The Black Signature

"One fire burns out another's burning,
One pain is lessen'd by another's anguish."

So, you know, sitting in Maths waiting desperately for the bell signalling break to sound is not the most fun thing in the world. Seriously, can someone please tell me why this small woman standing at the front of the class is writing strange symbols on the board that supposedly help to solve an equation? I mean, who is actually going to have to use exponentials and logarithms to the base e in their everyday life? I am thinking the answer to that question is “no one”. With only a single minute left and almost every eye zoned in on the clock above the teacher’s desk, the entire class began to bombinate. You could almost sense the perspiration of longing emerging on their foreheads.

Thirty seconds.

And something else that’s aggravating me? Rune. He’s just sitting there writing away, almost oblivious to the silent countdown that was taking place in every other person.

Fifteen seconds.

Rune just lifted his head and looked at me, a malicious smile playing on his face. I hate that smile! A tiny corner of his mouth stretches out an up and a small sliver of his teeth glimmer from between his lips. It’s like he’s patronising me, snickering at me in disapproval and contempt. What the hell have I done to-?

The bell.

A very audible sigh of relief emanated through the class as everyone packed away their books with practised skill and speed and almost ran for the door. I was one of these people. I wasn’t first out of the class but I was far from last. When I got out of the door I rested against the wall a couple of metres down the corridor.

What was I doing here? Three days and no friends. A recipe for success and happiness? I don’t think so somehow. Something that sucks about having no friends: having no one to sit with at break. Or lunch. Or after classes. Or at dinner. Or after dinner. Or before curfew. I was, in the simplest terms, a loner.

However, with a deep breath I rocked myself off the wall and headed down the hallway to the lunch hall. I’m in the mood for a wrap today. Chicken Mayo, possibly. Or a Pasta Salad. Okay, yeah, I’m definitely thinking Pasta Salad now. Even the thought of it is making my mouth water. I’m so goddamned hungry! I could do with a coffee too. With these thoughts in my head my step quickened as I made my way to the lunch hall where I would, inevitably, be sitting on my own with no one to speak to. C’est la vie.

*

Well, isn’t that just bloody brilliant? Rune, having been in front of me in the queue, had taken the last portion of Pasta Salad. And that stupid asshole Shaun got the last Chicken Mayo wrap! This really is not my day! Now I have to eat cheese on toast. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some cheese on toast, but I really wasn’t in the mood for it at this precise moment in time. But, I suppose I’ll just have to deal. At least there’s coffee left! And milk (last time I got coffee I had to have it black. Yuck). As I stood waiting for the coffee machine to kick in someone brushed past me, their hand trailing along my ass for a little longer than was necessary. I turned to look at who was harassing me but people were bustling about all over the place and I couldn’t see the culprit. What the hell? I hate it when that happens! Not that that exact thing happens to me…ever…but still. The coffee machine clunked and spluttered and I took my coffee, placed it on my tray and looked for an empty table. They all seemed to be occupied. I scanned around for a couple more seconds and then found a single solitary table at the far end of the room and made my way towards it.

You should see the looks I got as I walked that distance! It was like I was something dirty on the bottom of their shoes! What have I done? I am pulling a blank here. I’ve been here three days. Three bloody days and already I feel like I’m a useless addition to this school that is an outcast to everyone else.

Getting to the table proved to take more time than I thought possible. Whether it was just the conscious awareness of everyone staring at me or if the lunch hall was just bigger than it first seemed, it took a lot longer than I assumed it would. I passed the table that Kiera’s little posse sat at - Kiera, Willow, Shaun, Rune and another boy that I had never seen before. She caught my eye and smiled at me. A proper smile. Not a sympathetic one; one that made me think she was genuinely happy to see me.

She must have noticed that I was heading towards the empty table because she jumped out of her seat and skipped across to me, that disturbingly chipper smile still plastered on her face. I let a small smile play on my lips so as not to be rude and turned to face her as she got closer.

“Leon!” she yelled, sounding far too happy considering I was so depressed. She was like that balance that everyone always talks about. The yin to my yang. The dark to my light. The Harry to my Voldemort.

“Hey Kiera,” I said breezily. “What’s up?”

“Got no one to sit with?” She gestured towards the empty table.

“Well, you know, it’s fine, I’ll just-”

And then the words that I was dreading exploded out of her mouth like a verbal orgasm.

“Come sit with us!”

I sighed internally and then smiled again. Her smile was about to entirely consume her face. Seriously, if it got any bigger her face would disappear; she would be all smile. The thought that her grin could get any bigger scared me and so I was reluctant to say yes but I had to.

“Okay.”

It got bigger.

I’m not kidding.

Walking across to their table I felt a quiet sense of relief, like I was happy that someone was speaking to me regardless of the fact that she was rather crazy. When we got there I took one of the two empty seats and set my tray on the table. I lifted my coffee.

“Ah, shit!” I yelled, to the confusion of everyone there. Again I could feel that hot rush of embarrassment possessing my face.

“You okay?” asked the boy I didn’t know in a fairly unsympathetic tone.

“Yeah, fine,” I replied. “Burnt my tongue on the coffee.”

They all just looked at me.

And burst out laughing.

Oh, dear Lord. Why am I here? Why, oh why am I here? And I seriously thought this day could get no worse? What was I on?

“Shut the fuck up, you guys,” Kiera scolded. “Don’t be so bloody cruel!”

“Apologies, Your Highness,” Rune replied sarcastically. “Forgive us for laughing without your consent.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You ‘kay?”

“Yeah, I’m all good,” I said, taking a bite of cheese on toast. “I’ll live.”

“Okay, everyone, this is Leon. Leon you already know most of the guys here. Rune, Shaun, Willow and Damien,” she announced, pointing at each one as she said their names. And as she pointed, everyone waved. “And I’m Kiera. But, of course, you know that already.”
I smiled, slightly disturbed by her. She was...what's the word? Crazy. Her mannerisms, her elocution, her expressions all reeked of insanity. Her words were spoken with speed and seemed to judder from between her lips.

She began speaking...again. Her words faded into meaningless ramblings as I noticed Rune's stare. That same one that he had in English, with his crooked little smile. His left eyebrow slightly arched as he saw me looking and his line of vision shifted to Kiera and his crooked grin changed to one of sheer amusement as he listened to her.

“...and so I said ‘I just adore roses',” she concluded and burst into a fit of the giggles.

I had to laugh. There was something about her that made it impossible not to find her amusing. Maybe it was the fact that she was laughing so incessantly that I felt compelled to giggle but I think it was something deeper than that. I'm not sure what but something about her was strangely fascinating and absorbing.

When both of our laughing fits had abated I finished my cheese on toast and drank my now cooler coffee. I have to say they didn't include me much in the conversations they had. It suited me though: I was quite content with having the hum of nonsensical voices around me, regardless of the fact that I wasn't interested in what they were saying. I caught snippets of their topics of discussion now and again. “Cotton...common room is...nothing ever happens...something stupid...Milton.” Strange things that, without expansion, made no sense whatsoever.

“So, how are you liking Leaderton, Leon?”

The very question I had thought was stupid in English was now being asked. By Rune. Somehow, it didn't seem so stupid now. It was a valid question, I guess, that you ask the 'new kid' after a few days of getting settled in.

“It's okay, I suppose. The food isn't that great and the rooms are a bit small but apart from that it's not too bad.”

“You like English?”

More questions.

Just great.

“I love English. Hate the teacher but love the subject.”

You should've seen Rune's face. Seriously! His eyes widened and his jaw set menacingly, as if he was extremely angry by what I just said.

“You hate the teacher?” The question was less of a question; more of an accusation. He spoke the words through tightly clenched teeth.

“Yeah,” I replied. “And the feelings seem to be mutual as well.”

“You hate Cotton?” He was almost incredulous by this point. His facial expression created the assumption he was going to hit me if I carried on with this line of thought.

“That's what I said.”

Oh, my God.

Could he get any madder?

He was about to speak but Kiera, evidently noticing that he was going to beat me to a bloody pulp, changed the topic.

“You got anything planned for free period?”

Rune, still seething, turned his aggressive gaze away from me to stare at the clock hanging high on the wall.

“I'm thinking of trying out for football,” I said and this was apparently the last straw. Rune practically screamed in aggravation and stormed away from the table, leaving us all shocked and astounded.

“I'm thinking he doesn't like me all that much,” I said, stating the absolute obvious. “What did I say?”

“Well,” Kiera began, “I'm not sure what was with the whole Cotton scenario but he's the captain of the football team. He's afraid of competition, I think. You any good?”

“Guess so,” I replied, trying not to sound bigheaded but failing horrifically. “I mean, my coach in high school told me that I had a talent for it.”

“Well, a word of warning,” Kiera said. She was going to try and talk me out of it, I just knew it. “Don't try too hard. He won't be very happy at all. He has some temper on him.”

So I was wrong. Give me a break I hardly know the girl.

“Just make sure you try hard enough to get picked but not hard enough to humiliate him. He could potentially make this place a living hell for you. God knows he's done it enough for other people who got on the wrong side of him.”

A sad look appeared on her face, portraying a side of her that was foreign to me. I was about to ask what she meant by that but the bell rang loudly and she jumped up from the table.

“Good luck.”

And with that she left the hall with a deftness that was surprising.

“Thanks,” I muttered into the air pointlessly: no one was there to hear it. I picked up my bag and made my way out, heading in the direction of the playing fields.