Your gaze takes my breath away
Chapter One
I scratched my neck as I tried to recall the lyrics I had been about to put onto paper. I searched as far as I could - it was an illusive memory. It just didn’t want to be found.
I sighed as I gave up my search and lifted my pen and songbook, throwing them over to my bed, as I stood up from my desk chair. I placed my acoustic guitar back on its stand and walked over to my CD player and plugged my iPod into it, skipping through my songs. Finally, coming to a song that I felt suited my mood and clicking play, I began to tidy my room.
After finishing up I went over to the mirror to check that everything is perfect, I sigh at my reflection as I try to calm myself down. I had gotten up early this morning - early enough to be ready, hair done and all, and have half an hour of spare time before I had to make my way to school.
I was dreading this - I hated that my mum had to move to England, Surrey to be exact, from Northern Ireland to begin her new job. The worst part was that we had moved halfway through the school year meaning that everyone in this new school had already decided who their friends were. I would be lucky if someone even considered being my friend.
I grabbed my electric guitar, already packed in its case, knowing that I would have music class first and had been told by the headmaster last week that if I could play an instrument then I could bring it to class. Playing guitar was one of my favourite escapes from the world - I mean, I love music, but making my own music meant I could pour my heart and soul into playing it. I struggle down the narrow staircase and find my way into the kitchen. I find my mum standing, waiting on me, and jingling her keys. She smiles at me as I pass through the doorway. Straightening up, she passes me a new schoolbag.
“I know you were looking at these on the internet so I thought ‘hey, new school, new country - why not a new schoolbag?’ do you like it?” she explained quickly. I studied it - it WAS the one I had ben looking at on the internet, it was covered in my favourite movie character ever - Jack Skellington.
She was trying to make up for having to move. Already she had re-done my new bedroom, taken me to see the ‘Avengers’ movie the night of its release and bought me a ton of new clothes such as the Green Day t-shirt I was currently wearing underneath my new Glamour Kills hoody.
I checked inside the schoolbag to see that there were a few notebooks and a pencil case already inside of it so I swapped the belongings from my old, beat up schoolbag into the new one. Once I had finished I raised my head and looked up at her, grinning
“I love it, thank you,” I told her. She nodded in recognition of what I just said and led the way out to the new car.
***
As we pulled up outside the school I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach. The nerves began to kick in as I stepped out of the car, swinging my new schoolbag onto my back, and saw a few people glance over in my direction. I walked around to the back of the car and pulled my guitar out of the boot. Saying goodbye to my mum, I started to make my way towards those dreaded double doors that stood guard at the front of the school.
I keep my head down as I walk down the heavily crowded corridors. As people begin to push and shove I clutch my guitar closer to my body for fear of it getting damaged.
“Hey! Watch it!” a girl, wearing her hood up indoors, yells beside me. I flinch away from the sudden burst of noise. The girl glances at me, looking me up and down with and emotionless face, before fighting her way through the waves of people.
All of a sudden I’m being pulled away from the centre of the corridor and shoved against a wall of lockers. My heart starts to pound as I look at the space I had, until quite recently, been occupying. A boy with long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail was on the floor getting beaten by another boy wearing a school sports kit. Another boy with brown hair, slightly smaller than the people around him, jumps in to rescue the long haired boy.
As this scene unfolds before me I hear a male voice say very quietly into my ear, “Might want to watch out there”. He was so close to me that I could feel his breath fanning against my neck. I turn to see a boy, slightly taller than me, with bleached blonde hair and piercing blue eyes with his arm still wrapped securely around my waist from when he pulled me out of harms way. I feel my cheeks begin to colour as I look at him. He slowly slides his arm from around me before winking at me, with a cute smirk on his face, and going to help out the two brown haired boys.
I decide not to stick around because the hall had cleared considerably and I didn’t want to be late on my first day of school - that would not look good whatsoever.
***
After I’ve collected my timetable from the office on my way by I head in the direction that the receptionist told me to go. As I scan the lettering on the doors I hear heavy footsteps coming down the hall behind me. They are still quite far off but I can tell there is more than one set. I can hear an angry voice mumbling to the others, obviously not wanting me to overhear. I really didn’t want to stick around for fear of being picked on - one of them sounded angry and I didn’t know what they might do.
I hurry myself up and reach the door I’m looking for and knock before stepping inside the classroom. Too late, I notice I had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the people making the footsteps, but I missed it. I looked up from my feet and shook myself from my thoughts to find that the classroom had fallen silent with my arrival and were all staring at me. I felt my face go red as I quietly proceeded to the music teachers’ desk and handed him the note explaining, in short, who I was and what I was doing in his classroom. He nods before handing me back the note which I pocket.
“Alright class,” he begins as he stands up, “we have a new student joining the school. I’m sorry, what was your name?”
I gulp as I look at the sea of faces in front of me. I notice that the blue eyed boys’ friends are here but I can’t find his face, although I’m not completely sure why I’m looking.
“I-I…M-my name’s -“ I was cut off as the door of the classroom swings open to reveal the blue eyed boy and the sports kit boy. Behind them stands a red faced man. He looks angry. I realise these were the footsteps following me.
Every head in the classroom swivels to the door to watch whatever might happen. The red faced man, most likely a teacher, marches the two boys forward to where the music teacher and I are standing.
“Ah, Daniel Flint - what trouble have we been getting into now?” the music teacher asks. Blue eyes looks like he’s about to protest when the teacher chuckles and pats him on the shoulder before stepping outside the classroom to talk with the red faced man.
‘Daniel Flint - sounds cute,’ I think to myself.