Life As I Know It (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-six - Trouble in Paradise

          I kissed Drew goodbye as we separated to go to our different lessons after Psychology. We'd been a little over the top on the PDA, but I guess that's what a lot of couples were like when they first got together. We'd only been together a couple of weeks, but things weren't getting old at all. I saw no end to my craving for him, and it had got me thinking about sex. I'd never had any desire to sleep with any of my previous boyfriends. Deep down, I'd always known that we weren't going to last and that I wouldn't want to take that step. It was scary, but I really thought there was a chance that Drew and I could last. Our relationship wasn't superficial like all my others had been. It was crazy, seeing as we were still teenagers, but then again, my parents had been younger when they'd started dating. They'd been together for five years when they'd married and the marriage had lasted a further three until Dad died.

          Kelley and I headed to the English department and found our classroom. I took a breath as I walked in. The staring had all calmed down - thank god, but being in the same room as Mr McKenzie was bound to cause people to stare at us and speculate. I hoped it wouldn't be too awkward and that I'd be able to defuse the tension.

          Mr McKenzie was walking around the classroom and collecting pieces of homework when we both stepped in. Kelley and I hadn't made it to the lesson on Monday and we'd been suspended yesterday, so I hadn't really had the chance to see Mr McKenzie. I wondered what he thought about everything – after all, for a short while his job had been on the line.

           "Come on." Kelley propelled me forward, towards our chairs. The girl in front of us, Zara, turned around and immediately began prattling to us. Kelley nodded appropriately while I stared around the classroom. People were looking back at me. It was like they were judging my reaction to being here. Awesome.

          I was drawn out of my reverie when I heard Zara exclaim, "What a bitch."

          I turned to see what had caught her eye, and saw Maddy walk into the classroom. She sat down in a seat and huddled with Hanna and Brook. The seat next to me, where she'd sat in the past, remained empty. "Who even spreads rumours like that? I bet she's the one with the STD and screwing one of the teachers. She's such a whore, did you see that video? Apparently that guy in it emailed it to her," Zara continued, oblivious that it was in fact Kelley and I that had first seen the damn thing.

          I shrugged noncommittally and jumped a little when Mr McKenzie called the classroom to silence. "Right, so we'll be carrying on from where we left off yesterday. You were supposed to read the tea scene in Act II Scene II of The Importance of Being Earnest, so what are your thoughts?"

           "Sir, Ellie and I weren't here. We don't have a copy of the play," Kelley said, raising a hand. He looked towards us for the first time since we'd walked into the classroom. His eyes met mine a little uncomfortably, but he walked towards the cupboard near his desk and produced two copies of the play. "Here you go girls. I expect you to read where we're up to and catch up."

           "I don't have a copy either." Maddy also raised her hand.

          He got another copy for her and kind of threw it so that it landed with a thump on her desk. Maddy flinched from the impact though it wasn't even that loud. I hid a smirk. It looked like someone wasn't happy with a certain student spreading rumours about him. I didn't think he would be allowed to say anything pertaining to our suspension though, so he leaned back against his desk as he opened his copy to the appropriate page and then looked around expectantly.

           "Well? Surely some of you have read it?" He looked around exasperatedly. No one raised their hands and they all avoided eye contact. Ahh... that never works. It's like teachers have a radar and can tell who is completely clueless about what is going on, just so they could call on that person.