Bigger Boys & Stolen Sweethearts - Alex Turner

14. No Buses

I felt painfully out of place walking back into school that following Monday. Almost like some kind of attraction as everyone just kept looking at me from the moment I arrived. Matt still gave me a lift: my parents refused to let me drive to school. I didn't tell him about what had happened between Arabella and I frankly because I didn't feel the need to share it. It felt nicer being something personal between the two of us.

As always, Matt and I stood against the hood of his car smoking a cigarette in the school parking lot as everyone rocked up bit by bit. Through my tinted sunglasses I spied for Arabella and my ears twitched for the sound of her motorbike. She had my mind wrapped around her pinkie. Any thought that wasn't of her was wasteful.

  "Alex are you there?" Matt chuckled, waving a hand in front of my face. I quickly snapped out of the prison of my mind and looked over at him. He'd clearly been calling my name several times and had gone unnoticed by me.

  "Yeah, sorry. What?" I asked.

  "I asked if you were free after school," Matt said, "or are you too tied up with activities starting with 'A'?"

  I shook my head, "no I'm free. Why?"

  "Nick and I were talking about all getting round his and 'aving a little jam sesh or summat?"

  I nodded, "yeah sure. Why not?"

  "Aight I'll tell Jamie too," Matt said and took out his phone. It had been awhile since the four of us had gotten together and tickled a few instruments.  I'd been so focused on Arabella that I'd almost forgotten about doing anything with me friends.

  "How's Breana?" I asked after feeling a little guilty for pushing my friends aside for the past month almost.

  "As always," Matt nodded, "she's good. Spent the weekend with her and her family, you know, just for support and all."

  Matt was always and continues to be a much better person than me.

"How's her mum?" I asked.

  "Operation's tomorrow," Matt said. "Think I might leave at about lunch to go and see Bre...aw shit, will you be aight getting home from school if I do?"

  "Yeah of course mate," I nodded, "don't worry about me I'll be fine. I think Breana's gonna need yer support more than me needing a lift home."

  "Aight, thanks Al," Matt said and crushed out his cigarette under his shoe. "There's gonna be a pile of butts 'ere by the time we leave school," he chuckled. There was a litter of crushed out smokes around our feet — Matt always parked in the same spot.

  "Probably should clean em up one day," I shrugged and crushed out the end of my cigarette. I looked around the car park once more as the bell sounded and struggled to find Arabella.

  "I'm sure she's coming Romeo," Matt chuckled and hit me arm. I agreed with him and followed him up into the school building.

  One part of school that I have failed to mention up until this point was Homeroom, or 'Form', or 'purgatory',  or 'precum' depending on how we felt in the morning — 'purgatory' being my favourite. The last nickname I will admit was very juvenile and vulgar but what more could you expect?

  Basically, Purgatory was this wank little section of time before first period where everyone would have to go to a room for about twenty minutes for roll call and 'well-being' (according to our school). It was apparently supposed to be a 'safe place' and 'family' for us students as we'd have the same teacher who did nothing but mark us present and try and 'connect' with us and all that cal. In reality, it just gave people time to be late before classes actually started, and for people to talk and sit back and relax; some using the time to play games on the table-tennis set up or finish last nights homework at the speed of an Olympic athlete.