Hook, Line and Sinker

There was only one class I dreaded and of course it was the last lesson of the day. I was basically guaranteed to sit through the first five hours of school, a gnawing pit of uneasiness in my stomach as I thought about that final hour. Art Class. I sat at my desk, with James beside me, laughing at Kent as he tried to imitate our art teacher.

Mrs Woods was, to put it kindly, flamboyant. She wore exotic silks in an array of colours that made her resemble a parrot. Her long black hair was piled on top of her head 90% of the time in an updo worthy of the red carpet. Oh and please, do not get me started on her makeup. Mrs Woods went for a cat eye effect, with bright coloured eye-shadow that was almost as bright as her clothes.
Of course, we must not forget the motto of her class ‘Anyone can draw! Drawing comes from the soul and you each have a soul, do you not?’

“Anyone can draw!” Kent proclaimed rather loudly, glancing down at us with a large, almost encouraging smile upon his face. A grin identical to the one Mrs Woods wore when she said this very same phrase. He clasped his hands together, much like Mrs Woods did. Then with a dramatic flourish he threw them out to the sides and gazed at his snickering fellow students. “Drawing comes from the soul and you each have a soul, do you not?”

Kent’s twin brother James nudged my arm lightly, inclining his head beyond his brother, trying to stop himself from laughing. I could feel him physically shaking beside me as he tried to bite back the laughs that wanted to come out. I too, had to bite my lip to stop myself from chuckling.

“Mr Taylor,” Mrs Woods said from behind him, her lips drawn back into a mockery of a smile, her eyes showed no amusement whatsoever. Not that I blamed her, I wouldn’t want Kent to make fun of me either. When Kent made fun of someone, it was a messy affair. Kent is one of those people who isn’t afraid to hold back, he will tell you exactly what he thinks of you, whether its what you want to hear or not.

Mrs Woods was wearing a sari today, a teal one with intricate gold designs, her makeup was minimal and for once her long hair flowed down her back in perfect waves. She looked amazing, to put it simply.

“Do you not believe in my philosophy?”

Kent, who had frozen as soon as he’d heard his surname mentioned, turned around, his charming smile taking over his face. I knew exactly how many girls he had seduced with that grin alone, I knew every sordid detail even though I really wished I didn’t. Lets just say Kent had loose lips when he was tipsy.

“Of course I do Mrs W, but since I sold my soul to the Devil I don’t know how much good I’ll be in art class.” He said, his tone light and joking.

I almost stormed across the room, wanting nothing more than to slap him for his stupidity. He was going to get detention and then he wouldn’t be able to go camping this weekend.

I needed Kent to come, not only for the fact that it was tradition, but because without him who else would make me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt? Who could make me forget my problems if not my comedic friend?

“We’ll have to discuss this very intriguing point you have at length, after school.” She paused, taking in the whole class. I noticed I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t meet her eyes. “Does anyone want to join our young, aspiring comedian? No? Good, lets get started.”

The room was then filled with the sound of rustling paper as everyone opened their sketchpads to a fresh page. I hated this class, I had no idea why I’d let Kent persuade me into signing up for it in the first place. I couldn’t draw a straight line, My stick men came out with wavy bodies for crying out loud. If anyone who had a soul could draw then I’m pretty sure mine was sucked away at birth.

My older sister Kate had been a brilliant artist. Had, past tense. Just thinking those words sent a shiver up my spine. I couldn’t think about that. Not here, not now, or I would end up crying a river that would put the Nile to shame.

I scratched my pencil lightly against the surface of the paper, trying to concentrate on replicating the fruit in the dish in front of me. I let out a huff of aggravation as I messed up a line and went to reach for the eraser when a piece of paper landed on top of my poor sketch.

Sorry about Hannah, I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately. - J x

I turned to look at James. He looked exactly like Kent, so much so that if you didn’t know them extremely well you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. They both had the same sharp, angular features, the same hooded gray eyes and dark brown hair. But where Kent had a mischievous look always lighting up his eyes James had understanding and love in his.

I nodded at him and shrugged, acting like her comment about Tyler didn’t affect me one bit. In all fairness, it probably shouldn’t. We were over after all, we’d been over for seven months.

But Tyler and I... we had something that I thought was real, and even if we’d broken up I would have thought Hannah would understand that my ex was off limits. If the roles were reversed I certainly would. But Hannah was Hannah and she always had to have a boy on her arm.

It’s okay, I scrawled underneath his note. I’m okay.

• • •

The heat was stifling, it didn’t matter if you were in the shade or indoors, the heat pressed down upon you in a suffocating way. I had long since yanked my hair into a ponytail, sick to death of the way it plastered itself to the sheen of sweat that layered my skin. I felt sticky, sweaty and just plain gross. I couldn’t wait to get home and get a nice cool shower.

A strand of blonde hair fell down in front of my eyes, with my hands full of books I had no choice but to try and blow it back into place with the corner of my mouth. Which, of course, made me look like a total idiot. I strode out into the parking lot, staring at the strand of hair that was dangling between my eyes, and tried for the umpteenth time, to blow it back into place.

I heard his low chuckle of amusement before I saw him. Hell, I felt his strong hands wind themselves around my arms before I saw him. But as soon as I realised that it was indeed Tyler, I leveled him with my most fiercest glare.

“Need a hand there, Poppet?”

I looked up towards him, he looked so familiar that my heart actually ached. A physical ache that knocked me sideways. How could he still affect me like this?

His brown hair was still as messy as ever, sticking up as if he, or whatever girls company he’d been enjoying, had run their hands through it numerous times. His skin was tanned in a way it hadn’t been when I’d last seen him, obviously wherever he’d been he’d spent a lot of time outdoors. But what made my breath catch in my throat were his eyes. Those eyes that seemed to see right through me and into my soul were exactly as I remembered them. Bright blue eyes with hints of gray flashing through the iris, framed by eyelashes so long that my envy reared its ugly head.

He reached out one hand towards my face, the other still firmly placed around my arm, for a minute I thought he was going to stroke my cheek as he had many times before. But no, he simply grasped the hair between his thumb and finger and brushed it back onto my head. Only for it to fall down a second later, of course.

His chest rumbled with his laughter. “Seems like you need some of those bobby pins, Poppet. I still have a ton of them, cluttering my room. I find at least one every day. In the weirdest places too,” he confided, dropping his voice down to a conspiratorial whisper and bringing his hand down to grasp my other arm again. I was in too much shock to tell him to get the hell off. “First it was in my bed, then in the shower, then in my underwear drawer, I’m beginning to see a pattern here, are you?”

I took a deep breath and finally regained enough composure to shake his hands off my arms. I narrowed my eyes at him, imagining I was one of those superheroes that can shoot lasers out of their eyes. If I was, Tyler damn bubble gum Burke would have been incinerated instantly, with only a pile of ash at my feet to remind me he’d even been there.

“Yup,” I smiled sweetly, making my tone match my expression was hard, considering the way Tyler was looking at me. His eyes all seductive and his smile so deep that his dimples showed. Oh, how I loved those dimples. “That you’re a lazy packrat. Nice seeing you, Bubble Gum, hope to never see you again.”

“Bubble Gum?” I heard his confused voice behind me say.

I rolled my eyes and carried on walking. Just ignore him, he’s just a piece of bubble gum. I heard his boots slapping the tarmac behind me, then I felt his arms wind themselves around my waist, stopping me in my tracks. He lowered his mouth so his lips brushed the shell of my ear in a way that sent shivers throughout my body, I could feel his breath washing over me.

“Well that’s new, gotta say I like it. Just so you know, you can blow my bubble anytime Poppet.”

That was all it took for me to turn around, drop my books and slap him. While my whole school watched on with widened eyes and slack jaws.

Ugh!

Damn Tyler Burke. He was worse than the Devil himself.

He looked at me, his blue eyes sparkling and his mouth curving up into a surprised smile. “Well, well,” he muttered, his eyes inspecting every single inch of me. The look in his eyes was too intimate, too familiar for me to deal with at that moment. “Looks like my kitten grew some claws.” He said sarcastically.

“Ugh! Just keep your hands off of me Tyler. You gave up any right you had to touch me seven months ago. Stop with the innuendos and your silly little mind games. Don’t you dare come back here and try to act like nothing has changed.” I threw my hands up in the air, all this arguing was just making the heat ten times worse, but now that I was saying what was on my mind I couldn’t seem to stop it. “You know what, I think it would be best if you just stay away from me, okay?”

I bent down to pick up my books, feeling the eyes of the whole school on me. One day back in town and Tyler was chipping away at my control, the control I so desperately needed over my life.

“Some things have changed,” he admitted, almost reluctantly. “But not how I feel about you Poppy,” His voice was so low, I almost didn’t hear him, but his words left my heart stuttering like some kid with stage fright.

I didn’t have time to formulate a response however, because mere seconds later I heard his retreating footsteps and knew he had given up, for now at least.

Within seconds I was surrounded by my friends, even Hannah was there, concern etched onto each of their faces.

Greta looked livid as if she was ready to go beat her brother to a bloody pulp. She looked at me and I mustn’t have hidden my emotions well enough because the next thing I know is she’s striding over to her brother.

I sighed, looking skywards and praying for just a little bit of help with this situation. My friends all looked at me, like they were scared I was going to break down in the middle of the school parking lot.

I resisted the urge to snap at them, I wasn’t some cup that would smash upon impact. I really wanted to tell them that, but instead I bit my tongue. I knew they were only worried about me and had my best interests at heart.

I plastered a huge grin on my face, stretching back my lips so that my teeth flashed into view. My jaw and cheeks started to ache in protest to smiling this wide but I couldn’t let it slip, if I did they’d know just how deeply the encounter had shaken me.

“Do you want Will to give you a ride home?” Maya asked gently, rubbing her hand down my back.

“No, it’s okay, honestly. I just want to walk, I could do with the fresh air.” I told her, but when I turned to look at her I could still see the worry in her eyes. “I’m fine,” I assured her, wrapping my arms around her and squeezing her tight. “I’m fine.” I repeated, but I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince; her, my friends or myself.

I smiled at them all and then walked away from the parking lot with my head held high.