Page 4 of The Story Of Us

“One of us has to be older, so the younger one should go in the line first.”

“Oh, right. I was born at night, at nine I think. My mum says it was just after sunset, so I’m probably younger than you.” I step around him and move to his left as he moves to my right.

“I was born at sunrise,” he says, nudging me with his shoulder and grinning. “Sunrise and sunset. Another coincidence.”

“Okay, I think everyone’s in order now,” Mrs. Harper says before I can reply to Isaac. “I’m sure you’ve all spoken to each other but let’s go down the line and say our name and birthday so we can check if the order is right.”

We all do as she says, Isaac and I waiting patiently as we’re near the end of the line, being two of the youngest in the class. Surprisingly, we managed to order ourselves without a mistake, and Mrs. Harper said that it had never happened before, so she was quite proud of us. She tells us to take our seats again, and I catch up with Avery as she gets to the desk before me and sits down, placing her head on the desk.

I take the chance while she’s not looking to try and catch a glimpse of Isaac again. It was fun talking to him, and it feels special that we have the same birthday. His desk is on the front row near the door to the classroom, so I can only see his profile.

But as if he can feel my gaze, he turns around and smiles at me.

1

VIOLET

PRESENT

“This is the last one,” I tell Mum as we drop the heavy box we’re balancing between us onto my desk. It’s filled with books, and I deliberately left it for last, knowing that both of us would need to carry it.

“Are you even going to have time to read all of these?”

“I like having options,” I say with a shrug as I begin opening the box and taking books out, but my mum places her hand over mine to stop me.

“You can unpack them when I leave. Sit down, let’s talk for a bit.” Her gentle tone makes me instantly realise what she wants to talk about, but I don’t want to yet.

Somehow, on the multiple trips back and forth from the car to my room, I’ve managed to avoid seeing him, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about him. As soon as we pulled up to school, he was the first thing on my mind, and a small part of me wanted to catch a glimpse to see if he looked as worn down as I felt. Now it feels like if I talk about him with my mum, just mentioning his name will have him appearing in front of me, and I’m not ready to face him yet.

“Mum, it’s fine. I’m over it now.”

She gives me a stern look, and I sigh before pulling out the chair under my desk and taking a seat. Mum perches on the edge of the bed that she’s just made up for me. Even though I’m old enough to do it myself now, it’s the same routine every time she drops me off at school as she helps to set up my bed and organise my clothes and toiletries. Coates lets students keep the same room for all seven years, so most of my stuff stays here over the summer, but Mum still insists on tidying it all whenever she comes to visit, especially on the first day back.

“You know it’s okay if you’re not fine. You don’t have to pretend with me.” She reaches over to take my hand, stroking her thumb across the back as she continues in a soft voice. “Your first heartbreak stays with you for a long time, and it’s only been a few months for you.”

“I’m not heartbroken,” I scoff. Maybe if I say it out loud, I’ll start to believe it myself because there’s no other explanation for the way it feels like my chest has been hollowed out since July.

“The lack of ice cream in my freezer over the summer proves otherwise.”

“We had a heatwave!”

She ignores the glare I give her, and I ignore the way she rolls her eyes at me. I hadn’t even told her when I started dating him, so I wasn’t planning on telling her that we had broken up, either. She even had to come and pick me up a week before the year officially ended because I told her I was sick and wanted to come home. It didn’t take long for me to break down and tell her the whole story, and she just listened carefully, stroking my hair and holding me like she’d done before so many times when I was younger.

“I just want you to be happy. It’s your last year of living away at school, and I want you to enjoy it instead of being upset over a silly boy.”

I try not to react too much to the ‘living away’ part because I still haven’t figured out how to tell my mum that I want to move away for university, too. Even if the plans I made with him aren’t going to happen, I still want to follow the goals I set for myself.

“I am happy. Avery is getting here soon and we’re going to have dinner, watch a movie, and have a great weekend before school starts. Stop worrying about me.” I don’t mean to be harsh when I say that last part, but towards the end of summer, it got exhausting trying to deal with my mum and the way she tiptoed around me.

“You can come home any weekend you want, and if you don’t want to travel all that way, then you can call me any time. I love you, meri jaan.” She stands up, and I do the same because I know she wants a hug. I think the constant reassurance is more for her than me at this point.

“I love you, too. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

We leave my room and make our way towards the front entrance, passing other students who are in the middle of moving back in. Mum continues reassuring me that I can call her any time, day or night, and I keep telling her I’ll be fine. Once we reach her car, she kisses my cheek before getting in and driving away.

My shoulders drop as soon as she’s out of view, and I let out a deep sigh, letting my head fall back to stare at the grey cloudy sky. I know I’ll have to have a conversation with her soon about university but I think it’ll be easier to do it over the phone.

I start walking back to my room and can’t help but scan the car park to look for him. I don’t want to see him, but I feel on edge, not knowing where he is. The thought that he could appear in front of me at any time makes me race back to my room. I’ve almost reached the door when I hear my name being called by a familiar voice, and I’m stopped in my tracks.

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