a beginning

“Look love, it’s not gonna be as bad as you think – you’ll be fine!”
Easy for you to think, she thought as she slouched lower down in the car seat.
“Look, “ her father’s tone became more firm now “ we’re here now, you have to go to school and we can sit in this car all day but we’re staying parked outside until you go…”
“Urgh! Fine!” she twisted round grabbed her leather shoulder bag from the back seat and threw open the car door.
“ Good girl, you’ll be fine – hey don’t I get a kiss goodb-“

She’d already slammed the car door before her father could finish. She tossed her bag onto her left shoulder and began to march angrily up towards the school gates without looking back. She felt instantly bad for leaving her father on such a nasty note. After the death of her mother only half a year ago, she’d always promised that she would never end any conversation on an unpleasant note – it could be the last time that you see them.

She was still mad though. Very Mad. It all just seemed so pointless. Surely her father could deal with the death in another way. Why did they have to come here. Didn’t he care about her. About her feelings. About how she wanted, about how she needed to deal with this.

“Anna isn’t it? Anna Plum?”
Her angry mind set was interrupted by the voice of the school secretary. She had somehow managed to enter the school reception almost without realising it in the midst of her inner rage.
“Err yeah,” she forced a smile “yep, that’s me”
“Well, we’ve been expecting you…”
Irish. Why did they have to be Irish.
She stared blankly back at the woman. She was short middle aged with a sandy bob and a warm smile, although Anna seemed not to notice her kind intentions.
“Cmon ahead, I’ll show you to your class…I think It may have already started” The woman pulled open a door which led onto a corridor. Anna hesitated and reluctantly followed her down, staring at her feet as she walked, uninterested in taking in her surroundings.

Ahead of her she heard a door creak open and the chatter of the class inside.
“Mr Kelly, Anna Plum has arrived…”
The chatter from within silenced and Anna felt her heart race and the whole of her insides heat up as she approached the door, she daren’t look up.
“Ah! Anna, welcome, we knew you were coming…” She forced herself to look up. Her teacher stood at the front of the class. He was a tall slim man, with bird like features, his greasy greying hair combing into a detestable side parting. He wore a mix matched suit of dated tweed, with a blue shirt and a green tie. His face however was kind and warm, and Anna smiled back and her body was just preparing to relax as he turned to the class and called out
“Everyone this is Anna, she’s a new student here all the way from England…”
Anna tensed up again, and felt panic fill her body as she felt every pair of eyes in the room hit her. Her cheeks flushed and she knew she must have turned a bright bright shade of red. She felt even more vulnerable as she felt the presence of the secretary behind her leave and the sound of the door shutting loudly which caused her to jump.
“I hope you’ll all make her feel very welcome,” continued Mr Kelly. “Anna if you just find yourself a seat.”
She needed no further invitation and hurried down the rows of desks, feeling the eyes following her as she went. She spied an empty chair behind a desk, in the middle of the row at the very back of the room and plunged into it.
“Alrite everyone, eyes back on the board, where were we, ah okay so to find the value of X, we…”
She let out a deep sigh of relief that attention had been taken away from her. She pushed her dark brown hair back behind her ears and leant back in her chair trying to relax and concentrate on what Mr Kelly was saying. Maths. She’d never been a fan.
It was then she felt another pair of eyes, practically burning a hole in head once more. She spun her head round to the left hand side. A boy in the desk next her was staring at her. He was small, with bright blonde hair. Too blonde infact, with a suspiciously ginger undertone. His face was pale and violently freckled. He greeted her gaze with a wide gap toothed smile. “Hey” he whispered in a thick Irish accent. “I’m Andy.”

She felt another rush of relief. A friend.
“ Anna” she whispered back
“No Andy” he replied keeping a straight faced and then uttering a low chuckle on noting the surprise on her face “Only Jokin”
Anna face melted into a relaxed smile. He seemed a really nice guy. Thank God.
“So where ‘bouts you from again?”
“Er Andy” Mr Kelly’s voice called out to the back of the class, “Perhaps you would like to hazard a guess? How do we find the value of X”
Andy began to stutter in his surprise and embarrassment that the class had now spun round to focus their attention on him. He turned a bright shade of red. The brightest red Anna had ever thought she’d seen a person turn. Crimson perhaps.
She didn’t know what came over her but all of a sudden…
“It’s two…” She heard her voice boom out across the class room. Eyes darted from her to Andy. Including Mr Kelly who had a puzzled yet curious frown on his face as he examined hers with his head tilted to one side. There was no way back. She had to finish.
“Er..yeah two…that’s the answer. ‘Cos you’d have to square root X by four and then minus another two…to give you the answer that is two…I think,”
There was a stunned pause as the class further examined the new girl who had so courageously jumped to Andy’s aid.
“And that would be absolutely correct. Well done Anna. You must have been listening well in your old maths class take heed Andy.” Mr Kelly turned back to the board and the class resumed
“Thanks a lot” whispered Andy shly flashing her another of his cheeky gappy smiles. “ I owe you one.”

Anna smiled back she’d surprised herself. She was usually terrible at maths. That was quick multiplication on her part…or addition…or even subtraction… what an earth had she even done to get that. She shook her head in attempt to regain her concentration once more, and that’s when she saw him.


Wow. He was most probably the most beautiful most gorgeous looking boy she had ever clamped eyes on. In real life. And he was looking straight at her. Straight. At. Her. She felt a rush through her whole body, and she felt her cheeks flush again. She felt embarrassed as she gauped back.She should look away. But she couldn’t seem to bring herself to.
He really was beautiful. It was the only word. Even if he was a boy. Such a perfect Boy. He had the glossiest thick black hair, a furrowed brow heavy dark eyebrows and deep set smouldering dark eyes. His face was round but his cheeks chizeled to perfection. His skin was lightly tanned and there was a faint dusting of dark freckles across the bridge of his nose.
He held her gaze. It seemed all too much. She flung her attention back to the board, but she instantly ached to look back.
She did. He was still looking. Still looking at her. This was too good to be true surely?
He grinned at her. Beautful pearly white t-

“GLENN! Can we focus please, I don’t want to have to tell you again today okay?”
Damn Mr Kelly.
“Yeah, sorry Sir” Oh and he had the most soft,spine-tingely wonderful irish lilt. She loved him. He was perfect. No don’t be silly. She again shook herself out of it. The boy had returned his gaze to the front of the class. And just at that moment the bell rang out through the class.
The screech of chairs and feet racing towards the door filled the room.
“Looks like were out of time, don’t forget to read through chapter 30 for tomorrows class – oh and please don’t forget your calculators”” Mr Kelly’s voice was barely audible above the din.
Oh No.The boy picked up his bag and had darted out of the room before Anna had even realised what was happening. And now the class was empty apart from –
“Do you want me to sit with you at dinner? Show you round and that?” She’d practically forgot about Andy, the first kind face she’d seen, and now here he was still here, the only one left stood beside her.
“Er, yeah that would be great. Thanks”