Status: Finished

Golden Slumbers

Can I Leave?

Till
I tried talking to Ella about Oli yesterday. It’s been three days since I started that project with him, and I think it’s going pretty well so far. He laughs sometimes at what I say, and he lets me sit with him at lunch all the time now.
So, she asked me where I’ve been at lunch for the past few days, and I told her I’ve been sitting with Oli and his friends. She bit her lip, saying, “Till, he’s kinda.....dark. I dunno, not the usual person you go for. No one here even knows him, he could be a total jerk for all we know. Are you sure you want to do this?”
I tapped her playfully on the arm. “C’mon, Ell Bell, I can take care of myself. He’s a nice kid.” She sighed and rubbed my head, like she always does when she’s worried, so I grinned and poked her. “Also, his friend Alejo has a crush on you. A big one.” When she blushed and pushed me I was satisfied that the subject was changed.
The thing is....I’m worried for Oli too. I mean, obviously the kid isn’t a ball of joy, but today he was really down. I went up to him in English and touched his arm, and he turned to me frowning.
“What?” I stepped back a little. “Uh...it’s time to go to the library...for, um, our project?” He stood up, and for the first time I really appreciated how tall he is. “Oh.” My friend Bry gave me a sympathetic look as we left the classroom, Oli silent behind me. We sat behind the library shelves in uncomfortable silence.
“Something wrong?” I asked. He kept his face turned away from me, but I could see his shoulders tense. “No.” “Um. Okay. Are we going to work on our project today?” “You can.” I didn’t really want to work on it without him, so I just sat there.
After a few minutes he said, “Would you mind if I called someone?” “Nope.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, waited a few seconds, then spoke. “Hey. I can’t do it. Can you come pick me up?” There was babbling on the other end, and he nodded.
“Okay. I’ll be waiting. Yeah. I know. I’m sorry. Yes. Love you too. Bye.” He flipped the phone closed and stood, hooking his fingers into his back pockets. “Well, I’m leaving. Would you please tell Ms. G?” “Sure. Um. Are you feeling okay?” Oli just shook his head and walked away from me.