A Complicated Completion

t w o - who's the new girl

T O M M E N

I heard a locker bang as I sat in after school music. I had a hell of a lot of coursework and practice to do and the school music room was much relaxing than any other place.

I looked out of the glass panels to find the source of the noise and saw a slightly angry looking girl on the phone.

Her caramel hair curled as it fell on her back, her blazer was stiff as she had probably bought it a few days ago. I'd never seen her before. She was stunning.

"Who's the new girl," I said to my best friend Vincent as he sat next to me and my guitar rolling joints. Which was extremely questionable since we were in school but he knew 'the ways around getting caught'. What ever that meant.

"Elizabeth something or other," our eyes followed her to the front of the school continuing her angry phone call. "She's from up north, I heard Alec talking about her in maths."

I strummed some peaceful notes on my guitar as a nodded, I was sitting on the table trying to figure out a song to write or play but I felt nothing.

I put my guitar to the side and laid my head back on the table, closing my eyes. I didn't want to be here, so I went to my brain where I could be anywhere in universe.

"Need one," Vin said half jokingly, signalling to the weed he was rolling. I just chuckled in response the answer was yes internally but I couldn't go down that way again.

"Something with more edge," I replied sarcastically, even being one of Vin's best mates I didn't want to fall down that hole after witnessing it first hand when going out with him.

Vin shook a container of red and yellow pills at me, and I shot him a look. Not here not now.

"I swear the day you get caught..."

"I won't get caught, T and if I did I have enough money to bail me out."

I couldn't argue with that one, it was the cold hard truth.

Unlike most other kids in this school (my self included) Vin had his own money, not daddy's. He worked for his own money, sure it was illegal but it was better than living in his council house with a deadbeat dad and disappearing mother.

I guess he got lucky, because he was at the top of a world that a few years ago he would have been at the bottom. He had henchmen, and did stuff I didn't want to think about outside of being one of the biggest suppliers of guns and drugs.

I know, I know, Vin sounds like the bad guy in every other book. The head of a gang of brutes that aren't afraid of the God of Death. But I will always argue he's not a bad guy, he's the fairest boss you'd ever meet, keeping his circle small and refraining from blowing peoples brains out.

You're about to start arguing saying about how the drugs he's selling are ruining lives, and the kids who get messed up in his gang are too naive. All I can say is that he has to make his money some way and those kids he protects like younger siblings, he's the best thing for everyone in that world.

I picked at my guitar, playing the soft chords of Vincent by Don McLean. As I looked at my dutch Vincent as McLean sang about Van Gogh.

It's easy to get lost in music, sometimes I forget I'm even playing it as it's so involuntary. I love listening to lyrics and analysing the word choice and patterns, listening to the chords change in a beautiful melody. Yes, I'm a nerd get over it.

Karim, my other best mate, busted through the door dramatically ignoring the calm ambience that Vin and I were swimming in.

We gave him pointed looks as he held his hands up in mock surrender, and slung his bag onto one of the desks.

"T, I will never get your obsession with this room. Let's get out of this hell hole," Karim said bluntly, pushing his thick black curls out of his eyes.

"Eh, it's better than my house."

"When was the last time you went?"

"3 days ago, I'll go back soon."

That wasn't a lie, I would  go back soon, depending on when he was going to be coming back. Here I am the classic son of millionaire who's father wants him to be somethings he's not, all my life I've heard, "Theres nothing in the arts Tommen, just do your job and join the company," but I have four older brothers who are much more willing than I so I hope one day he just forgets, and lets me do my thing. Although I'm not venturing into how unlikely that is.

Karim's eyes scanned over my face, he had just activated his superpower reading people like a book. Give him an hour with you and then he already knows what you're thinking and what you're planning to do before you. It was creepy how well he did this, and I can't lie extremely helpful.

Though I wish a year ago, he would have read Con.If he only knew her motaives before it was too late, the fact she had Karim tricked made him possibly more angry than us. Shite, I'm back at Con again, as always.

After a few more minutes we walked to our cars as I sped out of the London suburbs to Vin's flat, my second home and much more enjoyable place of refuge.