Untouchable

Chapter 6

Year 7- Age 11/12

Ruth ducked and dived between the kids, trying not to get touched as she tried to get to lessons. She was the scrawniest girl in the year, but tall, with long brown hair and giant blue eyes. Noah was following quickly behind, but no where near as carefully or as delicately. But he managed to catch up with his best friend. They got to Maths and waited at the front of the line while the previous class emptied out.

                “Nerd!” Yasmin Carter shouted at Noah and Ruth as she waved her arse at all the older kids. She was an up-and-coming slag, even from the age of 11.

                “Ignore her, Ruth.” Noah whispered as they walked into the classroom, taking their normal seats in the classroom. She just sat down and looked at him. She was going through another phase of not talking to anyone at all, not even at home. As far as the teachers were concerned, it was just as well Noah understood her and was in every lesson with her to help her: he seemed to be the only person to be able to get through to her at all.

                “Ruth, you need to talk some time.” He whispered. She opened her note pad, specifically used to talk, in the loosest sense of the word, to Noah.

Talking is pointless. No one EVER listens.  She wrote angrily. Noah sighed. Moving into secondary school had caused to much upheaval and chaos for Ruth’s family, at least one panic attack a week, she wasn’t managing to deal with everything happening, changing about her, and changing into a new environment: a school near enough 3 times bigger than her primary school.

                “Ruth, if you keep acting like this your parents will move you to that school where I can’t be with you and you’ll be with kids who aren’t like these; they have more problems.”

                I am NOT going to retard school. She scribbled, stropping like a 2-year-old, not a nearly-12-year-old.

                “Then talk.” Noah whispered, snapping at her as the lesson began. Ruth looked a little taken-aback at Noah’s abruptness; that was what she did, not him.

                “Sorry.” She managed in a soft whisper.

                “Good.” He whispered back.

                “Ruth Anthony and Noah Hardy, stop talking and concentrate on the work.” Their teacher, Mr Maslow, snapped. Noah sighed. He hated maths, but he thought that was down to the fact that he wasn’t very good at it compared to Ruth, and she was brilliant at it, like she was with many of her subjects, but none as good as science. To Noah, Ruth was the most brilliant person when it came to science. That was her obsession: the three sciences; Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. Everyone knew that she was in a whole other league when it came to teaching her science, even talk of boosting her up a year, or encouraging her to sit the exams early if she wanted to so she could do all three for A Level when it came down to it, but first it all had to be verified, and agreed with, by her parents.

                The lesson ended and Ruth’s least favourite time of the school day arrived: lunch, followed today by her least favourite subject: double PE. As everyone began to pack away, Ruth just looked at Noah with pleading eyes,

                “I don’t want to.” She whispered as he placed his maths book in his bag. He zipped it up and turned to his friend.

                “I don’t want to do maths, but I do it.” He explained.

                “But it’s a double lesson that I’m not allowed to be with you in.” Her voice pleaded for some compassion, and Noah had none going spare for her. He hated it as much as she did.