Will now.
I hate Mondays. Even the word is horrible.
I mean, I think the teachers actually make sure they give me the crappiest subjects on a Monday to make it even worse.
So now I’m sat in double Maths with Lewis and a guy from my football team called Evan. The teacher keeps choosing me to be the victim who has to answer all the questions.
And what happens is I answer it right, and then he pauses, making me think it’s wrong, but I think he’s trying to work it out. Then he nods in this retarded way and turns around, scribbling it onto the board.
As it happens for the third time, Lewis snickers and then nudges me. “He attempted suicide last year.”
I frown, and look at him. “Lewis, what do you do in your spare time?”
He frowns along with me. “What?”
“I mean, a few weeks back you told me that Miss Farneworth went to jail for four months when she was sixteen. And that Mr Lehann was a cross-dresser.”
I hear Evan snort beside me.
I bite back a grin and then say to Lewis, “I mean, do you research their history or something online?”
Lewis laughs slightly. “Nah, I-”
“Mr Palmer and Mr Cruise. Would you like to share your wonderful Maths knowledge to the class?” he gives us a nasty smile. “Obviously, that was what you were both talking about, I presume.”
Before I can hold it back, I say, smirking, “Actually, we were talking about Mr Lehann’s cross-dressing habits.”
A few people laugh, and the others just stare, exchanging glances. The teacher’s face goes a nasty shade of green.
“Hilarious,” Mr Runcorn says flatly. “Your terrible attempt at humour has cost you your lunch time.”
Fuck my life.
“And I suppose Mr Cruise can join you,” he goes on, shrugging. Then he turns back to the board and starts writing what y equals.
Lewis rolls his eyes, and sticks up his middle finger at the teacher’s back.
I nod, and then look over at Evan, to see he’s smirking.
“Will!”
I turn around just in time to see Tai jogging towards me, grinning. He skids to a halt, knocking me backwards slightly against my locker door as he puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Hey,” I say, nodding cautiously.
He raises his eyebrows excitedly, leaning against his locker, next to mine. “We’ve got a basketball match, Saturday.” He pauses, panting slightly. “Mr Lehann just told me-”
“Did you know he’s a cross dresser?” I ask nonchalantly, smirking.
He frowns, cutting off. “What?” He smirks.
I laugh. “Lewis said. I think he researches teachers and their history in his spare time. But anyway, I have a detention now . . . What time is the match?” I ask.
“It starts at twelve. And-” he grasps my shoulder hard, “I gotta tell you something! Guess who took Zara Wyatt for a drive last night?” he grins.
I stare at him. “A drive?” I echo. “Tai, man, you don’t have a car.”
He shakes his head, waving it away. “How’s it going with Alyssa?”
I nod, raising my eyebrows. “It’s going good-”
“It better be!” he practically yells, cutting me off. “Because-” he drags me over to the notice board, “Look!” he jabs his finger into a large blue poster which says:
Year 11 Prom, Joint with the Girls’ School!
Friday 12th May, 8.30-11.30 p.m
Boys’ School Great Hall
Dress code: smart.
I hold back a groan, and turn to look at Tai. “Are you serious?”
He frowns. “Yeah!”
I raise my eyebrows, and pat his shoulder. “Okay. I have to go do my detention. I’ll see you after.” I start to walk away, towards the Maths classroom.
A prom. How on earth am I meant to ask Alyssa? It’s not like this is our big night to get together and everything for the first time. We’re already together. So it can’t be hard, right? All it is, is a question. Like how I asked her all those times to go on a bike ride or whatever when I was nervous and we were just friends.
No difference.
-
“So, Will,” my mum says, sitting down at the table opposite me. I’ve just got home and I have been sat at the table for the past ten minutes trying to do homework. After I had the detention today the idiot teacher decided to speak to the head of year and now I’m on report. That means I have to actually do my homework now because it’s being monitored. I have a yellow card that I have to take to every lesson and get signed by the teacher at the end.
But the worst thing is that my parents have to sign it too, every week, so now mum is asking why I am on report.
“Are you going to explain?” she asks.
I shrug. “I was talking to Lewis, and I got a detention off a stupid teacher.”
She raises an eyebrow disbelievingly. “You got a detention for talking? Oh, likely story, Will. Tell me the truth.”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I answered back. Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”
“It does!” she exclaims scrutinizing me. “Will, I thought I told you that you need to start behaving. I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you. I mean, I am fair. I let you go out, do what you want. All I ask is that you behave, yeah? And you haven’t been, Will!”
I huff, annoyed. “I try!”
“You know what me and your father have been talking about. You know what’ll happen if you don’t start working harder, don’t you? At the end of the year, when you’ve done all your GCSEs, when Leila’s going to university-”
“I don’t want that to happen!” I yell. Her and dad use this against me to try to make me work harder. Before I thought it was an empty threat. To get me working harder. But ever since I’ve been with Alyssa more, it’s sounded more real. Because I have more to lose. Even if it is an empty threat.
“I try!” I repeat angrily.
She shakes her head exasperatedly, her hair waving. She puts the card down on the table and sighs. “Will, you don’t try hard enough! Why did you have to answer back to the teacher anyway? To look cool?”
I hate her tone. It’s as if she’s mocking me.
“No!” I protest, standing up and putting my pen down. “Look, just leave it. You don’t understand and you never will.”
“You’re right,” she says angrily, raising her eyebrows as I walk out of the room. “I don’t! I don’t understand why you never learn, Will!”
I storm out of the house and slam the door shut, blocking her out. I just need a break. From everything. I wish there was no school, no prom, no Avril, nothing to get worked up about. I glance over at Alyssa’s house, and look up at her balcony. The door to her room is closed. I walk down the side path to my back garden, and then slide through the gap in the fence.
When I get to the pond area, Alyssa is there, sat with her back to me, still dressed in her uniform. I smile, digging my hands into my pockets as I watch her hair move around in the breeze, and then walk over to her quietly.
When she looks up, I sigh happily, sitting down beside her, and she beams, her eyes lighting up.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her onto my lap.
She smiles, closing her eyes, and leans against my chest, her fingers running over the buttons on my shirt. “Hey. You okay?”
I laugh at her dreamy expression, and stroke her cheek. “I’m alright. My mum’s been going on at me about how I’m on report though.”
She opens her eyes slowly, looking concerned. “You’re on report? How come?” then she rolls her eyes. “What a stupid question. You’re Will Palmer. What I mean is, what have you done this time?”
I laugh at her, then sigh. “It was just a stupid teacher who decided to put me on report.”
I wonder if she’s heard about the prom yet.
Of course she will have. The poster’ll be up and all of the girls will already be going crazy about it. According to Leila, girls wait their whole life for prom.
She raises her eyebrows. “Oh, Will. Be careful, won’t you? I don’t want you to get into a load of trouble. Please.”
I sigh, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at her. “I know. I try, Alyssa.”
She nods and touches my cheek, getting her point across. She’s telling me to keep trying. And I will.
For her.
For both of us.