Walking to Tec seemed longer today, was it because I was thinking of him? His liquid purple and blue eyes, his shaggy fair hair, just thinking of him gave me this longing feeling. Before him, I thought I would never belong.
Chapter 1
Get a life
Boarding school was horrible, though in some ways it’s good, if you have parents that drink your body weight a week. This Boarding school reminded me of my home back in England. The dusty old books, that looked like they have never been opened. The walls looked like it was growing mould; the wallpaper had a flower print on it that which was faded. The floor was covered in what can only be described as chalk. I hadn’t realised I was day dreaming until I heard Miss Halggarts shrill and high voice “Hailey! Get out of my classroom!” Her spit drowning, my book as she spoke. I packed up my books and pushed past her, but tripping over my own feet and falling, full force to the ground. I got up and briskly walked away hoping that I didn’t, make too much of a fool of myself. I limped down the corridor to the principals offices. When I turned the corner to the office I saw him, Ryan Grein, probably the nicest looking guy in St Anita’s, I liked him though, so did almost everyone in our school, but I was far from his type he had light brown hair and blue eyes he was tall and strong. I had light long brown hair; I was slim and had brown eyes. As I walked to the chairs were he was sitting, he gave me a node, the seats outside the office were in a line against a nod as I approached the chairs when the bell rung for next class, he was in my next class, but he walked past me as if I was invisible, I’m surprised he just doesn’t just try walk through me. I turned round to go to next class hoping I would catch up and he walked with me, but I didn’t get to him in time.
As I walked into class I got a couple of laughs, probably laughing at me falling over. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks but I just walked to my desk beside Nick, he was my best friend probably my only friend, but I loved him, like a brother. He looked strange today; I just ignored him and kept my head down,
“Aren’t you going to ask me what’s wrong?” I couldn’t be bothered today but I said
“Of course what’s wrong?”
Even though I wasn’t going to listen, my mind was else were today. He got my attention when he said Ryan,
“…needs to get his work done and stop coping mine,” his voice sounded really annoyed at this “just let him copy,” and I wish I never said it because he didn’t talk to me for the rest of the class and when I tried to talk to him he would swear and do his work.
I felt relived when the final bell of the day rung, Nick had his books away and was out of the class room in a what seemed like a second. As I walked out of the class I saw Nick, quite and weak Nick, throw a punch at Ryan straight for his eye, I had never seen Nick like that as his dark brown hair fell across his face and the way he held himself his blue eyes filled with anger, it scared me. Ryan was lying on the ground , soaking in all the attention he was receiving. The teacher came rushing out, while all of the girls ran to Ryan, he seemed to enjoy it, I ran over to Nick and he turned away
“Nick? What the hell?”
“Hailey, go away, just go away.” He seemed angry,
I felt sick,
“What? I don’t understand.”
“Go away! Leave me alone!”
The teacher pulled him away; I had never seen him like this, not once.
I spent the rest of the day in the hospital ward as well as a lot of other girls in our class; it was quite apart from a few girls asking if he needed anything. The ward was dimly light, there were six rows of beds each row had five beds, it was a depressing place. Nick was taken out of school until after Christmas; I don’t know what I’m going to do for three months on my own. But my mind kept wandering of Nick and onto Ryan, I felt sorry for him he didn’t seem to notice me and he had every other girl in the class, so I left them to it,
As I was walking to my dormitory I noticed how old are school actually was, the corridor was lined with huge pictures of gothic priest, Father Michael, Father John, Brother Andrew. All the way from the principal’s office to my dorm.
My dorm was a miserable place to be the walls were cream with old brown curtains, my walls were covered in pictures but Angelia’s side had posters of herself, and some celebrities, I came up to my dorm room to find someone sitting on my bed surely it wasn’t Angela, she was probably down with Ryan, Angela was tall, thin and had black shinny hair and nicely tanned skin, in all fairness she was plain gorgeous. But this person was talk with light hair like mine; I started to think I was looking into the mirror. My heart skipped a beat as I realised who it really was
“Nick! What are you doing here?”
“Hello to you to though I was expecting a hug.” “Of course,”
I ran to hug him and then I remembered Ryan and I slapped him. Shock flooded his face and he grabbed me
and hugged me, we always hugged but this felt weird, awkward. Then he let me go, he was crying, he made me cry, my heart always gave out to his face. He sat down on my bed,
“I got kicked out; my mum hit me again,”
I hated Nicks mum she abused him no wonder his dad left her, only then did I notice the cut on the side of his face, it ran from his jaw to his eye.
“Nick did she do that to you?”
“Do what?”
“That cut on your face.”
“Yeh but it’s nothing.”
“It’s nothing?”
I shrieked at him my voice coming out two octaves higher than I wanted.
“Hailey, leave it, please.”
He started crying again I had to hug him but he seemed, angry
“What’s wrong?”
“You, how can you like a guy like that?”
He never seemed so frustrated; I decided to change the subject,
“So what are you going to do now?”
It worked.
“Well if I go home it means getting hit again I guess just camp out.”
He said in a pained voice.
“Where? How? Who with? You can’t what if something bad happens to you , please you can’t do this.”
“I don’t know now but I’m not going back to her.”
“You won’t be aloud back here then.”
He shrugged
“I don’t care.”
“So you are just going to leave me, just like that?”
“I will come back for you I promise.”
“How am I supposed to believe you?”
“You’re just going to have to.”
“I can’t, please come back.”
“I will I promise,” He muttered guiltily. Which made me not believe him.
He made his way through the window stopping to say,
“Here take this and don’t read it unless it’s important.”
“What is it?”
“A journal, don’t let my mum find it please.”
“I won’t I promise,” and with that he left. I couldn’t believe this mite be the last time I would see him. I started to cry hoping that sleep would come but it didn’t I lay awake all night, just looking out the window, trying to remember everything about Nick. His smell of pine and apple, I missed him already. I couldn’t bare think what would happen to him out there. Where would he go? Did he have friends I didn’t know about?
* * *
The next day was lonely without Nick; it was going to be like this for at least three more months, Ms Harmon, Nick’s mum called me out of class to get Nick’s things from his dorm.
As I stepped into Nick’s room I saw the painting I gave him when we started boarding school it hurt thinking what was going to happen to him next, I had images of him getting sick out there with only the clothes he had on yesterday. Thought of losing my best friend stuck in the back of my mind, it scared me. When Ms Harmon left, she had taken everything out of his room apart from the picture I gave him and his journal, I had to get out of his room quickly because it hurt so much.
On the way back to class I looked in to see if Ryan was still in the ward, part of me hated him, but when I spotted him on his own I had to go to him. I walked to his bed the ward had five beds in a row. I sat on the end of his bed hoping he would wake up and talk.
“Wake up”
I whispered into his ear, but the nurse came in and said he was heavily sedated,
“For what? A hit to the eye?”
“Not just the eye he was also kicked in the rib cage, breaking several ribs and almost puncturing his left lung.”
How long was I in the class room? How much had I actually missed? I actually became scared of Nick, he never done something like that.
I left the ward annoyed that my plan to get Ryan to like me failed. I ran to my next class tears almost coming out, I lost my best friend, the guy I liked doesn’t like me back and I was on my own for three months. My class was at least
five minutes away if I walked, As I ran round the next corner, I saw a girl that I had never seen before, before I couldn’t stop myself in time I ran right into to her knocking us both of our feet, this wasn’t the first time I’ve found myself lying face down on the floor.
“Are you okay I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hit you?”
“I’m okay.”
She was laughing hysterically. She was strange but I liked her.
“Are you new?” I asked confused
“Yes I’m Ella what’s your name?” She said happily
“Hailey, Where are you from?”
“That’s my business and no one else’s.”
“Oh sorry I ...I didn’t know”
I stuttered. She was laughing
“I’m only joking I was born and raised here In Ireland for fourteen years.”
By now I realised I was late for religion and Angelia was sure to make up some sort of lie. “I’m sorry but I really have to go”
“Oh, but before you go do you know where Brother John’s room is I have him for religion?” “That’s what I have now I’ll show you, coming?”
We went through the day she had every single class together, Art, history, religion and maths. She was surely here to replace, which made me want to cry, the thought of him never coming back to me. Though Ella was a really good friend she was just a tiny bit smaller than me with brown hair and green eyes, that you couldn’t stop looking at. Her skin wasn’t perfect but her face had its own special look. But she would always be the Pearson that replaced Nick’s life with her own.
