Recess.
The school had no cafeteria, only distinct yards designated for each year. The Year 12 yard was sat right in front of the school library. Metal tables and seats were sprinkled throughout the yard in an almost random fashion, and it appears that little to no effort had been made to organise them. Most of these tables had already been filled up, some had even resorted to sitting on the damp floor because of the lack of seats. A single eucalyptus tree sat in the middle of the yard, towering over it.
“Not much to look at huh?” said Marcus abruptly, “C’mon, let’s find somewhere to sit.” Felix nodded as Marcus trailed off in front of him, eventually leading him to a small undercover area right next to the library doors.
“Is this where you usually sit?” asked Felix, confused.
“Oh don’t be so judgemental,” Marcus said, “It’s dry and it’s pretty roomy. Plus, if it rains we have cover.”
Marcus threw his bag off his back, landing with a thump as it hit the concrete. He took a seat on the floor and leant against the brick walls of the library’s exterior. Felix rolled his eyes. Felix gently slid his bag off his shoulder and leaned it against the wall. He then took a seat next to Marcus, letting out a big sigh.
“What’s the sigh for?” asked Marcus. Felix twiddled his thumbs.
“It’s about Luna,” Felix said, “She’s… different.” Marcus’ face suddenly switched to one of seriousness.
“So you’ve seen her.” Marcus muttered, “And you’ve noticed as well huh?”
“Yeah,” Felix mumbled, “She didn’t used to be like this back in middle school. She didn’t even remember me.”
“It’s like she’s become a totally different person. What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know.” Marcus murmured, “I just don’t know.”
Marcus let out a big yawn, stretching as he did so.
“Ah whatever,” he shrugged, “I’m off to get myself a drink. You want anything?” Felix shook his head.
Felix watched as Marcus slowly strolled off into the distance, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.
He closed his eyes, trying to catch up on some much needed rest. He had only closed them for a minute before a soft, feminine voice interrupted him.
“Hey Felix, you awake?”, the voice said cautiously. Felix slowly opened his eyes to find Olivia standing in front of him, twiddling her thumbs.
“Shirley asked me to go and check on you. You know, see how you’re settling in.”
“Yeah, I’m settling in okay. I know a couple of people who come here so that helps,” Felix said.
“Really?” she said, surprised.
“Yeah, from middle school.”
“Oh, that’s good.” she smiled.
“Anyways, that’s all I had to say. So I’ll be off.”
“Wait,” Felix said, “Do you know Luna?” Olivia nodded as she tucked her short, brown hair behind her ear.
“Yes, I do. She’s a friend of mine.”
“She is?” Felix asked, clearly confused.
“What’s with that reaction?” snarled Olivia. Felix shrugged.
“I don’t know, you don’t seem like the kind of person to be friends with someone like her.”
“And why is that?”
“The student council president and the school delinquent don’t really sound like they’d be the best of friends.”
Olivia smirked.
“Well you know what they say,” she said assertively, “Opposites attract.”
“Why did you ask if I knew her anyway?”
Felix hesitated for a moment, as if to organise his thoughts.
“Has she always been like this?” Olivia looked at him, eyebrows raised.
“What do you mean? Are you asking if she’d always been a delinquent?”
“Basically.”
Olivia sat down next to him, legs crossed. She scratched the nape of her neck awkwardly.
“You’re right,” she sighed, “she was never like this at the start of high school. She turned up to school on time. Her grades were great. But something happened.”
“Something happened?”
“It was almost like she became an entirely different person. She dyed her hair, she started turning up late for school. No one knows what happened.”
“Did you try asking her?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.” Olivia turned her head towards him, staring at him for a few seconds before turning away. She got up, brushing the dirt off her skirt.
“Well, that’s all I needed to say,” she said, “I’ll be off now. Unless you have any other questions.” Felix shook his head.
“Alright, I’ll see you around.”
Olivia strutted off and Felix just found himself more confused than before. He wanted answers, but all he had gotten were more questions. Luna was a mystery that he had to solve, that he needed to solve. And he would solve it no matter what.