The following Tuesday I walked into English slightly late and scurried towards my seat, eager not to be seen by the teacher. I considered taking the seat by the two girls but then changed my mind and smiled at Benny as I dropped my books next to him.
‘Not so fast,’ A stern voice told me, tugging at the chair I had just pulled out. ‘There’s going to be a new seating plan, so everyone get up and line up.’
The whole class collectively groaned and looked around like meerkats, trying to guess who they were going to be seated next to. I shrugged apologetically at Benny and lined up against the back wall with the rest of the class.
First to be seated were two girls I’d never seen before, but apparently they’d been in my class all year, they were seated towards the back because they ‘worked well together.’ Then a group of boys, whose lack of attentions showed clear evidence for the lack of brain cells within the clique, were separated. Each boy was placed at a different corner of the room and a quiet or diligent student placed next to them. The two girls from last week were placed in the middle of the room and I was placed in between them and Benny was sat right at the front because of his lack of focus during lessons. I was alright with the seating arrangements and I could see the board a lot better from there.
It didn’t do much for my concentration though; I spaced out ten minutes into the lesson and found myself doodling and drawing cheese moons with astronauts on trampolines.
‘He’s so got it bad for you,’ The girl next to me whispered.
I looked up sharply with a look of confusion on my face. She motioned her head towards Benny who was slouched over his desk, probably sleeping.
‘Benny?’ I asked in disbelief.
‘Yeah!’ she replied, confirming it.
I just gawked at her, perplexed by her suggestion. Benny didn’t ‘have it bad’ for anyone, in fact, he was probably in love with his next door neighbour or something predictable like that. I just shook my head and laughed off her insinuation.
After lesson I was walking out when Benny caught up to me and asked, ‘I don’t suppose you’ve got any more of those cookies?'
‘I’m not a vending machine my friend.’
‘Huh, funny. So listen, I was thinking, could you maybe come round later and help me with my coursework? I’m really struggling.’
‘The almighty Benny has approached a mere peasant for guidance?’
He obviously didn’t get the joke since he just stood there waiting for a reply.
‘Well, yeah I’ll be there.’ I told him simply.
He grinned and pointed his thumbs up at me and left.
That evening we sat together at his dining table and worked through his hopeless attempt so far, editing parts that needed more work.
‘I need a break,’ I informed him, dropping my pen on the table to endorse my point. It started rolling off the table and we both reached for it and our hands met and I pulled mine back swiftly. His palms were warm, damp and slightly sticky
Before I could stop myself I blurted out, ‘Do you fancy me?’ and then felt my entire face flush pink with embarrassment.
‘Oh, dear God,’ Benny replied in surprise. ‘Whatever gave you that idea? I swing for the other team, Jem.’
‘What?' I replied, shocked by his honesty. 'Great, so the first guy who I thought could see my potential turns out to be gay.’
‘Well actually, I’m bisexual,’ He corrected me.
‘So there’s still a chance?’
‘Not for you, dear,’ Benny said bluntly, and patted my shoulder before declaring the break over.
‘Yeah well, you’re not my type anyway,’ I told him, not wanting him to think I was all that into him.
YOU ARE READING
Love Letters
Teen FictionJ: I've been writing letters to a complete stranger and he's been writing back. Maybe a pen pal wouldn't be such a bad idea after all, my only friend has moved away and out of contact and I can't live without talking to someone, even if we've got no...
