Activity 8.6

You should try to put him out of your mind. The only trouble is, every time your mind's not busy with something else it takes itself off and thinks about him before you get a chance to stop it. Sometimes when your mind should be concentrating on what your maths teacher is explaining, it up sticks and wanders off into that part of itself where Adrian lives. And then you find your eyes following suit, wandering off Mrs Hall's blackboard and finding the back of his head. Staring at him, willing him to turn around. But he never does.

Not like that afternoon all those weeks ago. Why was he being so friendly to you then? Was it because there was no one else around? Might he harbour secret feelings for you too? Setting off home over the fields after the bus broke down, you'd never have thought Adrian'd want to walk with you, or talk with you. But it was as though a magic wand had sprinkled you with fairy dust and all of a sudden you were the only two people in the world. You chatted about this and that laughed and took the mickey out of teachers and the other kids at school. It was as though the two of you did this every day of your lives. And he looked at you with such sparkle in those wonderful grey eyes of his. Adrian was one of the cooler kids at school. You knew his family were less well-off than yours – he lived in one of the few council owned houses in the village. But this gave him a certain caché and along with his rebellious long hair and scruffy school uniform, were part of the attraction. You were always smart in your school uniform. Your mother made sure of that. She would never let you go out with a frayed cuff or an un-ironed shirt. Being smart was never cool. Neither was being clever. Your attention wandered back to Mrs Hall. She is writing an equation on the blackboard. She turns to the class and asks who would like to try to solve it? Your hand goes up, as usual.