Girl of Fire and Shadow

Chapter Five

BY THE TIME the final double period came around, I was ready to slam my head into a concrete wall. The letters and numbers on my timetable had begun leaping from the paper in an attempt to escape, and Ella's constant 'advice' was bouncing inside my brain in a merciless rhythm.

Stand up straight. Walk with your head up. Don't talk to that girl. Try and relax. Head up. Head up, I said. Are you even listening?

It was so easy for my friends, who'd been adored the moments they'd set foot in Redwood. I, however, was a faulty Christmas light amongst brilliant ones.

I couldn't explain why, but it seemed as though the green and whites were waiting for something. The red and blacks knew better than to pry, but the others ... watched. Was I expected to perform a magic trick? And why did it feel like everyone had the answers but me?

Entering Literature, I was finally stepping into something I understood. Mr Humphries and I swapped greetings and I hastily found myself a seat in the back row, clutching my copy of Romeo and Juliet. Cue internal sighing. I couldn't hate Shakespeare, but that particular play had been done to death—pardon the pun. I wasn't a sucker for forbidden love, or overplayed romance. I didn't want stories that sugar-coated the way the world worked.

In reality, when your parents died, you didn't become a superhero.

I focused on my desk as the classroom began to fill, keeping track of people's uniforms in my peripheral. Lots of green, next to no red.

The chair beside me creaked.

Mr Humphries began the lesson, skipping over the introduce-the-new-girl speech, thank God, because I would have preferred to scoop out my eyeballs with a teaspoon than tell the class a fun fact about myself.

The class content was nothing I hadn't covered with my tutor at home. It was a lot of Mr Humphries talking and us writing and Mr Humphries talking again. Comforting. Even when I couldn't understand people, I could make sense of a story no matter how it was written.

About five minutes into out silent reading and analysis, I felt a tap on my elbow. Reluctantly, I glanced up.

Blue-green eyes looked back at me. "Can we share?"

I'd known it was him the second he'd sat down, but had refused to acknowledge him until now. He hadn't spoken to me, so I hadn't so much as peeked in his direction. Something about him set my teeth on edge.

My gaze shifted from August's eyes to his desk. Notepad, pencil case, water bottle ... no Romeo and Juliet. Great.

I slid my copy over, trying to lean in and see without invading his space. He had no such qualms, scooting in his chair until our arms pressed together. I jerked at the touch, but he simply huffed. "I'm not poisonous," he whispered.

We read in silence for exactly one minute and twelve seconds before he spoke again. "We were never officially introduced. I'm August."

"I know," I murmured, flicking my eyes up to the front of the classroom where Mr Humphries sat, chin dropping onto his chest, eyes heavily lidded.

"And you are ..?"

I turned back to August with arched brows.

"What's with the look? I'm just being friendly."

Somebody hushed us, and we lapsed into silence. I did my best to ignore the back of his hand brushing mine as he turned the pages, or the proximity of his face when he tilted it to read the next scene.