Michelle

Come Together

As my second day of school passed by, I saw Paul again, frequently throughout the day: in the hallways, in between classes, and just lingering in general, alongside his pack of teds.

I remembered Em's advice on the bus, to never get involved with teddy boys. Just from the two minutes I'd spent in the presence of John yesterday, I could already tell he was a force to be reckoned with, and reminded myself to never get on his bad side.

By the time lunch came, Emily and I sat down at an empty table along the edge of the room; little did we realise who was sat on the table behind us.

"Oh my lord." Spat Emily, almost choking on her water.

"What?!" I whispered, patting her back to help.

"It's Paul." She said shaking me vigorously. "He's staring at you!"

"What?" I laughed, turning round to check.

"Don't look!" She shrieked, grabbing my shoulder with a sturdy grip,  redirecting my body.

"Why not?" I asked.

It was like a relapse from the Cavern Club the other night. It gave me a sort of déjà vu shiver up my spine.

"Emily, let's not do this again." I sighed, trying to ignore it. I really wasn't in the mood for round two.
"And anyway, it was you that told me not to get involved with teddy boys."

"Oh forget that." She squealed. "This is Paul were talking about here! They're not all bad."

"Well it doesn't matter Em, nothing is gonna happen." I said, taking in a mouthful of pasta.

"You sure about that?" She giggled.

"What?"

"Because he's on his way over here." She smiled.

And yet another serge of déjà vu passed through me.

"What do you mean he's on his way over here?" I hissed under my breath as composedly as I could, my body paralysed with fear. "He isn't actually leaving his table is he? He's not actually on his way over right?"

"Right." Chirped a bubbly voice in my ear.

I turned around gradually, almost afraid to look, to find Paul's smiling face beside me.

"Well then." Laughed Em.

Paul took a seat beside me, resting his arm around my chair nonchalantly.

"I was just wondering if Michelle would like to join me for lunch today?" He told Em. "I mean, if that's alright with you then I-"

"Oh no that's fine with me!" Interposed Em, completely ignoring my petrified expression.

I gave her wide eyes, and a subtle shake of the head to plead her no, but a devious grin formed upon her face and it was too late. Paul was already out of his chair, and had taken my hand in his eagerly, excited to take me to his table.

"This lads," he said seating me at his table of teddy boys. "Is Michelle."

My eyes fixated on the table, incapable to look up upon their intimidating faces; I could feel them all scrutinising me from head to toe. Though it was only my second day here, it wasn't too hard to figure out that girls didn't sit with them often.

"Michelle, this is John, George and Pete." Said Paul, pulling me up a chair kindly, and seating me.

From what I could see, by momentarily glancing up at them, George looked particularly friendly in comparison to the rest, yet not quite Paul friendly. Pete was sat, stone faced, and John was just as discouraging as I'd remembered. It was just hard for me to feel comfortable around him when I was so familiar with the presence of someone as perky as Paul.

"So this is the one our little Paulie has taken a liking to." Sniggered John.

"I never said-" began Paul, his face flustered.

"Now pet, I can see you're looking very uneasy there." Grinned John, obviously very amused by how timid I was. "But I'm not gonna bite."

"You sure about that?" I thought to myself.

John picked up the fresh, green apple sat in front of him and began tossing it up and down carelessly.

"I think I'm gonna call this one Shellie." He said to Paul.

This one?

Paul said nothing in return, I wasn't even sure he was listening. He seemed too fixated on me, anxious from my reaction to John. I'm almost certain he could see me tensing up due to discomfort, it really showed through the apprehensive expression on his face.

"Now Shellie." Began John again, catching the apple once more, then setting it down on the table. "Paulie was wondering-"

"Oi John, play nice!" Interrupted Paul, having finally tuned back into reality, comprehending what John was actually blurting out. "I want Michelle to feel more comfortable around us."

He turned around to face me again, his eyes fixated on mine.

"I was wondering if she'd consider sitting with us more often. I want her to get to know us better."

The table fell silent, and all eyes were on me in anticipation for some sort of response.

"Well then Shellie?" Grinned John, smugly.