Burnt Lies

Bonus Chapter Two

Alara

This sucked, this sucked so much I wanted to throw something at the clock to make it break. I had no idea why I was there, the principal looked furious, and my father didn't seem to look too pleased either.

"Are you aware, Mr Mortello that your daughter caused severe injuries to another student? So much so that he had to be hospitalised," I shrank back in my chair avoiding Mrs Carmon's face, it was pinched with anger, her lips tightening into a withering smile, the kind of smile a teacher was forced to put on.

But there was anger in her eyes.

"I only did it because he pulled Haifa's scarf off, I didn't know I hurt him that badly and he swung at me too!" I wanted to shout about how he wasn't being punished at all but I knew it wouldn't get me anywhere.

"I heard there were expletives also spouted by you Ms Mortello what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I-" I didn't want to apologise Tommy was a piece of work who needed to be taken down a notch. He had deserved it all. I never really did get to respond because as soon as I had opened my mouth someone came barrelling through the door.

My eyes shot up just to be met with the boy that had helped me in the fight, he was out of breath his green eyes wild and hair an artful mess of ebony brown falling over his eyes, as he shouted, "It was me!"

For Mrs Carmon to be stunned to silence, something quite shocking would have had to happen. Her steely gaze rested on the boy who was slightly flushed but stood tall with all the conviction in the world, "It wasn't her. It was me."

"I'm sorry Mr Grasyon but your story does not align with Ms Mortello's she all but admitted to it,"

I was going to speak, try and get the attention off of the boy who seemed adamant about taking the fall for me. I had no idea why, he seemed nice enough but this wasn't his battle to fight. And I didn't need him to defend me. I could look after myself.

I didn't miss the wary look my father cast him and an even sterner look than the one he had had, when he was called into the school, on a day I was sure he had business elsewhere. Normally this sort of thing didn't really happen, I was a good student, I worked hard and mostly kept my head down but I couldn't stand by and let someone disrespect my friend. Haifa had every right to wear whatever the hell she wanted, and I would defend that right with all my heart. Tommy deserved it and I honestly didn't care that he was in the hospital the most that would happen would be that he was in a cast for a bit, and that would just boost his popularity I could already imagine it, the sick bubblegum blue he would undoubtedly choose as he lacked any and all original thought and still hadn't grown out of the ridiculous idea that everything for a boy should be blue and everything for a girl should be pink. He would smile gleefully as the other kids swarmed around him to sign his cast, kids I'm sure he had bullied before.

All I knew was that Tommy was an arsehole and he would survive a broken arm.

"Yes, she did fight him, I'm not denying that. All I'm saying is that you can't expel her for sending Tommy to the hospital because that was me. I intervened I broke his arm so you can only really suspend her, you can't expel her cause she didn't commit the biggest crime. It was me."

There was a long pause before Mrs Carmon took off her glasses and stared deeply at the boy who had done everything to absolve me of a crime I had committed. Why was he taking the punishment for me?

I was so confused.

"Very well, Mr Grayson. I have no choice but to put you Alara," she gazed down at me and I felt smaller than ever, embarrassed in front of my father and this boy that made my cheeks flush an unwanted pink, "On a two-week internal suspension, you are a good student and I don't want you to fall behind. You will not be able to interact with your classmates and you will have to manage the work yourself. And you Mr Grayson, as this is your third offence fighting and injuring another student no matter the reason, I am afraid I will have to put you on a permanent exclusion."

He smiled broadly and I was sure that sort of smile could split the earth in half, he smiled at me next, perfectly straight teeth, but I didn't care for the smile, I cared more about the comfort of his eyes, the laughter in them as he had the bravado to say, "Great thanks Mrs C, it's been great, but I hope I never see this place again," and just like that those eyes that had taught me so much, helped me in a way no one else had. Defended me, and took the fall, without even knowing me properly, they disappeared from my life just as quickly as they came.

For years I couldn't remember his name, only his eyes, and I was convinced the next time I saw them I would be able to recognise them.

The only problem was, memory was such a fickle thing, and if you left it, untouched for too long it would fade into nothing and even the most piercing eyes the most earth-shattering smiles, would just disappear forever.

And you'd never see them again.