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Chapter One Justin sat forward in his seat as Rhydian bounded down the front steps. His backpack was slung over one shoulder making his blue jacket bunch up around the shoulders, dragging up the black jumper he wore beneath to reveal a tantalising strip of bronzed skin. Subconsciously, Justin licked his lips and stored the image away in the numerous reels of film he already had locked away in his memory banks. Moving through a crowd of younger boys, Rhydian called his greetings to them, even turning around to walk backwards so as to continue the conversation. He was smiling and Justin’s hands froze on the car keys in his grip, hypnotised. He loved Rhydian’s smile. It was so honest. And something that had very nearly been lost forever. Rhydian’s eyes stole up towards the sky for a moment and Justin followed his gaze in time to track the course of an aeroplane. Once it was past, Rhydian turned and headed down the road, away from school. He was returning home. This was the time Justin liked to imagine ran at double-speed. It was the most boring time. Starting the engine, moving with deliberate slowness so that Rhydian had plenty of time to move down the road. Then Justin had to carefully track him home, pulling in on the side of the road to wait for Rhydian to catch up. Rhydian lived in a small rundown cottage down a dirt-path just off the main road that led through the village. It was exactly ten-minutes walk away from the school and forty-five minutes walk from Justin’s house. Not that Justin had ever walked it. He always drove his grey BMW everywhere. He steered it across the wide bridge now, glancing down over the left-hand side to take in the view of the river below. The grassy banks were wet with afternoon dew, the water between them gushing steadily downstream. Justin saw one or two large stones protruding upwards, the water foaming white around the intrusions before continuing peacefully along its path. |
Nearing the end of the bridge, he shifted his eyes back to the road. A quick check told him that no other cars were nearby. He stole a glance in his mirror and could make out Rhydian’s large, muscular frame just stepping onto the bridge’s walkway. As always, Justin had timed the drive perfectly. After all, he had been making this same journey since school had started back last September.
A gravel road led off to the left and he turned quietly down it. Less than a hundred yards down, he turned the car into a lay-by, pushed the gear stick into reverse and turned the car around. Inching slowly forward, he drove as close to the roadside as he dared and then cut the engine. A tall bank, overgrown with wild grass and shrouded in a barbed-wire fence to keep the cattle inside, protected him from view. Rhydian never looked down this way, anyway. Rhydian appeared two minutes later, his jacket discarded now and hanging through the strap of his backpack. The cloth fell down around his bottom and Justin’s eyes were drawn right to the prize. He didn’t feel ashamed for staring. Why should he? It was only flesh. It was there to be appreciated. And with his back to him, how would Rhydian even know? Unlike Justin, Rhydian did not turn left but instead down to the right. A very small pathway led past a barn that jutted out, decreasing the size of the already very narrow path. Rhydian threw the barn a cautious glance and moved over to the right, as if the building had grown, stretching itself, swallowing up more of the pathway. At that moment Rhydian’s mobile phone began to ring. Justin lowered the car window to hear the ringtone. It sang out 50 Cent’s “Just A Little Bit”. Justin smiled to himself. At last, Rhydian had discarded the awful Crazy Frog tune. His smile melted away as he watched Rhydian answer the phone. Justin knew who was calling. The same time every day. Checking up on him, Justin supposed. Marking her territory. She appeared desperate. And Justin wasn’t sure yet whether that was true or not. She was older than Rhydian. Thirteen months separated them. The girl. The competition. The beauty. Jasmine Fredrick-King. Justin had to admit he was a little obsessed with her, too. |