Saving Elliot ✓

Chapter Six

NOT MANY PEOPLE KNEW this but as a kid O'Connor was quite chubby. He liked to keep this on the hush, hush because he wanted people to think he always fit and athletic. O'Connor was short and fat back then with blond hair so light it was almost white. The first time I met O'Connor we were in year four and he had just crashed into Arthur, one of my twin brothers. Mac and Arthur had just been scolded by my mum for hiding letters from school so they weren't in the best mood.

Arthur had moved to shove O'Connor back but Mac and I stopped him.

"Watch it," Arthur glared at him.

"S-sorry, I-I...uhm...sorry, I was in a rush, s-sorry," he'd sputtered. He ducked his head and ran towards the school.

It was later that morning as Tam and I sat in class listening to Mrs Atkinson talk about something or another that O'Connor walked in. She waved him over and resting her on his shoulders, she introduced him to the class. His big brown eyes surveyed the class as he clung to his Power Rangers lunchbox.

"We have a new student, he's just moved from a placed called Limerick in Ireland and I want you all to be nice him."

I honestly wasn't too happy when Mrs Atkinson assigned him as my "buddy" and told hm to take care of him. Back then O'Connor, I thought he was a little weird. For the first couple of weeks all he did was follow me around. Whenever I said something to him his only replies would be a nod or the occasional yes or no.

I don't think it was until the third month that O'Connor actually started having proper conversations with me and Tam and it wasn't until near the end of year four that he heard his laugh for the first time. When we came back from the summer holidays in year five I managed to coax O'Connor into playing the occasional game of footy with me and my brothers and I persuaded him into joining the school footy team.

By the time we were in our first year of secondary school at St. George's, O'Connor was no longer fat and by year nine, O'Connor had lost his Irish accent and grown into a heartthrob. By the middle of year ten, O'Connor had a lot of girls after him and by the end of year eleven he had quite a reputation with the girls.

Which is why I wasn't too surprised to see had an arm slung over Millie Wu's shoulders. She giggled as he whispered something in her ear. I let out a faint sigh. He pulled back to grin at her and she giggled again. I looked back to the front of the hall where Mr Grimsby was giving his annual speech on advent.

"It's an important time for the catholic church," Mr Grimsby said, "This year's advent begins on November 28th and ends on Christmas Eve. Now, who can tell me what Advent symbolises?"

Silence. A few coughs scattered here and there as two hundred and fifty pairs of eyes stared blankly ahead at him. Monday morning assemblies were always like this. I bet only half of the students here were actually awake and I bet the other half was still asleep.

"Well, in its symbolism, the Church continues to stress the penitential and preparatory nature of Advent." Mr. Grimsby said, his gruff voice booming in the vast hall, "The word advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. This refers, first of all, to our celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas -"

And that's when I zoned out. We got the same speech each year and each year Grimsby's hairline receded a little more. It was almost half way now. I guess being the head of sixth form for five years was more stressful than I thought. My gaze left Grimsby and landed on back O'Connor and Millie. There was a high chance he would take her to the back of the science block and kiss her for most of lunch. I was so fascinated by O'Connor and Millie I didn't realise Elliot had come in until he slumped down in the seat beside me.