Thursday I wake up late, because, hey, I don't have school and I can do what I want. The sun shines through my window, and I'm glad the weather's nice for my suspended days. Last night Mum, Dad and I talked about what happened in the lunch room, but I didn't tell them how it all started, as it seemed ridiculous now.
So instead, I now focus on making the most of my four day weekend. Probably the wrong attitude to have when you've been suspended, but I don't really care. I grab my tattered copy of 'The Magician' from my bedside table and head outside with it. I lay on my banana lounge in the sun, still in the shorts and tank top I wore to bed. Life is grand!
I reach the part where Pug is captured by the Tsurani, and though I've read the book multiple times I'm captivated.
"Mum!" I hear someone cry, and it totally ruins the serious moment I was having with my novel. I peer over the top of my book, trying to figure out what is going on.
"Harry!" the woman from yesterday, Anne, calls, rushing out to hug someone.
I stare at them for a moment, and watch as they pull away from each other. Anne's son stands above her, with a head full of curls and - wait, Harry? No frigging way! I put my book down and stand up, staring obviously at my neighbours. They start walking, chatting away, and I can hear bits of the conversation as the volume rises. But as they make their way to the back door I see it clear as anything. My neighbour is Harry Styles. Anne is his Mum, and Joe is obviously a stepdad hence the different surname.
Anne opens the door, not noticing me, but as I'm standing there in my pyjamas, staring away, Harry just has to turn around and look at me. He brings his hand up to shield his eyes, and kind of half waves. I don't return the gesture, I grab my book and head inside in a huff.
"Of all the houses in England they could have bought!" I rant as I go back into my room. I throw myself on my bed, wondering how I will now survive the remainder of school when it is confirmed that Harry Styles lives next door to me.
"No!" I shout out, sounding like a lunatic. "No, I won't let him ruin my life. I don't even know him. Whatever! I'll just ignore him, and the stupid girls at school." I sigh and face plant onto my bed. "Or I could just stay here forever and rot," I mumble.
Mum gets home from work just after lunch, and she's surprised to see me still in my room at that time.
"What are you doing?" she asks in a sing song voice.
"Preparing to live out my days as a hermit," I groan.
"What's wrong?" she asks, sitting on the bed beside my lifeless form.
I shuffle around so my face is free from my pillow. "Did you know that Anne's son is Harry Styles, from that band One Direction?"
"She mentioned he's a musician," she says with a shrug.
"Yeah, well, he's a really famous one," I say begrudgingly.
"And?" she questions, not understanding how this has turned me into an emotional wreck.
"And all the girls at school know I live next door to a member of the hottest boy band around," I explain. "And that's how I ended up getting suspended." Mum stays quiet til I elaborate, she just rubs my back like she normally does when I'm upset. "All these girls I don't even know are coming up to me, asking to come to my house, just so they can catch a glimpse of him. Popular girls that hate me want to be my best friend because of him living there!"
"Sweetie, I'm sure this isn't his evil plan in life," Mum says as a joke.
"But why did they have to pick that house?!" I sigh. "Why couldn't it have been any other house?"
"Look, I think they're just looking for somewhere quiet to live too. Anne and Joe said they'd had trouble at the last place as a lot of people knew where they lived, and it was too much for them. I'm sure they'll keep low profiles and it'll blow over and be old news soon." Mum pats my back.
That's true, I hadn't thought of it like that. Trends come and go, and soon One Direction will be 'Which Direction?' when no one remembers them. So I just had to ignore it for now and not get suspended again.
"Feel better?" Mum asks, noticing my change in mood immediately.
"Yeah," I nod. "But I'm still not leaving my room until One Direction Infection is over."
Mum just shakes her head with a smile and walks out, but it's not long until I follow her out there. I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving. I do spend the rest of the day indoors, but in a considerably better mood than this morning.
Friday morning I'm up early, and I decide to go for a jog. It's really quiet around our area, and not that built up. I jog for about an hour, and get home just before nine. As I'm walking into my yard, some random guy comes up to me.
"You live here?" he asks, motioning to my house.
"Uh, yeah. Why?" I retort, slowing down a bit.
"What can you tell us about Harry Styles?" he says. "Have you noticed any girls around? What he gets up to on a daily basis?"
"What? Get lost!" I demand, going in my yard and shutting the front gate. My parents have already headed off for work, but I'll happily call the police if he doesn't leave.
"If you give us some good information, some good pictures, we'll pay you!" the creep calls out.
I ignore him and jog down my driveway, getting into the house and locking myself in there. Ok, so as if the crazed girls at my school weren't enough to worry about, I now need to steer clear of the paparazzi outside my own home. This 'Harry for a neighbour' thing wasn't looking any better.
After I've showered and gotten dressed, I take a chance and venture outside. I can't stay locked indoors forever. There's no one outside my place that I can see. I head for my banana lounge and lay down. I promise myself today no matter what happens I'll stay out here. I'm not going to be a prisoner in my own home just because I'm scared of seeing Harry Styles in my backyard.
Half an hour goes by, and there's finally some movement next door. Someone - I can only assume it's Harry - comes out, sporting shorts and no shirt. I try to concentrate on my book, but my eyes sneak up and glance at him every now and then. There doesn't seem to be any point of him being in the yard. He randomly wanders around or just sits on the outdoor bench, sunning himself.
His strange habits continue for the entire day, and I ignore him as best I can. I don't want to draw attention to myself, and I don't want to capture his attention. I tell my parents about this tonight, and they laugh me off, telling me I'm paranoid. He's just a regular kid wanting some relaxing time is what they tell me. When I tell them about my paparazzi attack this morning they say it's unfortunate but it should settle down. No help.
Saturday I go for a run again, not being bothered by the paparazzi this time, which I'm grateful for. Again I shower, eat, and then go read a book in the yard, because it's my favourite place to be. And again, Harry comes out shirtless to hang out in his yard. At one stage he washes the car that's there, and I swear if he could turn the scene slow motion he would.
"Hey!" I hear someone call out. And I startle myself, I must have dozed off. I ignore it, trying to keep my nose out of my neighbours' business. "Excuse me, girl reading book!"
I bring my book down and peer over the book, noticing that Harry is standing at the fence line, staring in my direction.
"Yes, you!" he says with a laugh.
I take a deep breath and lay my book down, wandering over lazily. "Yeah?" I say once I'm there, and I know it's rude, but I can't help it.
"I'm Harry, your new neighbour," he says, extending his hand to me.
"No joke!" I shoot back sarcastically.
Harry just grins, not affected by my sharp tone in the slightest. "I just wanted to say hi."
"Hi," I say, my voice flat.
"Did I do something in the zero times we've talked before to upset you?" he asks.
I drop my left hip and fold my arms, something I do when I'm annoyed. "No, it's all fine and dandy," is my sarcastic reply. "But your little paparazzi friend was real great to meet yesterday."
Harry groans. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise."
"Oh, you didn't realise that when you bought a new house that you'd be putting neighbours under paparazzi attack?"
Harry looks taken aback. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry, the paparazzi is the least of my problems," I reply truthfully. "It's the teen girls at my school begging to be my new best friends that's the worst part. Thanks to you I have the choice of any girl at my school to come and hang with me each weekend. Oh and I should also thank you for getting me suspended!" I finish my rant.
"Whoa, ok, don't know where that came from," Harry raises his arms defensively. "I was just trying to be nice and say hi. I didn't realise I'd gotten you into so much trouble by living in a house and doing nothing."
My face knits up, annoyed at his carefree attitude, and it takes me a minute to respond with, "Well, why'd you have to pick the house next to mine to do nothing in!" And then I storm off.
So now here I am again, locked in my room, wishing I could move far away to Antarctica.