The Islanders by FJ Campbell

Author:FJ Campbell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: F.J. Campbell

CHAPTER 15

Edward found the atmosphere at The Island had totally changed since he’d left in January. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He felt different himself, having experienced and seen so much in Berlin. But it wasn’t that. Things had shifted and he felt at odds with the school, the pupils and the teachers. He was adrift and no one seemed to have noticed.

Was it all about Beth? She wouldn’t talk to him, not in public or in private. She wouldn’t ride with him, she wouldn’t play chess with him, he wrote her notes but she didn’t reply. He tried to catch her eye, but she always glanced away. Or was it Zack’s fault? When Edward saw him with Beth he couldn’t stay in the same room. He didn’t know what to say or do when they were there together, arms draped around each other, touching each other.

Or was it The Island itself? Had he outgrown it, or it, him? All that remained between now and the end of his time at school were his rapidly approaching exams, for which he needed to study, but he spent most of the time staring at the walls in his room. He couldn’t concentrate and felt that time was slipping away from him. He slept badly and sometimes woke sweating in the night, unable to get back to sleep, afraid of noises and shapes in the darkness. The dark circles under his eyes grew deeper and activities like shaving, ironing his shirts and combing his hair, let alone showering, fell by the wayside.

He felt like he’d lost a game, but he was unsure what the game was supposed to have been or how he should have played it. Maybe Milo would know. He only felt at ease with Milo. The two friends played chess together a few times a week, but never spoke about Zack and Beth. Edward didn’t know what the right words would be and supposed that for Milo too, it was a struggle even to think about it.

Edward longed to catch Zack doing something really stupid so that he could punish him. He wanted him chucked out of school. But that was the dilemma – the activities most likely to lead to his expulsion were sex and drugs. And he knew that if Zack was doing those things, it would probably be with Beth. Even though Edward knew that his chance with her was over, he still felt protective towards her and wondered, with an increasing obsession, how he could manage to get rid of Zack without it harming Beth’s position at the school.

The closest he got to it wasn’t nearly close enough, but he still felt a little happier than usual when he caught Zack smoking behind the sports hall one day, alone. Edward smiled as he gave him a Saturday night detention, looking into his eyes with a great deal of pleasure as Zack angrily stubbed out the cigarette on the wall.

‘You’re such a dick, Markham. You don’t have to give me this,’ he said, waving the detention slip at him.

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