Page 18 of Darkest Obsession

“I’m not letting you see me naked you hairy-arsed fuck.”

Kit laughs and pulls ahead of me… that fucker. I push harder to keep up with him and by the time we’re done with our two mile run, we’re both dripping in sweat and I’m dying to jump into the river near the boathouse.

It’s just far enough from school that security isn't likely to stumble upon us breaking the school rules by swimming.

Kit stops to catch his breath, but I keep running and leap off the dock, soaring through the air until my body hits the frigid water. My heart stops for an aching second before beating in overdrive. Fuck, it’s cold. I let the feeling numb me and nearly reach the bottom of the river before I push up towards the sun and shake my head like a lion once I breach.

Kit’s nowhere and then… his shaggy blond head pushes up beside me and he cackles like a maniac.

“Fuck, it’s cold!”

He swims toward the dock quickly, but I tread water in the frigid water for a while longer until my body warms before I swim back to the dock. Kit lies there in what passes for sun in England, gasping as he dries off.

“Why did you convince me to do that?” he groans. “Horrible idea.”

No point arguing with him. I lie on the dock next to him, but I can’t stand lying there for longer than a few moments. I’m bloody starving.

“I’m starving. Let’s go,” I mutter. Kit doesn’t protest. We jog back to the dorm together, Kit finally wide awake enough to give me an excruciatingly detailed account of his second ever encounter with a woman. At least he’s off Clover for the moment.

“Are you banging Amina’s sister?” Kit asks once we return to the dorm and he opens our bedroom door.

“What are you on about?”

“Sylvia.”

“Can’t a boy and a girl just be friends?”

“No.”

“Well, I disagree.”

“That’s why you’ve been here five days and haven’t shagged anyone.”

“Now you’re the expert?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you what I did to her arse?”

I haven’t had nearly enough coffee to put up with Kit this morning. Our school uniforms are rubbish, but if I roll my sleeves up, I don’t have to cover the tattoos on my forearm. Unfortunately, I have to hear about this girl’s arse all the way to breakfast, but at least we have the rest of the crew team here.

I don’t see Clover, Sylvia or any of her other friends, but I quickly forget about socializing at all. Breakfast. It’s not as good as mum’s chef’s… but it’s everything. Three glasses of chocolate milk. Four apples. Six scrambled eggs. Four slices of toast. Fifteen strips of bacon. Two scones with clotted cream. A plate of fried potatoes. Orange juice. I can’t bloody wait.

Kit pulls the chair out for me next to him and then sits down. Jude has his headphones in, sitting with the team but ignoring the rest of us. It’s his fault he had to repeat a year and join a different sports team. Something about blowjobs. Hope it was worth it.

“Please describe any muff you had this weekend,” Kit demands through a mouthful of eggs. “I want to hear it.”

Fuck’s sake, this…

I tune out, because I honestly don’t care, and because there’s a distraction walking into the dining hall. A very welcome distraction.

Chapter Eight

Clover

Sylvia and Kola can’t come to breakfast with me this morning. I’m the only one with an earlier class and after what happened to Sylvia, she needs Kola’s support right now. I just wish I didn’t have to eat alone. Better yet, I wish I didn’t have to eat at all. Walking into the dining hall alone as a black woman at this school feels like walking across hot coals. The dining hall even emanates heat as I approach the door in my school uniform.

I never had to wear a uniform before and despite my best efforts to customize this thing, I look like a prep. I am the furthest thing from prep you could imagine. This skirt is way too short. Whoever the hell designed this didn’t have thick thighs in mind. My forest green pleated skirt makes me look way too young. I finally breach the dining hall and glance around the room for any familiar faces. Molly never came back from the party last night, but I assumed she would at least have to eat breakfast. Damn it…

There’s only one person sitting alone. Roger. I don’t know if he’s waiting for someone but then he looks right at me and waves me over. Thank goodness I have somewhere to sit. I point to the food and then nod, mouthing that I’ll be right over. Roger flashes me a thumbs up and I walk toward breakfast. Everything here is so greasy… I love it. I get scrambled eggs with toast and a little ketchup on the side with a glass of cranberry juice before I happy-dance my way to Roger’s table with my delicious meal.