A WEEK LATER, I had double chemistry on a Thursday morning with Mrs Rashid.
"Chemistry's too hard," Kopov groaned, "I like biology better."
"Oh shh," I said, "if I have to sit through two hours of Rashid then so do you."
Kopov pushed his dark hair back and pouted. "But I can't."
The door opened and Mrs Rashid walked in with a blank face. She went over to her desk and slumped down in her seat with a small sigh.
"Open your textbooks to page thirty-two," she said, her tone as dry as always.
Kopov leaned into me. He whispered, "You can just tell teaching is her passion."
I bit back a laugh. I pulled my textbook towards me and started flicking through to the assigned page.
"We're moving onto intermolecular forces," she announced and paused to let the class scribble down the new topic. Grabbing a black marker pen, she stood up and began scribbling on the white board as she spoke, "There are three types of forces that exist between molecules, Van der Waal's, permanent dipole and hydrogen bonding."
I propped my chin in my hand and tried hard to focus on Mrs Rashid. Five minutes in and I failed. My eyes wandered around the room, to the ceiling, outside at the skinny branches of the birch trees swinging in the wind and to Elliot Fintry.
He sat in the lab table in the far corner where the light flickered just for a quarter of a second. Leon, Chaudhry and Angeles sat with him, all three looking as bored as the rest of us but Elliot look bored. He looked pensive. So deeply lost in his own mind he didn't care to come out. He stared ahead, his eyes dark and unseeing.
"Am I boring you, Elliot Jensen?" Mrs Rashid said.
I jumped and looked up at herm
"No," I said, "Never."
"Elliot, you're sixteen years old now and in case you haven't notice you're also in sixth form. A Levels are a lot harder than GCSEs, you can't get a C or even D and above without putting in at least twenty hours of independent work after school. You need to listen."
I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I hated it when she did this. I nodded. "Yeah, I know."
"Hm. Good. I need you to go to the storage opposite D23," she said, "there's some pink revision booklets in the white plastic box on the top shelf."
"Yeah. Sure."
I think I did pretty well in keeping my voice neutral and resentment-free. I slipped off my stool and as I walked out of the room I could feel Elliot's eyes on me.
The storage room, right opposite D23 like Mrs Rashid said, was about three doors down the empty corridor. It was cramped and smelt of dust and old paper. I glanced up and spotted the white box on the highest shelf. I lifted my arms and rose up on my tiptoes. My fingers just barely grazed the box. I grunted and tried to somehow stretch higher but - nope...nothing.
I looked around but there was nothing I could use to step on. Being five foot three had a serious disadvantage sometimes.
"You okay?" Said an all too familiar voice.
I frowned and decided to ignore him. I stretched up onto my tiptoes again. I was close I just needed to reach a little higher. I sensed Elliot standing behind me then. A large hand, warm and smooth, rested on my arm.
"Move," he said, pushing me to the side.
He lifted his long arms to grab the box and his shirt rode up, revealing pale skin and the black waistband of his boxers that read Abercrombie & Fitch in white letters. I swallowed and wondered. I wondered if his skin was smooth as it looked.
Luckily, before I did anything stupid like actually reach out and touch him, he spun around and shoved the box in my arms. In that moment, I was so thankful for the dim lighting because I could feel my cheeks burning with warmth. I glanced down at the box. There were the stacks of the pink revision booklets Mrs Rashid wanted.
"Oh you're welcome, munchkin," he said.
I didn't have to look up at him to know he had that stupid smirk on his face.
I frowned, "I don't recall asking for your help."
"Oh c'mon munchkin, you would've broken your back trying to get that box if it wasn't for me."
I looked up at him then and what do you know, he was wearing that stupid smirk.
"Will you stop calling me that?"
He cocked his head to the side, "Stop calling you what?"
"Munchkin," I said, "It's annoying. I'm not even that short. I'll have you know I'm pretty tall for a short person."
He scoffed, "Right and Marilyn Monroe was my second wife."
My eyes narrowed, "Just a little a reminder, you still owe me two quid. I paid for your bus ticket last week."
"I don't owe you anything munchkin. I didn't tell you to pay for me."
I sighed. Jesus. I didn't have time for this. "Fintry - just - what the hell are you doing here?"
"I was heading to the bathroom but then I saw your little elfin self-struggling so I thought I would be prince charming and come to your rescue."
I stared at him for a second or two before I said, "Oh piss off."
I shoved past him and left the storage room.
Later that afternoon, I had a free period, one of the few times where I had no lessons and I had the chance to do my work (like the deputy head ordered whenever he found students lounging around) or chilling. O'Connor thought I was lame for choosing to actually do the work we were assigned. He was content with joking around with the other boys and occasionally annoying me.
I was in the sixth form common area, sitting on the plush sofas with Tam to my right and open textbooks and notebooks on the coffee table before us. I looked over at Jamie, he'd fallen asleep on the opposite sofa. O'Connor told me he'd been practicing the piano all night and had only had three hours sleep. Normally, I would wake him but he just looked so adorable when he was asleep, with his dark curls falling over head and his flushed cheeks. I smiled. Not to mention he would probably bite my head off if I did.
I leant forward, picked up the thicker biology textbook on microorganisms and dumped it on my lap. I had a neon highlighter ready for anything important I spotted. Rumour had it Mr O'Shea had scheduled a mock exam at the end of the month and there was no way I was getting anything less than an A.
"Hey, Tam," I said, "the body stops pathogens from entering the body using a mucous layer and - are you even listening?"
"Huh...What?" she mumbled, not paying any attention to me.
I followed her gaze. She'd been staring at Elliot for the past fifteen minutes. He was in the middle of the common room, playing snooker with Finley and Idris. Guessing from the fact that stupid smirk hadn't left his face since he started, Elliot was winning by a longshot.
"Tam," I said again. When she didn't respond I punched her shoulder.
She winced and threw me a sharp glare. "Ow! What the hell?"
"Stop drooling and focus on your work."
She pouted, "But he's just so pretty, El." She looked back at him, a soft smile pulling at her lips, "Like really pretty."
I rolled my eyes, "Wow."
"You said he was an arsehole but you didn't tell me he was a fit arsehole."
"The fact he's an arsehole should knockdown his attraction Tam," I said.
"I can't believe you guys live together," she said, her voice taking on a whiny tone, "This is like every girl's dream."
"Ew. Fuck no." I scrunched up my face. "There are more important things in the world than boys."
Elliot Fintry had been living in my house for over a week now. Nine to be exact and it was fun, fun, fun. We joked and laughed and danced in the daisy fields every day. It's not like every time we spoke to each other we ended up in a heated argument.
For instance, last night we argued over a cup. I'd gone into the kitchen to grab a drink and we both reached for the cup at the same time. According to him, it was rightfully his since he was a guest and the guest was priority. I looked at him like he was insane and told him otherwise. There were clearly more cups but it wasn't a matter of cups. It was a matter of principle. I wouldn't let that brat get his way and next thing I knew insults were flying everywhere. I'd distracted Elliot by splashing him with dish water and ran off with the cup.
It was a pathetic victory but a victory nonetheless.
"Shit," Tam swore under breath as her gaze swung back to Elliot. "He might just be the fittest boy in the school."
I snorted. "Don't let O'Connor hear you say that. He will actually cry." I shook my head, "Look, let's not talk about Fintry. We have work to do. Name three ways pathogens enter the human body."
"Isn't that GCSE level stuff?" she said.
"Just answer the question. It could come up in the mock test at the end of the month."
She sighed and said, "Uh, gas exchange system, digestive system and through cuts and broken skin."
I smiled. "Perfect!"
I highlighted a few paragraphs in the textbook and stuck a few post-its with my own notes next to the paragraphs for later. Believe me, when exam season came in May I would be so glad I did this.
"Hey, what...what, um, A Levels is the other Elliot taking?" Tam asked, just full on staring at him now. She wasn't even trying to be subtle.
I didn't look up from the textbooks as I said, "Why? So you can stalk him?"
"No, I'm just interested," she said a little too defensively, "So, what's he taking?"
"English Literature, Philosophy and Chemistry," I answered. If I didn't tell her she would never stop asking.
I'd had to be in the admissions office with him - why? I don't even know - when he chose his subjects. Elliot hadn't wanted me to stay but Mr. Grimsby, the head of sixth form, had insisted I do. He said it was my responsibility as a member of the student council to assist any and all new students.
Tam swiped one of my post-it notes and scrunched it up into a ball. She glanced at Jamie's sleeping figure and then at me, "How much do you bet I can get this in his mouth?"
I looked at Jamie. He'd moved around so he was lying flat on his back. His mouth hung open, one arm dangled off the sofa and other resting on his stomach. "Zero," I said, "he might choke and if he wakes up, he'll attack you."
She shrugged, "I'll just blame it on O'Connor. He does this all the time."
"Jensen!" Someone said.
I looked away from Jamie and over to the large double doors that led outside. Dane stood in the doorway with Astra, Kopov and Chaudhry. Dane stood before them with a football spinning in her hands. I could see O'Connor on the steps outside, flirting with a redhead girl in the year below.
"Huh?" I said.
"We're gonna play some footy," Dane said, "wanna join?"
"The field's still wet from the rain."
Chaudhry said, "Yeah but we're going to the netball court."
I glanced at my biology textbook and weight it against the pros and cons of staying in or going out and enjoying a quick game with my mates. After a few seconds of debate I shut the textbook and gathered up the rest of my books, I shoved them into my rucksack and stood up. I'd done quite a bit of work and I could always finish up the rest tonight. I checked the time on my wristwatch. Half-an-hour until lunch then maths and then I could finally go home and sleep.
"Hey, Tam, look after my stuff," I said, "I'm gonna play some footy and keep an eye on Jamie yeah? If Mr Grimsby catches him sleeping, he'll give him a detention."
She nodded, "Yeah, alright."
I propped my rucksack next to Tam and walked over to Dane. I grabbed the ball from her and started tossing it up and down in the air.
"Where's Goodwin?" I asked.
Goodwin was the goalie on the footy team and so I wanted him on my side if we were going to play.
"Isolation," Chaudhry said, "Mr Dadashev found him skipping Geography in the toilets. He's gonna be there all day."
I shook my head, "Jesus. Why? Why was he skipping class?"
"God knows," he said with a shrug, "I don't really question the things Goodwin does anymore."
"Fin!" Kopov called, "Let's go."
At the snooker table Finley had just finished another round with Elliot. He was still frowning, so I guess he was still losing.
"Okay, I give up," Finley said as he dropped the pole on the table and sighed, "I officially suck at this game. You win."
Finley and O'Connor seemed quite taken with Elliot. They'd quickly adopted him into the group. Finley said he loved Americans and O'Connor just liked new people. Elliot didn't seem too bothered by them. In fact, I think he was starting to warm up to them.
"Oi, Fintry," Dane said, "wanna play?"
"Oh no wait. What do Americans call it?" Astra said. She rested her elbow on Kopov's shoulder and grinned, "Soccer!"
"Yeah, wanna play some soccer dude?" Dane said, putting on her best American accent but she failed.
I spotted tossing the ball and glared at Dane. I elbowed her.
She threw me a confused glance, "What?"
"Don't invite him," I hissed at her and then much louder I said, "You don't have to come Fintry."
Elliot set the pole down and said, "No, it's cool. I wanna play some soccer."
I pressed my lips together. His dark gaze remained on me as he walked over to us. He stopped forward and leaned into me. The corner of his mouth quirked up.
"And plus," he said, his voice low and deep, "It should be fun kicking your ass."
My eyes narrowed. We stared at each other for several seconds, neither of us saying a word.
"Let's go!" Chaudhry said.
Elliot snatched the ball out of my hands and turned, following the others out of the common room.
Angeles was waiting for us on the netball court and we soon split into teams.
It was like this; Kopov, Dane, Finley and I were on one team. Chaudhry, O'Connor, Astra, Angeles and Elliot were on the other. We'd playing for almost twenty minutes and both teams had scored once.
Elliot, I discovered, was surprisingly good at football. Every time I tried to make a goal, he always managed to block me. He was good when it came to the long shots and key passes but he was pretty weak with his offside awareness. Although he was too cocky to admit it.
I rushed past Angeles and ran towards the bouncing mop of blond hair that belonged to O'Connor.
Once I was right by his side, I knocked the ball away from him and for a second I thought it might roll to the end of the court we'd designated as the goal post. But Elliot came out of nowhere and stopped the ball with his foot. Less than a second later and he ran in the opposite direction, shooting past Dane and dodging Finley with ease. I knew that I couldn't catch him so I decided to meet him halfway just past the centre circle. He came to a sharp halt when he saw me.
He rolled the ball under his foot. His chest heaved up and down as he puffed ragged breaths. Sunlight filtered through the oak trees surrounding netball court and landed on him. His eyes flashed up, locked with mine and we just stared at each other and for a second, I could forget he was an arsehole. In that second I could see just how gorgeous he was.
In that second, something odd happened.
Elliot smiled, soft and welcoming, and my heart squeezed in response.
"What are you waiting for?" O'Connor shouted, his voice shattering the trance. "Kick the damn ball Fintry!"
Elliot's smile shifted into a smirk. He turned to move, flicking his foot over the ball and I followed but at the last second he pushed the ball in the opposite direction and ran past me. He gave the ball a hard kick and all I could was watch as it flew into our team's goal. Kopov, O'Connor and Chaudhry rushed over to Elliot and high-fived him.
"Aha! Suck on that Jensen!" Chaudhry laughed.
I huffed and folded my arms over my stomach. Behind me someone clapped. I turned around to find Mr Clarke standing by the entrance with a wide grin. He walked over to us and introduced himself to Elliot.
"Are you new?" he said.
Elliot nodded, "Yeah."
"Okay, well, I'm Mr Clarke. I'm the coach for the sixth form's footy team," he said, "you're really good, you've definitely got some potential. Have you thought about joining? We could use with a good player like you since someone -" he glanced at Astra and she just chuckled, "quit the team."
My eyes widened, "Uh, I don't think he wants to."
Mr Clarke frowned, "Why not?"
"Because - because, he has other things to do," I said gesturing helplessly, "and plus I don't think he even likes -"
"Sure," Elliot said. "I'll join."
"Great!" Mr Clarke grinned, "Practice is every Thursday at half four." He checked his watch, "Okay, I gotta go but I'll see you there, uh, sorry what was your name again?"
"Elliot," he said.
Mr Clarke's eyes skipped to me and he laughed, "Wow, two Elliots on the team. This should be interesting. Well, it was great meeting you lad, I'll see you at practice!"
I threw my hands in the air as Mr Clarke walked away. "What the fuck?" I said, "So you just get magically recruited for the team whilst the rest of us have to go through a whole week of gruelling trials?"
Elliot glanced over at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Life's funny like that."