As the night silently approached, he sat watching the wall. His head in his arms as he pushed his hands through his brown hair with vigour. He had to prepare himself. He needed to not think about her, because it would only bring him pain. The reason he wanted to see her… well there were two. The first being he actually missed out on some important syllabus, so he needed to catchup and he didn't want anyone to become suspicious of him if he started failing. The latter being that he wanted to try something. A solution to move on, to be free from her tight grip on his life. It was suffocating him. He almost lost everything mentally and this was also starting to show physically. If it worked, he could be happy, or at least free… he checked the time. 18:30. He stood up leisurely and sluggishly got changed into a baggy white shirt that had some black Japanese writing on the front, he thought it meant 'kindness and love', and some cargo trousers. He held his chain softly before looking at himself in the cracked mirror. He looked dishevelled and his eyes were a light a shade of dull grey, but underneath he saw the harsh glow of brown as if waiting to burst through. His hair was messy and uncombed, however he just shrugged and left.
She sat on her makeup table staring at herself for the fifth, no sixth time. Her eyes seemed to glow with hidden excitement, and she couldn't stop smiling.
'He was coming,' she thought, 'He was coming!'
She checked the food on the hob. The sweet aroma quickly filled the room, as she jumped excitedly to see that the meal was coming along nicely. The school encouraged independent living. This meant buying food for yourself, apart from breakfast; cooking for yourself and also money and time management. The school had already covered the bills, so the students only had to pay for food. The monthly allowance the school gave was more than enough for food, however students still managed to go into the overdraft. This was where parents were notified that the student had spent too much. This also meant that the student had to work volunteer hours at a place where the school decided to earn back the excess money he or she spent.
She quickly glanced at her outfit and twirled as if expecting sparks to exuberate from her. She had taken hours to meticulously choose the clothes, makeup and perfume she was wearing. She was proud of herself, but that didn't matter. It was him. He was the one that mattered. She wandered over to her bedside table in her small bedroom and stared at her precious photo. She hugged it tightly as her happiness dangerously increased. Suddenly, a knock on the door.
She answered the door almost instantly. She looked amazing. She decided to wear a white skirt that complimented her hair perfectly. A cropped black hoodie that said 'Friday Nights' that stuck out over her chest. She didn't bother to put much makeup on; however, it wasn't needed. Her eyes seemed to glow so bright that the blue was almost a sea blue from a beach on a sunny day. Yet there was something wrong. It was too bright. It was as if she was too happy. This was just a study session, and he wasn't sure she realised that. And then the sweet smell of assorted spices wafted slowly towards the door, luring him inside.
"Don't just stand there! Come in, silly," She said enthusiastically.
He drifted toward the sugary smell of chicken that was waiting for him in the main room. He quickly glanced back to see if she was following him. He hadn't thought of her once so far. The pain wasn't here at all, and then he looked at her.
She stood idly. One of her hands shaking rapidly by her side as the other clenched it. Her mouth in a sickly smile and her eyes so wide. So bright. Blindingly bright. She was staring directly at him. The chill on the back of his spine that he had from the lessons suddenly came back, and that's when he realised. It was her. She was the one staring at him. Every second of every lesson, it was her? It was her. He didn't have time to think, yet he couldn't leave. This was his doing and he had to withstand it.
'I mean is it really that bad?' he thought, 'Just get through. Get through this.'
He perched himself on the sofa shyly as she followed him. She hadn't stopped the staring, but the way she looked now changed to the innocent self she was like in class. It was as if that moment they had earlier never happened. He knew she saw him look so…
"Food?" she asked looking towards the hob, "I decided to make something for you."
He looked at the food anxiously.
"Yeah, yes sure," he said smiling back at her courteously. Her eyes seemed to flash, and her mouth quivered slightly, as she sat there motionlessly.
"Food, food, food… Food, yes!" She suddenly said snapping out of her hypnotic mood.
The room was spotless. Not a speck of dust in sight. The sofa was nicely done up as well, with cushions that were put out symmetrically as if she were expecting an inspection. The coffee table was also clean to the point where the mahogany oak looked as if it was just cut from a tree. The door to, what looked like, her room was shut and another door which was probably a bathroom was also shut. She had also hung fairy lights around her sitting room and kitchen giving the room a homely vibe to it. The room certainly felt comfortable, and that made him feel slightly warm. She returned with a plate of delicious smelling food…
"Here it is," she said showing him the plate. It looked like she made sweet and sour chicken and some rice along with a few chopped spring onions and some broccoli on the side. It looked so professionally done, as if it were done multiple times until perfection.
"Thanks for the food," he answered happily. The food was good, and after eating countless nights of either nothing or cups of pot noodles this was a very tasty upgrade. The chicken was soft and tender, and the spring onion provided a much-needed crunch with the meal. The sauce was thick, and the spice was so good it caused a small taste explosion in his mouth. She had put so much effort into it, arguably too much, but it couldn't be ignored.
"This tasted so good, Lysa, you did a great job," He said as he finished the meal. He noticed she didn't eat any and was just… staring at him the whole time. He didn't think she took her deep blue eyes off him once since he arrived.
"Thank you," she said simply, "I can make… I can make this anytime you need, silly."
Her smile slowly enlarged slightly more, and her arm started to vibrate more prevalently, she slowly moved her other hand to hold it.
"So… work," he began ignoring her last statement, "If I could have your notes from this lesson, I could just copy them up when I get back and leave you to it this evening – I think. You put in a lot of effort and I'm sure you must be tired."
"I'm not tired," she answered as soon as he finished talking. She inhaled, "Sure, you can have my notes for as long as you need."
She stood up slowly and wandered to a wooden cabinet in-between the two doors and grabbed her book and brought it to him.
"Here," she said, "I have detailed notes from that lesson, so you can just note take mine."
"One more thing," he asked curiously, "Can I just use your loo? I'm sorry I just…"
"Of course, go ahead."
He stood up slowly and drifted to one of the doors. He reached for the left and then peered to the right. He didn't know which door was which. It was a stupid situation, and he thought that he couldn't ask her now since he almost already there.
'I mean there's a 50/50 chance, right?' He thought as he reached for the right-hand door. Since she still hadn't said anything, he considered that this was the right door. He turned the knob cautiously. Listening out if she would say anything. Yet she remained silent. That triggered him to turn the knob more confidently. He wandered inside and… what he found was irking.