Seven Minutes From Heaven [bxb]

Chapter 6 - A private chat

The final bell rang at the end of science class and everybody scrambled up from their seats. My deskmate's bag accidentally hit my shoulder, which he mumbled a quiet apology before marching off. We were by no means friendly with each other, but we both fit the social outcast moulds pretty well. He was out of the room in seconds, while I sat and lingered, watching Liam stand up and banter with his friends. They were his non-sporty friends, the ones he hung with outside of his soccer game breaks.

They were always picking on Ben because of something stupid he'd said to a popular girl a few months ago. He got a lot of flak and that's literally what half of their conversations seemed to be in class. Charlie, the obvious class clown, seemed to be the rainmaker when it came to insulting Ben while Liam and their friend's kind of just rode the waves.

I rested my chin on the palm of my hand, enjoying the sight of Liam Petry clasping his friend's shoulder and smiling all the way to his eyes. He was so friendly and sociable, it was great when I got to see him like this. They started filing through the isles to the back door, and Liam was the last among them to pass me. He noticed me and smiled, holding up his phone and wiggling it in front of him before following his friends out the door.

Was he telling me to contact him? Was he telling me he'd contact me? I didn't know how to interpret that, but my heart started to hammer with anxiety. Who'd contact who? What if I waited for him to contact me, but he was waiting for me to contact him all along? What if I attempt to contact him first but he finds it creepy? Would I miss my chance to befriend him no matter which way this goes? Ughhh.

I messed up my shaggy hair and stood up, no longer having any reason to linger behind in class. Tristan and I went different ways home so I wouldn't be seeing him. Liam's home was in my direction, but he usually went to the arcade after school with his friends. The only person I recognised going home in my direction was, of course, Josh.

Josh was walking up ahead with a bunch of his Christian group friends. They were chatting and laughing while he had his hands in pockets, kicking rocks along the pavement. Through anyone else's eyes, he looked completely normal and decent. But having seen what I've seen, the very sight of him made me shudder. I kept back as far as I could without him noticing me, but I didn't want to linger back for too long because I really just wanted to get home and chat on the phone with Tristan.

My phone started vibrating from inside my bag. My mood lit up.

Liam!

I dug my phone out of my bag and was disappointed to see Pastor Cordell's name pop up on the screen. He must've been ringing to update me about the new youth groups and when it'd be starting. I answered. "Hello?"

"Hi Jude, it's Cordell," he said with a friendly tone. "School's over, right?"

"Oh, hi Pastor," I answered. "It is. What's up?"

"Plans for Friday night youth groups have been finalised, so I wanted to fill you in," he said. "Wanna chat over a hot chocolate?"

"Um..." I held my phone in front of me to check the time then put it back to my ear. Mum wouldn't be home for a few hours, so it seemed okay. Not that I thought she'd mind me meeting with Pastor Cordell who was, in anyone's eyes, nothing short of a good, Christian influence. "Sure. Where'd you wanna meet?"

"I can pick you up," he said. "I'm near enough to the school."

"Righto, I'll be out front," I said then ended the call.

Then I remembered my phone vibrating from back in the storage room. I brought up the text that was sent earlier, which read: Hi it's Liam.

Reading the text made a flurry of butterflies come to life in my chest as I stared at my phone smiling. He was basically like a celebrity in my eyes, and how many people got their favourite celebrity's number? I wanted to reply to the next, and barely started compiling some ideas on how to respond in my head when a white wagon pulled up in front of me. The window rolled down and Pastor Cordell popped his head out the window.