lemon boy, w. byers ✗

TWO

LEMON BOY

"AFTER LEARNING TO SPEAK, she travelled the world to her spread her message, and along the way, changed how the world perceived those like her with disabilities."

"And that is why I have chosen Hellen Keller as my hero." The entire class clapped.

Oliver could probably recite Angela's assignment word for word from the number of times the blonde had practised with the three friends.

"That was wonderful, Angela." The teacher praised her and switched the lights back on, Jake got up to help her put away her project.

"Okay. Now let's see who has to follow that." The woman picked a name out of the bowl and Oliver practically crossed his fingers under the desk that it wasn't him as he hadn't actually done the assignment.

"Jane," Oliver let out a sigh of relief and clapped for the brunette girl he sat beside, though the clapping from the others in the class was light and scattered.

Jane looked to her brother who clapped louder and nodded, before turning to Oliver who turned away when they made eye contact.

She walked up to the front of the class and stood there awkwardly as though she was a fish out of the water, from the corner of Oliver's eye he could see Stacy trying to not laugh.

"Hi." Nobody responded. "For my hero, I... I chose my dad."

Oliver's eyebrows raised slightly in shock and Jake turned to Stacy, she chuckled silently as Oliver just gave an awkward look.

The brunette boy turned his head slightly and caught the eye of Will. Will glared at Oliver as if he was the one mocking Jane, he just felt bad for her.

Oliver didn't glare back, he just stared at Will, after a bit Oliver realised he was staring and coughed awkwardly, looking back down at his desk.

He could feel a hot flush creeping up his cheeks, Stacy glanced at him, and she just raised an eyebrow.

"I made a 'direyama' of our cabin."

"More like diarrhoea," Jake joked making most of the class laugh. Oliver only gave a small chuckle, when he looked up at Jane, he saw that she was laughing along too. She probably didn't understand he was making fun of her.

"Quiet everyone, let's be respectful ."

Oliver watched the brunette girl as she showed her miniature figures of her dad and the squirrel she made by hand.

"This is Mr Fibbly," The girl spoke holding the squirrel up, "he is a squirrel."

Angela, Jake, Stacy and a few others in the class laughed. When Oliver saw Stacy turn to look at him, he laughed too.

"And this is the alarm that my dad made," the girl spoke, pointing to something Oliver couldn't quite see as Angela's arm was in the way.

"I...I was never scared because... beca- because..." She stumbled over her words, turning to the teacher who was watching intently.

"Angela, let's save questions until the end of Jane's presentation."

Angela lowered her hand, "yeah, sorry, I'm just like, confused. I thought this was a presentation about a historical hero."

"My dad was in the newspaper."

"Your local paper?" Angela laughed and soon the class followed, Oliver frowned slightly.

Jane looked as though she was about to cry, "I just don't think that's what Mrs Gracey meant by historical. This is supposed to be about famous people."

"My dad is famous, he... he saved lots of lives. In a mall fire, he was a hero for people, and he was my hero too."

Oliver glanced at his desk.

"That's not what I'm saying at all, but it's okay." When Oliver looked up again he saw Will glance at him momentarily.

Oliver looked at the boy. He'd look at the boy for hours if the world would allow him to.

He wasn't even friends with the boy and yet if Will one day came up to him and asked Oliver to handpick every star out of the night sky and give it to him, he gladly would without a complaint.

If Will asked anything of Oliver, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

It was strange as his reputation at the high school was being bitter and rude to those around him. So to be nice to a boy nobody else liked would definitely be strange.

So Oliver hid the feelings in his heart and the only time he'd let them flow was when he stared longing at the boy when nobody else was looking.

Because if people truly saw the way Oliver looked at Will, they'd realise that the boy looks at Will as though he's put every star in the sky.

He stares at him as though he makes the world keep spinning because, in Oliver's eyes, he does.