When the cloud passed and the pale moonlight returned, I strained to catch a glimpse of the creature.
Nothing.
I let my tense body relax. It hadn’t seen me.
For a few more minutes, I stayed huddled behind the tombstone, creeping my head out every now and again to make sure it wasn’t lurking anywhere.
It’s gone.
I turned to stand…and screamed.
The creature was right next to me.
4
I woke up screaming. Sat bolt upright, eyes wide, staring at nothing. The bed-sheets stuck to my sweat-soaked skin. Matted hair clung to the sides of my face. I stopped screaming and sat quaking, my breath coming out in short rasps. The bedroom door burst open, giving me another scare.
“Alex!”
Mum and John ran into the room. John was clutching a cricket bat. Mum rushed over to me. “Alex what’s wrong?” Seeing her had the effect of calming me down a bit. “I’m fine. I had a nightmare,” I breathed as she sat down on the bed. “Oh thank god. I thought something terrible had happened!” John grunted and stormed out of the room muttering under his breath. “…at his age.”
I sank back into the mattress. Mum pushed the damp stands of hair from my face and kissed my forehead. When she spoke, her voice was full of sincerity. “I know how awful nightmares can be. But everything’s okay now. Go back to sleep darling.” She stood up. The mattress shifted from the change in weight. “Night Alex.” “Goodnight Mum.”
Once the door had closed, I tried to remember what I’d dreamt about, but couldn’t — I kept hitting a mental wall. Perhaps it was better that way. I stopped trying to think and let my eyes droop.
I didn’t dream the second time.
First lesson the next day was Physics. As usual I walked to the Science block on my own. The room itself was pretty much the same layout as English, except instead of desks there were rows of tall benches lined with stools. Between each bench sat a sink with long curved taps descending into them. Instead of a whiteboard, the front wall sported an archaic blackboard. Various chunks of dusty chalk lay scattered on a tray attached to the bottom edge.
A smell of sulphur lingered in the room. The pungent scent made my nose itch. There was no teacher yet, so people were chatting amongst themselves. Once again, my seat was at the front — my back a target. In Physics, my tormentor came in the form of Thomas Jenkins. Or TJ as his friends called him.
I had to call him Thomas.
Not that I ever sought opportunities to speak to him. He was the skinny black guy with the imaginary girlfriend from Terry’s crew. He wasn’t quite as bad as his leader. But then that was like saying Hitler wasn’t quite as naughty as Stalin.
It was a small class — only ten students. The seat next to me was, and always had been empty. On the far side of the desk sat Simon Proctor — geek incarnate. He was staring at me when I sat down, his eyes magnified to epic proportions through his thick lenses. I offered him a smile. He snapped his head away, looking down at his textbook instead. Sighing I opened my bag. Social poison.
I was retrieving my own textbook from my bag when I glanced up and saw Gabriella heading towards the room. My heart did a double take. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, held in place with various pins. A long brown cardigan hugged her slim figure. Matching coloured boots beat against the floor as she walked. Three girls from the row behind me buzzed around her, chatting and laughing.
Gabriella’s presence confused me. I’d seen her timetable. I’m sure I would have remembered if she shared more than one class with me.
The girls separated simply because the doorway wouldn’t allow four people simultaneous access. Then they swarmed around her again, continuing to giggle and gossip. I felt a pang of unexpected jealousy and hastily locked it away. One of the girls pointed to the seats behind me, but their companion shook her head and whispered a reply. There were frowns, but nothing said aloud. They smiled and walked over to their places.
I almost had a heart attack when Gabriella settled her bag on the desk next to me. I wasn’t the only one surprised, a wave of murmured confusion and disapproval rushed around the room. There were plenty of other seats around, most of them next to people several rungs higher up the social ladder. She looked at me, her eyes gleaming like pools of sun-kissed water. “Morning Alexander!” she breezed, “I’m not stealing anyone’s seat am I?” I swallowed audibly. “Uh…no that’s fine. But wouldn’t you rather sit with your friends?” She raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t we friends?” My cheeks went hot. “Oh, yeah — I mean of course we are! Sorry, that came out wrong.”
Gabriella waved a dismissive hand and smiled, taking her seat. Removing her science book from her bag, she placed it on the table, along with a folder and an expensive looking gold pen. She did everything with a hypnotic fluidity, as though all of her moves were pre-planned. As I watched her, I felt a dull hum of electricity build up under my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut and the sensation faded. After a few seconds, Gabriella half turned in her seat to face me.
“So, I owe you an apology,” she began, leaning forward and resting her chin in her palm. “I know I was supposed to meet you yesterday,” she paused, “something…came up.”
I tried to sound casual, like I hadn’t given it second thought. “No worries, I didn’t wait long,” I lied. For a second I considered mentioning what I’d heard in the lunch queue, but dismissed it. No need to embarrass her.
“Well anyway it was rude, since you were such a gentleman to me on my first day. Would you let me buy you lunch as an apology?” The corners of her mouth lifted up. “You can fill me in on where the rest of my lessons are then.”
My eyes widened at the unexpected offer. She wants to take me to lunch? The jolt in my stomach reminded me that this was a very good thing. I must have taken a while to answer because she frowned and drew upright. “I mean unless you have other plans…” her voice trailed off and she stared past me, out of the window at the rain slicked school grounds.
“No!” I said a little too loud. Quieter I added, “that would be great”.
She flashed her perfect teeth again. “Okay good.” I watched as she swivelled back around to face the front and opened her writing pad. My mouth hung open. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how hard this girl was trying to be my friend.
At that moment a petite woman glided into the room and stood by the blackboard. The chattering stopped, replaced by fresh silence normally reserved for Gabriella. I had never seen her before in my life, but she was undeniably glamorous. Long shining blonde hair ran down to her shoulders and piercing jade eyes shone out from behind black designer glasses, which perched on a slim and pointed nose. Clothed in a grey skirt suit with black tights and matching heels, she looked like a film star shooting a school scene.
Brand new murmurs of confusion swept around the room.
The woman picked up a long piece of chalk from the tray and wrote ‘Miss Steele’ on the board in sweeping letters. Once finished, she whirled back around to face us. Her thin pink lips parted into a presenter smile. When she spoke, her voice was high — almost musical. Her words were pronounced perfectly in the Queen’s English.
“Good morning everyone. As I am sure you have all noticed by now, I am not Dr Potts.”
That’s for sure I thought. Dr Potts was a moody, grey haired old woman who wore oversized jumpers she knitted herself. The old bat had one foot firmly in the grave and I guessed maybe she’d finally fallen in.
“My name is Miss Steele,” the woman said, pointing a delicate thumb at the name on the blackboard as confirmation. “It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that Dr Potts has been taken quite ill. As such I will be taking her position as your Physics teacher until she is well enough to resume her duties.”
Several guys made low whooping sounds and exchanged ‘subtle’ hi-fives. Miss Steele paused to let them finish, rolling her eyes.
“In case any of you are nervous about changing teachers this late in the
game, please let me re-assure you. I may be a supply teacher, but I have taught at some of the most prestigious institutes, including Eton and Charterhouse. I’ve taught Physics for about seven years after graduating with a Master’s degree in the subject. My Student pass rates are on average about ninety four per cent. So you are in safe hands with me.” She finished with a wink, which got all of the boys grinning like idiots.
Miss Steele walked over to her bag and plucked an attendance sheet from inside.
“Now you know who I am, but I have no idea who any of you are.” She gestured to the class with a slender hand. “So I’d like you each to tell me who you are and a little about yourselves.”
My body stiffened. Public speaking was not my strongest attribute. I had enough trouble talking to one person.
“We can start with you at the back there.” The teacher pointed towards TJ and took a seat at the desk. Fishing a pen out of her suit jacket, she held it poised over the sheet like a hawk waiting to attack.
Everyone spoke in turn, giving their names, chosen subjects and going on about their personal interests. As people reeled off the cool things they did, I racked my brains for something interesting to say about myself. I settled on pool. It was a lie, I’d played about twice in my entire life and sucked both times, but it was the only thing I knew I could get away with — you didn’t need to be sporty to be good at pool. Simon finished droning on about himself and Miss Steele’s eyes shifted to me. My tongue turned to sawdust. I cleared my throat. “Um…my name is Alexander Eden. I study Physics, English, History and Maths. Socially I enjoy-”
“Being a complete loser!” interrupted TJ.
The class erupted into fits of laughter. I felt the heat rise to my face. Looking down at the desk, I mumbled, “playing pool.”
Then someone retorted, “Wow, it must have taken all night to charge up your two remaining brain cells, so you could come up with that gem!”
Fresh laughter rang around the room. Even Miss Steele appeared to be struggling to keep a straight face. I turned to see Gabriella glaring daggers at TJ. He scowled and fumbled with his pencil case. Clearly he wasn’t comfortable being on the receiving end of a joke. Gabriella winked at me. I felt a wave of warmth, mixed with shame. This was the second time she’d stood up for me, but the fact that someone else needed to bothered me. I should be able to fight my own battles! I smiled as best I could.
“Okay now, settle down everyone, lets continue,” said Miss Steele. “Oh and Thomas?” He looked up. “If I ever catch you insulting another student again, I will have you thrown out of my class like that!” She clicked her fingers and the sound echoed sharply around the room. “This is Sixth Form, not primary school. Are we clear?” “Yes Miss Steele,” TJ mumbled. I couldn’t resist an indulgent smile. It felt good to see him put in his place. “Good. Thank you very much Alexander. Now who do we have next?”
Gabriella and Miss Steel’s eyes met and the two smiled at one another, as if sharing some private joke. Without so much as a nervous dip in her voice, the new girl filled in some of the blanks.
“My name is Gabriella De Luca. I was born in Roma, Italia. My family moved here after Papa transferred with work to London. I’ve chosen to study Art, Physics, Performing Arts and English. Outside of education, I practice martial arts. I’m a black belt in Taekwondo and Kyoshi rank in Kenjutsu.” She knitted her hands together to symbolize she was finished. The rumble of approval swept around the class.
I shook my head. This girl just gets better and better.
“Well,” said Miss Steele, placing a tick next to a handwritten name at the bottom of the register. “That was an impressive way to finish the introductions.” She clapped her hands together. “Okay, now would be a perfect time to get the lesson underway. Today we are going to talk about electricity and its effects. Please turn your text books to page seventy three.”
The bell for the end of the lesson sounded and the usual rustle of bags and shuffling papers started up. “Right class,” finished Miss Steele, “homework today is a summary of what we’ve learned. It doesn’t have to be war and peace, but I expect to see the key topics in there somewhere.” I jotted the word ‘summary’ at the bottom of my notes and stuffed my folder back in my bag. Gabriella turned to me. “So what lesson do you have now?” she asked. I thought for a second. “Uh…double Maths.” Then put both my thumbs up. “Fun!” She laughed — a soft sound, like a purr. “Okay then, meet me by the main entrance at Lunch?”
The thought made my heartbeat accelerate. I agreed. With that, she swept off the chair and joined back up with the girls. Their chatting and laughing resumed as if there had been no hour long interruption.
Miss Steele was wiping her notes from the board, so didn’t see TJ seize me by the back of the neck, digging his fingers into my flesh. His mouth moved close to my ear and he spoke low and harsh, sending spittle flying onto my cheek.
“Think you’re it now do you Eden, getting birds to stick up for you?” His eyes were wide with anger. “You better watch your back mate, because I’m coming for you.” He released his grip and shoved me as he stomped away. I collided with the desk, whacking my ribs against the edge. Groaning, I rubbed my side. At that moment Miss Steele turned around from the board. She frowned at my pained expression. “Are you okay Alexander? You look hurt.” “Uh I’m fine thanks. I fell against the table. I’m a bit accident prone.” Miss Steele set the cloth down on the desk. “You know you can talk to me if you need to. That’s what I’m here for.”
Something about the way she asked seemed genuine. If I’d been in my normal low state of mind, I may even have told her. But knowing I was going to spend some time with Gabriella had lifted my spirits. Not even TJ’s threat could do much to bring them down. “Really, I’m fine,” I assured her, heading for the door.
“Alright then, please close the door behind you.” She shot me a dazzling smile then busied herself with the collection of papers on her desk. As I pulled the door shut behind me, she muttered something under her breath. It sounded like ‘not long now.’ I shrugged and headed for Maths.
When lunch time rolled around, I eagerly made my way to the main entrance. As promised, Gabriella sat waiting for me on the front steps.
Problem was she wasn't alone.
There were a hive of people hovering around her. Most of them guys, I noticed, with another stab of alarming jealousy. Also it irritated me to see the gossip witches Lucy and Rita in the group. It seemed that in just over a day, Gabriella had managed to climb the social ladder higher than I had done in my entire school life.
My bag swung around my legs as I stood frozen in the doorway, unsure of what to do. By now there was no doubt Gabriella would’ve been told how uncool I was. Which meant this could be some kind of trick. Maybe if I went over, she would humiliate me in front of everyone, which would cement her social status — maybe that’d been the plan all along. I just didn't know if I could take a confidence knock like that — not from her. After weighing my options, I decided that the best course of action was to simply walk past the group and pretend that I hadn't seen her.
I got three quarters of the way down, before a familiar angelic voice floated over to me. “Alexander, there you are!”
My stomach knotted at the words. I turned to the direction of the group and saw Gabriella looking at me, wearing that delicate smile and waving with excitement. The others regarded me in silence.
No choice now.
I returned the wave awkwardly and shambled over to her direction, praying to God that I didn’t do something crap, like trip up the stairs.
Gabriella stood up and pulled me into a tight hug. There were no tingles this time, but her body felt soft and warm and she smelled great.
“Were you trying to ignore me Alexander Eden?” she questioned, holding me at arm’s length, eyes suspicious.
“Uh…I…no I didn’t see you,” I stammered.
Gabriella nodded, appeased. She turned away, but left an arm on my lower bac
k. Its presence sent a warm glow running up my spine.
“You all know Alexander right?” she said to the group.
Some nodded and a few even said hello, which wasn’t expected. I gave awkward replies. It was unnerving, I wasn't used to this much attention. I felt my cheeks turning red.
“Okay so I have to go,” said Gabriella. “I owe Alexander some lunch.”
I could see the surprise on the group's faces, but most tried to hide it. I understood then that Gabriella was trying to hoist me up the ladder with her, by letting everyone know beyond doubt that we were friends. It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me.
We walked away from the crowd, me travelling on jelly legs. I started in the direction of the Canteen, but my companion shook her head.
“I was thinking we could walk up to town. One of the boys was telling me there is a really good fish and chips place. That okay?”
I breathed in deep to help calm my racing nerves. “You mean Cods Haven? Yeah sure, sounds great.”
We crossed the road and headed up towards the main town centre. As we walked, Gabriella fired a barrage of questions at me. She seemed really interested in my life. I told her about my favourite music and books and when my birthday was. She raised her eyebrows a little on the last one, but then carried on to inform me that my star sign was Leo, which meant I was caring and a born leader, but harboured intense anger which could be released when provoked. I smiled and nodded, just enjoying the sound of her voice. She was vibrant and used her hands a lot whilst she spoke. I felt little pangs in my stomach every time I looked at her. Occasionally I tried to dig up more about her personal life, but somehow the conversation always ended up back on me.
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