Chapter Twenty-Seven


    Monday started with English, and Lila and Asher sat next to each other as usual. It felt weird to no longer need to pretend to ignore each other.


    “So…” Lila said awkwardly as Ms Shard started handing out everyone’s marked criteria sheets for the presentation.


    “Yeah?” Asher said, looking at her with a smile.


    “Did you end up looking through the stuff?”


    “What st- oh. Yeah. It turned out to be… a whole lot,” Asher said, shuddering. “I still can’t believe I never noticed.”


    “I don’t think anyone expects to be stalked,” Lila said frankly.


    “I guess not… thanks, ma’am,” Asher said, collecting his and Lila’s marked criteria sheets as Ms Shard passed them. Lila’s eyes almost popped out of her head as she looked at hers.


    “Oh my God!” she cried, elation taking over.


    “What, what?” Asher asked, hurriedly looking over at her sheet.


    “I got an A+!”


    Asher chuckled, relaxing back in his seat. “Is that all you’re excited about?”


    Lila flushed but rolled up her criteria sheet into a loose tube and bopped him on the shoulder. “Hey, not everyone gets straight A+s, you know. I’m allowed to be happy!”


    “I know,” Asher grinned, “your excitement is just… cute.”


    Lila dropped her tube, which unfurled on her desk unceremoniously, her heart thumping just slightly harder than before. “Don’t call me cute,” she said finally.


    “Sorry, sorry,” Asher said, clearly biting back his smile now, raising his hands in surrender.


    Ms Shard took back command of the students, who had been either cheering, lamenting, or discussing their marks. She went through the criteria sheet, indicating what the teachers had been out looking for as she went. Lila still felt giddy, gleefully eyeing her criteria sheet as Ms Shard spoke. After Ms Shard was done with explaining the criteria sheet, she opened a new PowerPoint.


    “Now, as a reminder, next term we’ll be reading Romeo and Juliet. We’ll take the first two or three weeks to read it in class. It may be a bit complicated, but we’ll get there in the end,” she said, flicking through the slides as she spoke.


    A collective groan resounded from the class, but Ms Shard ignored them.


    “Please bring a copy of Romeo and Juliet to class on Wednesday and we’ll start on the history of the play.”


    “Ma’am,” a hand belonging to Liam Davies, one of Lila’s PC classmates, shot up.


    “Yes, Liam?” Ms Shard asked, peering at him over her glasses.


    “What’s up with these old-as books? Why can’t we have anything newer?”


    A few giggles erupted from Lila’s classmates as Ms Shard sighed.


    “Liam, we will be moving on to contemporary literature later in the year. There’s no need to fret. Now, please be quiet.”


    “I wasn’t fretting. I don’t even know what fretting is. Is that a ‘fret’?” Lila heard Liam mumble to the guy sitting next to him as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair defiantly.


    “Are you into Shakespeare?” Lila asked Asher as Ms Shard wrapped up her explanation of the intended assessment pieces. It didn’t look as though there were any group projects scheduled for next term.


    “I dabble,” Asher whispered back.


    “Didn’t know you could ‘dabble’ in Shakespeare,” Lila smirked.


    “The more you know,” Asher smirked back. “My favourite is ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.”


    “I’m both impressed and appalled that you have a favourite,” Lila replied.


    “Well, the books you saw in my library aren’t for decoration,” Asher remarked. “Mum made me read a few of Shakespeare’s plays in preparation for high school a few years ago.”


    It felt almost as though Asher had committed a crime by acknowledging that Lila had been in his house out loud. Lila quickly looked around but saw that no one was even looking their way.


    “I see,” Lila said simply. Asher gave her a brief sideways glance, but before he could say anything else, Ms Shard dismissed them from English.


    <hr>


    By the time lunch had arrived, Lila was wondering what the point of being at school during this week was. She walked to tuckshop with Grace and Elise in tow, having just finished with Modern History which involved watching the beginning of a movie regarding the Vietnam War.


    As usual, the trio took the shortcut behind the auditorium. Following this path would take them in a diagonal direction to the tuckshop. According to Pythagoras, this was clearly the most efficient way. Lila remembered that much about maths, at least. It was less travelled owing to the vast number of trees lining the path, casting deep shadows across the walkway, and contributing to a slightly eerie atmosphere.


    In the far distance, Lila spotted two figures, dressed in the boys’ uniform, standing at the far end where the path opened into the main road. They appeared to be looking in the trio’s direction. Due to the distance and shade, Lila couldn’t see any particular details regarding the identity of the students.


    “Who’s that?” Lila asked, pointing down the road. Grace and Elise halted their banter, stopping dead in their tracks.


    “I hope it’s not Piper with a knife,” Elise replied darkly.


    “Don’t say that,” hissed Grace. “It could actually happen! You’ll freak Lila out!”


    Lila rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware that it is a possible scenario, thank you. Besides, unless she stole a whole uniform set from Asher, I don’t think she’s got a boys’ uniform,” she replied drily.


    “Doesn’t it look like they’re just… waiting for us?” Grace asked anxiously, hiding behind Elise.


    “Well, we’re at school,” Elise said cautiously. “So, I doubt we’d be in danger.”


    “Let’s keep going, then,” Lila said, attempting to sound brave.


    They slowly inched their way up the path. The two figures stood still. Eventually, Lila recognised who they were approaching. It was Asher and Isaac. Grace and Elise seemed to realise at the same time, as they both stopped walking like robots.


    Lila waved at Asher and Isaac, and Asher waved back. They were now walking to meet the trio on the path.


    “You guys looked so creepy,” Lila laughed once they were in a reasonable distance for a conversation.


    “It certainly was a bit of an ambush,” Asher said, glancing at Isaac. Isaac seemed to be trembling, his hands behind his back. An awkward pause followed before Asher sighed deeply and folded his arms, glancing between Isaac and the trio. When nothing happened, Asher sighed again and pushed Isaac forward with his elbow. Isaac inhaled deeply and walked closer to Grace.


    “G-Grace, will you go to semi with me?” he asked, presenting her with a bouquet of lilies, sunflowers, chrysanthemums and yellow roses.


    “O-Oh,” Grace gasped. She looked desperately at Lila and Elise, who were now both grinning. Asher and Isaac continued to look at Grace expectantly.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    “You know I’m in a relationship, right?”


    Isaac shrugged. “I know he doesn’t go here, and I know you can’t bring him. School’s pretty strict about that. Besides, I think it’d be fun to have someone to dance with. And we’re both dancing-partner deprived. Plus, I’m not asking to date you.”


    “I, uh, said I’d go with Lila,” Grace finally replied.


    “You don’t need to worry about me,” Lila said, waving a hand dismissively. “I can be a pretty good third wheel.”


    “W-Well, he’s your ex!” Grace said, panic rising in her tone. Lila shrugged.


    “Sure, but that was hardly a relationship,” she said. Isaac nodded in agreement, still holding the bouquet.


    “B-But you guys ki-” Grace protested, before Lila shushed her, her face bright red. She tried not to look at Asher, but from her peripheral vision, he looked distinctly uncomfortable.


    “It’s semi,” Lila finally said, looking at Grace. “I’m not saying that you can’t say no, but please don’t say no because of me. Trust me, I seriously don’t mind either way.”


    Lila then leaned in towards Grace and whispered, “Plus, wouldn’t it help you?”


    “… Could I think about it?” Grace asked timidly, looking down at her shoes. Isaac seemed relieved and handed her the flowers.


    “Lila’s right. You can say no. But, I’m glad you’re not saying ‘no’ right to my face, right now, in this very moment. I think I’d collapse. Take the flowers, I’m allergic.”


    “Thanks,” Grace said, clutching the bouquet. Asher and Isaac began to walk past the trio, back down towards the Modern History building, Isaac sneezing loudly. They made it about ten metres down the road before Grace turned around.


    “Isaac, I’ll go!” she called. He spun around to look at her, beaming.


    “Heck yeah!” he shouted, fist-bumping the air. He took a couple of backward steps, still beaming, before he sprinted down the path away from the tuckshop. Asher followed close behind, shouting “Mate, where’re ya goin’?”


    “Boys,” Elise said, shaking her head with a chuckle. They heard a distant ‘achoo!’ before breaking into laughter.


    <hr>


    Sitting in Bio, her last class of the day, Lila felt that there was something odd between Lucas and Cecelia. Mr Johnson had returned their marks for their assignment today and was going through the criteria like Ms Shard had done in English. She received a B, which was standard fare for Lila. She took down notes regarding what assignments in the A-range looked like but couldn’t help sneaking glances at Lucas and Cecelia.


    They seemed normal, but the energy was all sorts of off. Perhaps it was the way that Cecelia seemed to avoid looking at Lucas’ face. Perhaps it was that she would shuffle away every time Lucas slightly moved in her direction, whether that be because he was stretching or asking her a question. Perhaps it was because of Cecelia’s lacklustre responses to Lucas’ jokes and jibes.


    When Bio finished up for the day, Cecelia waited in the classroom for Lila to pack away her things. Lucas tried waiting, as well, but Cecelia politely asked him to go away. Which was again strange. Lila couldn’t think of a moment previous to this where Cecelia had actively told Lucas to leave. Lila could sense that Cecelia wanted to discuss something, so packed her things at half the normal speed to ensure that they would be the last to leave.


    “See you on Wednesday, Mr Johnson!” Lila cheerily called over her shoulder as she and Cecelia exited. They meandered slowly towards the locker room, neither saying anything for a few minutes.


    “Hey,” Cecelia finally said in a half-whisper. “Can I hang out with you this week?”


    “What do you mean?” Lila asked, surprised. “Did you and Lucas have a fight or something? You guys are always hanging out together.”


    “Nah, we didn’t have a fight,” Cecelia sighed, readjusting her stack of books that were in her arms. “Just… want to spend more time with you.”


    “I don’t see why not,” Lila nodded, “I’m usually hanging out with Grace and Elise, if that’s cool with you?”


    Cecelia’s breathing audibly stopped for just a moment, before she shook her head.


    “That’s cool with me,” Cecelia said, her voice somewhat strained.


    “I mean, I can see about, like, rotating hangouts or something,” Lila said, confused by Cecelia’s tone. Lila put it down to the fact that Cecelia didn’t really hang out with Lila during lunch, since Cecelia instead hung out with Lucas and their own shared PC friends.


    “No, no,” Cecelia shook her head again. “It’ll be fine. I just… don’t really know them.”


    “Well, it’ll be a good time to try to get to know them,” Lila replied with a smile. “Though, tomorrow Grace has a music lesson, so it’ll just be Elise and me.”


    Cecelia nodded in acknowledgement, and they fell silent for the rest of the way to the locker room.


    “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Lila said, turning to Cecelia at the entrance of the locker room.


    “Yeah,” Cecelia replied with a faint smile. “See you then.”


    <hr>


    On Tuesday morning, Lila found herself partnered with Justin Daly for the waltz box step. Now that semi-formal was upon the students, Ms Wright hardly needed to give anyone instructions to pair up and practice. Lila had barely noticed that he was in her class since the demonstration she had with Asher, so it was a surprise when he extended his hand for hers at the start of the lesson. Justin wasn’t nearly as clumsy as Connor had been, though, which she was silently grateful for. Many of the other partners that she randomly found herself paired with seemed magnetised to her toes.


    “So, Lila…” Justin said, twirling her.


    “Uh, yeah?” Lila asked, catching her breath.


    “D-Do you have a date to sem-”


    “If you’re about to ask me to go with you, I’m good, thanks,” Lila replied quickly. “I’ll just be going alone.”


    “O-Oh,” Justin replied, his face bright-red and sweating profusely now. “Is it ‘cause of me?”


    “No,” Lila replied earnestly as Justin guided her through another spin. “It’ll be my response to everyone, no matter who asks me.”


    Justin fell silent, though his redness took some time to disappear. Lila felt a bit guilty about cutting him off so quickly and bit her lip as she thought about what she could say to alleviate the situation.


    “Thank you for asking me,” Lila said gently. He avoided her gaze, nodding stiffly.


    “For the record, I-I wasn’t about to ask if you wanted to go together or anything,” he blurted out, his face quickly turning red again.


    “Okay. Well, thanks anyway for asking if I’m going with anyone. You sounded concerned,” Lila replied, though she was unconvinced by Justin’s objection.


    “I am serious, though,” Lila said after a few more rotations through the waltz box step. “I don’t want a repeat of the rumours. You saw what happened with Connor, and that was over a, like, ten-minute practice. I don’t know how it’d go after three or four hours of semi.”


    Justin breathed a sigh, seeming relieved. “Yeah, that makes sense.”


    The class moved along to the group dances, and now that Lila and Asher weren’t ignoring each other, Lila felt strangely nervous. She rotated through dance partners, getting closer and closer to Asher by the second. Should she look at him? Should she look away? Would he think she was weird if she did either?


    Asher firmly caught Lila in time to the music. She glanced at him but looked back down at her feet just as quickly. She felt him shake and she looked up at him again. He seemed to be holding in a laugh, so her stare turned to a glare. He winked at her in return and spun her towards her next dance partner, her face burning.


    Lunch with Cecelia and Elise was shaping up to be an interesting experience. Usually, whenever Cecelia dropped in on Lila during lunch, she was with Lucas, sharing banter and a cheery disposition. Cecelia’s general liveliness had seemingly lost its shine as she bit into her meat pie, her eyes lost in the distance and face seeming more pale than usual.


    Elise hadn’t said anything about Cecelia’s showing up to their hang-out spot though she did excessively fumble with her sandwich wrapper. Having neither Cecelia nor Elise say very much was putting Lila on edge too, but she tried to enjoy the increasingly pleasant rays of sunshine that were gently warming her without thinking about it too much. Even dinner with Asher’s Dad didn’t feel as awkward as this.


    Lila decided to bite the bullet.


    “So, what’s your plan for the holidays, Cecelia?” she asked. This seemed to rouse Cecelia from her mindless state as she met Lila’s gaze.


    “I’m going away to Hamilton Island for Easter,” Cecelia said quietly. “We leave on Friday night. Then, I come back on the 10^th doing not much.”


    “Ooh, that sounds exciting,” Elise exclaimed, sitting forward. “I went over last Easter. It’s so nice.”


    Cecelia blinked blankly at Elise before her mouth curled into a smile.


    “Yeah,” Cecelia remarked. “I went a few years ago but can’t really remember it. All I remember was playing with my cousins by the beach. Don’t ask me about anything else on the island.”


    Elise laughed. It sounded genuine as she straightened up her posture.


    “You’ll need to make sure your parents have made reservations at the restaurants. They get so full so quickly and getting groceries is a pain,” Elise said in a serious tone.


    “I think they’ve made a couple reservations, but I’ll check.”


    “The island is also really small, generally, but the buggies are fun.”


    Cecelia nodded, life seemingly returning to her cheeks as she sipped on a bottle of Coke.


    “What about you guys?” Cecelia asked after she twisted the lid back on.


    “I’m just at home,” shrugged Lila. “We usually have a big family get-together for Easter Sunday with, like, my grandparents, but this year they’re going down to Melbourne to see my cousins.”


    “You’re not going to Melbs? Rude,” Elise gasped.


    “Clare and Daniel weren’t interested in going, for some reason. It was a hot topic, but Dad decided it might be good downtime to tidy up some stuff for the business. We’ll probably have a nice lunch or something instead with just the five of us. My Dad is fond of barbecues, but he’s not trusted to cook much. Mum’s cooking is just too good and she chases him away from the kitchen. Easter is about the only time she lets him loose – she hates the smoke of the Weber.”


    “Lowkey kinda sad that you’re just stuck here,” Cecelia said, frowning.


    “I’ll find something to do. I still have to figure out what I’m wearing to semi,” Lila said with another shrug. Elise shot her a sharp look. Lila looked back at her, perplexed, but Cecelia seemed to perk up even more.


    “I don’t have a dress either! Can we go have a look when I come back?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.


    “Isn’t it leaving it a bit late by then?” Lila asked. Cecelia shook her head vehemently.


    “While semi is still nice, it’s a lot less investment than formal. I’m happy just picking up a nice dress from like Myer or something. My Mum’s best friend is a seamstress, so she can alter it pretty quick on the side for me. Oh! Maybe I can ask if she can alter your stuff too? If you need it. Besides,” Cecelia said, with a mischievous grin on her face, “when have you ever known me to be prepared early? I’m not saying you guys need to wait for me to buy your dresses, but I just don’t wanna go alone.”


    “Fair,” Elise replied with a nod. “I’ll have to check my schedule when it’s closer to the time, though. They like to give me surprise shifts at Maccas when I’m still here for school holidays.”


    “We should invite Grace, too,” Cecelia added, seeming genuinely excited now. Lila couldn’t help but smile with Cecelia.


    “Yeah, I’ll text her now before we forget,” Lila said, taking out her phone and doing just that.