Heat

by Elizabeth Caroline

  CHAPTER 10

  I overslept the next morning still tired from the nights flight with Charles, but it didn't take long to pack everything I would need for the day and as I didn’t have an appetite for breakfast, once I had showered and dressed I was ready to leave.

  “It's Ok, I'll drive you in and explain to Mrs Stevens.” Charles assured me when he saw me rushing down the stairs with my rucksack on.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked but quickly realised that he had not long woken up himself from the sleepy expression on his face. “Never mind.” I said and sat down on the front room sofa while I waited for him to get ready.

  By the time we arrived at school and had checked in with Mrs Stevens to receive my timetable it was lunchtime, so I made my way down to the canteen hoping to bump into Solomon or Emily on the way to help extinguish the anxiety that was bubbling in my stomach.

  The canteen was a large hall filled with noisy students, some sitting in groups around the various lunch tables; eating and talking loudly and others wandering around with small trays of food simply minding their own business. It was quite similar to the beehive I'd studied once, rowdy and busy.

  “Claudia.” A girl shrieked as I looked around the canteen. I turned to find Emily rushing towards me dressed in a bright pink top, loose and flowing down her small figure, topped with a shiny silver statement necklace, so perfectly assorted to that happy smile of hers. “I’ve been looking out for you, Solomon told me you should be starting today. I thought you’d changed your mind.”

  “No, I was running a bit late this morning.”

  “For real? You were late on your first day?”

  “Yeh, I guess.”

  “Not the best way to start, is it?” Emily giggled.

  “I don’t know, I could think of worse ways.” I said.

  “Really?” Emily said her eyes widening with excitement. “Like?”

  She watched me with her deep brown eyes full of curiosity and innocence, waiting for an answer. She reminded me of Becky; someone who enjoyed gossip and was very excitable. Deciding not to excite her too much, I faked a small laugh but didn’t answer. “So, what’s your next lesson?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

  “Oh. Maths!” Emily replied rolling her eyes.

  “You don’t like maths?” I asked.

  “Does anybody?”

  I do, I thought. Maths was actually one of my favourite subjects, along with science. I shrugged my shoulders to appear indifferent although I wasn't too sure why Emily would assume maths to be most people least favourite subject.

  “Solomon said we're in the same grade, so we might have a few lessons together.” she said.

  “Really!” I said, staring a bit harder at her. “You're in tenth grade? I thought you were a lot younger than that.”

  “Oh, great.” she said, scrunching her nose disapprovingly.

  “It's a compliment, really! One day you'll be happy you look younger than you are.” That's what I'd heard people say anyway.

  “Yep. And until then, I guess I should be happy that I look like a twelve year old.”

  She really did look like a twelve year old and acted almost that age too, but there was something particularly endearing about youthfulness. “It's not that bad.” I said nudging her playfully.

  “Yeh. That's probably why I always get away with things. I've got that cute factor.” she chuckled and batted her eyelids. I couldn't help but to laugh with her, Emily was quite cute in a little girl kind of way and she seemed like someone who could find humour in most situations. “Where're you sitting?” she asked as she picked up a tray and went over to the serving counter.

  “Err, I don’t know.” I answered slightly puzzled by the question. In my previous school the canteen was arranged in a way where each class had their own section, although people would sometimes sneak into other sections if they had friends in different classes, but I hadn't been told about any similar situation by the principal. I looked around the canteen to see if I could notice any order to the how the students were seated. “Is that something I was supposed to have arranged beforehand?” I asked.

  “No, silly.” Emily said bursting into a fit of laughter. “I just meant do you already have arrangements, or did you want to sit with us?”

  “Who’s us?”

  “Me, Solomon and a few friends. We normally sit together at lunch, third table down on the left.” She said pointing to a table where a boy and two girls sat.

  “I don’t see Solomon.”

  “Yeh, he always runs late for lunch. He’s really into his football thing, so a lot of the time he’s running some kind of errand for it.”

  “Oh.” I nodded as I remember the previous meetings I'd had with Solomon and how he was concerned about Charles coaching his team on both occasions.

  I put my tray down at the food counter, looked over the selection of food and smiled; it reminded me of the food cart that was sent to my room at the facility. I picked up a spoonful of mashed potatoes and a spoonful of peas, and then poured a ladle of gravy over it. Just missing some Brussels sprouts. I thought laughing to myself.

  “I’ve never seen someone so happy about mashed potatoes and gravy before.” Solomon's voice said as he came up beside me.

  “Oh,” I said suddenly feeling embarrassed when I saw the bemused look on his face “I guess I just like mashed potatoes.”

  “That’s cool. It’s nice to see some girls still like the simple things in life.” he said. I glared at him wondering if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, but he didn't say anything that would convince me either way, he just smirked shyly and then walked over to the fruit counter.

  I waited a short while pretending to arrange the items on my tray, and a warm feeling rippled through my stomach as I tried to figure out what he meant, surely someone liking simple things was a good thing and Solomon didn't really seem like the type of person who made sarcastic comments.

  Why should I care what he meant? I scolded myself quietly and picked up my tray to follow behind Emily. Although I didn’t want to invest too much attention into Solomon, I couldn't help throw another look back to him. He was still standing at the fruit counter with boy who looked a fair bit younger than him, who was talking very excitedly. As the boy talked, Solomon ran his fingers through his sand-coloured hair, trying to tame the few wild strands which, in the end, just stayed the same. I almost smiled, but instead chewed on the inside of my lip just as a row of freshman girls walked by him giggling quietly as they passed. Solomon looked over and cast them one of his sweetest smiles, a mischievous gleam playing in his blue eyes.

  Typical! I thought as I shook my head then looked back to Emily who was now walking towards the table she had pointed out earlier.

  “Hey guys.” She said when we reached the table. “This is Claudia.”

  “You’re Mr Williams’ daughter, aren't you?” The first girl said, speaking in the same excited manner that Emily did. “I'm Stacy and this is my sister Susanne. We've heard so much about you.”

  “Really? From who?” I asked.

  “Everyone!” she answered giggling, she nudged her sister next to her who simply nodded, and so she rolled her eyes and carried on laughing. She was a pale girl who was quite small for someone her age with bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair that bounced as she laughed. Her features were almost perfectly proportioned and she reminded me quite a bit of one of the porcelain dolls that Dr J had once bought me. The silver hair band she wore reflected the glow from the lights above, creating the impression of a soft halo around her blonde curls, giving her an almost angelic look.

  “This is Martin.” Emily said putting her hand on the shoulder of the boy sitting opposite Stacy's sister. He was an oriental looking boy with light brown eyes and black straight hair that looked like he spent a long time styling. He was reading a magazine and didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the fact that we had just arrived at the table until Emily called his name again.
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  Martin smiled and raised his forefinger to his forehead in some kind of salute gesture, then he looked back at the magazine he was reading.

  “Don't worry about him, he likes to think he's cool.” she said quietly and then ruffled his hair.

  “Hey” he shouted, quickly straightening up in his chair and patting his hair back into place.

  “You can sit here.” Emily said pulling out a chair next to Martin and then she too sat down at the other side of him, opposite Stacy. I sat down and looked around the table.

  So this is lunchtime for the next two years, I thought.

  Emily and Stacy were soon in a discussion about last night’s episode of Pop Icon, Martin read through his magazine and Susanne, who looked like a slightly older, much more serious version of her sister, just sat quietly with a bored expression on her face and ate. I sat quickly eating my food slowly and listening to Emily and Stacy's ramblings.

  I couldn't make out what felt so different about school now compared to the last time I went. The only conclusion I could make was that it wasn't the school that was different at all, rather I was different. Maybe, if things had been different, I would have turned out pretty much like Emily, with Becky sat by me giving me her verdict on the best dresses and hairstyles in last night’s Pop Icon.

  I cringed at the thought, not that I had anything against Emily, she seemed like a sweet enough girl. I guess I'd just learnt enough over the years to realise that all the pomp and glitter that life tried to distract you with was really just that, a distraction. Yes, there really were more important things in life than pretty dresses and ...

  “Hey, Soli.” Emily called out breaking me from my inner rambling.

  Solomon nodded as he approached the table followed by two other boys. He pulled out the chair next to Susanne - opposite to where I was sitting. “This is Peter and Michael.” he told me as he sat down, gesturing to the two boys who sat down beside him.

  “Hi” I said, glancing over the two boys.

  Peter, possibly a seventeen-year-old looked about fifteen years old, and was too busy toying with a small games console to even say hi, he simply nodded his head and then continued playing. Nobody seemed to have expected anything else giving the impression that he was always as quiet. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and although he was wearing a letterman’s jacket similar to the other football team members, his small figure made it almost impossible for me to believe that he was actually on the football team.

  Next to him, with a huge smile on his face, was Michael. He looked the same age as Solomon, and was a member of the football team as well. He had dark skin, brown eyes and the most contagious smile in school. What is it about people in Westpoint and smiling? I thought.

  “Hey, nice to meet you.” Michael said, and then he glanced over at Solomon and chuckled quietly. A pang of annoyance ran through me and I frowned slightly as I tried to figure out what he was laughing at.

  “How are you enjoying your first day?” Solomon asked.

  My gaze diverted back to Solomon who was, as always, smiling. “I’m not sure, I just arrived.”

  “You were late on your first day?” Stacy said, which startled me slightly as I didn't even realise she was paying attention. “I read that Elizabeth Dale was always arriving late to school. Apparently she hated school, always knew she was going to be a singer. You’re not pulling an Elizabeth Dale on us are you?”

  “Elizabeth who?” I really had no idea who she was talking about.

  “O.M.G.” she said emphasising each letter, “You don’t know who Elizabeth Dale is? You do have a TV, don’t you?”

  “Yep. But I also have a life, you know?” I said flatly. Susanne looked up from her plate for the first time with a smile on her face.

  “So good to have someone normal join the group.” She said.

  “Thanks” I responded smiling back at Susanne.

  The rest of the lunch break went by quite quickly. Stacy and Emily continued their discussion about Pop Icon, which at some point must have become too much for Martin who got up and pulled up a chair next to Peter and Michael to watch them play their games console, and Solomon, Susanne and I exchanged small talk, with Solomon randomly looking over at the boy’s games and offering tips.

  When there was around 10 minutes of break left Susanne got up, gave an apology for rushing off and left the table. This seemed to remind everyone else that break was almost over. So next, Stacy and Emily, still engrossed in conversation, bid farewell to the rest of the group and left.

  “What lesson have you got?” Solomon asked me as I looked through my work journal.

  “History.” I said showing him my timetable.

  “Oh, we’re in the same block. I’ll walk with you.” He said gesturing to his friends to walk ahead, “If that’s Ok?”

  “Yeh, sure.” I answered, “I don’t really know where I’m going anyway.”

  “Well, I’m happy to help any time” he said.

  “What lesson do you have now?” I asked.

  “French.” he said. I let out a small laugh as I thought back to the previous night, of which I had spent most of in France. Solomon looked at me curiously, but didn’t ask why I was laughing, instead he just smiled, reminding me of the conversation I'd had with Charles about my mother always being happy. Is that why Solomon smiles so much? I wondered.

  Unlike yesterday his eyes had taken a sombre turn, a deep, dark blue that instantly relaxed me. Peaceful like a calm ocean; in fact his whole countenance seemed happy and content. He had made me feel a little uneasy at first, not knowing why he was being so nice all the time. From my experience, most people were only nice when they wanted something. I wondered if this was true of him also, or if he could possibly be one of the ones I could trust, as Charles had said I would find.

  “I’ve always wanted to go to France. Have you ever been?” he asked.

  “Yeh. Not too long ago actually.” I said chuckling a little.

  “Looks like you had a good time.” he said.

  “Yeh. It was fun.”

  “Who'd you go with?” He asked, the expression of a child awaiting a test result crossing his face and he looked away, slowing his pace a little.

  “Just me and my dad.” I said as I tried to catch his gaze to see if I had done something that had offended him.

  “That's nice.” he said, his usual smile reappearing. He put his hands into his pocket and looked down at the floor as we walked. I was tempted to ask a question, only to hear him speak again. Of all the people I had met so far at school, he was definitely the only one who had incited curiosity in me but, of course, I had no idea of how to instigate a conversation without appearing too interested so I too walked in silence next to him. When we reached the bottom of the hallway he stopped and pointed towards one of the classrooms “This is you.” He said.

  “Oh. Thanks” I said.

  “Just in case I don’t see you again today, I was wondering if you’re busy tomorrow. Normally we all go down to the juice bar after school on a Friday. Would you like to come?”

  I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to experience the whole lunch hour again outside of school, but it would give me an opportunity to get to know more about him at least.

  “Okay.” I said.

  “Great, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He said before turning to head back down the corridor.

  Maybe Charles did have the right idea about me starting school, I thought smiling to myself as I entered the class.

  CHAPTER 11

  Over the next few weeks I quickly adjusted to my new routine of going to classes and waiting for the end of day bell that signified home time. Lunchtime was spent around a canteen table with the same group of people every day, and even though I was asked a lot of questions, I rarely instigated any conversation about myself. Although I didn't speak much, I did enjoy watching the exchanges between my lunchtime companions, of which Emily and Stacy took front stage. They were both very sweet girls, who on face value seemed like
the type of airheads you'd find in one of those high school movies, and if you didn't look closely enough they were easily underestimated. I still hadn't decided if their airhead routine was done deliberately or not.

  As they were the loudest, their rants about pop stars, make up and fashion normally dominated the table, to the point that I wasn't even sure why Solomon and his friends would bother to sit with them. For the most part I ignored their conversations, but there were times when they shared some quite sensible advice.

  Martin was also a regular at our table, he was a quiet boy who spent most of his time reading magazines, and occasionally he would sit among the cluster of Solomon and his friends. Martin was also Emily's neighbour, they had known each for a long time and had the strangest connection; they always seemed to be in sync with each other even though they had very different personalities. He didn't talk much and had the slightest twang of an accent when he did. I had been told that he was bullied in their earlier years due to having a strong Korean accent and although his accent had died down a lot I understood why he only really held long conversations with Emily, who apparently had beaten up most of the bullies, hence their friendship. The Emily of today however portrayed herself as quite a different person to a bully handler and I wished I could have seen her in action.

  Then there was Stacy’s older sister, Susanne, who was in the same year as Solomon. She was the type of person who didn’t really talk unless she needed to and was always upfront and to the point about it. I liked Susanne’s personality a lot; I generally find it much easier to trust someone who says what they think regardless of how people take it, rather than someone who only says what they think will be acceptable. Susanne was normally quite serious but she did like to laugh sometimes, especially when Solomon was the one telling the jokes. She was quite close to Solomon, having known him since nursery and was very fond of him, however her fondness was more in the way a big sister would view her much younger brother and although Solomon often acted embarrassed by her coddling it was obvious that he held the same sentiments for her.