A Suicidal Boy and the Girl Who Could Read His Mind

04| oh no, not you again

OH NO, NOT YOU AGAIN

if you're out on the road,

feeling lonely and so cold,

all you have to do is call my name,

and I'll be there on the next train...

Laura couldn't help but smile as the theme song of her all-time-favourite TV show played out, and she was sure other's around her noticed her grin and were somewhat curious as to what she was looking at. It definitely wasn't the math question that was currently displayed on the board. No, she'd lost that battle about half an hour ago, when her eyes first set on the problem. She gave up. Maths was a losing game for Laura, she was never gifted with the left-brain type subjects. Literature and Design were more her styles, which is why it was so unfortunate that the school didn't offer Design as a course. Apparently, not enough people picked it as a co-curricular last year and eventually, they just dropped it entirely.

She was quite happy sitting in the back of the class, her eyes focused heavily on Rory and Lorelai as they journeyed through life as the ideal mother-daughter duo. Laura was always jealous of that, not the fighting and squabbling, but of the closeness. The tight-knit bond they share, so intimate that no one dared touch it for fear of letting it shatter. As seen in season five, relationships are delicate. Laura's mom was...well, how do you describe someone who watched you grow up, but doesn't (and probably never will) understand or accept you?

Though it was marginally different, she began to understand what 'coming out' must feel like, but instead of it being her sexuality, her entire being was called into question. Her credibility as a human, all cards on the table. A pure state of vulnerability, that was what it felt like when she told her parents about what she could do. Laura had never felt more afraid in her entire life than the moment she uttered the words, "mom, dad...I think something's wrong with me."

They didn't believe her. Not that she blamed them. Of course, they didn't believe her. She was ten. What parent trusts the word of a ten-year-old saying she has powers, but even so, part of her still knows they refuse to accept what she is. They know it's true, but they refuse to admit it to themselves for fear of what it will do.

"Oi! Harry, chuck it here bro!" A feral teenager yelled from one side of the room to the other. Laura rolled her eyes and focused on the lesson passing her by.

"Oh no, not you again." A masculine voice sounds from above. Laura takes an earphone out and quickly closes the Netflix tab, in fear of a teacher seeing. She looked up, recognising it wasn't a teacher, she let out a sigh of relief.

For a moment, she was fine. Then, her throat seized up upon realising it was 'the coffee guy'

Dear God, no.

"Oh," the word came out as more of a croak than anything else, so she cleared her throat, "yes, me again. I'm afraid."

He stared at her, unblinking and unbothered by the confrontation.

"I'm not holding any coffee this time." Laura pointed out, "so, um, no need to worry?"

"What's your name?" His voice is hoarse and rough as if someone has run a dull knife across it.

"Laura. Are you new here?" She asked.

"Yes," Laura expected him to offer up more information, but he moved on swiftly, "I'm Oliver, but my friends usually call me Ollie."

"Okay," she smiled awkwardly, "well, it's nice to properly meet you, Ollie."

He shot her an over-the-shoulder glare, "You aren't my friend."

Laura suddenly didn't feel so bad about spilling coffee on him anymore.

authors note:

well, it's safe to say the new guy's got some attitude. kinda proud of pumping these chapters out so quickly and to this standard as well.

usually takes me a lot longer to produce high-quality content but today, idk I'm feeling good!

end-of-chapter-question: are you a fan of Gilmore Girls?

mads 🌻