All Saints

Brève Civilité

The world was against Beaufort throwing every catastrophic event her way today, or so it seemed so to her. Her mind was whirling as she walked to class, her hands wrapped around her satchel for support. "Saw your father." Descamps reported to Dahlia trying to engage in a conversation with her. She didn't answer and instead started to pick her pace up walking to class.
"You know how rumours go." She stopped and turned to her narrowing her eyes daring him to speak about her father.
In the presence of her father a green mist of vile rumours hung. She never mentioned it to him but it was there in plain sight. The sound of his voice dropped cautiously low "He was out on the street desperate for a job." He scoffed and something in Dahlia's chest sizzled. Maybe it was her last residing pride within her. She snapped back in a whisper, "He didn't get it, but thanks for telling me what other people think." She said sarcastically it was not helpful to know that her father had become the entertainment of the town. A clown would gain more money for making a fool of himself, papa only got the laughing crowds. She walked off away from him her fingers pressing into the palm of her hands. "We really are becoming close friends." He shouted after her talking about his new relationship with her father. It aggravated her that he was doing all of this just to mock him to his daughter. There is a place for a boy like this, a place where her mother would describe its torturous flames that waft over the deserving masses.

Michèle who over heard quirks up a suspicious eyebrow, "since when are you and that horrid boy friends?" She asked with judgemental tone looking back at the tall boy. Dahlia was quick to clear up the misconception, "No no we're not friends he's talking about someone else that I know. I guess he's trying to rub it in." She shrugged chuckling nervously to her self. "Make sense because I couldn't possibly imagine you and him friends." She said shaking her head as if it was incomprehensible for them to be civil. Descamps had made an enemy out of Michèle from the first day, she would be the last to speak kindly of him. "Neither could anyone else be his friend." She retorts agreeing with Michèle, he was just too immature to keep as a friend. "Well at least he has his sidekick, Dupin" Dahlia nods towards the scrawny boy who followed Descamps lead to the end. As if he owed some chivalric duty to him that beckoned his loyalty. Descamps was taking up the whole day with his antics and she had encountered him one too many times for her liking today.

It was not long till the presentation.  It had been drizzling the whole day and her coat had been uncomfortably damp to touch. She pealed it off and starts rereading her presentation as practice. When her and Laubrac were called up to the front Dahlia's face was visibly pale. Laubrac looked at her worried, "are you okay?" He whispered in the uncomfortable, forced silence of the room ruled by their vile teacher. Dahlia did not hear her partners concern over the loud ring in her mind. She peered over her paper to see Michèle and Simone smiling encouragingly and attempt to reassure her. She couldn't look at the rest of the class.
Laubrac looked around cluelessly, seeing that there were no protest against him starting he began.

Michèle's eyes twinkled as she watched Laubrac coolly read out his speech. Everything about him exuded nonchalance from his slumped, easy posture to his calm face to which dahlia was oblivious of. Dahlia had come to the decision that she could not breath anymore. She feared that if this moment didn't end soon she would faint and slam her head onto the desk in front of the whole universe and that there wouldn't be a hole in the earth to crawl into from humiliation. She had forgotten how to pray. Somebody had kicked her numb foot and the only reason she knew was due to the fact she was burning holes staring down at her feet. She looks up and Laubrac nods his head towards the warm notes in her hand.

It was a painful watch. She felt the little chuckles and the sniggering across the room. She could not look up from the paper her trembling hands held. She was finally allowed to sit down from the terrible experience and it was as if she had finally been pulled out the end of a dark tunnel. "You did good." Annick mouthed at her from the bottom of the classroom. Dahlia knew that was just to comfort her but thanked her before holding her boiling cheeks in her hand.

It was break and Dahlia was the first to leave pulling her book out her bag and darting across the corridor. She wanted to be as far away as possible from that room. Her footsteps stopped when her face was met with a paper sign letting students know that the library was closed. This day was growing to be the worst ones yet for Dahlia.
The corridors were empty leaving an eerie feeling, all the children were keen to be outside as the rain had stopped for a smoke and to kick a football to each other.

Descamps hands in his pockets leaves the classroom when he sees her, she stops for a moment uneasy. Beaufort tries not to make eye contact and walks past him but he lunges to grab her wrist. "What do you want?" She says refusing to turn around. He yanks her hand making her stumble backwards, "your friends were asking for you." He informed her, he looked agitated to be talking to her. She shrugged, "why would they ask you?" She scoffed not believing a word. He rolls his eyes looking around, "I don't know, why don't you ask your fucking friends?" He spat back looking down at her his hand still hanging off her wrist loosely as if he was scared she would get away. "What are you doing here?" She asked suspicious of him. "Lighter." He fished it out of his pocket and waved the flame across her face. It flickered in the dim light of the hallway. "You can let go now." She said tugging at her wrist. He lets go reluctantly, "le- le- let go." He mocked her reminding her of her calamitous presentation. Before she was thinking she snatched the lighter and started running towards the lunch room. He had bursted her last nerve. The only windows that would open was the ones out the lunch room and Joseph had a slight feeling that she was going to throw his lighter out the window as revenge.

"Give it back!" His voice boomed across the hall way as he started to pick up his pace. They end up in the empty school kitchen, Descamps wasn't hesitant to take steps forward making her stumble backwards, back pressed against the window and herded like an innocent lamb. She holds his lighter behind her back, "Say sorry." She giggled and it made Joseph's heart sink into a melting pool. In that moment he had forgotten all about his missing eye, his silly eye patch, the weasel Jean Pierre or the glass eye that was mentioned at dinner the other night, she captivated everything to point it was just her. He watched how her lips curled and how the pink on her lips could be found on her cheeks. His angry facade falls apart and a smirk takes its place. He was so close in proximity to her that she could almost hear his heart thrum, "Sorry." He bitterly said, looking away ashamed. She shoved the silver lighter back to him making him take a few steps back, "Fine addict." She rolled her eyes at his desperation.

They exchanged awkward looks until Descamps decided to break the silence between them, "You now Simone and that slug Jean-Pierre are at it." He said unable to keep the secret contained any longer. He waited for a look of shock but it never came. She nodded, "you better not say anything." She warns him as she wagged her finger at his chest. His eyebrow quirks up at this, "Michèle's going to cook you guys when she finds out." His head titled downwards to her. Her brown eyes narrowed with serious intensity, "Well let's hope she doesn't." Her words lingered in the air some time as thoughts shifted through his brain. "I hope she finds out." A cruel smile curled onto his lips which made her gulp down the guilt of knowing something that aren't  meant for her ears. The burden of knowledge was weighing over her through the day.

The civil moment shared between them ended sooner than it lasted, ending with complete havoc splattered all over them. The word was that Descamps and Dahlia got into a fiery feud in the lunch hall at break and when they were found they were smothered in rice pudding. They were both sent home and not to return till the next day. It was Mrs Descamps who called the school first to Joseph's annoyance. Her voice could be heard shrilling over the rotary phone infuriated claiming that her son was clearly getting bullied but when she was informed that the 'bully' was in fact a girl she put down the phone, her face salmon pink. They had detentions for the rest of the week together so they could learn to be civil.

Writers note:
It's definitely something... regardless enjoy.
Bisous xox.