Love Will Come Through

The next morning, after a long shower and diner at the tube station, Chris entered his classroom, finding Noreen already there.

‘Well you are early’ he spoke to her as he placed his back on his desk. She shrugged again.

‘I’m sorry, I must have a coffee. I’ll be right back’ –he had almost left the classroom when he peered around the door frame- ‘Do you want coffee as well?’

She looked up, smiled, and nodded.

‘Sugar?’

‘One’ she said.

Chris smiled back at her and went to the canteen.

He returned a minute later, she was still alone. He carried two mugs towards her and placed hers on her desk.

‘Here you go’ he said and he looked at her, noticing she was pale and her eyes looked tired. ‘You will need it’ he added.

She only looked briefly at him before she took the mug between her hands and began to blow the steam of it. Chris himself began to drink his at once.

‘Why are you so early?’ he asked her.

‘I arrived early’ she said and now also began to sip her coffee.

Chris only nodded, not knowing what to say.

‘I will say this now before the others arrive, but would you like to read something else than… basic stuff?’ he added with a chuckle.

She looked up. ‘Like what?’ she asked.

‘I got a lot of historical books’ he said. ‘In old English… and lots of Shakespeare. Would you like to read those?’

She seemed to think, but nodded enthusiastic. ‘Yes, I would like too!’

A smile came on Chris’ face. ‘Good!’ he said. ‘I will see what I’ve got for you than’ and he winked at her.

The bell rang, and within seconds, the classroom began to fill with the other students. Chris went back to his desk and waited for all of them to take place.

‘I’ve got your essays!’ Chris said as he took them out of his bag. He began to handle them back.

Chris watched the class from a moment. They only had half an hour left, so he discussed a few matters with the class. What they would do this year, what they could expect in their final exam, and so on. He than let the class have the last ten minutes for themselves. Eventually, the subject became football, and Chris rolled his eyes.

He wasn’t really into sports, basically because his brother couldn’t stop talking about it. He himself was more into Rugby, which he used to play a lot with other colleagues, before he got his back problem. He still went running every week with Paul, but that was basically all the sport he did.

He looked around the class and his eye fell upon Noreen. She was looking at him. He grinned back and winked at her, before he examined the rest of the class.

A few minutes later, the bell went and the classroom started to empty itself. He sat down on the desk again, biding goodbye to the students. He looked at Noreen, who had stayed.

'Right' he said as the class was empty again. ‘As I said… you can borrow some books from me.’

You will like them - We seem to have the same interests - So you will certainly like them -

'The point is' he said. 'My bag is not large enough to carry them with me. They are quite large' he added as he nudged to his shoulder bag, which stood on his table. 'And I don't believe you will be able to carry them around too all day' he said as he nodded to her back.

'So I suppose you can pick them up at my place, if you wouldn't mind. Students are actually not allowed to come at their teacher's home, but if we don't say anything, now one will find out'

She tilted her head and looked a bit stunned at him.

‘Don’t worry’ he said and raised his hand. ‘I had students at my place before. You are not the only one who has ever borrowed something from me’ He laughed at her. She now nodded and seemed a bit relieved.

'I - er, yeah, why not. I won't tell anyone.' she smiled and nodded. 'When do you want me to come, Sir?' she asked, stroking a strand of her long black hair out of her view.

Chris looked at the ceiling for a moment. He always did that when he was thinking

When - Well with my life - I've always got time

He looked back at her again. 'Today?' he asked. 'When’s your last class?’

He himself was free quite early, so he didn't had to stay long at school. He would give her his address, and tell her which tube to take. So she could come to his house to pick up the books.

Chris always liked to lend students books from him. He owned quit a lot of them, and he liked it when students wanted to read that. There weren’t many of course, but the ones who did had actually always been Chris’ favorite students. He loved to discuss books with them. In his eyes, students were his equal. Of course, he was the teacher, so he was in charge, but he loved to hear the opinions of the young minded ones.

She thought for a moment, before she answered:

'Around 15.45 my last lesson is over, so… After that I could come over.'

Chris smiled and nodded. 'Great' he said and clapped his hands together. He took a pen out of his chest pocket and turned around to search the desk for an empty piece of paper. He couldn’t find any, so he asked her: ‘Have you got something I could write my address on?’

She opened her back and took out a note book. Chris took it and wrote down his address on it.

‘Is it far from here?’ she asked.

‘No’ Chris said at once ‘'Take the East tube and get out at this station' he said as he wrote the station name on the paper too.

'Just look around for Sainsbury’s. My apartment is opposite it.’ He gave the notebook back to her. 'I will go home after this hour, so I will be home after that.’

She looked at the notebook, to see what he had just written down on it.

‘All right, thank you, Sir.' she smiled, and looked up from her book. 'See you then' she walked some steps backwards and winked, turning around and left the classroom.

God she’s a nice girl, Chris thought to himself. Although she was shy and silent, Chris really had the idea she was beginning to be more open to him. He liked that. He couldn’t help but feel curious if there was something wrong with her, but he just wanted her to open up a bit more.

As he thought about this, the next class began to enter the classroom. Chris shook himself out of his thought and took out his books and when the class had seated themselves, he began to teach.

More than an hour later, Chris entered his apartment again. He dropped his bag on the ground, as usual, and sat down behind his desk. He thought it was better to do some work before Noreen would come.

He took out some letters the fifth years had to write and began to read and grade them. He felt excited she would come.

He had invited students from his mentor class before, but never a girl which wasn't his mentor student. It didn't really matter of course. She still was a student, and it wasn't allowed to have her over. But he was one of those teachers who had lack to the school rules. She would only pick up some books and probably drink tea with him.

Nothing else -

He felt relieved but tired when he finished his work. He rubbed his face and leaned back for a moment

Beer -

He first stuffed the letters back in his bag and than went to the kitchen to get a bottle of beer. He remained in the kitchen as he drank.

The kitchen was a bit of a mess. The dished he had used for breakfast yesterday morning, where still there and he still hadn't emptied the dishwasher with its cleaned dishes in it. He didn't feel like cleaning up at all, so he walked back to the sitting room. To his great annoyance, the sitting room too wasn't very tidy. The pillows on the sofa were filled with cat hairs, left behind from Strummer. There were a few empty glasses on the salon table, so Chris picked them up and placed them in the kitchen sink. He went back to the living room and scanned the place

Still a mess - But still better than a trashcan -

He took of some hairs of the pillows when the bell rang.

That must be her -

He walked towards the intercom and pressed the button to let her in. He opened the front door and leaned against the doorpost, waiting for her to come upstairs.

After a few minutes, she finally appeared at the top of the stairs.

‘Hello.' she smiled and stroked a strand of hair out of her view with one hand. 'I hope I'm not too late or something, but I wanted to eat first.' she stopped in front of him.

'No, that's alright' he said and stepped aside to let her in. 'We didn't really say a time, so it doesn't
matter' He closed the door again and led her in to the sitting room.

'Now, welcome to my- er - apartment' he said with a smile at her. 'It's not large, but large enough for a bachelor teacher' He walked towards the kitchen 'Sit down' he said as he nudged towards the sofa. 'Tea?'

He could see she sat down hastily.

‘Please’ she said.

He made tea very quickly and returned to the sitting room, carrying two cups of steaming tea. He placed her cup in front of her and his own a few inch away as he sat down at the other side of the sofa. 'So how was school?' he asked as he looked at her.

It now occurred to her how nice she looked. She had changed clothes before she went here. She was wearing dark denim trousers, which fitted very tightly. She wore a red, also tight long sleeve.

'Well - boring, to be honest.' she grinned shyly. 'School is not that exciting and it’s rather exhausting.' she raised an eyebrow and now really grinned 'Except from my English lessons of course.' She added

Chris laughed loudly when she made the last comment. 'I feel honored' he said as he looked back at her again. She looked lovely as she smiled like that, and Chris couldn't help but feel a bit attracted by her smile. It showed she meant it.

She liked his lessons. 'Well that's really nice to hear' he said as he sat up a bit more straight. 'I haven't had many complains yet, so I guess you must be right'

'Yeah, seriously. I really like your lessons, they're funny-… most teachers are just strict and-… boring.' she said, suddenly sounding a lot more different than the girl Chris knew so far. 'And they don't make me tea.' she added and took another sip out of her cup.

Chris smiled back at her. She seemed to be very spontaneous! He really hadn’t expected that!

‘Well it would be rude if I would open the door, push the books into your stomach and smash the door in your face, wouldn’t it?' Chris said and she nodded. He took a sip of his tea and placed it back on the table. 'Well' he said 'I must say I don't really like to be a strict teacher'

Not at all -

'But I won't tolerate childish behavior. But I don't want to be superior either. Students are the same like me, but they are the one who have to learn from the things I tell them,’ – he took a sip of his tea before she added: ‘Don’t you think?’

‘Oh, yes I do,’ she said at once and the biggest smile on her face ever appeared. ‘Every student must like it when a teacher treats them like an equal!’

‘That’s exactly what I think,’ Chris said and held up his hand for a moment. She really seemed to understand the way

Chris was teaching the students. She was a smart girl.

That moment, Strummer came walking in, and she seemed to notice it as well.

‘Is that your cat?’ she asked.

Chris had told his class a few times he owned a cat. It was basically his roommate, so he could only tell stories about this cat.

‘Yes, that’s him,’ Chris said as Strummer jumped on the sofa. He stroked the cat on its head, and she soon joined him by scratching its back. ‘Do you have pets?’

She shook her head. ‘My dad doesn’t allow it. But I have a brother, so it’s almost the same’

Chris laughed again. ‘Yes, I know what you mean,’ he said and thought about Paul for a second.

Because Chris wasn’t paying attention, his hand accidentally touched her’s for a moment, he withdrew his head at once and stared at her, feeling utterly shocked.

He had felt how a shock had run through his entire arm into his body. He had felt it everywhere, but mostly in his chest.

What was that? -

‘The books,’ he said at once, taking the attention of what had just happened. ‘Come. My bookcase is in here.’ He got up, and so did she. He knew it was very odd to lead her to his bedroom, but that was where his bookcase was. He went in, and she followed. Chris didn’t dare to look at her, so he searched the bookcase.

That feeling - I've never felt that - before -

He stood in front of it, staring at the covers from the many books he had.

'You liked history, right?' He pulled out a book and opened it. It was a book based upon the medieval history of England. Most of his books were based of England, because he had to read them for his study.

This book actually contained more pictures than text, but it was a very interesting book, and it was one of Chris' favorites. He looked at her reaction.

God, she is - She's really beautiful

He tried to drive out the thoughts, but he found hard to do so.

'Is it about English history?' she asked as she saw the pictures and Chris nodded.

'It is' he said 'Most of my books are based upon the history of England'. He looked up at her, who was examining the book. Her hair fell a bit in front of her eyes. Chris closed his eyes for a moment but opened them again.

Don't think like that - Although she looks lovely -

'Er-,' Chris stuttered as he closed the book and placed it on the desk 'I've got more' he added as he took another book of the shelf. While he scanned the back of the book, he saw she had opened the first book again and had started to browse the pages.

'I'll take as much with me as I can,' she grinned and turned the page, straightening a strand behind her ear.

Chris really had no idea what was happening. He felt he was sweating like an otter! After inhaling deeply, he spoke again and he took out some more books. 'This will be enough' he said as he placed them on the desk as well. 'I hope you can carry them home' He lifted up the pile and began to carry it back to the sitting room. They still had to finish their tea.

Strummer was still on the sofa and again begging for attention and looked up at Noreen.

'Your cat is really a cute one, Sir' she said and picked up her tea again as she sat down on the sofa.

‘He is’ Chris said as he placed the books on the salon table. ‘He’s a good companion for a lonely teacher as me’

Don’t say that! -

‘So tell me’ he said as he sat down again, picking up his tea as well. ‘You still haven’t really told me why you seem so miserable’. She looked up at him and Chris looked at her from over the rim of his glassed. ‘Would you like to talk about it?’

She stared at him for a long while, until she spoke, looking down at her cup: ‘My mother died two years ago’

Chris could have spit out his tea. This was not what he had expected. He thought that people bullied her, or something like that. Not this!

‘I-I’m sorry’ he said as he lowered his cup.

‘I get sad - very easily - although it has been two years since she’s gone. I’m not over it yet’

Damn it - You and your big mouth, Hammond.

‘I-I’m sorry-… I’m so sorry’ Chris said as he looked at her. He shouldn’t have asked. He was curious! He should have left her in her own misery. Now she was thinking about it again!

Poor girl -

'It doesn't go that fast' he said. 'You can't forget a person that quickly'

It takes time -

He sighted deeply as he kept looking at her. He rested his elbow on the back of the sofa and supported his head as he looked at her. 'It will need time'

'Yes, I know - ' she muttered, stroking Strummer behind his ear. 'But two years - I shouldn't be that - vulnerable anymore, I - shouldn't start crying every time I think about her.' her voice became a bit different, and Chris knew she was on the verge of really crying. But she kept speaking: 'But - my father, he's - ' she seemed to hesitate, but suddenly covered her face with her hands, and muttered: ' - he's always giving me the fault that - that my mum - '

Chris felt very uncomfortable right now.

Look what you’ve done! You’ve made her cry! Nice move, Hammond.

He moved closer to her, and pushed Strummer (who had climbed on her lap earlier) of her lap to give her some more space.

'You father is blaming you?' he asked shocked 'It wasn't your fault, was it?' he asked cautiously.

‘No, it was not!' she sobbed 'But - he's depressed, he - he tries to find someone for his problems and sorrows - 'I-I can't get over it. Not as long as my d-dad –‘ She broke in the middle of the sentence and cried even harder.

A lump formed in Chris’ throat. He had completely forgotten what he had thought about her before, and he wrapped his arm around her and pressed her instinctually against his shoulder. He knew it was wrong, especially of how he was feeling now, but he had the feeling she had to be held right now. He knew he was not the person for this. She should talk to her mentor right now. But it was also Chris' duty to listen to her. If a student wanted to talk about something private, a teacher was forced to listen and give comfort.

'He shouldn't do that' he said as he sat very close to her now. 'Cry' he added. 'It doesn't matter if you do so'. She took the opportunity and pressed her face against his shoulder. He could hear her speak: 'I hate him - ' she sobbed

'He's unfair - I hate him - '

'I understand that' Chris said softly

It's not fair indeed - The man shouldn't behave like that to his children.
He felt how she was leaning against him, allowing him to touch her like this. He felt warm, and slightly uncomfortable. 'Have you ever talked to someone about this?' he asked concerned. He could hear her swallow and she whipped her tears away. Her make up had run out a bit, because of the tears, that had formed little drops in her eyelashes.
'Not really - ' she said, still sobbing for breath 'Just-… with my brother - b-but I don't want to be like this in front of him.' She took a few breaths, and suddenly sat up straight again, shifting away from Chris, who felt a bit surprised about her doing this. 'I - I'm sorry - I didn't want to - I - ' she sighed weakly and looked away.
What?
But nevertheless, Chris smiled faintly, knowing she was probably just as uncomfortable at the moment as he felt right now. 'It's alright' he said as he pulled back a bit, so he could look at her. Although she was crying, she still looked lovely. He tried to drive the thought out, but he felt hard toe resist. 'Everyone needs a good cry once in a while' he said as he kept looking at her. She swallowed again, and she seemed to settle down a bit.
'Thank you, Sir - ' she paused and whipped her tears from her cheeks. 'I didn't want to - burst out like this.' she smiled bitterly over to him. 'But sometimes - ' she shrugged.
Chris still had his hand on her back, and he knew he was breaking some laws right now, but he didn’t care. This girl needed comfort, and he was here to comfort her.
He hesitated again, but brought up his other hand. There was a tear still on her cheek, so he gently whipped it of. Her eyes had gone a bit wider when he had moved up his hand, but she seemed to accept it.
God this is so wrong - I shouldn't do this -
'I-It's alright' he said again, looking seriously at her. 'It doesn't matter. Really.' He smiled faintly. 'And please, call me Chris outside the school building' and although he wasn't really holding her, they still were sitting quite close
To close according to the rules -
'Er - okay, I - I'll try. I'm not used to call my teachers by their first name - ' she laughed softly, and Chris could hear she was nervous. He withdrew his hand at once.
His other arm had still been around her. He knew he had to let go of her, but he couldn't. He didn't want too. She didn't seem to resist, did she?
Maybe she likes it - Feeling comforted -
Chris’s heart was beating a lot faster than usual. He was sitting on his sofa with a student very close next to him.
This isn't allowed -
But he couldn't help not to notice he liked it. Very much.
It occurred to him how close her face was. He had never been this close to a student. The only persons he came this close to were mostly the woman he'd went with for a one night stand. But he never went this close to anyone. She had been looking at him all the time, until she rubbed some make up away from under her eye.
‘Can I use your bathroom for a moment? I look like shit’ the last words she spoke with a small laugh.
Chris smiled when she said she looked like a mess
You don't -
'Sure' he said and got up, giving her a hand to get up as well. He gestured her to the bathroom. He turned on the light, revealing the large bathroom he had. 'Here you go' he said. 'Just call me when you need anything'. With that, he left the bathroom to leave her be. She thanked him. Although he really wanted to be with her, he wanted to grant her some privacy. He walked back to the bedroom. He stood in front of the window, staring at the streets below
God - This is not legal -
It had started to rain very hard.
And she has to go home through this weather - Back to a place she isn't comfortable -
He closed his eyes for a moment. But I like her - I really do - I never met a student like her… or any other woman…
He couldn’t help, but he had never felt so much pity for a person. It made him feel miserable as well.
No wonder she writes like that -
He sighted and rested his head against the cold glass window.
I want to give her comfort - She doesn't deserve this.
After a minute, he opened his eyes again and watched the streets. In the reflection of the window, he saw a movement behind him, so Chris looked around, and saw she had come out of the bathroom. She had washed her face and taken of her make up. There were still some dark smudges around her eyes, which were still red, but nevertheless, he though she still looked quite nice.
‘Better?’ he asked her. She nodded.
'Yeah - ' she said and came over to him and stood right next to him, watching the rain drops running down the glass. After some seconds she said 'I should go home-… But I fear your books are going to be really wet and me too - ' she smiled but did not look at him. Chris was watching her profile. Her eyebrows were thin; her nose was small and slightly pointy. Her lips were a bit bigger, which made her profile very sharp. He like it. He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them again.
‘I can give you a bag’ he said as he looked away from her again. He didn’t want her to notice he had been watching her so closely. But he noticed she did a small step sideways, closer to him. Their arms were touching, which almost gave Chris a shudder, but he managed to keep himself under control.
'Yes, that would be nice.' she said and drew her gaze over to him, and Chris was forced to look at her as well. He couldn’t even blink, he felt petrified.
Oh God - I can't believe this - This never happened before - Even if the person wasn't my student -
He nodded. 'Alright' he said with a hoarse voice and he walked to the kitchen. He took a plastic back from one of the cabinets and walked back towards the sitting room. He putted the books into to bag, as Noreen came back into the room as well. He than placed the bag with the books on the table, and stood up in full length again. He looked back at her. He swallowed.
God -
He was feeling terribly nervous at the moment, even though she had been around him so many times before, but just not at his home. She still looked a bit upset.
'Noreen' he began, stepping closer to her. 'If there is something, or when something has happened at home, you can always come to me'
Was that smart?
‘I-… I would like to know how you’re doing-… or when something has happened.’
Why? Why do I want to know?
She looked a bit surprised when he said this and she first stared blankly at him. But soon, she smiled.
'Seriously? Because - ' she swallowed and blushed slightly '..well, it would be possible that - can I really come over?' she asked, and sounded a bit desperately.
'Yeah, sure’ Chris quickly said. ‘Of course' he said and he placed a hand on her shoulder
I shouldn't do this -
'Anytime' he added. 'When anything happens, you are always welcome' He looked at her for a moment, and forced a smile'And if you can't leave the house, you can call me'
You shouldn't offer her this - She's a student - You're trespassing the rules -
And for the first time, a smile, which could be read as happiness appeared on her face. 'Thank you, Sir - er-… Chris-..' she shook her head slightly, smiling shyly 'Sorry-…’
He laughed the loudest he had done before. He really didn’t know what it was this girl did, but she gave him a certain feeling, which felt bad, but also good at the same time. 'You will get used to that' he said as he turned her around, placing his hand on her shoulder again to gesture her to the room. He took the back with books. 'Oh, before you go, I will write down my phone number' He let go of her shoulder and walked over to the post-it holder he had standing on his desk. He took a yellow paper and wrote his phone number on it. He walked back to her, the post it sticking on his finger. 'Here you go' he said with a smile.
She took the bag and the post-it from his finger. She putted it in the bag, and Chris saw she was sticking it onto the cover of one of the books.
'Thank you - it's more than I expected to get - ' she said quietly.
He chuckled.
Same here - I thought I'd only lend her some books - Not this -
'That doesn't matter' he said as he opened the door. 'I'm glad to see a student like you. But I do want her to be alright'
God this is not good -
'You're always welcome' he added, leaning against the door. 'You might as well keep an eye on my time table, just in case to see I'm not at school. You can find it on the school website'
Chris, don't - . For god sake - You're too nice to her!
'I will do that if necessary.' She said, and putted on her coat and stepped outside, carrying the bag with the books.
‘Well, I will see you tomorrow, Chris’ she said with a cheeky smile. ‘First hour, right?’
‘Don’t be late’ Chris said and held up his hand in a small wave.
She looked back at him one last time before she took the stairs down.
He closed the door, and slowly walked back to the sitting room. He stopped in front of the window, staring down at the sidewalk. She soon appeared right underneath him. She cJonased the street and took the stairs to the tube down. Chris closed his eyes again.
God - I shouldn't have done that -
He brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
But she needs help - I don't want her to be sad -
It occurred to him how happy he had made her. Like she had really liked his comfort
Still - It's not allowed
He felt struck as the bell rang violently, three times after each other. He knew who always rang his bell like that.
Paul -
He was getting nervous. Had he seen her? What was he doing here right now? He went back to the door quickly and opened it, finding Paul there. He was wearing his jogging clothes. Chris' temper changed at once.
'No, I'm not going to jogg with you'
'Oh come on' Paul said as he tilted his head a bit 'You should start again. You haven’t ran in months'
He rubbed his hands. It probably was a bit cold outside, so it would mean would find it great jogging weather. 'Get your clothes on and come.' he said and walked past Chris and entered the house. 'The weather is fine!'
He watched Paul a bit irritated as the man walked past him.
He always does that -
He looked at the carpet, where he could see Paul's foot prints, coming from his wet shoes. He closed the door and followed his brother into the kitchen
Weather?
'What the hell are you talking about?' he said as he nudged to the window. 'It’s raining cats and dogs!'
Paul shrugged. ‘Does that matter?’ he asked ‘Better this weather than the burning sun on your head’ He folded his arms as he looked around the sitting room, and Chris followed his brother’s gaze. He had spotted the two empty teacups. ‘Had visitors?’ he asked and nodded at the second cup.
Oh crap - What am I going to say?
‘Er-..’ he stuttered. But he knew he couldn’t lie to Paul. Chris could lie to anyone, but not to Paul. ‘You-… er-… you wouldn’t believe me if I’d told you I’m schizophrenic?’ he said with a nervous grin. Paul started to laugh, and Chris couldn’t help but chuckle too. He picked up the cups and brought them to the kitchen.
‘Oh well, I might check with Kirsten if I even exist’ he said. He grinned as Chris came back from the kitchen. Kirsten was Paul’s girlfriend. She had been his first, and she would probably be his last. It wouldn’t surprise Chris if they would end up married one day.
‘Of course not’ Paul said ‘Tell me-… was it a woman?’
Chris’ heart skipped a beat as Paul mentions “a woman”
Oh god - I can’t lie - He won’t believe me -
’Not really’ he muttered as she sat down on the sofa, and looked at his brother, who raised an eyebrow
‘Not really?’ he asked confused. ‘Not really a woman?’ Paul sat down on the sofa as well. ‘Something wrong, Chris?’ he asked worried
Chris looked at his brother who was sounding concerned
What the -
He examined Paul’s face for a moment. He seemed rather serious.
He’s not thinking - Oh my -
‘Hang on’ Chris said as he pointed at Paul. ‘You’re not thinking I’m gay, right?’
Paul shrugged ‘Are you?’ he asked uncertain
Chris couldn’t help it, but he thought Paul’s reaction was hilarious and although he felt nervous, he chuckled. ‘No, I’m not’ he said
God - He doesn’t really think I am, is he? Git -
‘No’ he said as he looked away from his brother ‘It’s not that’
Should I tell him?
He sighted. ‘It was a woman’ he said. ‘Although-… more a girl’ he added
Paul looked puzzled: ‘That girl that just came down the stairs?’ he asked.
Chris’ head shot back into Paul’s direction. He had seen her! But it seemed he hadn’t recognized her.
‘How old?’ he asked at once. Chris felt he was getting nervous every second.
‘Wait’ he said and he pointed at Paul again. ‘She just came by to borrow some books. I offered her some tea and we talked a bit’
Paul only grinned and shook his head. Chris knew why. Paul wasn’t such a fan of literature.
‘She’s from our school than?’ he asked Chris who nodded.
Paul inhaled deeply. ‘You know that’s not allowed, Chris’ he said.
‘I know that’ Chris said, his eyebrows raised.
I keep thinking about that all the time -
‘But they were just books, and we drank some tea’ he added but he looked away from Paul again ‘That’s all’
Not all - You comforted her - You actually touched her -
He than sighted ‘Listen Paul’ he said. ‘I need some time alone. I won’t go jogging with you’
Paul nodded, giving him a concerned look
‘Alright’ he said ‘Some other time this week?’
He nodded and Paul seemed to think for a moment ‘You’ve got free too on Friday morning, right?’ He nodded again. ‘What about than?’
’Sure’ Chris said
Friday - At least that gives me some time to find my trainers -
Paul got up, and so did Chris. ‘I’m really sorry Paul, I’m not really in the mood’
Paul shrugged ‘That’s alright Chris’ he said ‘You’re getting a day older, so I guess this is just one of these things’ He patted his brother on the shoulder, who raised an eyebrow
‘Joking’ he said with a chuckle.
‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ he said and Chris smiled humorless.
He turned around and walked to the hall. He would let himself out.
Before he entered the hall and disappeared out of Chris’ sight, he paused in the doorway
‘Who was it?’ he asked
Chris swallowed
Should I tell him? Does that actually matter?
‘Noreen Williams’ he said.
He watched Paul, who looked at him. His gaze was almost suspicious. Paul nodded and bade him goodbye. A few seconds later Chris heard how the door was shut again.