03.

Alfie

I was not looking forward to going back to school, it was going to be a shock after the long languid summer, and it had been bliss.

I was not a do-er, so my summer consisted of lazing about, most of this lazing done by the pool with the guys as they pined over Treecy Lakes and her friends, whilst I only had eyes for one girl, Elizabeth Golde.

We started dating at the beginning of summer she lives one town over and is the best; she has black silky hair and wears old Ramones t-shirts and black tights plus she is totally hot. She's a cheerleader as well at her school, and she doesn't mind watching twenty back to back episodes of Scrubs with me, it's a good relationship.

So having Elizabeth made the summer that much better, I didn't mind not hanging out with the Fairview people that much, they got on my nerves most of the time anyway and I much preferred fooling around with Elizabeth.

"Alfie have you got everything ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes Mom," I shouted down the stairs, god that woman was annoying.

I slumped down in the sofa, I was shattered and school started tomorrow, great.

I checked my phone, still no messages from Elizabeth, she had said yesterday she wanted to talk to me so I expected her to call.

There were two missed calls from Kelly though; she was a bit of a tag along, but a laugh sometimes so since I had nothing better to do I punched her number in.

"Oh hi Alfie, you actually called back umm yeah…" she answered, what a warm greeting.

"Any reason you called me twice?"

"Yeah there is but I don't know whether…" she said before another voice piped up on her line saying "Just tell him".

"Tell me what?"

"Oh well I was out today in Kurtwood and I saw Elizabeth and she was... well all over this jock guy, I think he must go to Kurtwood with her, sorry."

"Shit," I said, it was a bigger blow than I liked to admit, I had been really in to her, I guess everyone knew that and that's why Kelly felt so sorry for me, I should have expected it, she was a cheerleader and they always go for jocks, I played in a band, not in a soccer team.

"Thanks Kelly, I'll umm...see you tomorrow."

"Sorry Alfie I-"

"It's fine see you tomorrow," I said and clicked off.

It really sucked, Elizabeth had been hot, part of me just wanted to ignore it, she probably wasn't going to tell me, maybe we could just carry on as normal, I wouldn't let on I knew, we'd be fine. Then my phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alfie, we kind of need to talk."

It was Elizabeth.

"Ok."

"I just don't think, we're working out, I mean I live in another town and we go to different schools I think we should you know start afresh for school, break it off."

"Yeah I agree, I don't really want a girlfriend for senior year anyway," I lied.

"Oh ok that's all cool then," she sounded happy.

"Yeah of course..."

"Ok cool, well see you round Alfie," and just like that she was gone.


"Hey Alf!" said Bobby tapping the seat next to him.

"Hey," I said sliding in to the seat and getting out my biology books.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?" I asked.

"That girl is back,Penelope, the weird one?"

"Oh," I said it wasn't exactly thrilling news, "Cool."

"So, I heard about Elizabeth, God what a bitch, I feel for you man," Bobby said cocking his head at me.

"Its fine I wasn't that in to her any way, just a summer thing you know."

"Yeah, sure..." Bobby said wringing his beefy hands.

"I never intended to carry on with her into school you know. Just a shame we ended badly."

"Well screw her man! I mean its senior year, you need freedom, for all the parties," he said grinning and raising his thick dark eyebrows that looked like they had been colored in with a Sharpie.

"Is it ok if I start the lesson now Mr Ross?" said Mr Lane, he was an asshole.

"Of course sir," I answered.

"Hey Alfie, you free for a party this weekend?" Toby said leaning over his desk, his thick frame blocking Mr Lane from my view.

"Yeah, sure sounds fun," I said nodding my head towards him.

"Better invite Treecy and her girls seeing as your back on the market then," he joked.

"Nah, I'm staying off the field for a while."

"Alfred Ross, would you rather teach this lesson?" Mr Lane boomed.

"No—no, not really sir."

"Well then be quiet."

The rest of AP biology went by quickly, time didn't actually speed up but the seconds just seemed to blur together and past by languidly, so I was glad when the bell went for lunch as it also meant I could escape Kelly's sympathetic looks that she kept shooting me throughout the lesson.

"Over here Alf!" I heard a voice call out over the bubbling of voices in the cafeteria.

They had a good spot, same as last year, the cafeteria was large and square filled with round tables of ten and ours was to the right at the front. We weren't the jocks, or the cheerleaders, or the smart people, or the clowns, not that cliques were very defined at our school anyway but we were just us, Sam, Blake, Thom, Greta, Lori and me.

People flitted over to us regularly and made up the numbers to ten, usually these were some of the jocks like Bobby or Toby, or Kelly and Lucie, and often Zac and Brad tagged on.

We weren't exactly popular, because, well because there were only really two groups at our high school, the people who went out to parties, and the people who didn't, it was good, not cliquey.

"I can't believe the country club won't let us hold prom there," Lucie was moaning.

"Whatever, bo-ring," yawned Sam.

"How's your day been Alfie? I haven't seen you at all," Greta said.

She had changed over summer, she had highlighted her hair so it was a lighter flaxen colour, and her tops were tighter which Blake had definitely noticed, but she was still nice and soft and downy with her lilac talc smelling skin.

"Ok, I mean its school I wasn't expecting anything good," I said and she brushed one of her chalky hands against my arm.

"Yeah, I know how you feel," she answered blowing her bangs out of her watery blue eyes.

"Oh look, there she is, she looks different," Lori said swivelling round in her chair to look at her, "You don't think she'll throw a fit or kill any of us do you?"

At this I just snorted.

It was Penelope, she really had come back, Lori was right she did look different, probably just the usual differences you would expect after five years or so, longer still russet colored hair, same glassy hazel orbs of eyes, and milky white skin, but her face was more mature, still pure and naïve but more grown-up than I remembered, and she was taller still small and very slight but no longer pocket sized height.

One thing she was now that I don't ever remember her being before was pretty, maybe I just didn't have as many hormones before or I had never really looked, but she was, very.

"What is she wearing?" giggled Lucie.

I guess what she was wearing didn't really fit in, it was an antique looking blouse with a big bow collar and a long paisley patterned skirt that dragged along the floor. She looked serenely around the room and then strolled over to a table by the windows where that sickly looking girl named Piper was sitting.

I wanted to scream at her then, why was she here!

She should have stayed at home, never gone out, she had the chance why hadn't she just stayed away, she didn't realize what she was getting herself in to this hell hole that swallowed people's spirits and broke you down, did she not know how people would be towards her?