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I stared at the boxes stacked on the floor at the far end of the roo personality, my teen years I smiled as I walked toward them

An hour or so later I’d pushed aside boxes of clothes that could go to charity, Dad had returned home and come upstairs to say hello and leaveopen a box I assumed was filled with books because it was heavy

I found some books inside, but I also found diaries My heart thudded a little at the sight of them, and I lifted the the theraph floated out of the leaves of a black journal froer thudded

It pounded

Eight years ago

My English teacher had heldht freaked … on display like that to people ould judge whether it was good enough or not? I said no, thanks

So as I kicking ate? I glanced around, noting that nearly everyone was gone I’dh

Why had I said no to Mrs Ellis? If she thought the story was good enough for the coh So this shy Soe that so ates, catching sight of three older boys kicking a football against the school wall and talking I recognized one of them

Marco

I didn’t knohat his surname was because he was in fifth year and I was a third-year I only knew of him because he was so popular his name had made its way down the years And also because he was hard toI’d heard he was foreign, but there were soaround about where he was fro away quickly so I didn’t get spotted ogling hi for home I’d taken only about four steps when , yelling, laughing, and swearing at one another were Jenks and his crew They were in s had changed, since we’d gotten to choose which classes anted to take as our high school careers progressed My friends and I were smart and didn’t care to pretend that eren’t Jenks and his friends had picked on us since first year To begin with it had just been in class, calling us "teacher’s pet," "geeks," and "swots" Lately, because they couldn’t get to us in class, they’d taken to verbally abusing us as we got on the bus, or when they saw us in the corridors The verbal abuse had gotten slowly cruder and nastier

I glanced up the road to , then dashed across the street to avoid the boys

Unfortunately, Jenks wasn’t in theat my feet, head dohen I heard hi I didn’t,up, I was filled with dread as a grinning Jenks casually swaggered across the street towardhieek?" Jenks stopped inme to a stop

I did my best not to show fear as he stepped intodown my body in a way that " I shook my head and tried to move away, but the three of them blocked er I wished I could set the they could intimidate me

"We just want tae talk" Jenks sneered at me "So fuckin’ stuck up But ye alere"

Jenks’s friend Aaron punched hih I’d shag it"

I blanched, taking a step back

Jenks grunted, glaring at me "She’s still a fuckin’ swot" He took a step toward h, eh?" He reached a hand out to grab at e

I felt the blood rush in oing home" I tried to inject authority intotone

They laughed and Jenks grabbed for ain

My shriek of alar like a rag doll into Aaron They al each other Their other friend, Rube, stumbled back, too, and my eyes went froaze traveled upward in surprise

Towering over us all was Marco

A very angry Marco

His loas fixated on Jenks

"Whit the fuck?" Jenks pushed himself off Aaron and scowled up at Marco "Who the fk dae ye think ye are?"

I was astounded that he’d be so aggressive with Marco Even Rube and Aaron looked unsure

"Get out of here," Marco said quietly, calmly, his words soft and rounded with an accent "I see you try this shit again and you’ll be dealing with ht, but Marco was suddenly flanked by two friends Seeing they were definitely not going to win against the older boys, Jenks spat at Marco’s feet and marched away, fists clenched at his sides

I shuddered at my near escape

"You missed the bus?"

Taken aback, I realized Marco had directed the question to reen eyes, eyes that were startlingly beautiful against his dark lashes and caraeous And there was so about him… an aura around him that made me wish I were closer to him

I nodded, still too awestruck to speak

His eyebrows drew together "Where do you live?"