Chemical Attraction (Student/Teacher Relationship)

Chemical Attraction Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A sharp knock on the door shocked me out of my daydream, and a girl's voice called out, "Hellooooo? Is anyone there?"

I shoved the keys on my bedside table and hurried to open the door. A girl around my age stood there, her hand raised to knock again. She was quite short with a mop of curly, ginger hair. She flashed me a cheeky grin, "Well, you took your time answering! I've been calling for ages!"

"Really? Sorry, I guess I didn't hear you." I replied. Blimey, I hadn't realised my daydreaming was that absorbing. Now I probably looked like an idiot.

"It's totally cool. My name's Joanne Law but everyone just calls me Jo-Jo. I've been allocated as your student helper for the week to make sure you have no problems." She smiled at me encouragingly, then jerked her head at me in a indication to follow her. I tagged along beside her, bemused at her excitement.

"So, new girl, what's your name?" she continued. "They told me but I don't remember." She waved her hand carelessly in the air.

"Um, I'm Phoebe Miller." I replied with a smile. I had never been good with new people, but she seemed a pretty decent sort.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Phoebe," she said, grabbing my hand and pumping it furiously in a handshake. Then, still holding on to my hand, she started pulling me towards the stairs. "Come on, I'm supposed to be giving you a tour of the academy. This place is totally cool. You're going to love it here."

An hour later, I was in complete agreement. This school was amazing beyond belief! So far, I had been shown the tennis courts, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a gym, cinema room, drama studio, dance studio and about any other facility you could possibly imagine finding at a school. But the best thing was most certainly the climbing wall, which the students were allowed to use during the summer. We were halfway through the spring term already, so I didn't have long to wait.

Right now, Jo-Jo was leading me to the canteen for dinner. My stomach rumbled at the thought; I was starving hungry as I had only eaten one sandwich in the van for lunch. As we entered the canteen, all the students stopped eating their food and swivelled their heads round to look at me. There was a slight pause and then the whispering started. I ducked my head down as my cheeks flamed at the unwanted attention.

"Ah, don't worry about that." Jo-Jo said, spotting my reaction. "You're the new gossip here at the moment. No-one ever joins in the middle of a school term so some people have started rumours that you must have been expelled from your last school. Now everyone thinks you are a delinquent or something!"

Even I had to laugh at that. Anyone who ever met me could tell that I was a total softie. Still, better that fake rumour than anyone learning the truth. At that point, I would be alienated forever. No-one ever knew what to say to a person who had lost everything that had really mattered to them. Most people kept their distance, including all my old friends. It was a shame, as that was the point when I had needed them the most. I had always thought I could count on them, but I was wrong.

Still deep in thought, I hadn't noticed that Jo-Jo had guided me towards a table full of her friends. She pointed me towards a chair and then plonked herself down next to me.

"Okay, we will go and get some food in a second, but first I want you to meet the gang here. So the boys are Rob, Justin and Jack and the girls are Jemma, Annabelle, and Mel. Guys, this is Phoebe Miller, the new girl."

She pointed to all the different people in turn and I frantically tried to remember all their names. Rob was quite tall and skinny, with brown spiky hair and a wicked grin. His face was covered in freckles and he had bright, blue eyes. He winked at me and I laughed. He seemed like a pleasant guy to me. Justin and Jack were clearly identical twins, both a little on the small side, with their only difference being their hairstyle. I guessed that was so people could tell them apart. Justin had his dark hair very short and all spiked up, while Jack's was in the floppy style with all the hair flicked to one side. They both gave me thumbs up, and then returned to scoffing down their food.

The girls were all very different to each other. This gang was really mixed up; there were clearly no separate cliques at this school. Jemma was wearing glasses and had her mouse brown hair pulled neatly back in French plaits. She waved politely at me, before carrying on reading her book that was open on her lap while she ate. Peeking at the book, I saw lots of complicated mathematical equations that were way beyond A level standard. I raised my eyebrows in shock. She was clearly some whizz kid! Annabelle, on the other hand, was sitting there with a compact mirror, touching up her lip gloss after finishing her food. She smiled at me, her white teeth gleaming under the canteen lights, and her long, blonde hair was shimmery and soft. She was incredibly pretty but didn't seem at all snotty about it. Mel was quite plain looking and seemed quite shy, but she had a kind face and gave me a soft smile when introduced.

Jo-Jo then tugged me up again and directed me towards the self-service buffet in the corner of the canteen.

"You go serve yourself. It's pretty straight forward. I just need to use the toilet." She ran off through a side door with the classic female sign on it. I grabbed a blue dinner tray and ambled around as I checked out what food there was to eat. I finally decided on the spicy chicken drumsticks with rice, and moved to take the serving spoon. Suddenly it was snatched out of reach by a person on the other side.

"Hey! I was just about to take that!" I muttered indignantly without thinking. Then I realised it was Mr Cooper. My whole body went hot and cold all over as he chuckled at me.

"Sorry, I didn't realise," he assured me, passing the spoon back over for me to take.

"No, no, no, it's fine," I garbled quickly. "It was a complete overreaction. You can take first."

"If you insist," he replied and slightly smirked at me. Why did I always end up acting so stupid around him? I waited patiently for him to finish serving and my fingers accidentally brushed his as I took the spoon from him. The spark happened again, the sudden electricity sending shivers down my spine. My eyes widened we stared across at each other in shock, almost lost in our own little bubble. His brown eyes looked warm and caring, but also deeply troubled. Then he cleared his throat nervously and hurried away without another word. I served myself in a daze, and returned to my table, letting everyone's conversations wash over me.

After dinner, I withdrew to my room alone, turning down the invites to hang out with the group on the basis that I was tired. Really, I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts. I pulled out my timetable from the drawer I had stuffed it in when unpacking. Studying it carefully, I realised I had Mr Cooper for Chemistry in the double period after lunch. Butterflies flooded my stomach at the thought, and I smiled softly to myself. Yes, I had resolved to try and stop this bizarre attraction to him, but he was totally irresistible and I wasn't sure I could keep it up much longer. Only time could tell.