A Silence Full of Sound

Chapter 4

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He said as I stared at him in shock.

I shook my head as if to say 'don't worry about it' and continued to pick up my books. He took my arm and helped me up on my feet and I took this time to actually look at him.

He looked really familiar to me. Which was strange because I didn't really know anyone at this school yet, apart from Alice and my brother.

His black shaggy hair hung over his eyes. He wore a white oversized T-shirt with black ripped jeans and a pair of black converse high tops. He had a chain around his neck but it was covered by the neckline of his T-shirt.

Once he had helped me up, he let go of my arm and scratched the back of his neck. We both gave each other a brief smile.

"I'm guessing you're Riley, right?" He said pointing to the name on the front of my books. I nodded and smiled, and with that he handed me my books back.

"I'll see you around, Riley." He said before walking away down the corridor. I watched him leave, curiosity getting the better of me. I wondered who he was, and what his story was. And why did I recognise him?!

I placed my books under my arm and started the walk to class. When I got there, I looked around the room, hoping to see Alice, but she still wasn't' there.

I walked towards the empty desk and dropped into a seat ready for class to begin. I had to find out where Alice was. I sent her a "where are you? are you okay?" text, but she didn't reply to me. I couldn't concentrate on classes, all I could think about was the green-eyed boy.

Lunch rolled around, and me and Sammy made our way to the cafeteria. After getting lunch and sitting down, I adverted my attention to Sammy.

"I have practice today after classes, so I can't walk you home." He said as he was shovelling chips on his fork. I nodded my head and gave him two thumbs up to indicate "good luck".

"Thanks. Think I'm going to need it. Apparently the coach is horrible." He said as another fork full of chips went into his mouth.

I shook my head and gave him a look as if to say 'you'll be fine' and then started on my food. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out to have a look.

Alice had replied. "I had an appointment this morning, but I'm okay. I'll see you in a bit. Hope you're surviving without me? ;) xx"
I was glad that she was okay, although I wondered what the appointment was.

I text back saying "Glad you're okay, and hardly ;) xx" and put my phone back in my pocket.

Sammy waved a hand at me, and caught my attention. "Hey, you okay? Who's that?"

I showed him the text, and he looked over at it, reading the messages.

As I showed him the phone, I looked around the cafeteria. The place was full of other teenagers. There were groups and cliques all around. There were the jocks and the popular girls spread over two tables. The girls were drawn to the guys like moths to an open flame. Buzzing around them to get their attention. Some had, but the others still tried.

There was the arty group on the table next to the populars. They wore tie-dye and vintage clothes, and they all had a sketch book placed under each arm as they chatted.

There were the book lovers on the other side of the art table. All of them had trays of untouched food as they read individually. It amazed me that they all sat together, and that they were so at peace being together in silence. It sounded nice. I wanted to join them on the first day, but Alice had steered me away to another table.

Then my eyes landed on someone in the corner. He was sitting on his own, his shaggy black hair dangled over his eyes. He had headphones in his ears. I wondered what he was listening to, but then I realised where I recognised him from. He was people watching. He was the boy I had seen on the first day, standing outside the reception area.

He must have felt me staring at him because he looked around in my direction. We caught eyes, and a little butterfly erupted in my stomach. Just one. But it was enough. He stared at me, watching my reactions as heat rose in my face. The intensity of his stare hit me hard, it was like he was looking into my soul.

Sammy waved at me, catching my attention. "You okay?" I nodded, and sent him a brief smile. He seemed to relax and went back to eating. I looked back over to the boy in the corner, but he was gone.

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"Right, what is wrong with you, Riley? Ever since this morning, you've been out of it."

Sammy said after the final bell of the day had rung. I just shrugged my shoulders and packed up my stuff. Sammy and I waved at each other before he walked off to practice. I made my way out of the school and started on my way home.

As I walked, I thought about the day. I hadn't seen the mysterious boy since lunch, although that didn't mean I hadn't thought about him all day.

I wanted to know who he was. Why has he been staring at me? Why was he alone? Why did I recognise him?

I walked my way to the park and to the tree that I had found the other day. I sat under the branches with the memorial bench opposite me, and pulled out my book, ready to read.

This was my second time visiting the tree since I had arrived here. It was a quiet place to think and read, and I liked how it was away from all the busyness of the rest of the park.

I found it easy to get lost in the world of Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my favourite book, I've read it over and over. The fact that both Elizabeth and Mr Darcy have to rid themselves of their own prejudices, and see love in a place where you're only supposed to see the flaws, call me a romantic, but it makes me feel as if it's possible for me. The whole book is about 'not judging a book by its cover', and reminds me of the importance of that.

The feeling of being watched is what drew me out of the pages. Looking around, I couldn't see anyone. Until my eyes landed on someone walking away. His black hair blowing in the breeze.