“There are four people listening.”
“No-one can be bothered listening to her talk, so why doesn’t she just shut up?”
Mike restrained himself from laughing. It was true. No one really ever paid attention in class anymore, yet the teachers never noticed. He looked up at the words on the whiteboard, spiralling around in perfect sense, looping and curving to form the words he knew so well. He placed his pen down on the desk and looked at his teacher, attempting to work out what she was saying over the noise of his class.

In the back row, Jane was silently fretting. She didn’t understand what Ms Hilton had just said. She couldn’t hear her for a start, and when she looked down at her book, her notes made absolutely no sense. There was an English essay due next period that she hadn’t started. Before she started crying, Jane pushed the thought out of her mind. What the hell was she going to do. Her eyes drifted around the classroom and rested on Mike. Mike. Mike would have the essay done. He always had it done. Maybe he’d lend it to her.

When the bell rung, Mike gathered up his books and copied his homework into his diary before heading out the door. Munching on his muesli bar, Mike walked down the corridor and to his locker. Jane passed him on the way, and gave him a friendly smile. She stopped in front of him. “Mike, have you done the essay for English yet?”
Mike’s throat was dry and it was hard to speak, “Oh! Y-Yes! I have.”
“Can I borrow your copy?”
Mike looked into the deep brown eyes of Jane, and tried to think straight. He felt like he was swimming in the beauty of her eyes…
He cleared his throat. “Oh! Yes! Sure. M-My folder is in my l-l-locker though.”
“I’ll come.”
“Oh! Okay…” Mike felt his ears going red. They walked through the corridors and to his locker. Inside the door was a photo of a dog in a river, swimming with a stick in it’s mouth.
“Wow, nice photo.”
“Oh! Thanks!” Mike felt a little short of breath “I – I took it on a f-f-family h-holiday. Th – that’s my dog.” He struggled a smile.
“You took this photo? Wow. You can see the determination in the eyes. It’s really cool.”
“Oh! Th-Thanks. I have lots.” His chuckle was awkward.
“You should show me them sometime.”
“Oh! Okay! Hah. Here’s the e-e-essay.”

Jane walked into the library and opened Mike’s folder. She felt guilty and slightly sick, what if he actually thought she cared about his stupid dog? Shaking her head, she read the essay. He wasn’t only good at damn maths and science, jeez, he could actually write a fluent essay too. She looked at her watch. Twenty minutes to convert geek speak to girl talk. Go.

Mike finished his muesli bar and put the wrapper in his pocket. He pushed open the door with his head swimming. Jane. She knew he existed. Jane Jane Jane... Did she know they lived on the same street? No, she wouldn't have noticed they'd been getting off at the same bus stop every day except Wednesday and Thursday for two years. Or had she? No, she was always surrounded by that group of girls. He looked around for an empty table but there wasn’t one. Jane was looking frantic, her eyes were constantly flicking to her watch. Stop staring, Mike! He shook his head and spied an empty seat near the back of the room, far away from Jean. But the bell rung at that moment and the stampede of students began leaving the library. She hadn’t even copied a page.
“Hey, Jane.” He heard his own voice sound before he could stop it. She looked up at him and her eyes were glistening with tears.
“Yeah?”
He took a deep breath, trying to hold in his stutters. “You’ve never not handed in an e-essay before. J-J-Just, explain. I-I-I’ve had to d-do it a few times. I - I - Ms Hanson is - r - really n-n-nice.” But he lost his nerve and turned around, shuffling towards the door with his backpack hanging of both shoulders. He hated his stutters more than he hated anything. More than he hated being ostracized and poked fun at. More than he hated the way he could do everything but catch a ball and make friends. Lost in his thoughts, he nearly didn’t hear Jane call out after him. He turned, surprised. Jane looked around her, checking there was no-one within earshot.
“I’m screwed, Mike.”
He let out a laugh which turned into a cough, and he covered his mouth. “I-I can help y-you if-f-f you w-want b-but I don’t want to emb-b-b.. embarrass you. You’re v-v-very popular and i-it m-might u-upset the status quo if y-you w-were to b-be seen with m-me. I understand th-that.” He gave her a weak grin and left the library, not quite sure what to make of what had just happened.


____tell me what you think. There's more._____

Her curvy words were sexy, 

lying sprawled on the page. 

He shook his head and looked around but 

all he could see was her. 

Her words, so carelessly strewn along blue lines, 

didn’t recognize him at all.

Frozen moonlight rustled silently 

crinkling the carpet. 

A yellow balloon

Tied to the tree beside his window 

she had put it there once. 

Their promises, so strong, 

now lying as a shattered coffee cup 

on the bathroom floor, covered in vodka and vomit. 

The bleach with which he cleaned it was 

too tempting.

Slowly now, he lifts his head. 

Moonlight rests 

like autumn leaves 

against his leg.

A splash of water 

catches the moonlight and 

silhouettes the wall, 

falling. 

He laughed – shocked at his expression. 

He threw his head back and laughed. 

His own stupidity, 
his own pathetic nature – 

so comedic!
______“She’s gone.”

The words 

made laughs 

choke on his tongue 

his eyes open wide. 
S
he danced around him
the more he reached for her 

the less visible she appeared. 

The tiredness came and 

he moved away.