Read Online The Life and Afterlife of Charlie Brackwood (The Brackwood Series Book 1) by Stacey Field - Free Book Online
Authors: Stacey Field
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GCSE exam and she was nervous.
“What if I fail? This is the most important one for me,” she mumbled through her nail biting.
We were outside the sports hall, which was currently being used for exams. Small wooden desks were lined up in neat rows, all facing the same way like soldiers on parade. Lucy peered through the doors as groups of students exited the cold, musky-scented room.
“Just the sight of it is causing my stomach to churn,” she said, looking at me with huge worried eyes.
“Which one is it? Biology?” I asked the back of her head as she continued to peer in.
Lucy’s mass of black curls shook as she nodded.
“Hey, what's going on here then? A meeting without me?”
I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder as I heard Russ’s loud voice. Just what Lucy needs , I thought to myself, angry that my time with her had been interrupted but not understanding the reason for that anger.
“Lucy’s a bit panicked about her exam, which is pointless because we know she’ll get great grades in all of them,” I said, ignoring Russ and looking straight at her.
“Didn’t you bring your anxiety pills with you, Luce? Just pop a few of them,” Russ suggested light-heartedly.
Her eyes widened.
“Of course,” she said, scrabbling in her bag for the box.
Lucy had suffered from anxiety attacks ever since Gilly’s death, but it had only been diagnosed by a doctor in the first year of high school. It was something she was ashamed of and it wasn’t often spoken about by us due to the need for secrecy.
I handed her my bottle of water so she could take the pill.
“Thanks,” she said gratefully.
“How long till they call you in?” Russ asked.
“About twenty minutes,” she said, looking at her watch.
“So I hear Stephanie Duff has the hots for you,” Russ said, nudging me with his shoulder.
I sighed. Russ often liked to embarrass me with these nuggets of information. I looked at Lucy and shook my head. She rolled her eyes in response.
“According to Amy your name is all over her pencil case... lovingly scrawled,” he added, grinning.
“Come off it,” I said, embarrassed.
“Just say the word and I can set you two up.” Russ’s tone was serious.
Lucy looked at me with an expression on her face that said: don’t you dare . I guess she hated the thought of losing another friend to a member of the ego brigade.
“Definitely not,” I said sharply.
This reaction caused Russ to start listing Stephanie’s so-called qualities, and reasons why my dating her would be a good idea. It was while he was in the middle of stating that the whole male student body would be envious of my relationship with her that I saw Lucy start to wobble.
“Whoah!” I said, catching her before she fell. Her eyelids were drooping heavily and I tapped her cheek lightly while repeating her name. Still no response. Had she fainted? Did she need some fresh air? With Russ’s help I managed to exit the foyer of the sports hall and lay her on the grass outside.
“What’s wrong with her?” he said, appearing uncharacteristically concerned, “She was fine a minute ago.”
We both looked at her then, unsure what to do.
“If she’s fainted she should come round in a minute or so,” I said hopefully.
“I hope you’re right.”
As our attention turned back to Lucy her eyes were still firmly closed but she started to groan.
“Sleepy,” she said in a soft voice.
Sleepy? What the hell was going on? She had been wide awake and perfectly lucid a few minutes ago. Russ and I looked at each other in confusion. We felt helpless and unprepared for this situation. Students were being called in to the exam hall. If we didn’t wake Lucy up soon she was going to miss it. The biology exam was the most important for her as she needed a good grade to be accepted on the university degree course she had chosen.
“Looks like Sleeping Beauty is going to miss her exam,” a
“What if I fail? This is the most important one for me,” she mumbled through her nail biting.
We were outside the sports hall, which was currently being used for exams. Small wooden desks were lined up in neat rows, all facing the same way like soldiers on parade. Lucy peered through the doors as groups of students exited the cold, musky-scented room.
“Just the sight of it is causing my stomach to churn,” she said, looking at me with huge worried eyes.
“Which one is it? Biology?” I asked the back of her head as she continued to peer in.
Lucy’s mass of black curls shook as she nodded.
“Hey, what's going on here then? A meeting without me?”
I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder as I heard Russ’s loud voice. Just what Lucy needs , I thought to myself, angry that my time with her had been interrupted but not understanding the reason for that anger.
“Lucy’s a bit panicked about her exam, which is pointless because we know she’ll get great grades in all of them,” I said, ignoring Russ and looking straight at her.
“Didn’t you bring your anxiety pills with you, Luce? Just pop a few of them,” Russ suggested light-heartedly.
Her eyes widened.
“Of course,” she said, scrabbling in her bag for the box.
Lucy had suffered from anxiety attacks ever since Gilly’s death, but it had only been diagnosed by a doctor in the first year of high school. It was something she was ashamed of and it wasn’t often spoken about by us due to the need for secrecy.
I handed her my bottle of water so she could take the pill.
“Thanks,” she said gratefully.
“How long till they call you in?” Russ asked.
“About twenty minutes,” she said, looking at her watch.
“So I hear Stephanie Duff has the hots for you,” Russ said, nudging me with his shoulder.
I sighed. Russ often liked to embarrass me with these nuggets of information. I looked at Lucy and shook my head. She rolled her eyes in response.
“According to Amy your name is all over her pencil case... lovingly scrawled,” he added, grinning.
“Come off it,” I said, embarrassed.
“Just say the word and I can set you two up.” Russ’s tone was serious.
Lucy looked at me with an expression on her face that said: don’t you dare . I guess she hated the thought of losing another friend to a member of the ego brigade.
“Definitely not,” I said sharply.
This reaction caused Russ to start listing Stephanie’s so-called qualities, and reasons why my dating her would be a good idea. It was while he was in the middle of stating that the whole male student body would be envious of my relationship with her that I saw Lucy start to wobble.
“Whoah!” I said, catching her before she fell. Her eyelids were drooping heavily and I tapped her cheek lightly while repeating her name. Still no response. Had she fainted? Did she need some fresh air? With Russ’s help I managed to exit the foyer of the sports hall and lay her on the grass outside.
“What’s wrong with her?” he said, appearing uncharacteristically concerned, “She was fine a minute ago.”
We both looked at her then, unsure what to do.
“If she’s fainted she should come round in a minute or so,” I said hopefully.
“I hope you’re right.”
As our attention turned back to Lucy her eyes were still firmly closed but she started to groan.
“Sleepy,” she said in a soft voice.
Sleepy? What the hell was going on? She had been wide awake and perfectly lucid a few minutes ago. Russ and I looked at each other in confusion. We felt helpless and unprepared for this situation. Students were being called in to the exam hall. If we didn’t wake Lucy up soon she was going to miss it. The biology exam was the most important for her as she needed a good grade to be accepted on the university degree course she had chosen.
“Looks like Sleeping Beauty is going to miss her exam,” a
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