Chapter 6

Of course Kayla and Melissa couldn’t stay sick forever and were back at school the next week. I surprised myself when I found I was feeling sad when they approached me in the morning. “Hey! Done playing hooky already?” I teased. Kayla but her hands on her hips and pretended to look mad.

I laughed but not before glancing to the side to see if Lawliet had noticed me. I felt bad for some reason. He had been so kind to me the past week, I felt like I was ditching him. I told Kayla and Melissa the homework they had missed and wasted time until the bell rang, signaling class with Lawliet and no Melissa or Kayla. I sat in my usual spot and eagerly watched the door for Lawliet to come in. And there he was. Talking with the teacher about the latest science worksheet.

I gazed at him. His black hair, just like a ravens and his scraggy clothes, which although may have looked messy to anyone else they looked oddly charming to me. I saw him look in my direction then giving me and friendly wave, along with the smile I’d grown to love and I snapped back to reality.

Lawliet sat by me just like every other time. I looked at him. “I’m sorry but I won’t be able to hang out with you, Melissa and Kayla are back and I kind of promised to hang with them.” I apologized, feeling the guilt seep into me. “It’s alright, I noticed they’d come back,” Lawliet said. I felt relieved that he felt that way but still wasn’t sure. “Are you sure? You could hang out with us if you really want to…” I said. “No it’s fine,” Lawliet replied.

The teacher began her lecture and we settled down. What I did not know was that Lawliet was a liar. He did very much want to spend time with me but of course didn’t because he felt almost embarrassed. Of course Lawliet didn’t tell me that himself, I figured it out over the years, long after we’d spent time together. I glanced at him. He was hardly listening to the teacher, which I found odd because he was so smart.

The bell rang an hour later, just as the teacher was getting into categorizing the manner and species of life on Earth. Of course Lawliet was called upon the whole time, and as I kept glancing at him I saw the whole time he hardly paid attention but knew everything. “Why is that?” I wondered. I picked up my things, came out of my thoughtful daze and ran up to meet Kayla and Melissa.

“Hey!” I called to them at their lockers. “Hey Hannah!” Kayla said, waving brightly. We walked to the apple tree and talked for a while. “So…who did you hang out with when we were gone?” Melissa said, a sly smile on her lips. “Lawliet.” I answer automatically. Melissa and Kayla gave me a strange look. “Oh! They don’t know his real name!” I thought. “I mean….Colin.” I said with difficulty. “Oh!” Melissa exclaimed. “What?” I said, trying to act cool. “He’s a great guy, and really smart too!” I said, my eyes widening when I realized what Melissa’s gasp was for. Melissa and Kayla looked at each other and smiled but dropped the subject. I sighed. This was going to be hard.