The Sea, The Sky, And The Devils Underneath

Chapter 10- explanation required

Rowan finally stood to her trembling knees after half an hour of crying on the floor in a curled up blubbering mess. She started to her room to get dressed for school. It was only then did she realize that she would have to see Sam on the bus.
"Shit." she whispered to herself. She ran to her closet and dragged out her crumpled ball of school skirts, t-shirts and other mangled items of clothing. She hurredly dressed herself, stuffed her rucksack with her books and rushed to the kitchen. Rowan poured herself a travel mug of coffee, wolfed down a slice of toast and ran out the back door of her house. Slowly, she sauntered down the street, still breathing quickly from her rushing.  The hood of her jacket hung sullenly over her plain face. She couldn't be bothered to put makeup on that morning, what was the point. She reached the corner post box, stared at it for a few moments before she walked on towards the bus stop. On arrival she asumed her usual space on the bench. Rowan glanced around the shelter at all the graffiti that littered the walls. The walls were covered in crappy sentimental quotes and inspirational thoughts along with the occasional curse word. Rowan's thougths ran wild, imagining every outcome of seeing Sam. He would either cry, shout, forgive her, or blank her. The bus slowly pulled into the bus stop. Eight o'clock right on time. She could see Sam's face through one of the windows. Rowan hesitated as the bus door opened revealing a rather over weight bus driver, with his cheap watch on his right wrist, his untucked polo shirt and his unevenly tied tie. She took a deep breath in and slowly stepped into the doorway.
"Hurry up would you! Im already in a rush without slow kids like you!" the driver seemed a bit frazzled so to avoid being told off she made her way down the aisle of seats. Her heart started to beat faster as she slowly loitered past Sam's seat. He didn't even acknowledge her. She was slightly offended but she was also glad he didnt make a scene. It looks like he went with the last option. Ignoring her. Rowan miserably sat herself at the very back of the bus in the corner. She didn't even want to look at him but she was too curious to see if he would turn around. He didn't. The entire bus journey felt like hours, even though it was in reality only fifteen minutes. All the girls were gossiping loudly as their phone notification noises went off on full volume. The boys were jeering and shoving eachother into windows and at one point one got pushed onto her before getting told off by the driver. But to be honest everything for Rowan was silent. All she could do was gaze at the back of Sam's blue hoodie, wondering what his expression was on the other side of his hood. Swiftly, the bus swung into the school and stopped. The obese bus driver started yelling at the students to get off and was hurredly motioning with his hands to help get the insufferable teenager's attention. Rowan was last off. She stood there gazing at the front of the school, wishing she had an explanation for Sam, and she was indecisive of what she would do all day without his company. When the day was done she sat outside the maths block. She had originally made plans to hang out with Sam. Instead she had made him homeless and shoved him out her door along with their friendship.
"I can' believe how much of my life is taken up by Sam!"
Suddenly Rowan heared two familliar voices.
"It couldn't be. What! Why!" Rowan almost screamed as she gazed at Sam chatting with Chelsea Mathews. She watched as she slipped her phone number on a piece of paper into his pocket, kissed him on the cheek and strutted off in her high heels like a pony who just won the gala.
"No!" Rowan cried as she fell to her knees on the muddy floor.
"Pathetic. Sobbing to yourself again. And look everyone is watching this time"
It was true. Everyone was watching her as she sobbed loudly on the floor. But it hurt her even more to see no one wanted to help her. They all just stared at her as they made their way to the buses. As much as Rowan wanted the tears to fall she wiped them away before they could even touch her skin. Turning into a fish infront of all these people was not an option.
"Great." Rowan complained outloud. Sam had spotted her. His face was unremorceful. He just walked straight past her as he too made his way to his bus. By now all the buses were gone and everyone had left with them. Rowan stood shakily and slumped herself on the nearest bench. She had decided to wear a flared skirt to school that day and God did she regret it because her knees were now caked in grazes and mud from bauling her eyes out on the floor. She rummaged through her bag to find a tissue only for her back pack to fall on the ground, tipping all its contents out as it crashed onto the muddy tarmac. Rowan whimpered to herself. She didnt even bother to hurry picking it all back up.
"Are you okay?" a quiet, almost innocence voice asked.
"Who's there?" Rowan felt suddenly exposed. She had been sitting in the wide open all by herself for anyone to come and take. A slim figure loomed out of the darkness. It was a girl about Rowan's age. Rowan had never seen her before.
"Hi! I'm Lisa Bartley. Im new. I saw you crying. What's wrong?" Rowan didn't want to tell her but there was something about this girl's voice that was trusting, loyal, kind.
"My best friend of all time hates me and is now consorting with the most popular girl in school" Rowan almost burst into tears as she explained.
"Im sure he doesn't hate you that much. He'll forgive you" Lisa comforted. She was dressed very smartly and had soft blue eyes. Her hair was brown with copper highlights and was curled in cute little ringlets which bobbed  around her face. Her uniform was imaculet and she carried a bag with a radio pattern on the front. But her eyes. Her eyes were staring at her like she knew something. Like she didn't bump into her accidentally. It scared her. Rowan stopped. She slowly twisted her head to face Lisa.
"I never told you it was a him." Rowan accused suspiciously .
"I saw you crying and gazing at that guy Sam so i naturally asumed." Lisa looked guilty at first but then looked up and smiled at the look of understanding on Rowan's face.  Lisa bent down to help pick up her books so Rowan bent down to join in. As her knees hit the ground a sensation of fear swept over her. She had knelt right in a puddle. Rowan abruptly stood up and looked for the nearest hiding place.
"What's up?" Lisa asked worriedly.
"I... forgot something." Rowan lied as she darted towards the school doors. She burst into the hallway and glanced around for somewhere to run to. The toilets. She darted into the girls bathrooms and locked herself in the nearest cubicle. Three seconds later and she was flopped  chocking over the toilet seat, with her long scaled tail bent up the toilet door. That was when she heared  the booming noise of Lisa rushing into the bathroom.
"Where are you Rowan?" she quickly marched to the locked door and knocked.
"Rowan is that you?" Rowan wanted to answer but she knew she would just sound like a dying whale. She looked around her cubicle to find any means of escape. Loo role littered the floor and so did water. She wasn't getting rid of her tail any time soon. Her webbed fingers wrapped around the untouched toilet role.
"Rowan?" Lisa was banging on the door harder and more frantically now. Rowan tossed the toilet role over the cubicle door.
"Ouch!" Bullseye! Rowan had hit Lisa.
"Im so sorry! Im just trying to find my friend have you seen her?" what could she do now!? Rowan grabbed some wet toilet tissue off the floor and once again threw it over the cubicle.
"Ewww! Sorry!" Lisa rushed out of the toilets and much to Rowan's pleasure, out if the school. She felt guilty but it was either get caught or be an annonymous toilet role thrower. Rowan unlocked the door and tried to hold it closed but her slippery fingers couldn't hold it. Her body tumbled out of the cubicle and onto the tile floor. Rowan dragged her tail across the floor to a dry corner of the room. The water on the floor had soothed her gills but now they started to burn frantically. She sat there grimacing for around half an hour before her tail had dried and disappeared. She got up onto her feet cautiously and slowly made her way out of the toilets being sure to avoid any wet patches. She rushed out of the school and couldn't think of anything but running all the way home.
"Out of everyting that has happened today i can't believe the only explanation i will need is why i am late for tea."

Rowan Smith

Sam Williams