Free Avalon by Lana Davison Page A

were supposed to feel about their chosen ones? We marked our maths papers and handed them back to one another. Mrs Pullman wrote down our homework on the whiteboard and I jotted the details into my diary. The bell went and I walked to the common room, where I would make a start on my maths homework, just so that it was done and out of the way. That was my motto, do your homework and get it out of the way.
    The common room was full of about thirty students from my year, some sitting on the soft sofas and bean bags listening to music and a few were like me, sitting at a desk and doing homework. When I had finished I made my way outside and called Sara on my mobile phone. I told her I was fine and that she had nothing to worry about. I could tell she missed me.
    Sara and Stuart were very liberal and let me decide for myself if I wanted to stay at school over the weekends or not. I had always thought I’d go home, even if it was for one night, given we had school on Saturday morning, but I wanted to find out if Leo would be around before I made my decision. It would be a good opportunity for me to get to know him. Where was he anyway?
    I hung up the phone while I was still in the corridor when I noticed Shona Messy gasping for air. I ran over to join a group of people already gathered around her.
    “What’s happened?” I asked.
    “We don’t know, she took a bite of this bar and then she started gasping for air,” Melanie Clum answered.
    I took the bar and read the contents quickly. “Shona are you allergic to nuts?” I asked.
    She nodded, still gasping.
    “Move over.” I said as I sat down next to her, right by her side. I took her hands in mine and said, “Breathe slowly. Take a long, deep breath, stop gasping and keep your breathing going and don’t panic.” I patted her hands and kept reassuring her.
    Shona took a swig of air to her lungs and began to breathe deeply. She flung her body toward me, giving me a big hug. I smiled at the sentiment and patted her back.
    “You’re OK,” I said, rubbing her back.
    “I don’t know what you just did, but I thought I was going to die for a minute.”
    “I just know how to calm people down when they are in a panic. You were panicking, Shona. If you concentrate on something else, like slowing down your breathing you take the focus off the fact you can’t breathe. I was simply using a technique to calm your body down, so that you could let air in rather than close up in a state of anxiety and despair.”
    “Well, if that’s what you call it, then it works,” she said hugging me again and pulling herself to her feet. “Get that bar away from me,” she told one of her friends standing close by.
    I was still kneeling on the floor when I turned around and saw Leo leaning on the door frame to the common room, watching me. I got to my feet and smoothed my school skirt. His eyes stayed with me, intense and adoring. I walked over to him.
    “Where have you been?”
    “That was impressive.” He ignored my question.
    “What? That?”, I said. “Oh that was nothing, just a technique I learnt.”
    “Really?” he said, not sounding entirely convinced.
    “Really.” I said as a matter of fact. “So where were you this morning?”
    “I was having a medical check. All the new students get one.”
    He was right. I had seen the school doctor on my first week.
    “I assume you got the all clear.”
    “I did.”
    “How’s Henry?”
    “He’s all right. He will get over it, but I wouldn’t.”
    I gulped. “Umm... Are you.... staying in this weekend?”
    He cleared a loose strand of hair from my forehead and placed it behind my ear gently. I looked into his eyes wanting to throw my arms around him but I couldn’t; we were in the common room, with too many prying eyes. He sensed my anguish and took my hand and pulled me outside.
    “Come with me.”
    “Where are we going?”
    “Somewhere where I can touch you without you worrying about what other people