Chapter 2: WHAT HAPPENS IN SCIENCE APPARENTLY DOESN'T STAY IN SCIENCE
I stepped slowly over to where the rest of the group had assembled and stood to the side. Bobby, who evidently was in my group, came over to stand with me, “Must be fate,” he laughed.
“Yea,” I replied dryly, I couldn’t help it, just… fate? Come on!
“Is something wrong?” He had picked up on my harsh tone, “should I go or something?” He asked with a slight outline of sarcasm edging his sentence.
“No, I’m just… not really a people person, if you catch my drift,” I said making the inverted commas sign with my fingers as I said ‘people person’ He laughed and said, “Yes, I get that, it probably seems like I’m popular and I love the company of other people, but really, I like to write, and listen to heavy metal, but I like pretty much all music.”
“So, why do you hang out with all those people then?”
“I figured I have to make some sort of effort!”
“Oh,” I couldn’t be bothered with a full sentence, or in fact, even two words.
“So… Torrance?”
“Oh yeah, I just prefer it to Amberly, It’s more… Me,” I explained, then added, “And Nightingfail is basically just ‘cause of me being a failure.”
“Firstly, I like both names, but Amberly is a beautiful name and I think it does suit you pretty well, and secondly, you are not a failure! Don’t say it, don’t even think it, girl! If you hadn’t have been born, I would never have met you, and vice versa, and that wouldn’t be very good, in my opinion at least,” that was really nice of him, it made me feel kind of guilty for not making an effort, “I’m sorry, I mean, umm… Thanks, I won’t say it again, on one condition though,” He waited, looking into my eyes, which made me slightly uncomfortable, “ I get to keep the name tag,” I smiled.
“Alright,” he said sounding resentful, “and don’t be sorry,” He said in a completely serious voice, almost harshly, Probably something from his past, it made me think back to that pivotal few seconds when I decided to talk to him. I guess that he was my friend, but I can’t say best, that would mean that I actually liked him… and that would be pushing it a little. We walked together to the Science classrooms and he sat down right next to me, at the back. I got out the book I had made into my future Science book; it was covered in pictured and cartoons of Goths and anima.
“Nice book,” Bobby commented, just to keep up conversation, “where did you get these?” He pointed at a couple of pencil sketches.
“I drew them, truly,” I might have blushed, I’m not sure though. He looked at me and then back at them, impressed.
“Better hope we have art than, aye?” He laughed, but he was staring my drawings intently, to the point of it being slightly freaky!
We were supposed to be writing notes from the white board, Bobby wrote them all and I didn’t write any except the ones that the teacher had marked as IMPORTANT with a red marker.
At one point the teacher left the room for a few minutes, maybe ten and, as expected, everyone started to chat, mostly about how much they supposedly ‘hated’ all of this, but they all had grins on their faces so, I could tell that they were lying, trying to be cool I expect. In that time two things happened, first thing is that Bobby stared at me, I didn’t look over, afraid I would be encouraging him, but I could feel his eye line invisibly penetrating my skin, and second thing is that he tried to lean his head on my shoulder, when he did that I leaned away, I wish I hadn’t, but it was to… weird! I guess she must have been from Bobby’s school, but a girl saw and made a point of it, “Bobby! You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend! You should have!” She giggled and he turned to face her and replied, “I don’t have a girlfriend?” He seemed a little confused, but then I saw his eyes flash and a smile turn up onto his face. Thank god he denied me being his girlfriend though, I guess it was the truth though.
“Oh, sorry, I mean… scratch that Bobby, I forgot... ar… Well… You know I didn’t mean to say that… But you two would be cute!” She turned away awkwardly just as the teacher reappeared in the room and continued the lesson. When her back was turned though, Bobby’s friend threw a crumpled note on paper at me. I un-crumpled it and read: ‘My name is Elizabeth, please come and talk to me at first break, I want to tell you something, and also I would like to just talk! Hahaha cya xoxo,’ Strange enough for me, I figured that the ‘just want to talk,’ part was her way of saying ‘can we be friends,’ so I took Bobby’s anonymous ‘wisdom’ and decided to pretend I was normal.
First break came, I told Bobby to go see his other friends and I would be out in a few. I waited outside the classroom for Elizabeth, she walked out with her friends and we all walked to the end of the corridor. She said goodbye, or something that probably meant it. We walked out to the eating area, the playground they called it, and she stopped at the edge of it. She leaned her elbow on a tree and before speaking she looked into my eyes, but not with intensity, only interest. “So, the thing I need to tell you is that I think… well… I think Bobby likes you, but I’m not sure, so don’t go doing anything. And, umm… do you wanna, hang or something?” She hesitated to add the last part, but did uneasily, “Like, sit with me and my friends?”
“All right, if you want,” I agreed, hoping they wouldn’t be to…girly, and also I kind of hoped that they would be sitting near Bobby and his friends. They were. Both. But I overcame the girly-ness by Bobby; he came over from the wall he was sitting on with his big group of friends to sit with me. He sat right next to me, close enough to touch, I was aware of that closeness the whole of first break, but I didn’t go any further, pushing the rules. We talked while the girls talked and then the bell rang its long, monotonous ring, beckoning us all to go back to those grey rooms were no fun is ever held.
We all filed into the empty classroom, the teacher, Mrs Grifton, right behind us all. We each sat down, almost everyone in the same seats; it looked, to me, like it had already been decided, where everyone was sitting that is. We hadn’t even started High school! We had to finish writing the notes, I wrote down a few but not all of them, just as I was finishing the notes I did write, before our practical half of the lesson, I felt Bobby’s hand in mine, I looked at my upturned hand and I was about to look up at Bobby himself when he withdrew it. I saw that he had secretly planted a note in my hand.
The note read: ‘MSN: Bobby.pointe@ninemsn.com.au, talk to me’ I pocketed it; he saw and smiled. It was nice. We did our practical; I didn’t pay much attention to it. I was partnered with Bobby and Elizabeth and some girl called Amelia; Bobby did most of it, but Elizabeth, known as Liza, tred to help. We ended up coming second out of everyone, we won second prize of our choice, first prize chose the big block of chocolate, there was a roll of bubblegum and a packet of gummy bears left. Our group chose the gum. We all got a quarter, but instead of peeling it into strips, Liza cut the circle into quarters, but gum it was, so I was happy… enough. I have to admit though, most of the practical I was staring at Bobby… he must be umm… growing on me, yes, that is it…
We were to leave at the end of lunch, to go back to our “little,” quote some year 10 guy, schools and probably write a recount of our day at science camp. I decided not to think about it too much, so at lunch I sat down with my newly found “group” and ate my chilli chicken wrap. The buses started to arrive at half bell, the middle of the lunch break, everyone, including the principal, gathered in the bus bay, the principal, Mr Finn, gave another speech thanking us all for coming and engaging ourselves in the ‘amazing’ science program that Sunnydale High has to offer. He stood tall and proud when he said the two words that was the school name, it was pretty cliché. We all got on the buses, I was last in line, as always, and Bobby came up to me to say goodbye, but he hugged me, which caught me completely off-guard, but I hugged him back, I couldn’t help it, but it was just… instinct… I guess. “It was nice to meet you,” He whispered in my ear, it made me shiver, but I don’t think he felt it, impossible as it seemed, “I’ll see you next year, until then, beautiful,” and then he was gone, whisked of to his own bus, just like that, no explanation. On the bus I couldn’t help smiling, all the way back to School. On the bus, I talked to Kelly; she made me blush because she had seen Bobby and I. “You should have seen your face!” She laughed, but I could hear a hint of something else… Was it… No, it can’t have been… Jealousy?
I guess that I liked him, but maybe 'beautiful' was just meant as a compliment. I thought about the next year, High School, it would be okay, I guess. I would have my new friend group… and Bobby. Everything would be alright, or at least not as bad as I thought it would be.
That’s what I thought then though...
