The Hand of Destiny

Collage fell into routine quick enough. Every day, I met Andy and the others just outside the building, where we would quickly exchange our schedules for the day and decide where to meet at the various breaks we had. (which served as small saviours from the general dreariness of the day).

Today, we gathered outside but nearer to the door than usual because the temperature was starting to drop a couple of degrees every few days.

"So, what do you guys have today?" Jake asked, scanning his schedule before stuffing the crumpled piece of paper back into his jeans pocket.

"I have music, history, chemistry, maths and English" C.C replied eagerly, grinning at Jake. "What about you?"

"I have art, geography, chemistry, music and English, two out of five lessons with you" he answered and smiled easily at C.C.

I think I should be congratulated on my self restraint; you have no idea how much I wanted to make a joke about them having 'chemistry' together.

"What you got, Ashley?" Andy asked me, joining in the conversation.

"Um... art with Jake, history with C.C, maths, biology and then... oh English with Jake and C.C" I smiled, should be a pretty good day.

"I have physics, geography with Jake, maths with you, history, and English as well! If Jinxx has English last as well we'll all have a lesson together! Speaking of Jinxx, where is he?"

We all looked around for him and it didn't take long until my eyes landed on him talking to a girl I recognised from my maths class.

"He's over there, talking to Sammi" I said, giggling slightly. I watched her and Jinxx start laughing and him casually touching her arm.

"Oooh, he was talking to her yesterday as well! I think little Jinxxy has a crush!" C.C exclaimed, bouncing around a little on the spot.

"Wonder if she knows?" Jake asked, clearly loving the fact we now had something to tease Jinxx about when its usually the other way round.

"I wonder if he knows?! You know how oblivious Jinxx can be of his own feelings. He's a pro at analysing everyone else's romantic situations except his own!" Andy commented.

"Who's a pro at what?” a voice said from behind me. I turned around to face the very subject of our conversation and found the joke opportunity too much to resist. (Just like a diet, I will always quit making stupid jokes TOMORROW).

“Me, I’m the pro” I smirked, hoping he’d follow through.

“A pro at doing what?”

“Your mum!” glad I got that out of my system.

“Oh ha ha, very funny, you’re the king of comedy…” He rolled his eyes.

“Why thank you!”

“Idiot…” he mumbled. “Anyway, what were you actually talking about?”

“We may or may not have seen you talking to a certain someone of the female species a couple of minutes previous to this one” Andy replied, with a poker face and his head cocked to the side slightly.

“Is he on something or trying to creep me out?” Jinxx asked, aiming the question at Jake.

“Possibly both” he replied, seemingly non-plussed but inwardly holding in laughter.

“You know what I’m on?” I interjected.

“If you say my mum, I will kill you and use your blood for my next art project” he warned.

“I wasn’t going to say your mum… I was going to your sister” I said the end quickly and ducked behind Andy for protection.

Then a ringing went out across the front of the campus and after I was literally saved by the bell. We all headed off to our respective first lessons and I managed to get away with just a quick ‘dickhead’ insult from Jinxx. That was a pretty good result if you ask me.

*****

“So wait, why did you get a reprimand mark in biology?” Andy asked at lunch. Despite the colder weather, we were all sitting outside under one of the oak trees. It was our favourite place to eat lunch as the football field was at the other end of campus (so no jocks) as is the lunch hall, so it’s quiet and a lot less crowded than most areas of the school (especially now summers over and most students prefer to congregate under the stairs).

“Well, it was kind of barbaric if you ask me! You remember earlier when Jinxx threatened to kill me and use my blood for art? It was basically that! We had to like dissect these live frogs – or is it vivisect if they’re alive? Oh well, not important, but yeah we had to kill it, learn about it’s organ placement and then spread some of it’s blood on a microscope slide to analyse! I thought it was cruel, so I refused and then she put it down on the system as ‘refusal to complete work and defiance’ so I’m going to have a detention now, just brilliant!” I exlaimed, beyond annoyed at the unfairness of the punishment system at this school

“Rant over?” C.C asked me with an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, rant over…” I even pouted for good measure.

“Oi, cheer up… look, have a peace offering” he held out a piece of a bagel he was eating.

“Wow C.C, you could work in settling wars, all you’d need is vast amounts of baked goods…” I smiled.

“Better believe it motherfucker!” he yelled and threw his fist on the air.

“Oh God, how did I end up friends with these people?!” Jinxx moaned and leant back against the tree.

“Stop whining and go back to texting your girlfriend!” Andy joked.

“Hey! She’s not my girlfriend!” he rushed to say as he sat back up properly again.

“Ten bucks says she is by the end of the week” I whispered to Andy.

“Ten bucks says she has to ask him out! Jinxx has never been great at setting the ball rolling or even getting with girls in general” he whispered back, loud enough for Jinxx to hear.

“Hey! Don’t gamble on my love life!” he exclaimed.

“Oooh, so she’s part of your love life now is she?” Jake interjected.

“Gah, I hate you all!”

A chorus of ‘sure you do’s and ‘you love us really!’s sounded.

Jinxx better enjoy his next lesson free from our teasing because it turns out he’s in English with us as well and he’ll have to deal with all of us then. Still, I can’t joke too much - he’s already commented on C.C and Jake possibly being a thing and I’m praying to whoever’s listening he hasn’t been paying enough attention to me and Andy to notice anything. The last couple of weeks have been reasonably normal, so I’m not concerned about that, I’m concerned he picked up on the stuff when I first met Andy and pieces shit together even though we’ve been nothing but friends since then.

*****

Mrs Margrets is quite possibly the best teacher I’ve ever had. Seriously, bless her she doesn’t have a clue what’s going on. She looks pretty close to retirement and I’m pretty sure she spent most of that lesson off in her own little world. When we first sat down (in the seats she let us choose!) she said that in today’s lesson we were going to be reading the first 30 pages of Romeo and Juliet. Fair enough lesson except the books in front of us were Hamlet and that’s what’s been scheduled for the syllabus. She didn’t care though, off she went telling us about the star crossed lovers and even told us the story of how she met her husband (“I could tell from when I very first saw him he was my Romeo, but I didn’t think he’d notice the girl selling the strawberries though…”) I think she is seriously the sweetest little old lady I’ve ever met.

After a lovely lesson we all grabbed our things and were about to leave the classroom and head home when we realised Andy was still rummaging around in his bag for something.

“What you looking for Andy?” I called out.

“Huh? Oh, just my notebook, I swear to god it was in here earlier!”

“Wait, your lyrics notebook?” Jinxx asked.

“Yeah” he huffed and resumed his search. “I swear I brought it with me!”

“You did, you were jotting things down at the beginning of lunch, remember?” Jinxx told him.

“Then where has it gone?! Gah, I’ll find it later, it’s not in my bag! I better find it though it’s got some of
my best stuff in there!” he sighed as he zipped his back up and put it on.

“Don’t worry, we’ll check around tomorrow for it before school” I suggested, hoping that we could find it, Andy had been rather protective of it earlier.

“Okay… let’s go then, anyone want to come round and play Guitar Hero for a bit?” he asked as we wandered out of the room; I waved to Mrs Margrets as we left.

~

3RD PERSON’S POV

~

Once again, the blond haired boy appeared after they had left, getting up from his seat right at the back of the room.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear I didn’t see you there! Did you want to speak to me sweetheart?” Mrs Margrets asked after spotting the boy.

“No, it’s okay” he replied quietly, before grabbing his bag from under the graffiti covered desk.

“Okay then, have a safe journey home” she smiled before continuing to move stuff around in the draw in her classroom desk.

The blond haired boy exited the room, a grey A5 notebook peeking out the top of his bag with A.B written in the corner in sharpie and the corner of a red piece of fabric falling out his jacket pocket slightly.