1
There was a new guy in the physics department today. At first I thought it was a new pupil, but when I sat down at bench 15 last period of the day in Lab 56 he was smiling at me from behind the teachers desk. I lowered my eyes to the table top and dragged my folder from my bag. Eva crashed in clumsily and squeezed between the benches to get to me frayed bag held above her head.
She had brought in the air on her clothes and hair so a kind of coldness came about me as she flopped down on the stool next to me. I turned to her resting my head sideways on my hand
‘That a hint of smoke I smell?’ I asked a smirk almost touching my mouth.
She turned to me in mock-outrage. ‘How could you even ask such a thing?’
I wrinkled my nose and grimaced at her turning my head back to the front and running the hand I was leaning on through my hair. Smiler was waiting until the whole class had entered the room. He wasn’t looking at me anymore so I gave him the once over. He was good-looking in a kind of conventional way. Dark hair, bright eyes, good skin. Young. Fresh out of university I’d say. Perhaps only twenty-three or four. Quite a nice body I suppose. Fit.
‘Oi, oi.’ Eva muttered giving me a light nudge in the arm. I looked at her. She was looking at Smiler. Of course.
When I turned back he was standing up. The last couple of pupils had come wafting through the door and he was making it clear that every one should be quiet. Took a few seconds till everyone cottoned on.
‘Right, hello, my name is Mr Pierce and I’ll be your teacher for the foreseeable future.’
This was met with a fairly awkward silence. At least he hadn’t done the cliché teacher thing and written his name on the whiteboard in block capitals.
I noticed he had crinkly eyes. Kind-looking and soft like he smiled a lot. I liked his eyes.
Eva kept nudging me the whole way through the lesson and it started to get on my nerves. Don’t think she knew she was even doing it but she was staring really obviously at Smiler/Mr Pierce.
‘Eva, stop touching me.’ I hissed at her.
‘Sorry.’ she muttered back but kept on staring.
‘Fuck sake.’ I exhaled rolling my eyes. Fat Sally coughed on the next bench.
Time went by fast enough. At three twenty-three I pushed my physics folder back into my bag and swung it over left shoulder. Really loved my backpack. It was old and battle worn but I loved it. Made from faded light blue denim and hangs correctly, right in the small of the back. I’d worn it so much that there was a hole in the bottom so that pencils would sometimes slip through and fall directly into the back of my shoe beside my heel. Love when it did that. Didn’t even have to bend over to pick it up.
I could tell Eva wanted to hang behind to look at the new teacher some more but I wasn’t up for that so I started to pull at her bag strap, ‘Hurry up.’
‘Hang on Beth, I-’
‘No, come on, just hurry up.’ I interrupted trying to pull her away by the hand.
She huffed and tried to give me a cold look.
‘Fucking hurry up Eva!’ I said then pulled a stupid face to make her laugh.
She tried her hardest not to but couldn’t.
‘Your so ugly,’ she giggled her chin dipped as I succeeded in pulling her up and dragging her towards the door. Classroom was almost empty.
