Sam’s P.O.V.
I was standing outside mine – and Florence’s- homeroom class, on Monday morning at school. I kept glancing down at my watch, checking the time. It wasn’t like Flo to be this late. I tried to hear if she was perhaps calling out to me, but it would have been impossible over the buzz of chatter that came from the students which surrounded me.
With a sigh a leant back against the chewing-gum covered wall, my backpack keeping me off the gooey mess. It felt so strange without out Flo. She was my other half, the sister I never knew I had.
Normally she would be here by now.
I took another glance at my watch. There was a least ten minutes until homeroom started. I moved away from the wall and stood up on my toes, attempting to see over the heads of all the students. I couldn’t see her anywhere, but, I did see a streak of blonde which could only be Millie.
Without trying to think to hard about what I was doing I walked over to her. I was desperate to find out what was going on. As they say, ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures’. Florence always told me that I was full of old sayings. I guess she was right.
“Hey Millie!” I called out to her above the din.
I saw her head turn and a grimace pass across her face before she stalked off. I shook my head- why the hell was I bothering with this?
I ran to her, pushing through the crowds of people, and getting plenty of glares. It wasn’t my fault that the school corridors were so narrow.
“Millie!” I yelled.
This time she turned around and gave me a glare that would have made me stop in my tracks if I was not so set about what I had to do.
“What do you want loser?” she said through her pursed lips, the lip gloss reflecting the dull sunlight.
I had to hold in my anger, “Where is Flo?”
I clenched my fists behind my back. Why did Millie have to be such a horrible person?
“Why do you care brat?” she snarled at me.
I was about to retort – and rather rudely mind you – when Millie’s two friends pushed either side of me and went to stand next to her. They both had their school skirts up as high as they could go and their tops had a many buttons undone as possible.
“Is this little girl annoying you?” said one of the vultures, as Flo called them.
“We’ll be glad to rid you of this nuisance,” said the other friend, flicking her black hair high in the air.
I felt like I could have punched them both in the mouths at that very moment but I held back. I needed to find out where Florence was.
“I want to know where Florence is!” I tried to sound demanding but I sounded quite feeble in my ears.
“Why should I tell you?” Millie looked like she was enjoying herself far too much.
I could have groaned with annoyance.
“I want to know,” I said, attempting to look straight into the girls contact coloured eyes.
Millie smiled devilishly, “If you really want to know she left on Sunday night. She is moving in with her mum. Good riddance I say. I was getting sick of leaving in the same house as her.”
Before I could clarify what I was hearing was the truth instead of some freaky concoction of Millie’s mind, she had spun on the spot gracefully and waved her and her friends away.
I felt very strange. Florence had left without saying goodbye. It was very unlike her. Why should I believe something that excuse of a human told me?
However hard I would have like to have denied that it was the truth in the pit of my stomach I knew, deep down, that it was probably was. This only made me feel so much more alone.
I made my way to class trying not to get buffeted around by the mass of moving students.
***
School is so much more boring when you are alone. Usually you can make the days bearable when you can crack a few jokes. But you just look silly if you try to talk to yourself.
I ended up spending most of the lessons just staring out the window at the auburn leaves that were fluttering from the trees.
It was at some point during lunch that I regretted not having ever had a larger friend group. Flo and I had always liked to be loners together. Some of the girls who I was an acquaintance with would occasionally talk to us at break but not today. They left me alone. I guess out of Flo and me, I was the real weirdo.
When school finished I packed up all of my textbooks by myself sadly. I guess I would be walking home alone. It was going to be the first time in years that I had not walked with Flo. We had walked together since 5th grade.
I walked through the school gate slowly. What was the point of going home early? I would have nothing to do there anyway and there would be no chance of going to the park with Florence.
I was just getting onto the cracked pavement when I heard someone running up behind me. I didn’t think much of it; it was probably just a year 7 or some other idiot.
What freaked me out was when the voice came up beside me, “hey, can I walk with you?”
I must admit my initial reaction was pretty stupid.
I immediately thought stalker and swung around, my hands curled into fists. But then, as colour rose in my cheeks, I found myself face to face with a kid from my class.
“Wo!” he said eyeing my fists, raising his hands up innocently and taking a step backwards.
Relaxing my hands quickly I rose one to my mouth, “Sorry, I thought you were a stalker or something.”
He looked down at the ground, “I guess I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.”
“Yeah,” I replied, slightly embarrassed, slightly angry, “you’re Derick aren’t you?”
“That’s my name,” he said, “So can I walk with you?”
I couldn’t of anything better to say then, “I guess so.”
I fixed my eyes on the pavement and kept going, trying to ignore him. Why the hell was he talking to me of all people?
I stuck my hands in the pockets of my navy school shorts so that they would swing around. I remained silent as I traced the all too familiar path home.
I felt so weird with Derick tagging along. I usually avoided guys at all costs. I guess I couldn’t have stopped him coming anyway; he had to get home too.
When I snuck a glance at him a saw him walking contentedly, hands in pockets and his bag was hung over one shoulder. His silence made me wonder why he had wanted to walk with me. Surely he wanted to talk?
I was only five minutes from home when he spoke, “So Florence wasn’t at school today.”
He said it matter-of-factly and I raised my eyebrows, “and?”
“I was wondering if you knew why.”
“What’s it to you?” I said far too quickly, making him raise his eyebrows.
He remained silent for a few seconds, “I don’t think she has told you the full truth.”
His comment confused me. How could she not have told me the full truth? I didn’t even see her before she left. I didn’t talk to her. Most importantly why would she lie to me? I was her best friend. What was so big that she wouldn’t be able to tell me?
“What do you mean?” I asked Derick.
He grinned, “You’ve heard about the half-faye haven’t you?”
I was more confused than ever, “Who hasn’t?”
He didn’t meet my gaze.
“What does it have to do with Florence?” I asked, stopping in the middle of the footpath.
My house was only metres away.
“This may be a shock to you but I’m a government agent tracking down aliens.” He said pushing the strap of his bag further up his shoulder.
“Get real,” I said without even considering the possibilities. I was almost laughable.
“I’m not lying,” Derick said. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me such a look which told me he was telling the truth.
However I was still as confused as ever, “What has this got to do with my friend?”
“Faeries come from another world, they are aliens,” he said calmly and smoothly, “And I believe Florence to be a half-faye.”