Read The Remarkables (The Remarkable Owen Johnson, part 1) for Free Online

drab on anyone else but on her was the very definition of alluring (to Owen’s eyes anyway). She had tied her shoulder length brown hair in an untidy bun, from which she had deposited a selection of pens and pencils. Even in an exam she looked perfect, the very epitome of-
    Before he could get as far as drooling over his best friend, Ms Campbell appeared in his peripheral vision and strode up to him. “Hour and forty minutes left, you’d best knuckle down,” she advised.
    Owen gave his wound a brief dab to confirm that it wasn’t bleeding still, and opened his exam paper.
     
    ~ ρ ~
     
    The late start notwithstanding, Owen felt that the exam went rather well. He was confident that he answered the questions on Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ to a standard that would award him a pass, although he felt that his reasoning as to why Goody Proctor allowed for her husband to be hanged was perhaps a little less worthy of a seat next year in Katie’s class. He may have got the two Reverends names mixed up as well. His thoughts were so consumed with greed, ambition and metaphors for Communist witch-hunts that he walked straight into the very person who normally monopolised them.
    “What the bloody hell happened to you?” Katie asked, randomly pointing out parts of Owen’s white shirt that had red on them. Katie on the other hand looked perfect, as always.
    “I fell in the park ,” Owen explained, snapping out of his dreamy assessment of her perfection. “How do you think you got on?” Owen enquired, hoping that his sorry appearance had not distracted Katie from achieving the top marks she deserved.
    “Oh , fine. The questions were far easier than the mock ones from last year.” Easy was not a description Owen would have used but he nodded in agreement nevertheless. “Fell on what?” she asked, continuing her interrogation. Katie’s inquisitive mind clearly was not going to be so easily sated.
    “ I was late waving goodbye to my dear brother, so I had to run through the park. I tripped on a stick, and landed head first on a rock. My next door neighbour saw and helped me out.” That seemed plausible. “I even managed to make that receptionist hate me even more by donating blood all over the leisure centre carpet”.
    Katie whistled.  “You’re brave.  I ’d choose bleeding to death over getting on her dark side.  Are you coming for a drink?”  She looked him over, taking in his dishevelled appearance.
    “Yep. Just need to get changed into my civvies.” Owen gave his rucksack a shake to indicate he had brought a change of clothes.
    Katie seemed relieved that he wasn’t going to show up as if he had just finished a shift at the abattoir. “Good plan Stan, but what are you going to do about your new hairdo?” Katie pointed at Owen’s hair line.
    “What do you mean?” Owen tried to run his hand through his hair, but found it so matted that his fingers got stuck. Prising them free he saw that they were covered in congealed blood. “Oh, nice.”
    “It really isn’t,” Katie argued. “Why don’t you have a shower in the gym, and then meet us there when you’re squeaky clean?”
    Still rubbing the lumpy blood through his fingers, Owen decided that the dingy gym showers were the last place you would want to go to get clean. “It’d be just as quick to go home. I’ll meet you at the bar later.”
    “Anything to get out of buying me a drink ,” Katie smiled, but then switched to a frown. “Are you sure you’re okay? You seem distracted.” She always was far too intuitive for her own good.
    “Post exam and post head injury blues, is all ,” Owen offered as an explanation, deciding not to share the experience of hanging onto thin air and being rescued by kindly winds and an elderly neighbour. “I’m fine. Quick shower and I’ll be the happy-go-lucky scamp that you know and love”. He tried to sound as chipper as possible, and it seemed to work as Katie’s frown was banished by a wide