Listen to Your Heart

“John?” I blurted before even thinking.

“That’d be Mr O’Callaghan to you.” he snapped. I immediately winced. I’d known John…Sorry, Mr O’Callaghan my whole life. He was my brothers best friend, they were in a band together. Ever since we were kids John had picked on me, but I’d always given as good as I’d got. Since when had John become a teacher though? I’d only been gone one summer, and that wasn’t long enough to be trained as a teacher. That took years, didn’t it?

“Sorry, Mr O’Callaghan.” I repeated sarcastically.

“I won’t stand for that tone Maria.” he bit back, I could tell I was going to get to him. Instead of responding I simply rolled my eyes, and pulled my phone out under the desk, and began texting Francesca and Clare to see if they knew what was happening, and how in hell it had happened. “Maria Jane Brock, is that your phone I see?” I growled.

“Don’t you use my full name, John Cornelius O’Callaghan the fifth!” I snapped back momentarily forgetting where we were, and then instantly regretting it. How could I be so fucking stupid?

“Stay behind after class.” he barked. I’d made him angry, and got him riled up, and all in the first 10 minutes. I knew I was going to regret it. After last year at school I’d managed to get myself a reputation, one that I was working hard to remove, but with something like this happening it didn’t look like it was going to happen. I wanted to cry already, John was always good at making me cry.

I didn’t speak for the rest of the lesson. He handed out our copies of Romeo and Juliet, and told us what sorts of things we’d be looking at, and asked us to read the opening for homework, and he’d ask us about it tomorrow. I hated the idea of Romeo and Juliet, how unrealistic it was, and the whole idea of it baffled me. Why risk everything for a boy?

Eventually came time for the end of the class, and everyone shuffled out leaving me alone at the back of the class. I could hear the girls whispering about how hot he was, and how they had ‘caught him staring’ at them. The sad thing is that they were probably right. John had always been a ladies man, not that he necessarily slept around a lot, thought he did sleep with a fair few girls, it was more that he flirted with anything that moved. I waited impatiently for the last person to leave for my punishment to be given. I imagine John had thought long and hard about what he was going to do to punish me, and probably make a fool out of me. He liked to make a fool of me any chance he got. I’d never really understood why my brother had been friends with him, the others were so nice and treated me like family but John had always been different from the first day we met.

“Now, Maria, I understand this must be hard for you but…” I didn’t even give him a chance to finish.

“Oh cut the bull crap John. Just give me whatever punishment you have planned for me, and let me be on my merry way.” I snapped.

“Maria, seriously, you can’t call me John in school. It’s not professional.” he scolded. I wanted to slap him. Nothing about this was professional. Nothing about HIM was professional!

“Fine, just give me the punishment?” I sighed. Why did this have to happen to me? I finally thought I’d have the chance to avoid him. Kenny had moved out over the summer, and got his own place with Garrett, so John would never have reason to come over any more, and it was quite easy to avoid going to Kenny’s when John was there. Now though, now, I had to see him every day, and he was in a point of authority to me, so I had no choice to obey what he told me to do; which killed me, but probably made him very happy.

“I have no intention of punishing you Maria. I understand it must have been a shock to you, but you simply cannot talk to me that way.” I stared at him aghast. What was he saying? He wasn’t going to punish me? There was no way this was the same person I had known for years.

“Are you bullshitting me?” I questioned, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to swear in front of him.

“No, but next time I’ll have no choice but to punish you.” There was a hint of a smirk playing on his lips, that was the John I knew. The one who would take pleasure in inflicting me pain in anyway possible.

“There won’t be a next time.” That I was adamant about. It would kill him if I was obedient, and he had no reason to punish me, and I was all for that.

“Yes there will. Now get to your next lesson.” he smiled, this was all a game to him, but two could play at that game, and we all knew I was better at playing games than he was. Challenge accepted John, challenge accepted.

I left the room without another word, and headed towards Psychology. I had that lesson with both Clare and Francesca, and for that I was grateful. Our teacher Sue was a lot of fun. She let us sit where we wanted to and, she let us call her by her name. I was just happy to have the opportunity to talk to Clare and Fran about it all.

When I got to class they were both sat there looking at me nervously. I wonder if they had known? I knew Francesca and Kennedy were pretty close, surely he would have told her. In that moment something clicked in my brain; Kennedy. Why hadn’t he told me last night?

“Did you know?” I asked as I took my seat.

“No.” They replied in unison.

“Did Kenny known?” I was being very calm, but at the same time, if my brother had known and not told me I was going to kill him.

“I don’t really know, he never mentioned anything, but then again he probably wouldn’t tell us if he didn’t tell you.” Fran admitted.

“Probably.” I shrugged. The truth was, I was pissed. No one had told me, but it can't be that no one knew. Kenny and John are best friends, he’d have told him if he was going to be teaching at my school.

“I’m sure it just slipped his mind to tell you.” Clare suggested. I loved Clare, she tried to see the best in people, but she was also willing to admit when they had done wrong. She was a good person, a better person than I was anyway.

“Does something like that really ‘slip your mind’?” I asked, the look on her face already giving me my answer. I decided to message Kennedy, and ask him to pick me up from outside school at lunch. I needed to talk to him, but if I text him he’d avoid the question until he had had time to make up a suitable lie. Least if I asked him in person then he couldn’t avoid me. A few minutes later I received a reply telling me he would be there at one. I thanked him, and slipped my phone back in my pocket.

“It’s not going to be that bad Maria. I mean John’s not a bad person, he’s not going to treat you any different is he?” It took everything I had not to laugh. Francesca had no idea what John was really like, he was always a sweetheart with her and something about that made me irrevocably angry. How could he be so nice to my friends and so horrible to me? In fact, he was nice to absolutely everyone but me. My parents adored him, my friends adored him, my brother adored him, and no one could see him for what he truly was, and it made me beyond angry.

Yet again Sue talked us through the syllabus, and handed out textbooks and notes we’d need. I almost regretted coming in today completely. It was a pointless day, and we’d done no work. I could have used it to sleep. I decided that after I had had lunch with my brother I would go home and sleep instead of coming back to school. I’d get Clare to get any work I’d need. Sure it wasn’t a good start to the school year, but yet again nor was finding out the person who hated you most would be the one to teach you. Eventually the bell ran signalling it was time to go and meet Kennedy. So I grabbed my stuff and made my way to the car park. I spotted his car on the far side near the exit. Something about my demeanour, or the expression on my face must have alerted him to my mood because he suddenly looked very worried. I stepped into the passenger side of the car, and looked straight at him and saw red. He knew.

“We need to talk.”