I'll meet you there

1

8 years

Blaze Jones was the boy who sat at the back of the bus even though his designated seat was two behind me. He was the one well known and well liked, even though we were both just in elementary. He was the boy that lived one block south of me and two doors down from my best friend Rose. He was also the boy that I was assigned to sit beside for the rest of my school year.

"Hi I'm Suede Catherine Brooks," I smile with my chin tilted upwards. Mommy always said that a confident person was the best kind of person.

"Hi Suede Catherine Brooks," he said as he picked up his coloured pencil crayons and started filling out our partner list.

Our teacher, Mrs. Levi, told all of us to write down the answers to the following question about our partners.

"Your supposed to write in regular pencil," I say as he starts writing my name in big red letters.

"Is that a law?" He responds not looking up from the page.

"Well no. It's just that if you make an oppsy you can't erase it," I answer as I pull out my mechanical pencil from my blue pencil case.

"My father always said 'life is full of mistakes that you can't erase'", he says this time looking straight into my eyes.

His are different. He has one brown eye and the other is 3/4 brown. The other 1/4 is blue. Mommy told me that there is a name for this, it's just to long and I forget it. Not like it matters though.

"Is there something about me that's bothering you?" He asks as he switches his red pencil crayon for a green, obviously colour coding each question.

He caught me staring!

"No!" I instantly reply, a little too quick to receive a smirk.

"You were staring at my eyes weren't you," he bats his long eyelashes. He had very long lashes. The kind that curled up when he looked down and could almost touch his eyelid when he looked up.

"Next question please," I say changing the topic as soon as possible.

"What is your favourite subject?" He asks.

"Math," I answer smiling confidently. I loved math. Something about numbers just made me happy, I was also pretty good at it.

"Math?" He scrunches his nose," no one likes math."

"Well you just met someone who does," I cross my arms covering my chest as he writes down my answer.

"Next is favourite hobby," pencil switched to a blue this time.

"I love to ride my bike down near the ravine. Daddy said that he even might build me a tree house down there since I spend so much time climbing the trees," I reply, he blinks his eyes, while this time it's him who's staring.

"I don't think I have enough room to write that," he look down at the page with the one line intended to fit my answer. His huge font didn't help this senecio anymore.

"Hmm. You can just say riding my bike and climbing trees," once he writes that down he places the pencil on his desk and looks my way.

"Okay it's your turn,"

"But we haven't answered all the questions yet!"

"Well it's time to switch things up," he pops his p.

"Okay what's your name,"

"Blaze Coden Jones", he replies.

This is the name I'd never think I would remember or always call when I was alone. Or to yell when I needed help after climbing too high of a branch.

Blaze Coden Jones I'd never expect to be the name of my best friend.