CHARLIES’ POV

Math was always that one class that seemed to drag out forever at the end of the day, no matter how hard I just tried to forget about it. Just make it stop. Most times, if not all the time, I tried to make it a little more challenging for myself; often skipping ahead and reading forward on the problems and equations we’d be working on. Their ease and simplicity on getting answers which puzzled through my mind should have made me an envy for anyone else who tended to struggle in this subject, but alas - I was a blur no one wanted to acknowledge. Text book flicked open to a clean page, I began jotting down notes on what I was really thinking. Creating graphs and charts filled with percentages to cover up and fake I was doing.

If D is the number of days left and S is the total number of suspects I have. Currently D = 5 and S = 6. Great.. non-conformity within numbers. My name being called from the front of the classroom caused me to drop my pen to the floor and look up at the teacher standing with her arms folded tightly in front of her chest and a snarl look on her face which was half hidden with grey straw hair and thick rimmed glasses.

“Ms Fleming, you’re wanted in the headmasters office.”

An array of ooohhhs and aaahhh’s travelled quickly and in sync as girls began to whisper between one another and boys rolled their eyes at the sight of drama. I packed my books into my satchel quickly zipping up the bag and tossing it over my shoulder before I headed out, not bothering to look back or at anyone. The walk to the headmasters office was something I’d only experienced once before - when Ruby went missing, and the school nurse and assistant receptionist thought it would be best if I was kept in seclusion. Yes.. that’s right; keep the already sheltered and solitary student even more alone and out of normalities way. A hefty knock on the glass panel at Mr Hawkers door and I was instructed to enter and take a seat.

Entomology and history were our headmasters favourite subjects; the amount of bugs, creepy crawlies, maps and books which were proudly displayed around the place was phenomenal. The large leather black chair I sat in kept my back straight and made me feel like a tiny fairy lost in a tale.

“Ms Fleming, how are you?”, he began; his dark, warm voice suffocating the room.
“Fine”, I responded with a quick smack of my lips.
“I’ve called you in here because I received some news about your mother.”
“Oh..”
“She’s been taken to County Clarke hospital for injuries suffered after falling down the stairs at your home.”

I nodded in response. A migraine had started to sink in.

“Are you okay?”, Mr Hawker asked, his eyes closing in on me like prey.
“Yes.”
“Do you need a moment to take this in?”
“No.”

I must have sounded like a cold hearted bitch but a part of me wished this had happened sooner; just a taste of her own medicine to the old, wicked witch. I was excused from school for the rest of the day; a guardian swearing he’d keep watch over me. Ian came to pick me up from the gates and I headed straight past him; although annoyed at what my mother had put herself through - there wasn’t any way I was trusting him. Running as quickly as my feet could carry me; I hopped onto the 701 bus and rode it downtown to the Clarke cemetery, popping some of my mom's pills to cure my head ache on the way; hunting through the iron gates I’d grown attachment too and pulled the lunch out I hadn’t bothered eating earlier in the day out from my back, taking a seat beside a headstone I hadn’t visited in a while and ate in peace.

“Charlie..?”

I half turned around to see Louis standing behind me. His eyes were dark, almost mimicking the colour which the sky above us had turned and he took a few steps toward me; still keeping a safe distance.

“How’d you find me?”
“Ruby use to come here all the time”, he explained quietly, “I figured, being sisters you’d probably think the same.”

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, scream or just stay silent at the comparison at comment. Kicking myself up and throwing my bag back over my shoulder, I began walking back towards the exit knowing that I didn’t have much time left and after a wasted afternoon of how many hours I’d spent here wasted; I wasn’t sure of - work now had to be done.

“Where are you going?”, Louis asked, calling out after me as I walked past him.
“Police station.”
“What?”
“You heard me..”
“No Charlie stay…”

We fought for a few moments with pulls, swipes and unshared thoughts we weren’t keen on exposing to one another. Louis had a bad habit of becoming stubborn and I well.. I wasn’t backing down on my gut feelings which had only proved true in the last few days.

“Char.. Charlie! Charlie, what is your problem?”, Louis asked, obviously tired of our bickering.
“I don’t have a problem…”, I tried correcting him, “You do.”
“Me?”, he swallowed his pride scoffing at me.
“Yes you. Everyone who gets close to you dies..”, I explained to him, working perfectly what I’d been thinking about during class, “My dad treated you like a son and he’s dead, Ruby and you were like.. perfect and she’s dead and now I.. I.. I’m about to die.”


The grass began turning into this perfect grey colour, then the sky became dark - almost black, Louis.. Louis became a blur. I felt.. I felt as if; as if I’d hit the ground.

Notes

Firstly: go read It's All In Your Head

Decondly; this is just part 1. I wrote everything and felt as if adding part 2 would just be a little too much for what was happening right away. Plus, as you've guessed it - I like my descriptions and imaginative text so I didn't want things to drag. Please take a note of all the key pointers in the chapter. I haven't given them away completely; but things will start to make sense. Also (again) go check out It's All In Your Head and let me know what you think! <3