*Geek Boy*
The moment I left the library, I sagged against the wall, my breath vacating my lungs in a single solitary whoosh. I could still feel my heart beat thudding in my skull, rapid and erratic.
Saturday.
Ellie Kent, aka my seven-year-crush, was coming over to my house on Saturday. Ellie Kent. My house. Saturday.
After seven years, I'd managed to hold a half-decent conversation with my crush without completely humiliating myself. The entire time, I'd alternated between trying not to salivate in awe and being so completely frozen that the most complex thought I could manifest was: Wow.
Every time those thick sultry lashes brushed her creamy cheeks, my heart missed a beat. After every single stutter she made, all I was able to visualize was rubbing a hand down her back and asking what was wrong. Whenever she licked her lips, all I could imagine was pressing my lips to hers. And when she shot me that million watt grin, the grin I'd only glimpsed from afar for so many years, I was sure she'd stolen my soul.
There was no way someone could be that perfect.
For a moment, I shut my eyes, visualizing the past thirty minutes. In my mind I tasted her perfume in the air as I peered into those large blue eyes--the eyes that looked up at me as if I was her saviour.
Wow.
"Will?"
I blinked and straightened, turning to watch Catherine make her way down the hall.
"What are you doing out so early?" she asked, inclining her chin towards the library doors.
I stepped towards her, shrugging. "I need to give in that form to Mr Meyer." And get away from Ellie's dazzling smile. "Why are you out so early?"
Catherine stiffened. She locked her gaze on the wall behind me. "Er, Kensington lets the students out early if we finish all the work."
I frowned. She was avoiding my gaze.
"Anyway," Catherine said. "Come on. Lets give in that form."
Throwing one last glance at the library doors, I followed after Catherine. In my mind, I imagined Ellie's face, her pearlescent eyes wide in awe as I steadied the bookshelf. She had literally stood just a few inches from my arm. Heat had practically emanated from her body, raising goosebumps on my skin. Just a slight movement and our skin would have brushed.
Wow.
In another universe, a universe where I was a handsome jock, I would whisk her off her feet. I'd have taken that occasion in the library to ask her on a date. Then I would have rung her doorbell with a bouquet and chocolates. Followed by a night dining beneath the stars, it would have been perfect.
But that was another universe.
In this universe, Ellie was the beautiful girl who had completed a four-year dance course as a sophomore and, after trading study hall, happened to volunteer at the library I spent my last period at. She was the head cheerleader who had deigned to grace a geek with her presence.
I doubted she even remembered my name.
"Will. Will! Earth to Will."
I blinked rapidly. Catherine peered up at me, her mouth twisted into a scowl.
"Yes?" I asked.
She raised an eyebrow as she inclined her head towards the door to our left. "We're here."
I glanced over at the door. Through the window, I spotted Mr Meyer at his desk, scrawling on a notepad.
"Oh."
Catherine furrowed her brows at me. "Why are you so out of it today?"
An image of Ellie drifted into my head.
"I'm not."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say," she sighed as she leaned against the wall. "Two minutes till the bell rings."
I leaned against the opposite wall, staring at the ground. Even if I asked...would Ellie give me a chance?
My question was answered by the shrill ring of the bell. Almost immediately, two of Ellie's best friends, Gemma Henderson and Layla Chang waltzed out, flanked by several guys in jock uniforms.
The sparse hall seemed to shift at their presence even though they vacated it in seconds.
That was her crowd. I wasn't a part of it.
Catherine slipped into the emptying classroom and I followed after her.
Meyer glanced up as we approached his desk. "Mr Johnson, Miss Wilson, how may I help you?"
"I've completed the form," I quipped as I reached into my bag, pulling out the stapled sheets.
Meyer glanced at the form as he took it from my hand. "I suppose you didn't have to request permission from your mother?"
"No." Because she would have said yes.
"Excellent." Mr Meyer nodded once before turning his gaze to Catherine. "I assume you are also going?"
Catherine nodded, casting something rare: a smile, not a smirk. "Of course." She play punched me. "As long as Will takes a break from out-shadowing me."
I snorted. "I don't out-shadow you."
Meyer raised sceptical eyebrows. He pulled another form from beneath his desk, sliding it across. "Please return this tomorrow morning earliest."
Cath nodded, flipping through the sheets. "Who else is coming?"
"Nerissa Chang, Theodore Reyes, Lilian Fabris, several seniors and a handful of juniors."
Catherine raised a brow. "Lilian Fabris and Theodore Reyes? Aren't they sophomores?"
"Intelligent ones," Meyer replied.
Catherine grunted.
"Anyway," Mr Meyer said, leaning back. He gestured to the door. "If you two will excuse yourselves, I have work to complete."
I turned to leave the room, Catherine trailing behind me.
The hall was nearly vacant now, the majority of people having already made their way home.
Catherine whistled after several minutes. "It says here we spend one week in the dorms at Harvard and one week at a hotel."
"Hmm," I mumbled as I shoved the door open. The dim thrum of sound hit me instantly as my eyes ran over the people scattered around their cars.
I strode through the parking lot, following the memorized route towards my car.
"We also get access to all the food eaten by the dorm students as well as breakfast and dinner buffets at the hotel."
"Hmm," I quipped as I stopped next to my car. As I unlocked the door, my eyes scanned the parking lot.
"And there's this amazing..."
Catherine's voice faded away as my eyes locked on a ponytail of long golden hair floating on the opposite side of the parking lot.
Ellie was almost a ray of sunlight, the way she beamed. Her, Gemma Henderson and Layla Chang sat on the hood of Madison Jefferson's Honda, giggling as they took photographs on Gemma's phone. They all glanced up when Madison strode through the double doors, before dragging her into their pictures.
My eyes focused in on her smiling glossed lips.
She was so perfect.
"Will? Will? Will!"
I blinked and glanced back at Catherine. "Yeah?"
Catherine frowned at me. "Seriously, what is up with you today?"
"Nothing," I replied as I pulled open the door, entering the car.
Catherine groaned as she hopped into the passenger's seat. "Whatever Will. I think you should relax, all this schoolwork has fried your brain."
I grunted in reply. I pulled out my phone, feigning usage as I watched Ellie from the corner of my eye. After a few moments, the group crammed themselves into the car and the Honda drew out, speeding away. And taking my heart with it.
Sighing, I shifted my car into reverse and drove Catherine home. As she outlined the features of the trip, I daydreamed about Ellie.
Twenty minutes later, I stopped the car outside Catherine's house.
Cath hesitated, biting her lip. "Hey, do you think I could come over today?"
I shook my head, tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel. "I have to go to the advanced mathematics lessons at the university today."
Catherine's eyes widened. "Isn't that for Math PHD students?"
I nodded. "My mom wants me to start attending them. She thinks I should get a head start at a better education."
Catherine whistled. "Your mom is hardcore."
I nodded. "I guess." She never used to be though.
Catherine reached for the handle, then paused, glancing up at me. "Well, bye then."
She seemed to wait, as if expecting something.
"Yeah," I replied.
Finally, Catherine sighed and hopped out of the car. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her wave at me as I drove away.
*
It was nearly ten when I pulled into my garage. I leaned back, tiredly dragging a hand over my face. After a moment, I stepped out of the car, glancing over at my mother's silver Mercedes.
I locked the garage door before stepping into the house. The scent of boiled vegetables greeted me as I traipsed into the front room. I slipped off my shoes as I walked through the white tile hallway, heading towards the kitchen.
My mother stood behind the kitchen island. Her thin frame was still clad in her work clothes: a grey pinstripe suit and a matching pencil skirt. Her dark brown hair was lifted up into a tight bun on the crown of her skull, revealing her neck, a combination of thin pale skin and blue veins.
"Get cleaned up," she said. Her voice, thin and monotone, was quiet. "Dinner will be ready when you come down."
I nodded, even though she couldn't see me, and traipsed up to my room.
By the time I was downstairs, the table was perfectly laid out. Two plates loaded with food were set out on the table. My mother sat at the head of the three seats.
I took the seat opposite her, glancing at the one empty chair.
"How was school?" My mother asked after several moments.
I picked at the boiled vegetables. "Good."
She jabbed a boiled broccoli piece, slipping it into her mouth.
I stared down at my food. "Mr Meyer invited me to a mathematician's camp in Harvard taking place in a few months time."
My mother finally met my gaze. "Good." Her gaze returned to her food. "How was the University class?"
"Good."
She nodded. "Good. Also, I booked you some science revision classes for Saturday. I will email you the details."
I nodded in response.
"Along with that," she began, pressing her hands together, "I may not be present in the coming months. I have been offered a promotion that means I will be involved in a myriad of upcoming conferences. On some occasions, I will be missing for several nights in order to attend residential conferences in other states."
"I see."
In the resulting silence, I peered up at my mother. Her face was rigid and lined from years of stress and work. Her pale skin stretched across her skeletal frame, revealing violet veins. Her eyes, a mirror image of mine, were a pale vacant green. Beneath the thin layer of makeup she wore, eye bags sunk into her skin.
Before The Incident, her skin glowed, heating a colourful pink whenever she laughed or smiled. Her long mahogany hair would always be out, curling wildly along her shoulder and spine. Her eyes would always glitter like emerald jewels.
Before The Incident, education was just a portion of life. Important, but still just a portion. Afterwards: it was everything to her.
I parted my lips.
Stay home.
I want my mom back.
Instead of speaking, I gulped down the rest of my meal and excused myself.
As I shut my bedroom door behind me, I sighed. The silence of the house was deafening, seeping into every inch of the building.
I tilted my head to stare at the ceiling, decorated with the spectrum of stars and equations to work out their distances.
Was it always going to be this way?
A beep from my phone stole my attention.
The moment my eyes met the screen, a smile inched onto my face. Ellie had updated her Facebook with an image of herself, Layla Chang, Gemma Henderson and Madison Jefferson crammed into the backseat of Madison's Honda.
I smiled as my eyes scanned over her 1000 watt grin and glittering eyes.
Slowly, the tension slipped from my muscles. Whether she knew I existed or not, Ellie was my cure. Her smiling face always managed to take away my pain.
***
So, hoped you liked it ;) It should sort of give you an inside look at Will's education-centred life. Are you wondering what The Incident is?
BTW, this chapter is dedicated to DanDanNoodles for commenting and voting on every single chapter and for being awesome enough to give me a dedication :) (Thank you, you amazing person!)
God bless xxx
Yemi Everest