Did anyone watch Thursday's episode? I for one thought it was the best one so far this year. What do you think? Lemme know!
Lily was really dreading going back to school. She knew, deep down, that it was going to be harder for others than her, after all they had known Denzel for longer than she had. But still, she missed him, and didn't yet feel able to confront her fears of grief and her mourning classmates. She had wanted a fresh start, and now even that was going downhill. Fat, ugly tears rolled down her pale cheeks, and she wiped them away, frustrated. Crying was going to get her nowhere. And it certainly wouldn't do Josh any good. Taking a deep breath, she left her room.
Maggie glanced up as she plodded downstairs. Her mother had insisted that she live in the schoolhouse, and Maggie had had many-a-lecture from Lily's mum about breakfast time. Fruit to begin with, then fresh juice, cereal, a fish-oil pill, and chocolate cereal was only allowed on weekends.
She smiled encouragingly at the teenager; she knew how much Lily had been dreading today. When she saw that Lily had been crying, her maternal instincts kicked in and she went into full-on mother mode, much to the discomfort of Lily, who awkwardly returned the huge hug that Maggie gave her. When the others walked in, Lily pulled away sharply, and gave a weak smile of thanks to Maggie.
'Alright Lily? Oh no, sorry, you haven't seen Josh in nearly 24 hours, you must be struggling,' Scout snickered. Lily looked down in shame and mumbled incoherently to herself. 'What's that sweetheart? Can't live without your precious Josh? Well don't worry; I'm sure he can manage a few hours without you without dying. Or he is obsessed with you as much as you are with him?'
Fuming, Lily grabbed her bag, without bothering to pause for breakfast, and stormed out of the door. She could hear the others laughing horribly behind her, and she wiped away the angry tears that were beginning to form in her rubbed-raw eyes. It was hopeless. No-one seemed to understand how ill Josh had been, and how much he needed her. If only they understood, she could breathe.
Arriving at the school gates, Lily paused, feeling tense. She was half an hour early, but she needed the extra time to think before she went to pick up Josh. She needed to sort out her conflicting emotions and work out how she felt so as not to upset Josh. She attempted to calm down, but Scout's words were going round and round her head. Was she really obsessed with him?
The sound of an urgent car horn snapped her out of her reverie, and she realised she was standing in the path of a bright red Ferrari. Apologising profusely, while keeping her eyes transfixed on the glossy paint-job, Lily scuttled off to the side. The beast of a car pulled up beside her, and Lily's eyes widened as an angry Miss Donnegan eyed her furiously, glancing at her uniform suspiciously.
'Watch where you're going, all right? The last thing I need today is a stupid student getting in my way and causing an accident. Who are you? What year are you in? What's your name? And what the hell were you doing in the middle of the bloody road! I've a good mind to put you in detention for the rest of the week. Why are you so early, anyway? Do you even go here?' she rambled.
Lily stared in shock, surprised at the woman's ability to ask so many questions. 'I'm Lily Longhope, year 10, yes I do go here; I was just… annoyed with someone so I came early. And I'm sorry for getting in your way, I was just daydreaming and I didn't realise where I was. I- I like your car Miss Donnegan.' Miss Donnegan just stared at the awkward teenager, startled at the sudden outburst.
'Yes, well…' Lorraine was unsure how to respond to that last remark. It was something that had caught her off guard, that much was certain. Shocked into silence for a moment or two, it became instantly very awkward, and Lorraine realised that the teenager's efforts had been to ease the tension in the first place. 'My office, now. I've got a job for you,' she managed, stammering.
Lily sighed. 'Yes Miss,' and reluctantly followed the red Ferrari into the school. She stumbled up the stone steps, before remembering that she had to pick up Josh. Luckily, he lived just around the corner. Making sure Miss Donnegan wasn't looking, she crept out of the school gates and ran all the way to Josh's house, laughing hysterically all the way and hoping that no-one could see her.
She was still gasping for breath when she finally arrived at Josh's front door. She knocked four times impatiently, and waited anxiously, checking her watch every few seconds. When finally the door opened and a tired looking Josh appeared, she frantically waved and sped off again in the direction of school. Josh, groaning, followed her despite her calls that she had to go, not him.
Lily arrived back at school to find a furious Miss Donnegan staring at her, red-faced, in the entranced. 'And you think you can just leave when I told you to stay, do you? Well let me tell you, Lily Longhope,' she spat nastily, 'you can forget about your breaks this week. In detention, that'll put you in your place. I need you to do something for me, come into my office now. NOW!' she yelled.
'But Miss, I just had to pick up my friend…' Lily protested, but she gave up when she saw that it was no use. She meekly followed Miss Donnegan into the office she shared with Mr Byrne. Miss Donnegan began shuffling papers, and Lily, upon hearing voices, glanced out of the window to see the playground filling up. She didn't recognise many of the students, presumably new ones.
'I need you to show round all the new pupils, Lily. They're due to arrive at my office in about,' she checked her watch, '5 minutes. Could you do that for me? Just show them each department and make sure you deposit them at each of their first classes. That of course means that you'll have less than an hour to show them round. I'm counting on you to be efficient, Lily, don't let me down.'
'Yes Miss, thanks Miss, I will miss. I mean, I won't miss. I won't let you down. I promise,' Lily gushed. Lorraine nodded her approval and thanks and swept out of the office. Lily sat down heavily. Talking to new students? As far as Lily was concerned, that was her worst nightmare. She dreaded how they'd react to the new school, if they didn't like it they'd take it out on her… She panicked.
Trying to walk as calmly and civilly as possible, Lily left the office in search of Josh. She felt she owed him an explanation as to what on earth happened earlier on.
She hadn't exactly had the best start to the new term.