The Valiant Sea

Shopping, bullies and garden.

"That's the last thing," Mrs Winston says, ticking cement off her shopping list in her sizeable notebook.

I hold in a sigh of relief as she says this, it's been a big day buying all the stuff for their house. There is only so much you can take of shopping.

Especially if its all at a hardware store.

After we got dressed at the Winston's this morning, Cam and I piled into Mrs Winston's car (a yellow VW Bug, my dream car), Sam refused to come with us, I wonder why? I'm actually kind of relieved he didn't come because though after our little "bonding session" this morning, my thoughts on him have changed, but I just can't get over my gut feeling. I just can't trust him. Not yet. He still scares me.

"Finally," Cam mutters, as he plonks the cement bags on our over filled trolley. His mutter earns him an almost dirty look from Mrs Winston.

"What did you say dear?" She asks, acting like she didn't hear even though we all knew she had.

"Nothing mother," he replies, acting innocent by crossing his arms behind his back and whistling.

"I should hope so," she says, though she tries to act serious, I could tell she was hiding a smile.

I just laugh in the background at the two of them, Cam started to push the trolley towards the front of the store towards the registers, his mother following him closely. When they hear my giggles they both turn their head in unison giving me identical glares. That just makes me laugh more. Then they turn their heads forward and shake their heads at the exact time, I turn hysterical, as I walk behind them my laughter fills the massive warehouse and I earn a few strange looks.

By the time we reach the counter my laughs had resided and I was just smiling widely. But that smile quickly vanishes when I see who is working at the checkout.

Gabriel Hayes.

My heart literally plummets through my feet and far into the ground below.

One of my many bullies at school. Apart of a gang. His brother is the worst of them. Steven Hayes. All of them are out to get me. I just try to avoid them at all costs.

I hate the lot of them, I hate- Oh God, a wave of realisation comes upon me that Gabriel belongs Daniel' s gang! How could I forget that his band of jerks make my life miserable? Daniel is head of the group and the most popular guy in school... How could someone who is so nice to me (who maybe the only one as school I don't hate -apart from Cam), have control over a group who enjoy making my life a living hell? But I suppose he is never really around for all the bullying, he spend the remnants of his time with his girlfriend, Rachael Gray. Another person who enjoys making me sink into depression, She acts sickly sweet around Daniel but has a terrible habit of bashing me up in the girls toilets or pushing me against the lockers whenever he happens to be studying or actually hanging with his band of thugs... What ever chance she and her cronies get, she gladly takes.

Since it's the holidays and late in the afternoon, next to no employees are working the register at the hardware store, so Gabriel's the only one working at a cashier.

No other choice but to go to him.

Shit shit shit.

Mrs Winston and Cameron don't notice me lagging behind them and trying to hide from Gabriel's view. I'm not very good at being subtle and hiding from people... I try and hide from Gabriel's view behind Cameron, but to my luck Cam faces sideways to look at something on the counter. That's when I feel Gabriel's cold eyes on me, cutting into my head, so I pretend to go over and look at what Cam is looking at to get out Gabriel's view.