Free A Strange Fire (Florence Vaine) by L.H. Cosway Page B

you probably wouldn’t be sleeping either.”
     “Don’t think you can speak to me like that. Now am I going to have to
make a report that you’re harassing me or are you going to leave?”
     “Aw don’t be a prude Flo, we could be good together.”
     “How many times do I have to tell you, never going to happen.”
     His eyes widen for a moment and he lets out a breath. “You aren’t
stuttering any more, how come? Were you putting it on all this time?”
     “Yeah, I just love people thinking I’m a freak,” I reply before
continuing. “It’s not like I always stammer when I speak, it comes and goes.”
     “Hmm, really,” he says considering it, then in a swift change of subject
he asks, quite blatantly, “Are you a virgin, Flo?”
     “Is that another come on?” I ask him casually, trying to disguise my
indignation at his invasive questioning.
     “Answer me,” he says, in a low voice.
     “Fuck you.”
     “Please do, but really, are you?”
     “Why do you want to know? Have you got a fetish or something?”
     “I want to know lots of things about you babe,” his eyes wander over me,
“and I’ve got lots of fetishes.”
     At this I decide that Josh probably isn’t going to quit bothering me so
I log out and grab my school bag, maybe I can grab a sandwich before lunch
ends. I glance at the clock, I still have at least twenty five minutes until
the evening lessons start.
     “Wait a minute, where are you going?”
     “To lunch, goodbye Josh.”
     “I’ll walk with you,” he says, instantly standing and following me.
     I turn and narrow my gaze, anger bubbling in my chest, why won’t he stop
pestering me? I surprise even myself when I growl, “Don’t you dare try to
follow me, if you do I’ll make sure you regret it.”
     At this he stops in his tracks and frowns, and I think I hear him
mumble, “Psycho bitch,” before sitting back down at a computer.
     My next classes pass in boredom, German and Accounting. I don’t have any
friends in these subjects so I have to sit all by myself. When Accounting comes
to an end I groan when I remember that my last class of the day is PE. I only
have it once a week, but still, it has always been a torture to me. It’s like
the annoying cousin you can’t stand but have to make an effort with because of
familial duty or some such nonsense.
     I don’t understand why the education system doesn’t just allow those of
us who aren’t athletically inclined to be left in peace. Each week we’re
humiliated by being made to take part in an activity we’re useless at.
Although, happily I find that Caroline and I share this class, so it’s not so
bad. I bump into her in the girls dressing rooms where I change into the grey
sweatpants and tight navy t-shirt I stuffed into my bag this morning before
leaving Gran’s.
     Once we’re dressed we head out to the basketball court, Caroline
informing me that we always have PE outside when the weather is good. Today the
sun is shining merrily and golden in the sky. It seems that almost every person
I know in this school is in the same class as me this hour. First I spot
Christian, Marley and Steven warming up. Then I see Frank, Alex, Ross and Layla
hanging out by the basketball net chatting.
     Unfortunately, I also notice Josh and several of his buddies here too,
and did I mention that whore Ingrid? PE is turning out to be fairly crowded.
What I don’t see is a teacher. When I ask Caroline she tells me that our
teacher, Mr Procter, only ever shows up twenty minutes into the class to check
on us and then disappears again. We’re expected to sort out activities
ourselves.
     “Well if that’s the case,” I tell her, “then why don’t we just choose
sitting on the grass and soaking up the sun as our activity for the day?” I
continue smiling.
     Caroline grins back. “Sounds good to me,” and she grabs a ball from the
big plastic bag on the ground. “We can sit and throw this back and forth