Sebastian meets the new girl, Violet, on the train back to their boarding school. Sebastian is hyper, boisterous and the class clown, the antithesis of cold and aloof Violet. Yet, the pair becomes friends and navigate the school year, attempting to...
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Sebastian Radcliffe was about to make the biggest gamble of his life. Worse than the time he bet he could steal Daisy Llewellyn's knickers, worse even, than when he tried to steal Miss Smith's. If the others knew what he was about to do, they would have eagerly bet all their allowances that he'd fail. That's probably why he didn't tell them. But despite the butterflies and the adrenaline and everything telling him not to, he was going to do it anyway.
It wasn't too difficult to get to. Her second-floor window was situated next to a rooftop, so it was only a matter of climbing up a drainpipe to the rooftop and then climbing a bit more across to the left before you could pull yourself up on her tiny ledge, barely big enough for half his arse. But he'd done it. And suddenly, gently at first but then more urgently, he was knocking on her window.
There was a lot of hesitation on her side of the room. She'd probably assume it was a bird at first. He started banging and soon enough, the curtains were open in one furious swoop and she was staring, properly shocked, out at him.
He smiled widely as he saw her dressed in a pale blue nightgown, a tiny bunny embroidered onto the pocket, and thick white socks. He motioned for her to open the window and put his finger on his lips so she wouldn't scream.
'Juliet, Juliet, let down your hair.' He sang her and she looked like she was fighting the urge to laugh and shout and maybe push him off.
'Oh... my God.'
But he had already let himself in. He pulled himself into the room and stood, taking it all in. This year he had one of the better, larger rooms, so he'd made fun of the others for their shittier ones. Violet also had one of the shittier rooms as it was barely big enough for the both of them. But he didn't want to make fun; it was as adorable as she was.
Her room was covered floor to ceiling with books. They lined up the shelf of her desk as well as being spread in piles on the desk itself and the floor, between empty tea cups. She'd put a couple of pink scarfs over the bright yellow light so the room was bathed in a baby pink wash, like a sunset. Her duvet was also pink with little blue and green and white flowers. On her bed was a half open book and a little white bunny rabbit teddy. The wall had posters of books- 'Lolita', 'Tender is the Night', 'Pride and Prejudice' as well as, and he'd never have guessed, a blue 'The Smiths' poster.
'You're coming with me.'
'What on earth are you doing here. You absolutely cannot be in here.'
She stood rooted to the spot, arms covering herself, but Sebastian was on his knees on the floor, pulling out the drawers under her bed.
'You're going to come out with me tonight.'
'Oh my God Sebastian. We'll get expelled!'
'It's alright,' he told her, pulling out jumpers and thermals, 'It's midnight on a Thursday, none of the staff are about. Come on, we do it all the time.'
