‘Take out your notebooks, please. We’re starting with spelling this morning,’ Mrs Richards said.
Everyone opened their desks and rustled around for pens and paper. Kelly lifted her lid and took the notebook labelledSpellingfrom the top of the neatly ordered pile. They always had spelling on a Monday morning, so she’d arranged it for easy access at the end of class on Friday, taking home her separate homework book over the weekend. She selected one of her blue pens, opened her notebook and wrote the date at the top of a fresh page.
‘It’s a boy’s name.’
Kelly twisted in her seat. So did every other student. All eyes were on the new kid. Nobody made a sound.
Mrs Richards looked confused. ‘I beg your pardon, Finley?’
The boy sat up straight and pulled his shoulders back. He was even bigger than Kelly had first thought. Despite her annoyance at Toula’s cuteness obsession, she could see that he was nice looking. Something about the way his eyes met Mrs Richards’ now made Kelly want to talk to him more. It was a strange feeling. She’d never wanted to talk to any of the other boys.
‘Finley. It’s a boy’s name,’ he said in a firm, clear voice.
Mrs Richards smiled like she does when somebody answers a really hard question. ‘Indeed. And do you know the meaning of your name, Finley?’
‘Yes,’ he said. And then he looked directly at Kelly. ‘It means warrior.’
Kelly’s heart thumped and her entire body tingled. Last week, Mrs Richards had made them research the origins and meanings of their names.
Toula turned to Kelly with her mouth and eyes wide open. ‘OMG,’ she mouthed.
Finley looked away. Kelly did the same but angled herself slightly so that she could see him from the corner of her eye. He was staring at the chart on the wall that listed every student’s name and its corresponding meaning.
Kelly followed the alphabetical list to her entry:Kelly – Gaelic – Warrior.
Chapter Seven
Warriors.
Well, Kelly was, at least. Finn felt more like a hunted prey, but her words and her touch reassured him as they always did. Filled him with the fragile and ethereal belief that everything would be all right.
‘So, what happened to you?’ he asked.
She stood up and began to pace, which was never a good sign. There were red marks on the back of her slender legs from the edge of the couch. ‘I lost my shit.’
‘At who?’
‘Some jerk in the supermarket.’ Kelly clenched and unclenched her fists as she walked.
Though he had known her for so long, Finn was still surprised at times by the amount of rage that built up inside that tiny body. She was five feet four inches of pure power; sometimes for good, sometimes for destruction. Her damp hair was combed back from her face and hung at her shoulders, leaving a small wet patch at the top of her T-shirt. It was darker before it dried, like the colour of sand after a rainstorm. Without make-up, she looked much younger and a vision of her as an eleven-year-old girl appeared in Finn’s mind. He saw the same determined features, the same pacing, the same clenched fists. The same raw and dangerous beauty that hinted at the power of absolute destruction within.
‘And so I told the fucker that he should have used the self-checkout.’ She turned on Finn accusingly. ‘You know what that piece of shit said?’
Finn didn’t know, of course. But her wilting gaze made him feel like he should have. Or that he should accept responsibility for it, at least. Either way, her swearing, which was a barometer of her rage, had increased exponentially.
‘He said he hoped I had tampons in my shopping. Can you believe that? A woman experiences strong emotions, so she must be getting her period. What is this, the Middle fucking Ages?’
Finn winced, knowing that whatever she was about to tell him would not be good. ‘What did you do?’
‘What do you think I did? I took that bastard’s eggs, chucked them at him and then, when he fuckingcaughtthem, slammed them against his chest.’
Finn puffed out his cheeks. Kelly had graduated from verbal abuse to outright assault. ‘And then?’
‘I ran to my car and bawled my eyes out. When I got to your door, I realised I’d left your apartment key in my car. I didn’t have it in me to go back downstairs, so I just waited for you. I probably should have called your mobile, but I just preferred to sit here and cry.’ All the fight went out of her. Her shoulders hunched and the blazing intensity faded from her eyes. She looked small and breakable.
‘And you reckon I’ve got mental problems.’
‘I couldn’t help it, Finn.’ She raised her hands and made them into fists again. ‘I’m just … I just feel on edge all the time, you know? I’ve got this constant buzzing in my mind and body like there’s a high level electric current running through me non-stop. When it builds up like that, there’s no other way out but to explode.’
