Skeptic

The Meeting

Tyler Grosser is beautiful. Not in a conventional hollywood way. In a saviour of a boy from a small town kind of way. She looked nothing like the girls around Richmond, Rhode Island. She was brave and bold. She wore her dark brown hair in natural curls that reached the small of her back and the beginning of her ass when straightened. She wears combat boots always black . Her dresses were too short, her vernacular too vulgar, and her mind too far in space for the rest of the people here.

Compared to her I was nothing.

It was summer when I met her.  Tyler was stepping out of the passengers side blue Camry owned by a friend of mine that drove me to and from school. The driver, Delia Knight, was completely ignoring her surroundings and checking her phone. Honestly I didn't understand how the whole world had not frozen and watched this girl. She was wearing a pair of white shorts that came up to her stomach and short enough to leave very little to my imagination. Her shirt was a muscle tank top with the superman logo faded on the front it was clearly too large for her, large enough that I could tell from where I was across the street it was from the mens section, on her feet was a pair of red vans that seemed a little too big as well. Her hair was down her back despite the 89 degree heat.

The two girls started walking towards where I was crouching under the trees . I saw Tyler look behind her, most likely to make sure Delia’s overbearing parents weren’t following behind them, before she pulled out a Marlboro Red and light up.

They were so close to walking past, I had to say something.

“Yo, Delia!” I called hurriedly, I began to make my way down to the street.

Delia murmured something most likely in a negative tone and more likely about me.

“Liam.” Delia droned. Despite her intense dislike for me and my lifestyle she was too nice a Christian to be able to tell me or anyone how she truly felt.

“Hey. New girl” I acknowledged Tyler. She raised her eyebrows in surprise and intrigue. She took another hit of her cigarette and breathed the smoke in my face. I suppressed a cough.

“If you let me use your lighter I’ll let you hit this bowl.”  

Tyler chuckled and took a quick hit of her cigarette and gave me an exaggerated,judgemental look over

      "How tall are you?" Tyler asked cocking her head to ygr side and still having an expression of not being too impressed with what she was seeing.

"6'4." I answered a little nervously

"How old are you?" She continued

"18." I replied a little more confident.

She bit her bottom lip to contain a smile.

"Why are you in a tree?" Another question, but not from Tyler. Delia was looking up at me in my post a little over halfway above the ground.

"Where are you two headed?" I retorted. Not breaking my focus on the New Girl. She glanced at Delia clearly not all too sure about something for once.

"Cal's. He heard I was supposed to be going out with Tyler today and wanted to be a part of that." Delia said this through clenched teeth and I could also feel my own lip turning up in disgust.

Tyler looked between the two of us with question. Apparently, Delia hadn't told her about Cal and his "record" for----a method he called Fucking and Forgetting----every girl Delia brought over. The thought of his grubby hands wrapping around her perfect waist disgusted me.

"I don't think he's that bad." Tyler said, her voice not so sure of her own words. She handed me a white lighter with black writing on it. I had completely forget I asked her for one, I nearly turned down the offer seeing as I had my own. I took a hit off of the bowl and handed it to her. Knowing that Delia would never would partake, I didn't waste the energy. Tyler expertly hit the bowl and gracefully inhaled and exhaled towards the sky.

     "What's this?" I asked gesturing to the lighter that she had handed back along with the bowl.

     "Initials." She said with a cat-ate-the-canary smile.

  I looked at the writing on the lighter and noticed it was initials; J.H. , A.W. , and K.C.

  "Initials of what?"

  "All the guys who have used that same lighter line with me."  

I choked on the smoke that I had just inhaled.

"Jesus." I mumbled clearly embarrassed. "It wasn't a line I--"

"Then how did you have a lit cigarette before I came up here?" She questioned. Her eyes holding a type of bemusement.

I let out a small laugh "Ok. But how else was I supposed to get your attention?"

  Tyler opened her mouth to reply but Delia cut her off.  "Cal just called. He's apparently in a rush. For what I don't know its not like...." Her rant fell off into the distance as I zoned out. I couldn't leave this girl Cal I knew my best friend too well. And I didn't know her well enough.

  "Well let's not keep his Highness waiting!!" I exclaimed in a sarcastic overly excited tone. I packed up all of my equipment and headed down the hill of my yard which was two houses down from Cal's backyard.

Looking over my shoulder I saw Delia looking at me with daggers and a scowl, biting her nails anxiously. Tyler was smiling amused and expectant. She elbowed Delia in the arm and set out after me. Even from down the hill I could hear Delia's exasperated sigh and her footsteps following us.

    "So what was your name again Newbie?" I asked a sudden surge of confidence.

  "Figure it out champ." She whispered and strutted back to Delia, grabbed her hand and walked ahead of me, not once looking back