me anyway. But as much as I tried to ignore the urge it got the better of me. I inched my head around to catch a quick look at Gabriella.
She was staring at me.
My stomach lurched as if someone had applied the brakes. There was no question about it. Her eyes locked with mine. She didn’t look away or turn her nose up. Just kept calmly looking at me and I even saw the corners of her mouth inch up into a smile. A low squeak escaped my throat. I felt flames rising to my cheeks. I wanted to turn back, but couldn’t bring myself to look away. I felt powerless.
I could sense people focusing on me, wondering what the weirdo was doing no doubt. Andrew leaned over and mouthed the word ‘Loser’ into the new girl’s ear. At that point she mercifully detached her glance from me and flashed a smile at Andrew instead. I whirled my head back around. My face burned with embarrassment. I could actually hear my pulse hammering away in my ears. Oh my god! Why did I just stare at her like an idiot? After almost falling on her? Jesus! The new girl had probably just been looking around when I had optically attacked her. Nice work Alex, the girl’s only been here two minutes and I’ll bet she already thinks you’re a complete psychopath! That’s got to be a new record.
I tried to drown out the disapproving internal voice by filling my head with Daphne Du Maurier’s words, but I couldn’t concentrate. I kept reading the same sentence over and over, unable to make sense of it. After an eternity, Mr Hanley plodded over to each desk in turn and placed down some blank sheets of lined A4 paper. When we all had one, he made us put our copies of the book away and begin the test.
I stared at the first question on the whiteboard.
Q1. Why do you feel that the narrator of the story struggles to fit into her newly appointed position of power?
I frowned. I could understand the individual words, but my brain refused to comprehend the question. Looking away and looking back again made no difference.
My mind had gone blank.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson. On my desk lay a piece of paper with my name on and nothing else. Mr Hanley walked around and gathered the answers. He raised his eyebrows when he picked up mine but didn’t say anything. I was one of his best students; I guess that entitled me to a bad day or two. I watched as people gathered around Gabriella like moths to a flame. I made sure I didn’t catch her gaze again, busying myself with packing my folder into my bag, while Mr Hanley spoke.
“Okay people, I want you to make sure you’ve read the next fifty pages by the end of the week. And actually make sure you do this time! You know, it’s only your education at stake.”
I battled my way through the crowded corridors, trying to shut out the roar of noise that came from hundreds of over energised students. I made my way through the main building towards my locker. A poster pinned to the noticeboard in the hub caught my attention. I stopped to look. It was black with little white snowflakes dotted all over. In the middle, an exterior photo of the school had been photo-shopped to look as if it were covered in snow. I scanned the white print running underneath, my heart sinking.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
SIXTH FORM WINTER WONDERLAND BALL
FRIDAY14TH DEC, 7.30PM — 11.30PM
THE EXTREMELY POPULAR XMAS BALL IS BACK!
WITH GREAT MUSIC AND GREAT PEOPLE, IT’S BOUND TO BE A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!
TICKETS?10.?2 REFUND ON THE DOOR FOR THOSE IN FANCY DRESS
ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY
USE IT AS AN EXCUSE TO FINALLY ASK OUT THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE
WHO KNOWS, THEY MAY SAY YES!
I shuddered and hurried away from the notice board. There was no one in this entire place who would ever consider saying YES! to me. So like the year 11 Christmas ball at my last School, I would spend the night with a book or gaming on the PC. Better that than the mortification of arriving on my own and spending the night alone.
I reached my locker, a thin grey affair which some kind soul had scratched ‘bender’ on. I battled with the padlock for a few seconds, before the door released. I traded my English folder for my Science and Maths textbooks. Swinging the door shut, I almost jumped out of my skin.
Leaning gracefully against the locker next to mine was Gabriella. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was regarding me with the same faint suggestion of a smile. She used her shoulders to push herself upright and moved closer to me. Instantly, I felt the charges popping under my skin again. I didn’t react, not wanting to look like even more of an idiot in front of her. My heart smashed against my ribcage as she surveyed me with her brilliant blue eyes.
“Hi” she beamed, “I didn’t get a chance to meet you earlier. I’m Gabriella De Luca.” She extended a perfectly manicured hand and I paused for a beat, before offering my own, clammy version. As our skin connected, the sensations went off the chart. A sound similar to someone pouring popping candy into a glass of water filled my ears. If Gabriella could hear it, she made no comment, just held the greeting and I realised that she was waiting for a response.
“Uh h-hi there, I’m Alexander Eden,” I stammered.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Alexander.”
Gabriella released my hand and the sensations dulled. Pausing for a second, she added, “listen, I wonder if I could ask you a favour. It’s my first day here and this place is pretty big. I could really use someone to show me around and help me find my classes.” She fanned a slender hand through her hair as she spoke. “The problem is that a lot of the people I’ve met so far seem a bit…immature.” The new girl gestured over her shoulder. I followed the direction and noticed for the first time a small gathering of people watching us talk, sharing a look of bemused interest.
I hurriedly looked back as the Gabriella continued. “You seem…different. So could I ask you to be my guide until I get settled?”
She’s asking if it’s okay to spend time with me. It took a while to process the illogical request. My throat dried up and I had to swallow a few times before I was able to speak. “I–I uh yeah, that’s not a problem,” I croaked. “Uh, what class do you have now?”
Gabriella retrieved a fold of paper from her jacket pocket and scanned her eyes along its content for a few seconds.
“This says that I have Art now.” She looked up and smiled. “So I guess Art.”
“Okay, well…that’s this way,” I gestured, my heart still thumping a rapid bassline in my chest. I motioned for her to follow me and we wound our way down the corridors, much to the confusion of everyone we passed. We walked in silence for a while. I kept my mouth shut, convinced that anything I said would be absolutely the wrong thing. But Gabriella didn’t give me much of a chance to stay silent. “So, how long have you lived in Chapter Hill?” she asked. “Not long,” I replied. My companion gave me a sideways glance. “Is that it?” I swallowed hard, and mentally made sure my answer was embarrassment free before replying.
“Well, I grew up in Wimbledon but moved to Birmingham when I was about eleven. We stayed for about five years. Then my stepdad got offered a better job in Chapter Hill.” I swung my bag to the other shoulder. “We moved back down about a year ago. My half-brother Mikey and I joined the school. He’s finishing his GCSE’s and I’m doing A-levels. Uh, which I guess you already know.” Gabriella nodded. “It seems really nice here. You must really enjoy it.” I gave a strained laugh. “Ha…yeah.” In an effort to shift the attention away from me I asked, “Uh, so what’s your story then?” The new girl drew a deep breath. “A very good question, but not one for right now.”
Her odd response caught me off guard. I slowed my step, eyebrows arched. Gabriella hung back and placed a hand on my arm for a fleeting moment, sending the charges spiking again.
“Sorry, that made me sound a bit strange,” she laughed. “What I mean is that it’s a long story and I can explain when we have more time.”
I decided not to press the point, if she wanted to tell me she would. Besides, it was rare that anyone other than Tim even spoke to me, never mind someone this insanely beautiful — I wasn’t about to make it
