The last thing that Ashley expected, when the next performer braved the stage, was for this rail-thin, blue-eyed boy in the rainbow hat to come plop down in the chair next to her. She still hadn't noticed yet, watching the nervous girl fidgeting with her hands in front of her. Then suddenly someone was poking her repeatedly in the shoulder, like a young child does when they are filled with excitement and they want to share what they see. Alarmed, at the sudden molestation, Ashley snapped her head toward him with wide eyes, pulling her shoulder out of his reach. The boy looked surprised for a second, and then held up his hands as if he were a criminal who had been caught. Then, clasping his hands together in front of him and bending toward her, he silently pleaded for forgiveness. Slightly confused, slightly amused, and definitely nervous, Ashley waved at him to stop, and mouthed "it's fine." Immediately, the boy's beaming smile bounced back onto his face. And as it did, she noticed that his youthful face already had distinctively etched laugh-wrinkles crinkling around his eyes and mouth. It somehow made him even cuter, and Ashley blushed and blinked at him. Having very little remaining confidence, Ashley turned away, hoping that he would take the hint and leave her alone. She desperately wanted to talk to him, to have a chance to get to know him, to ask him his secret to being so confident and relaxed...but she just couldn't bear the terror of attempting any of these. So she desperately prayed that he would leave her alone, and that he would whisk her away to somewhere much more fun than this, both at the same time.
As Ashley prayed, unconsciously holding her breath, the boy slowly leaned his head in next to hers, and whispered in her ear, "You were fantastic up there." Sucking in a breath of surprise, Ashley started away from him again, daring a glance in his direction. When she looked at him, he waggled his eyebrows up and down at her and made a very silly face. She couldn't help herself, and busted out laughing. Everyone in the theater turned to look at her, at the sudden outburst. Turning a deep shade of red, Ashley mouthed "sorry" before covering her face with her hands. Suddenly, the boy was whispering to her again. " Don't worry about it. You did them a favor. This girl's acting is painful."
Peeking at him through her fingers, Ashley slowly lowered her hands. No one was looking at her anymore, except "Waffle", the actor with the piercing blue eyes and the impossibly huge smile. They stared at each other for a few moments. His smile warmed as their gaze lingered. Ashley could not help smiling back at him. He made her feel wonderful. He was looking at her like she was amazing, like she was the only person in this huge theater. And he was looking at her with unabashed interest. There was no judgement in his face. She sensed that with this boy there never would be judgement, no matter what she did. She drank in this feeling, even losing her self-consciousness as she basked in his aura of kindness. The audience started clapping again, Waffle clapping too, but keeping his eyes glued to her. He inclined his head toward the door of the theater and raised his eyebrows briefly as if in invitation. Ashley found her head nodding, without remembering giving it permission to do so. And as the young man with the rainbow-feathered hat pulled her toward the exit, Ashley's heart skipped a beat. She had to restrain herself from skipping out of the auditorium, but realized as soon as she had the thought, that with Waffle, he probably would have skipped right along with her.
