Innocent

Chapter 1

“Daniel, language,” my father shot him a warning look.

“Yeah, but they can’t release James, Dad, even if he is on his best behaviour. He could be faking it just to come out and target his next victim.”

I couldn’t stand to listen to what my brother was saying. I know he is two years older and trying to protect me, but I really don’t need him to be talking like this about my friend. “He isn’t going to do anything.”

“How do you know, Ellie? He could do the same thing to you again.”

Tears swelled up in my eyes as a flashback rushed through my head, my screams being unanswered. I wanted to tell him that he wasn’t going to do anything. But I gave up a long time ago trying to explain to people what really happened. There was just no point in arguing. They wanted to believe what they want to believe. It’s something I don’t understand.

I turned away and decided to go sit in my room.

“Daniel, why did you say that in front of your sister?” I heard Mom say.

“Because I don’t want that bastard to do anything to her again,” my brother replied back.

I closed my bedroom door to cut out the noise coming from the living room. I grabbed my iPod from my bedside table. I switched it on and lay down on my bed. Music blasted through my ears once I put the earphones into my ears. The music calmed me a little. Since what happened I have been listening to music a lot to keep my mind off everything, just like how music helps James to keep his mind off everything. I wonder how he is coping without his music. I can imagine him going out of his mind without music being able to keep him sane.

I remember the day when Mr Harris assigned us as lab partners. I was upset that say because my cat had died the day before. I didn’t really want to be in school at all, but I had no choice to come, especially when it was the second day back to school after the summer holidays. I was just sitting at the front of the room next to this snobby blonde cheerleader who was staring at her nails. I ignored her and just doodle at the back of my science book, drawing a picture of my cat. I was half listening to Mr Harris. When he called out my name, I glanced up at him.

“Ellie Peyton, your lab partner is James Waters,” Mr Harris said.

I turned in my seat and glanced at James where he sat at the back of the room. Our eyes met. I tried to read his expression, but his face was unreadable. I turned away from him and began gathering up my stuff. Mr Harris then told us to go sit with our partners. I grabbed my stuff and walked over to him, sitting down beside him. I was kind of scared of saying hi to him so I didn’t say anything to him. He was the same.

I opened up the back of my book and continued with the drawing I was doing previously before Mr Harris had interrupted. From the corner of my eye I could see him watching me sketch, but didn’t say anything to me. Through the entire lesson we never said a word to each other and I felt horrible for not saying a word to him. I don’t even know why I didn’t say anything. I guess I’m just used to James never talking to anyone and I keep thinking that he wasn’t going to answer me back and stay silent.

I saw him in the afternoon near the bike rack. He unlocked his bike and looked up at me, our eyes locking again. It felt creepy with the way he was staring at me, especially when we never once laid eyes on each other before. James was the first to turn his eyes away from me. He got on his bike and pedal away.

I went home with James in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I kept wracking myself in the head and asking myself why I didn’t say hi to him. He might like it if someone said hi to him. He was in my Biology class last year. We had one person less in our class than what we had this year. James didn’t even have a lab partner and he just worked on his own. And this year I was going to be his lab partner. I have to make an effort to talk to him even if I have never spoken to him before.