Tuesday 28th May, 2019
The last two weeks went by without a hitch.
Everything was smooth. Flowing. Great.
In fact, maybe a little too great. I couldn't help worrying something was lurking around the corner. For me, life had always been mundane, so to be expecting something to happen felt strange. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
Or maybe, my jitters were completely rational. Maybe it was all due to the fact one pair of eyes followed me everywhere. Dark, watchful. Like a laser on my back.
It was getting tiring, trying to ignore Julian. Trying not to look at him.
I slide into my chair in English, Brendan beaming up at me. He'd been amazing these past two weeks; even dragging me out to eat with him and his friends at lunch. Slowly, living here was becoming less painful.
"Hi," I mumbled. Today, I felt dismal.
"Hi?" Brendan shuffled closer. "You okay?"
"I have no money!" I blew, throwing hands in the air. "I want to go into town. Like, the arcades and movies and diners. But I have no money!"
"Can't you ask your parents?"
"I'm seventeen. Freebie-money stopped two years ago."
"Can't you get a job?"
"Not a proper one," I scowled. "My parents want me to mainly focus on work."
"So they've got you on permanent house arrest, but are hiding it with rules?"
I nodded sadly.
"Okay. . ." Brendan's shoulders slumped, and suddenly his goatee was next to my chin. "I'll tell you my secret to money-earning, but I like it kept quiet."
"No drugs."
"Drugs?" He sputtered. "No! No drugs."
"Okay," I said, curious. "What is it?"
His voice dropped dramatically. "Tutoring."
"Tutoring?"
He nodded enthusiastically, straight blonde hair flopping. "Yes. I tutor art, because that's the only thing I'm good at. But you - you're incredible at English."
"So you're saying I should tutor English?"
"Yup. Loads of kids in this school need the help, but they won't go to old tutors. They think it's lame. But young tutors they don't mind - put up an ad."
"Online?"
"Yeah. I guarantee you'll get snatched up."
My eyes were bright with new hope. I wouldn't mind doing that, not at all. With the right person, it could even be fun. "Okay, I will. Thanks Brendan."
"Ni problema, amiga."
"Do you need an English tutor by any chance?"
He laughed loudly. "Nice try, but no. I have you for free in lessons."
"I guess you're right."
At the end of the lesson, I walked with Brendan, promising that as soon as I got my first pay cheque, we'd go out and celebrate. Burgers and milkshakes, he said.
Excitement, real excitement, stirred inside me for the first time since my arrival. We joined his other friends, who were quickly becoming mine too, on the grass outside. I felt strangely grateful as I looked at the five faces around me, especially to Brendan. I'd have to repay him sometime for his kindness.
It was then, as I chatted animatedly to Amy, a lovely brunette with too many piercings to count, that I felt the pressure.
All too familiar, I froze for a moment before carrying on. He could stalk all he liked; Julian hadn't even attempted to talk to me since I ran off in the library.
"He's looking again," Amy sighed. "He looks more creepy every day."
"Creepy?" I muttered, anger flaring. "He can look all he wants. When he decides to stop being an arrogant dick and speaks to me without insulting me, then I'll consider being nice."
"He's laughing." Amy's blue eyes were wide, fixed on something behind me.
I turned, finding him easily. The four of them sat, stretched out on the grass five metres behind. Julian's dark eyes were cruelly amused as they watched me. He tilted his head to the side, and I knew he'd heard me.
Stuart, another friend, whistled. "Damn. I've never seen him actually laugh. It's always been that horrible bark--"
"Every laugh he does is a bark," I snapped, and saw them all staring at me. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Of course." Brendan said quickly.
"Yeah," Amy agreed. "So what do you guys think about me getting a third nose piercing?"
+ + +
I marched out of school, more than determined.
I wasn't going to look at him. I wasn't!
A few people smiled at me as I walked, and as I flung the car door open, I felt a little calmer. Shoving my backpack on the seat, I started the engine and looked up.
My eyes flew wide. Julian stood at the front of my car, staring at me.
Furious, I rolled down my window manually. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I hissed.
"Although seeing you die would be somewhat funny, no. I'm not."
I blinked at him, hatred brewing inside. Had he actually just said that? That was twisted, even for him. One look at his wide dark eyes, unfazed, and I could see he didn't care.
"You're sick," I spat. "Get out of my way."
His black curls bounced as he shook his head. "No."
"What is wrong with you? I'll run you over."
"You won't."
"A chance to rid the world of one more horrible buggar?" His eyes narrowed at the use of Brendan's words. "I wouldn't pass that up."
"I always knew you were weird," he said, "but I never pinned you as a murderer." Exasperated, I took my eyes off him for one second, to see the entire car park staring.
Beet red, I growled, "move, Julian."
"No. I wanted to ask another question."
"Fuck your questions."
His dark eye brows raised. "Potty mouth."
"You have no right to say that." There was acid in my voice. If I couldn't insult him, I could swear instead. "Now get out of my way."
He shook his head again. Looking away from his eyes, at his long slender body, the black he wore sobered me up. Anger gone, I calculated a plan of escape.
Sighing, I beckoned him to the window. "If it's important, come here."
He grinned, triumphant. Sliding around the car, he was outside my window and ducking down when I stamped on the gas pedal, ragging out of the space and out of the car park.
I allowed myself one look in the rear view mirror. He stood in the middle of the row, hands in fists at his sides. But I could have sworn, as angry as his dark eyes were, there might have been some respect in them as he watched me drive away.
My heart was still pounding when I pulled into the drive. I sat for a moment, a stupid smile on my face.
Finally, I'd outsmarted him. I wasn't silly enough to think that it would take him down a notch; he was far too arrogant for that. Still, it was a win for me.
Getting out of the car, I wondered what was happening to me. The girl before Grove Hill wouldn't have taken his crap, but I would have been nicer about it. I did feel guilty about how nasty I was being - that wasn't me at all. But what could I do? I had to fight fire with fire.
On my bed, my hand dove into the packet of crisps next to me. I was trying to figure out how to put an ad up. After an hour of fiddling and research, it was finally done. It looked good enough to me, now I just had to wait and hope someone wanted to hire me.
The front door closed; two seconds later, that familiar sound - "Brooke! How was school today?"
+ + +
Three days later, my phone pinged.
I was sat, laughing with Brendan and his friends. The stare was still on my back, somehow worse than before the car incident, heavier now. But we'd all agreed not to mention it.
I got my phone out, expecting a message from my parents. Instead, it was an e-mail.
Yelping, I stood up and bounced on the spot as I read.
"What? What is it?" Brendan asked.
"Someone hired me!" I cried, grinning and sitting back down. "I'm a tutor!"
Brendan leant over to squish me in a hug, and I squished him back. All of my friends hooted with excitement for me, but I was just relieved. "You know what we said," Brendan reminded me. "I don't think we should wait for the first pay cheque."
"What do you mean?"
"We'll pay for you," Amy offered, smiling.
"Tonight," Brendan mussed my hair. "Burgers and milkshakes."