Beauty and the Geek: a Sapphic tale (Part 3)

Here is the link to Part 2: https://budgetpixel.com/blog/beauty-and-the-geek-a-sapphic-tale-part-2 * The following morning, Lauren awoke to the sound of rain spattering against her bedroom window. She silenced the chimes of her alarm and pulled back a corner of the curtain. The rain had the effect of darkening the front garden, and Lauren felt a twinge of disappointment. She had been toying with the idea of inviting Ellie over again to see Biscuit, but that was going to have to wait until better weather reappeared. She hoped it wouldn't be long. An hour or so later, she was joining the queue to board the school bus. Ellie got on two stops later. Their eyes met, and Ellie gave her a brief smile before sliding into her usual seat near the front. Lauren watched her settle by the window, her puffer jacket bunching around her shoulders. She was tempted to go and sit beside her, but something held her back. Maybe Ellie preferred being alone. Maybe it would seem too pushy. Maybe... At that point Lauren ran out of excuses. Then the bus swung sharply into the road, and the moment had passed. Two stops later, Katie Lamb joined her and began talking enthusiastically about the netball trials later that week. Katie, who captained the senior team, was sure she'd be selected. "Fingers crossed," Lauren said, though privately she wished people would stop assuming she was bound to succeed, in netball or anything else. She knew they meant it as a compliment, but somehow it only made the prospect of disappointing them worse. She glanced towards Ellie and caught a glimpse of her misty reflection in the window. For a few moments she wondered what Ellie was thinking. Then she arranged her mouth into a smile, and rejoined the conversation with Katie and the other girls at the back of the bus. When Lauren entered the classroom, Ellie was already seated at a desk. The chair beside her was empty. This time Lauren made a beeline for it. Ellie looked up, surprised but evidently pleased, and moved her bag to make room. "Morning," Lauren said. "How's things?" "Fine. How's Biscuit?" "Missing you. Or it could be the apples she's pining for, it's hard to tell." Around them, chairs scraped and bags thumped onto desks. The room smelt faintly of damp hair and damp clothing. The teacher began writing equations on the board, and Ellie bent over her exercise book. She pushed up the sleeves of her hoodie, revealing a scattering of tiny freckles along her forearms, some scarcely darker than her skin. Lauren found herself wondering what they would feel like beneath her fingertips, like joining up the dots in a children's puzzle. Ellie frowned at a calculation, and the tip of her tongue appeared between her lips. Then she rubbed her chin. Lauren did her best not to look, but she was finding it extraordinarily difficult to concentrate on anything else. "Lauren?" She looked up. The teacher was watching her. "Can you tell us what x equals?" Lauren stared at the board. Several lines of algebra had appeared while her attention was elsewhere. "No, sorry Miss. I can't." A few students laughed. "Then perhaps you'd care to join us for the remainder of the lesson." Heat crept up Lauren's neck. She'd usually have known the answer. Ellie quietly nudged her exercise book towards her. The answer was six. "Thanks," Lauren whispered. "Bit late, though," Ellie murmured. Lauren suppressed a smile. Eventually the lesson ended, and Janice Pearson came swaggering along the aisle from the back of the classroom. Passing their desk, she made a couple of exaggerated kissing noises. Ellie's hand stopped halfway towards her bag. Lauren heard them too. She could have turned and challenged Janice, but that would only have given her the reaction she wanted. Besides, there was something inescapably ironic about being mocked for fancying a girl when, as it happened, she really did fancy her. What troubled Lauren rather more was the uncertainty of whether Ellie might ever feel the same way. She waited while Ellie gathered her books. "I need to get something from the library," she said. "Care to join me?" Ellie looked up, a little uncertainly, then smiled. They left the classroom together. Lauren was still thinking about those freckles.