was struggling to be heard over all of the girls. He pushed through the gathering and walked over to me. After realizing who he was talking to, all of the girls fell silent. He walked right up to me and stood a bit closer than I would have liked. I felt every single one of the girls glare at me, all of them filled with jealousy, all of them envious that I was the one who he was interested in.
“Ang, I’ll see you soon,” I was slightly confused. Why go to so mush trouble just to say ‘I’ll see you soon’? Why bother? I didn’t know what else to say so I just added
“I doubt it.” Which I did. We didn’t have English again until Monday, which I wouldn’t say was ‘soon’ and the chances that we would have any other lessons together were slim. We seemed too different to have chosen the same subjects and even if we did we would probably be in different classes anyway. I didn’t ponder about what he had meant for long, in fact, it only took the time taken to walk from the English block to the Maths block before I discovered what he meant.

I reached my maths class room to find him leaning in the doorway, smirking.
“I told you I’d see you soon,” Oh, I bet he thought he was hilarious. How funny that he knew that we both had maths. Not.
“How did you know that we had maths together?” These were the words that came out of my mouth but what I was really thinking was Oh crap; now I have to spend ten hours a week trying to ignore this pompous jerk and his annoying flirtatious stunts. What now? Maybe he’s forgotten his calculator. He tapped his nose and said, “That’s for me to know, let’s just say that I have a friend in the office” What did that mean? Did he get someone in the office to tell him my class schedule? No, that’s impossible, we only met today and he only found out my name about an hour ago. Unless, we had met before. Maybe that’s why he asked if I remembered him, maybe that’s why his eyes looked familiar. Surely if I had met him before I would remember, wouldn’t I? I couldn’t figure him out; everything about him was mysterious and cryptic. That was another reason why I couldn’t let him get to me; he was bad news.
I was so happy to see the boy who I sat next to take his seat. At least I wouldn’t have to sit next to him in this lesson. Saffron also had maths with us and when she saw Matt talking to me in the doorway she was not happy. She approached us with fury in her eyes. I really thought she was going to start on me for talking to Matt. The girls in our school had a monarchy, Saffron was at the top. Nobody messed with her, she was the queen bee and she got what she wanted. Unfortunately for me, she wanted Matt. For all I cared she could have him, it would make life a hell of a lot easier for me but Matt just didn’t seem interested.
She walked over, flaunting her mini skirt, trying to draw Matt’s attention away from me. He was staring at me, watching my face react to his last statement and figure out what he meant. He was so wrapped up in analysing my expression that I doubt he even noticed Saffron or her mini skirt. Saffron recognised that she wasn’t being noticed, as they say desperate times call for desperate measures and what she did next could only be described as desperate. She walked right up to the door and launched herself forward, falling into Matt’s arms. She made it look like I had tripped her up just so that she could play the damsel in distress.
I wondered if she had felt the electricity I had felt when we touched. I wondered how it felt to be in his arms. No, that train of thought was going somewhere that I didn’t want to go. The electricity was just an electric shock caused by static. It had nothing to so with his touch. My stubbornness would prevail. It had to. I wasn’t going to let him win. I couldn’t even believe that I was thinking this because at the same time that I was, he had another girl in his arms. Not just any girl, Saffron Maxwell. They deserved each other and I wasn’t about to stand in their way. So after a moment of awkwardness spent standing there watching Saffron pretend to be helpless and Matt stare into her eyes, I took a step towards the class room.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I must have tripped. I’m lucky that a strong man like you was here to catch me” Saffron spoke like a little girl, she was really taking advantage of this situation. Matt helped her to stand up straight but she still insisted in holding onto his arms. I wondered if she realized how pathetic she looked right then. I didn’t know about anyone else but watching her stroke his biceps make me want to be sick.
“That’s OK,” Matt said in a happy-to-be-helpful tone. There was nothing flirtatious about it. I didn’t think he actually realized what was going on. He must be pretty slow not to see such an obvious cry for attention.
“You should be more careful next time. Saffron isn’t it? Nice to meet you,” He gave her a smile but it wasn’t like the one he gave me. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, it didn’t make me want to give him a grin in return and it didn’t fill me with warmth. Saffron wasn’t impressed with his faux smile or his lack of interest.
“Yeah, Nice to meet you,” Her defeated tone gave me the impression that she had given up but before turning towards to class room she shot me a sinister look, making sure it was discrete so only I could see. Great, now thanks to Matt, Saffron was going to make my life a living hell. Why couldn’t he just like her or at least pretend to like her or even better, not look like he likes me? It was irritating, he didn’t like me. Hot boys like him just don’t like average girls like me, it just doesn’t happen. So there was only one other reason he was acting that way, he just wanted to annoy me and, to his credit, he was doing a good job.
“Some people need to get over themselves. She seriously thought that if she threw herself at me, gave me a compliment then bat her spidery, long false eye lashes at me, I would come running.” Matt laughed then shook his head in, what seemed like, repulsion.
“What?” I said it a bit louder than I meant but I was so very confused. He knew what she was doing and he didn’t do anything back.
“What, you didn’t think that I didn’t know what she was doing did you?” He asked in a mocking tone. I didn’t understand. If he knew that she was flirting why didn’t he flirt back? It didn’t make sense. ”Please Ang, I’m not that stupid. A blind man could have seen what she was doing.”
“Then why didn’t you play along then? Saffron would have loved that. I can see it now, you two together. I’m sure you’d make a good couple. Don’t worry though, you haven’t blown it, I’m sure she’ll give you another chance.” I said it seriously; I actually did think that they would make a good couple.
“I don’t think that I’d like kissing plastic” whilst he said it his face contorted into a look of disgust and I burst out laughing. Saffron was a walking, talking Barbie doll but I thought that only I saw her that way. I thought everyone else just saw her as beautiful despite that fact that everything about her was fake. Her skin was smothered in fake tan, her face coated in layers of make up, she had suck on fake nails and even her hair had extensions in.
“You on the other hand,” Matt took a step closer and I stopped laughing. Why did he have to say that? Why couldn’t we just be friends? Before he got any closer the bell rang.
“Saved by the bell,” I said trying to make a joke out of everything “We’d better get in there,” I rushed through the door before anything else could be said.

The rest of the day went by so quickly, it was like a blur. I was more than a little freaked out when I found out that Matt was in every single one of my classes. I kept telling myself that it was just a coincidence but it just seemed too planned to be a coincidence. Every lesson I was completely shocked to see him, even fifth period when I should have seen it coming, I was surprised to find him enter the class room. I made no effort to hide my astonished expression but when I looked over to him, he was fine. Like he knew that we would run into each other again, like he was expecting it. Thinking back to earlier, I realized that this is why he went to so much trouble to tell me that he’ll see me soon. I realised that my naiveté had given him pleasure. He was satisfied with the fact that I was totally unaware about what he had done. I didn’t know how he did it and I didn’t know why but he had gone out of his way to make sure we had the same classes.
Shaking my head, I realized how paranoid I was. It was a coincidence and I had just taken the whole matter way too far. I didn’t even need Rose’s voice in my head to talk sense into me because this thought was much too foolish to need her to talk sense into me. The last bell rang and I was incredibly glad to get way from this class room, get way form this school and most of all get far away from Matt.


3.
Walking out of the main building of the school a gust of wind brushed my cheek. After spending the whole day trapped inside a stuffy class room, nothing felt better than the cool touch of the autumn air. Taking in a deep breath, I savoured the refreshing feeling that it gave me. With that one breath, all of the worries, anxiety and paranoia I felt just melted away as if I never felt them at all. I was in no rush to get home, however I definitely wanted to get away from school. I was suddenly confused. I never felt this way about school. I mean, I didn’t like getting up early and some days it could by mind-numbingly boring but I never really minded it. This urge to get away wasn’t normal, especially for me. It was the first day of school and I already wished that it was the last.
I couldn’t figure out why I felt this way but I didn’t care, I gave into the urge and headed for my car. It took me less time to reach my car than I thought it would, considering how far away it was. I suppose I was in such a hurry to leave, I must have subconsciously increased my normal pace. I walked over to my car, just about to open the door when I saw Matt strolling towards me. Well, I thought he was strolling towards me but it turned out that his car was parked next to mine.
“Hey, nice to see you again,” He emphasized the word ‘again’ like he knew it would irritate me. All day everywhere I turned he was there, I couldn’t get away. How funny it was that just as I was about to make my way home, here he was again.
“Yeah, it feels like I’ve spent every second of the day with you” I said it in a cold tone so that it would come in loud and clear that I wasn’t thrilled about spending time with him.
“I must be lucky” After saying it he flashed me his Hollywood smile and nothing in his voice told me that he was being sarcastic. Oh, why couldn’t he just take the hint? I ignored the warmth that his smile gave me and just glared at him.
Another gust of wind sent my hair flying all over the place. When the wind had passed and the air was again calm, I pressed down on my fly-away hair hopping that I could flatten it out so it wouldn’t look that terrible. I imagined that the strong gust had made my hair frizzy and knotty, in my picture it looked like I had a bad perm, although I’m sure that I was just overreacting (like always). It was times like this that I wished that I was vein enough to carry around a mirror.
Matt stepped closer towards me. I wondered what he was doing or what he was about to do. I was too tired to protest, I just wanted this nightmare of a day to end and if that meant that I would have to let Matt stand a little too close for my liking so that he would let me leave, I would do it.
He stretched out his hand and I automatically assumed that, for some unapparent reason, he wanted to shake my hand. However, before I could reach out to return his friendly gesture, he raised his hand to my forehead. His fingertips grazed my skin, his electrical touch sending sparks through my body. He tucked a strand of stray hair behind my ear. His hand lingered by my cheek and he stared at me again. I hated it when he did that, he just stared. His eyes looked fascinated like there was something interesting about my eyes. He looked right through me as if I were transparent. At that moment the world around me disappeared. There was nothing, nothing but his eyes gazing intently into mine.
The resounding beeping sliced through the silence of the little world that his captivating eyes had created. It’s deafening sound breaking the barrier separating us from the rest of the world and awakening me from his spell. Turning away from Matt to see what had made the noise, I realized how long I had been stood there. The whole car park was empty – with the exception of the teachers’ cars and the few cars whose owners stayed late at school. I looked down at my watch and at first I couldn’t believe it. According to my watch I had been standing there for ten minutes. This couldn’t be right, the most I could have been stood there was ten seconds. I refused to believe it; I told my self that my watch was just wrong.
I continued on to see what had made the beeping. I laid my eyes on a blue ford coupe-cabriolet. Rose was sitting in the driver’s seat looking incredibly pleased and it didn’t take a genius to realise that her beaming smile was due to what she had just witnessed. My cheeks burned, hotter than I have ever felt and I can imagine that my pale face flushed to a bright crimson to match the burn. This was more than just a blush; this was the huge sign of utter embarrassment. I pictured what we must have looked like to her, his hand on my face, gazing intently into each others eyes, there seemed to be no one else in to world. She would never understand that I wasn’t interested, that I was doing it to get away from him faster or that the only relationship between us was that, coincidentally, we were in the same classes.
She raised her eyebrows in a way that said oh my god! What was that? I just gave her a look that said Leave! I’ll tell you everything at home. Our ability to have a silent conversation was a skill acquired through years of practise. Any sisters that were as close as we were could know what the other was thinking with just a look, this talent really came in handy in situations like these.
After taking the time to eye up Matt, not very discretely might I add, she gave me a smile of approval and then waved goodbye. She drove away and the burning I felt seemed to vanish like I had pressed an icepack to my cheek. I turned back to face Matt, he seemed amused by my embarrassment. I would have slapped him for laughing at me if I wasn’t so worried he’d take it the wrong way and think that I was just trying to find an excuse to touch him. Instead I simply said “Umm, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I rushed into my car, not wanting to let him say something that might turn into a conversation. I just wanted to go home, where I could explain to Rose that there was absolutely nothing going on.
Driving out of the car park it suddenly dawned on me how I had sounded when I said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’. I said it like a question, like I wasn’t sure if I would see him tomorrow. I really didn’t care if I saw him or not so I couldn’t understand why I would have asked. I realized that I must have sounded desperate, asking him if I’d see him tomorrow. I had only known him for a day and he must have thought that I was some kind of stalker who needed to know his whereabouts and his plans on attending school. It wasn’t even like I could pretend like I was asking if I’d see him in any of my classes because by now I knew that he was in all of my classes. There was however a bright side to him thinking I was a stalker, maybe he would leave me alone now.


4.
I pulled into my driveway and I felt instant relief, after the day I’d had I was so happy to be home. I look at my house, taking its familiarity and I immediately felt at home. I know it sounds obvious that my own house would feel like home and to be honest I felt a bit stupid thinking it but the welcoming feeling I got when I stepped out of my car could only come from this house because this house was home. I loved everything about this house. It was only three miles away from the school but it was completely alone.
We didn’t live on a street of semi detached houses like most people; we lived about ten minutes away from our neighbours. We didn’t live that far out in the country and we were only about twenty minutes away from the town.
Our house was beautiful; it was made of the same orangey-brown bricks that most British houses were made of but it was unique. A vine of ivy grew up the side of the house, twisting and winding upwards and stopping just before the roof. It was two stories. Our roof comprised of grey, slate tiles. We had a petite garden in front of the house where my mum was growing flowers. Evergreen shrubs bordered the house and the grass that made up the acres of land around it was still a lush green. The verdant land created a magnificent landscape.
I loved nature and therefore could really appreciate the astounding beauty of it; Rose however, only noticed the few insects that entered our house and the mud and dirt that our shoes would get covered in on a rainy day. Due the little downside to nature, she detested it. I’m sure that she thought that the landscape was pretty but I don’t think that she ever really took in its sheer beauty. It was a shame that she would rather shop than take a stroll along a country lane and it meant that if I wanted to go, I had to go alone.
I walked down the gravelled pathway towards the house. I prepared myself for all of the questions that Rose would bombard me with as soon as I stepped foot in the door. I opened the door and sure enough, as soon as she heard the door she rushed to the hallway to greet me. I grimaced when I saw the expression she had, it was saying spill the gossip, right now!
“So, did you have a good day?” She was dying to ask what about what had happened in the car park, I could hear it in her voice and I wasn’t in the mood for all of the small talk.
“Is that really what you want to ask me?” She smiled even wider before taking hold of my hand and dragging me into the living room. She threw me down onto one of our leather sofa and then flopped down next to me.
Our living room was surprisingly modern for a country house. We had wooden flooring, half because it looked nice and half because it was too hard to get mud out of carpet. The walls were cream which would be extremely boring if it wasn’t for the colourful artwork on the walls. There was a wide screen TV in the corner, two black leather sofas, one against the opposite wall and one against the wall next to it. On our glass coffee table was a mug of tea and a selection of magazines, all of which belonged to Rose.
“Who was he? What were you two doing? Are you two together? When did you meet?” She paused for breath but I knew that if I didn’t intervene now then she’d only ask more questions.
“Whoa, slow down. One question at a time. His name is Matt, he’s new and because of some unfortunate mishap with our class timetables, he’s in all of my classes. There’s nothing going on between us and I don’t know what you thought you saw in the car park but you’ve got it all wrong.” I hoped that this would be the end to the subject. I hoped that my answers would be sufficient and she’d leave me alone. But I knew that my hoping was pointless, Rose was never one to let things go easily. She always wanted to know every single detail.
“I know what I saw and it didn’t look like nothing to me.” Here we go, I thought. She was going to argue back no matter what I said.
“Trust me, it was nothing. Believe me, I couldn’t be more uninterested, in fact he annoys me. I can barely stand having to put up with him in all of my lessons let alone anything else” I said it seriously so that she would understand that there really wasn’t anything going on but I knew from her accusing expression that she wasn’t satisfied.
“Yeah, I would be really annoyed if a cute boy looked at me like that,” I hated her sarcastic tone and her words bothered me.
“What do you mean? He didn’t look at me in any special way,” I bet he looked at all of the girls that way. Well, all of the girls that he targeted, because that was all I was to him, an easy target.
“Someone’s in denial,” She said it in a patronising manner. She hopped up and headed towards the door. She glanced back and shook her head and I knew exactly what she was thinking, He’s so into her and she’s too delusional to see it. I wasn’t delusional; I knew what I was talking about. Rose wasn’t used to players like Matt; she didn’t understand that people like me, ordinary, average girls, don’t get the good looking boys. It just wasn’t done, it just didn’t happen. Of course, Rose being Rose, she always got the guy she wanted. I, on the other hand, know when something’s too good to be true and Matt was undoubtedly too good to be true, therefore there was only one answer to his interest and that was that either he lost a bet or that he wanted to see how many girls he could have at one go.
There was a knock at the door. I knew who it was even before I answered it. Michael came over nearly every day. I thought it was quite sweet how even after spending the whole day at school together they still insisted on meeting after school every day as well. Their relationship was so strong; I was quite envious of them. As much as I liked Michael, I didn’t want to stick around and see them snogging on the couch. Awkward or what? So, after I answered the door and made enough small talk to be able to go upstairs for the rest of the night and not seem rude, I climbed the stairs and went straight to my room.

My room wasn’t what you expected a normal teen’s room to look like; my walls weren’t plastered with posters of bands or half naked men, my clothes weren’t thrown across the floor and there was no hint of rebellion in sight. My room was neat, tidy and organised. Next to the large window that looked out onto the country landscape was a mauve futon. At night I would lie there and stargaze. The stars in the country were unbelievable beautiful, they shone brighter than in the city. The moon illuminated the darkness and I would stare at it for hours. It was indescribable, I looked at it and I felt calm and relaxed. It was truly amazing, it was like magic. My bed was pushed up against the back wall and my wardrobe was in the corner. I had a mahogany desk that I used to study. On the desk were my laptop and a desk lamp. The walls were lilac and my bed sheets matched. My room was all colour coordinated, the furniture, the accessories, everything was purple.
Some people might think that my room was boring, too grown up for a teen. The thing is that I wasn’t just a normal teen, I didn’t throw tantrums, I was good in school, I was sensible and I did what I was told. Rose joked with me about it; she said that I was born at the age of forty five. I would just laugh along with her but I honestly did thing that there was something wrong with me. It was like I had just skipped adolescence and gone straight to adulthood.
A sudden thought entered my head, mum. I hadn’t seen her since this morning and since she was currently unemployed, she was usually home. My mum was a solicitor but her firm just want bust so now she was jobless. Luckily we had saved up enough to get by until she found another job. My dad left when we were three so the only other income that we had was from mine and Rose’s Saturday job. I worked in the local corner shop and Rose, being a fashionista, worked in one of the high street’s many clothes shops. I bet it was really hard for my mum, being a single mother must be an almost impossible challenge. Rose and I were only ten months apart in age – my mum literally had me and then got pregnant again – so we were both seventeen and perfectly capable of looking after ourselves. I think that made it easier on my mum.
I walk out onto the landing and lean over the banister.
“Rose, Where’s mum?” I shouted so that she could hear me from downstairs.
“She’s at a job interview, she’ll be home soon. I thought she told you.” She shouted back but her voice was still a bit muffled.
“Oh, OK.” I walked away from the banister and back into my room. I jumped onto my bed, laid back and closed my eyes. For the first time today I actually felt relaxed. The next thing I knew I was in a deep slumber.

I was standing on a cliff. Below me was a beach made of small stones and a raging ocean. It was freezing, typical British weather. I looked up and saw a grey sky, a storm was coming. A gust of wind smacked against me and sent shivers down my spine. We live nowhere near the sea but yet this place seemed vaguely familiar. I felt like I had been there before even though I didn’t remember. Despite the approaching storm, I felt peaceful, serene. This place was an oasis of tranquillity.
I took in a deep breath and the aroma of the beach filled my nostrils. I bent down to feel the patch of grass beneath me. I don’t know why, it was like I wasn’t in control of my body, almost like an out of body experience. Without warning, my whole body leaned forward, nothing but the wind kept me from plunging to my death. I wanted to lean back, I wanted to scream, and my heart should have been beating at one hundred miles per hour. I had a fear of heights, actually more like a phobia. I was absolutely petrified of heights. I would shake uncontrollably; I would get woozy and light-headed. The whole world around me would spin and my whole body would go numb. But right then, as I was leaning out and I stared down, I didn’t feel like that. My heart beat was slow and my breathing was steady, I didn’t feel dizzy or shaky. This wasn’t normal; it was like my phobia didn’t exist.
The first drop of rain hit me. Like I had expected it was icy cold and it ran down my face. It didn’t make me shiver like it should have; instead it was cool and refreshing. A few seconds later another drop hit me, then another, then another. The heavens had unleashed a shower of icy drops. My hair got wet and stuck to my face. The white dress that I was wearing was soaked and it clung to me. It was stupid that I would be wearing a dress in this weather. I didn’t usually wear dresses at all; I was a jeans and Tee-shirt kind of girl, so I didn’t understand how I came to be wearing this white evening gown. I leaned my head back and the rain splashed my face. I smiled and chuckled. My laugh wasn’t right, it wasn’t my laugh. It was too sweet, too angelic it wasn’t me. The water fell into my open mouth. It was very refreshing. It slid down the back of my throat and quenched the thirst that until that moment, I hadn’t realised that I had.
I was startled by the thunder. It vibrated in my eardrums. The cliff trembled and a small piece of rock fell into the sea. This is where I should have started to freak out, I should have started to hyperventilate, I should have done something but I didn’t. I didn’t move, I just stood there. Even when the lightning shot through the sky I stood there frozen.
“Hey,” A mans voice came from behind me. I had heard it before, this voice. But it couldn’t be. I refused to believe it. It was Matt.
“Hey, what are you-“He started to say something. What was he doing here? I turned to face him and ask him where I was and why he was here but as I turned my foot slipped. Why did I have to be so clumsy? Before I knew it my whole body was over the side. I turned; I arched my back, straightened my arms and executed a swan dive. How was I doing this? I had never been diving in my life, mostly due to my fear of heights but this was like a reflex, I did it automatically. My brain had no say, my body just did it. Crack, my head smacked against a ledge on the cliff. The pain was too much to bear, I struggled to keep my eyes open but I was overwhelmed with the pain. My eye lids closed and I plunged towards the sea.
I fought so hard, ignoring the agony. My head was pounding but I opened my eyes. The fall seemed to last forever. I didn’t think that I would ever reach the bottom. I felt a whole new pain when I saw what was happening above me. Matt jumped off the cliff, diving towards me. He moved faster than I did and he was so close. My stomach wrenched at the sight of him. Was he crazy? What did he think would happen when he jumped? That somehow he would save me? He was insane. Now not only was I going to die but he was as well.
I looked into his green eyes, hoping that they would send me into a trance, hoping that they would numb the pain, hoping that they would distract me from the fear. I couldn’t handle it, the anticipation, I knew what was coming, I knew what was going to happen but time was standing still. I wish it would just end, I couldn’t wait any longer, it was killing me. Then, I didn’t have to wait anymore. I smacked the water, staring into his eyes the pain disappeared. I could feel the darkness taking over but I kept my gaze steady, focusing on the emerald green. Then, just as his eyes were fading away, I woke up.


5.
It all seemed so real, too vivid to be just a dream. I could feel the wind, I could smell the ocean, I could hear the thunder, it couldn’t be just a dream. It was so strange, why would I dream of that place? Why would I dream of Matt? I was short of breath and beads of sweat were trickling down my forehead. How could a dream make me feel this way?
Light cracked through my curtains and lit my room. I was still wearing the clothes I had worn before I fell asleep. My glasses were digging into my head where I was laying on them. I checked the clock, still in a daze from the bizarre dream. I wiped my eyes trying to get rid of the sleep dust that was blurring my vision. Jumping out of bed, I started to panic. Eight fifteen AM, I was going to be late for school. I rushed to the bathroom to have a shower. I was quite proud when I saw that it only took me five minutes. It took me three minutes to blow dry my hair. I ransacked my wardrobe searching for a outfit (I’m no Saffron Maxwell – who by the way probably gets up at like five so that she can get ready- but I still care about my appearance). I grabbed out the first thing I found which was a pair of black skinny jeans and a red top. I threw them on and raced down stairs. I got my school bag from the cupboard, my jacket from the coat rack, slid on my shoes and grabbed a cereal bar from the kitchen, before running out to my car.

I got to school just in time. I found the same space in the car park as I had yesterday because I knew it would be the only one left. A lot of help that mental note did. I ran towards the gate, tripping over my own feet a few times but eventually I made it. I was glad that my first lesson was RE, the humanities block was right next to the gate. I arrived at the class room as everyone was filing in and, apart from my heavy panting; there was no sign that I was late.
Oh, no. The thought hadn’t occurred to me until now. I sat alone in this lesson and the seat next to me was the only available seat in the class. I hated RE already without the added aggravation of having to sit next to Matt. I tried using my little gift again but it didn’t even get a chance to work as, before Mrs Brunel scanned the class for a seat, Matt had already suggested the seat next to me. Great.
I was sat in the back of the room, just like in English. As he strode up the aisle it was like de-ja vu. All of the girls gawked and ogled brainlessly at him just like yesterday in English when everybody saw him for the first time; I was annoyed that Matt was coming to steal my beloved empty seat and again, just like in English, he shot me one of his brilliant smiles and I couldn’t help but smile back.
He slid into his new seat and placed his arm around my shoulders, resting it on the back of my chair as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Even through my clothes his touch managed to give me an electric shock. I realized then that the shocks had nothing to do with a static charge. I put it down to my loathing of him. I thought that it was just my body’s way of reacting to my strong emotions. I knew that this theory was total rubbish but I had no other ideas/excuses on how to explain the shocks.
“Hello” He said in a cheerful friendly tone
“Hi” My tone was the opposite of his. I was dismissive, trying to tell him that I didn’t want to engage in a conversation. I was stupid to think that this would work though. He either wasn’t very good at reading people or he purposely went out of his way to annoy me.
“You don’t need the make up, you look better without it.” What was he talking about? What a random thing to say. He had never seen me without make up on so what did he mean? Then it hit me. It hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Crap, I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to put it on,” I muttered it under my breath angrily, not meaning anyone to hear it but just as a way to release some of my aggravation.
“Why were you in a rush?” Whoa, he must have had great hearing to be able to hear that. I said it so quietly I could barely hear it.
“I overslept” I said through my teeth. My voice was rough, it clearly displayed my anger. I felt exposed. I had never been to school without make up on. I was lucky enough not to have any blemishes on my skin but I still insisted on plastering on foundation. I don’t know why, I guess I used it as sort of a mask, so that no one would see the real me. It was incredibly stupid, I know but it made me feel better. It was what everybody else was doing so it made me feel normal. Without my mask, everyone could see me. I knew that I was just being paranoid but I suddenly felt like everyone was staring at me. I heard someone giggle and I immediately thought that they were sniggering at me. Some of my anger shifted to Matt when I realized that I could have gone through the whole day in blissful ignorance, never realizing that I had forgotten my mask. He just had to point it out didn’t he?
“It’s OK. You don’t need all of that make up to impress me. I like you for you, not your make up.” Oh, of course. It was just like him to assume that I was angry because he had seen me without make up because apparently I didn’t care about the rest of the class. Apparently I didn’t care about the teasing I would get from Scarlet – not necessarily because I looked bad, just because she was jealous of the attention I was getting from Matt and would look for any excuse to put me down. I hated how he thought that the only thing I cared about was what he thought of me when, actually, he was the only person whose opinion I didn’t care about.
“Who said I was trying to impress you?” What gave him the deluded idea that I was trying to impress him? Because that was completely absurd. I wore make up before he even he came to this school, before I had even met him.
“Who else are you trying to impress. You and I both know no one else in this class is good enough for you” What made him think that he was good enough for me? What gave him the right to decide who was and wasn’t good enough for me. Oh, he was so full of himself.
“What and you are good enough for me? What makes you so special” I couldn’t believe that I was carrying on this conversation. What ever he said was only going to make me despise him more. He leaned in closer. He stunned me with his unexpected movement. My heart pounded. It thumped in my chest beating faster than normal.
“Because I’m the only one who makes your heart skip a beat whenever you see me. I’m the one who sends electricity jolting through your body when we touch.” No! My heart was beating erratically because he surprised me, that was all and the shocks were just from my loathing of him. He didn’t know what he was talking about. I just ignored him after that. I refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. He thought he knew everything about me but the truth was he knew nothing. I just let him go on believing that he was right, it was easier that way.
The bell rang and Miss Brunel dismissed us. I grabbed my bag and walked out of the classroom. My next lesson was Drama and was all the way at the other end of the school. After escaping the mania of the post-bell hallway hustle, of students trying to get to their class, it was a clear path to drama. I didn’t notice until I was halfway to my class that someone was walking by my side. I turned my head to see who it was and I wasn’t even remotely surprised to see who it was. Matt had probably been walking with me ever since we left the class room. I made my strides bigger in an effort to make my pace faster. I hoped to walk fast enough to leave him behind but he increased his pace to match mine. I tried getting even faster but he stayed by my side, it seemed effortless for him. I stopped and he continued walking a few steps more before realising I was no longer by his side.
“What is your problem?” I snapped. Why was he trying so hard to annoy me? What had I ever done to him?
“What? I’m just walking to drama” He said it so innocently. He really knew how to push my buttons.
“No you’re walking with me to drama, there’s a difference,” I was so touchy and I could hear it in my voice. If it were anyone else I would have apologised profusely for being rude. My mum had brought me up with manners but he was so irritating that whenever I talked to him I forgot all of my manners.
“I’m sorry; I thought you might want someone to walk with” He wasn’t sorry. He loved the fact that he was bothering me so much. I could see the corners of his mouth starting to turn up into a smirk.
“Well I don’t OK, so just leave me alone” With that I stormed of. My feet were stomping loudly. I felt like a little child who was throwing a tantrum because they didn’t get what they wanted. I was over reacting but I didn’t care. It was ironic that I was on my way to drama and I was acting like a total drama queen.

Things only got worse in drama. This term we were studying Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet to be precise. I almost screamed when Mr Jenkins told me who my partner was. I was to be Juliet and Matt was to be my Romeo. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the scene we were given was act one scene five. The scene where the couple first meet. I was usually good in drama but how was I going to convincingly portray love at first sight with a boy who I hated?
Matt and I went to rehearse in the corner. Matt read his line and I was pleasantly surprised. He was really good.
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand. To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” He said it with such emotion, I was really impressed. My last drama partner was hopeless; I might actually do well this term.
“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss." Saying my line emotionlessly, it was like I was embarrassed to say it – which I was, especially when the person I was saying it to was Matt. My hopes for a good grade were dashed as I realized that I would never be able to say this line the way it is supposed to be said.
“You can do better than that. You need to say it with some emotion. Forget everything and just become the character, you are Juliet and I am Romeo,” He cleared his throat and said his line again. This time he did it without his script and he added movements. When he said “To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.” He placed his hand on my cheek and his eyes looked into mine. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. His touch gave me goose bumps. I paused, my mind went blank. I searched for my line but it was hopeless. I was dumbfounded; his touch had rendered me speechless. The script was in my hand but I didn’t have the strength to pull away from his gaze. Then the line just came to me, it just popped into my head out of nowhere.
I said my line with such emotion I was amazed that it was coming out of my mouth. For that moment I became Juliet. Whilst speaking I moved one of my hands and put it on top of his, pressing it harder against my cheek. With my other hand I took hold of his and squeezed it tight. By the time I had finished speaking I was on my tip-toes, my body close and my lips only millimetres away from his. My eyes never left his. My heart was throbbing. Flushes of heat ran up and down my body. His hand scorched my cheek and I felt shocks of electricity shoot through me. Matt leaned his head forward closing in on me and eliminating the little bit of space left between us.
I jumped back; my breathing was all over the place. I stood well away from him. Looking around the room, I preyed that no one had seen what had just happened. It appeared that everyone was so involved in their own scenes that no body had been watching ours. Matt didn’t move. He was still staring at me. I felt the need to break the awkward silence.
“Was that better?” My voice was shaky. Please say something, anything. My mouth was dry but my heart beat was finally starting to slow. After what seemed like an eternity Matt nodded.
“Yeah, anyone would think that you actually do love me” I could see where he was going with this and I immediately regretted what had just happened. Why couldn’t I have just stuck with saying my line emotionlessly? Then none of this would have happened.
“Well, I’m a really good actress” I smiled, trying to lighten the serious mood. I glanced at the clock wishing that the bell would ring and I could go to break. I wanted to escape this room, I felt claustrophobic. Mr Jenkins hollered for the class to come back to the middle of the room so we could watch some of the performances. I started walking towards the middle of the room but Matt walked towards me. He stood in my way and leaned down so that his cheek brushed against mine.
“No one’s that good,” He whispered. I felt his breath against my ear. My heart raced for no reason and heat flushed through me again. Great, I thought. I’ve just added fuel to the fire. If I thought he was bad before, now that I had given him reason to hope, he was going to be even worse.

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Thank you so much for reading and I hope you like the story so far.
To read the completed story follow the link:
http://www.wattpad.com/646894-falling-prologue

You can also find the stroy I am currently working on:
http://www.wattpad.com/905807-the-hunters-prologue

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.12.2010

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