"Nothing. We stopped. Except… he slept in the bed. With me. That night."
Kennedy shakes her head.
"I'm so, so sorry," I say.
"You should have told me earlier. So I wouldn't have slept in that bed."
I feel my eyes burn, but I'd feel stupid for crying, especially if Kennedy isn't. I don't get to cry, because I'm the one who ruined everything. "I'm sorry," I whisper.
Kennedy stands up, leaving the throw pillow on the couch, and begins to leave the room.
"Should I… should I take the bus back home?"
She stops in the doorway but doesn't turn around. Her shoulders are stiff.
"You can do anything you want," I say. "I deserve it. I'll go. I can go now. I'll pack my bags and…" I trail off when I see her body shift as she inhales.
"Don't bother," she says, and her voice wobbles with the first hint of emotion.
25
Curtis: Term Two
I stare at the red traffic lights, tapping my fingers against the wheel. Turn green, turn green, turn green.
Usually, I arrive at school early, but halfway on the way to my siblings' primary school, Harriet realised she forgot her school bag. So I had to turn around and drive back home to get it. Max, Andrew and Dylan complained, and I was annoyed, of course, but I couldn't get too mad because I did the same thing all the time when I was young.
Since I got my driver's licence, I've started driving my siblings to school to help my parents. And maybe Harriet forgetting her school bag today and making me late for the first day of term two is a blessing in disguise. Maybe I'll be so late that it'll put off me seeing Kennedy. Or Liam. The only class I share with either of them is English, which we all have together, and English class isn't on Mondays.
The traffic lights turn green, and I drive down the familiar road that leads me to the outskirts of Easton. I've been in town for a couple of days now, and I tried to convince myself that returning early wasn't the worst thing in the world. On the bus, I called my parents to let them know I'd be home early and explained that Kennedy and I broke up. It was good to see my siblings again, and my first dinner back with my family was a good distraction from everything that happened. My phone kept buzzing with messages from the Lonsdale Bay group chat, though. I don't think Bonnie and Erin knew what happened, or didn't realise I was still in the chat, because I got messages likeWill be back in an hourorthey've run out of vegan ice cream sorry :(.
Those messages coupled with my brain which wouldn't stop replaying memories from the holiday made it impossible to distract myself from what happened. And going to school will be worse because I'm certain I'll run into Liam and Kennedy at some point today.
Ahead of me, I see the familiar sand-coloured buildings and lush lawns of Easton Grammar. I turn into the school and park my car in the student parking lot at the back of the school. Nearby, a bus pauses and a sea of students wearing shades of blue pour out. Since it's term two, the winter uniform replaces the summer uniform. Guys now wear long navy pants, collared shirts and a tie emblazoned with the Easton Grammar logo. Girls also wear the shirt and tie, but they have the option to wear pants or a plaid kilt. To combat the chilly weather, most students wear their navy blazer as well.
After I take my school bag out and lock my car, I walk over the stone path lined with swaying eucalyptus trees. The bell signalling that homeroom is starting soon rings just as I arrive at the Year 12 lockers. The lockers are between the Year 12 common room and the library. While saying hi to friends and other Year 12s, I grab my books and stationery and enter the library.
The Year 12 homerooms are held in the library's private study rooms. I enter mine — thankfully, I don't have homeroom with Kennedy or Liam — and see that while everyone else is here, our homeroom teacher has yet to arrive. I sit in the middle with Aiden Pate, who's a pretty good friend.
"Curtis," he says, "how were your holidays?"
I pause for half a second, then pull a smile. Everyone is going to ask that question today. "Pretty good. I went to Lonsdale Bay. You?"
He tells me about his camping trip in Tasmania, then nods at something in front of us.
Jasper has arrived, and usually, he'd sit with me and Aidan, but today he's in the front row. When I see who's beside him, I do a double-take. It's a guy in school uniform, and he scowls at Jasper with his arms crossed while Jasper leans in and hisses something that sounds like a lecture.
"New student," I say. Who the hell changes school in Year 12? In the second term, no less?
Aidan nods. "I heard his name is Kieran. He doesn't look very friendly, does he?"
Now, Kieran looks down at his blazer, clean and new and lint-free, and wrinkles his nose. Jasper says something to him and Kieran's face darkens.
"He looks like he's going to throw a punch," I mutter. In fact, Kieran looks like the kind of guy you'd avoid at night because he looks like he'd mug you. Then again, I shouldn't judge him when I don't know him. I judged Liam for far too long.
*
I always think that the first day of a new term will be special in some way, but it doesn't take me long to realise today is ordinary, like every other school day. Everyone falls back into the rhythm of first period, second period, recess, on and on. The news spreads that Kennedy and I broke up. It's not a big deal, just another piece of news in the Year 12 gossip machine, and my friends ask me about it once before moving on.
