Feathers Of A Bird

Chapter : Eight (Part Two)

(Listen to the music while reading for a better experience!)

"Hey, cat!"

I gazed at him as he plopped his bag by his bench, smiling. Of course, I had this glistening confusion and comfort in my eyes, which made him ask,
"Why you staring at me like that?!"

I shook my head, still glaring and smirking.
"Nothing!"
I stopped for a moment.
"Why 'cat', though?"

He laughed.
"You needed a nickname!"
He continued as he put a book out of his bag.
"Kathy sounds kinda formal, to be honest! On the other hand, 'cat' is cute!"

I said, with fake anger in my voice,
"Kathy is formal?! Then what is Katherine?!"

He kept laughing.
"The name Katherine kinda reminds me of an author."

I didn't say anything, just smiled.

We couldn't say anything else as Ms Baliey suddenly commenced talking.
"Class, concentrate. Today we'll discuss the second world war."

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"I forgot that you were new here and you needed to get into a school!"
I laughed.

"And I forgot to tell you that I love to surprise others!"
He said back.

"Well, I can totally see that now!"

Ryan kept laughing.

We talked lightly as we walked to the main entrance of our school. Because it was the first day of school, he said his mother was coming to pick him up. I, for some reason, found it exceptionally cute while he was scratching the back of his head; he thought his mom still cared about him as if he was a toddler.

"You always scratch your head when you're awkward!"
I shirked.

He quickly stopped and put his hands in the pocket of his sweater and giggled.
"You noticed!"

"Yep!"
I said excitedly.

As we walked a little further, I suddenly discovered that he was staring at something in front of us, with visible sparkles in his eyes.

I looked ahead as well. What I saw was our school bus. It had arrived and was ready to go. I peaked at my watch and realised that I delayed coming out of school because I was conversing with Ryan.

But why was he staring at the bus?

"Ryan?"
I glimpsed at him.
"My bus is here, I'll get going now!"
I walked a couple of steps onwards.

"I wanted to introduce you to my mom!"
He made a grumpy face as he looked back at me.

Watching him behaving like an innocent, little child, I walked closer to him and squeezed his cheeks.
"We can do that later too!"

He laughed.
"Okay!"

I grinned and waved at him as I moved towards the bus. Before I walked up on it, I looked back and saw him staring.

I waved again; so did he.
Still, I had this urge to know why he was gazing at the bus. Why did he look so excited though?
I couldn't help but wonder while getting up on the bus.

"Our Kathy looks very delighted today! What happened, huh?"
I suddenly heard Mr Batman. Looking at the driving seat, I saw his conventional smiling face, which was enough to brighten someone's day.

"I met a special friend today, Batman uncle!"
Walking closer to the seats, I grinned.

"Oh? You're talking about our Anderson dude, aren't you?"
He laughed as if I said something absurd. Meanwhile, I was surprised to hear about Ryan from him. Did he not join the school today?!

"How do you know Ryan, uncle?!"
I asked, with my heart full of curiosity.

"I met him in a children organisation. He works there in his free time."
He replied.

"Children organisation?"
I was both fascinated and surprised to hear that.

"Yes, it's an organisation for orphans and poor children."

"Oh!"
But I still wasn't clear.
"What does he do?"

"He just joined a week ago, dear. He basically reads stories to the children and plays with them; tries to cheer those unhappy children up."
He smiled at me.

"Wow..."
I thought. He works for little children's happiness...

"That's incredibly sweet of him..."
I said slowly.

"I know right! All children love him! So do other workers!"
He laughed.
"He somehow knew that you were in Pristine High, so he asked me about you. When he understood that I knew you for 3 years-"
He looked at me and chuckled.
"He kept asking and asking!"

I laughed awkwardly.

"You've got a great friend, Kathy! And I'm never gonna deny that he's got a sweetie lil great friend too!"
I stared at him, smiling. I was amazed to hear the pressure he put on the word 'great'.

"Now go sit, Kathy. We'll get going."
I nodded.

"Oh, no! Wait!"
Called Batman uncle, as if he abruptly remembered something.
"Anderson dude- I mean, Ryan told me to give you this-"

He opened a drawer in front of him and brought out a pretty big bar of dark chocolate and a note tied with it.

"Your special friend-"
He laughed. I giggled awkwardly again.
"Your special friend gave me this and told me to deliver this to you! He says he didn't wanna give it to you by himself!"

I felt this warm vibe in my cheeks. I didn't whether I was right or not, but I had a feeling that I was blushing.

"Thank you, uncle!"
I said as I took them from his hands.

"Don't mention it! Now go and sit."
He smiled at me.

I nodded.

I held the note and chocolate tightly as I walked past other students.

Reaching an empty seat, I realised that I wasn't alone anymore. I, surprisingly, felt that there was this shadow upon me, that would always stand there beside me; that will let me breathe the scent of care and support.

I relaxed down on the seat. Thinking about Ryan.
It had been only 3 days since I met him but it felt like I was in the middle of the wildest and most beautiful friendship I had ever been in.

Though it hadn't been easy for me to trust anyone easily after a terrible experience and realization, I had this strong feeling that Ryan would be the 31st December of my life. I believed that, in my life, it was the beginning of a new year.

The bus started riding. I glimpsed out of the window and saw the sun peeking through the overcast clouds of a winter sky.

It suddenly reminded me of Maddy, my elder sister. All she wanted was love.
I looked at my hand and let a sigh out.

I wish Maddy had got a normal life, without any hardships.