Every day for the past week I have been going to school and accidentally bumping into or finding this kid named Ryan, then after school we both walk home the same way for about four blocks. Now this would be fine except every time so far I have ended up behind him so I look like a total stalker.
So today I finally talked to him, and I didn't stumble on my words or anything!! He said he had noticed me around and that he would like to walk with me some time. I felt grateful for not having to seem like a stalker every day, however now there was a new problem. How were we going to talk to eachother every day when we are complete strangers who know nothing about each other? Oh well, it'll be fine. Anything beats looking like a total stalker in my book to be honest.
Anyways as we left school Ryan waited for me and then we walked side by side on the sidewalk for two blocks doing nothing. Normally I would find this a very awkward situation but it honestly did feel kind of relaxing. I always enjoyed listening to the birds and watching them as they soared over my head, it was probably the best part of my day. However it somehow felt better with someone else there, like I wasn't alone with the birds, someone else saw things the same way I did.
There were numerous times where we both looked at the same bird as it flew, then Ryan almost perfectly mocked its chirp. I didn't know what to say. We stayed silent for another block or so when I finally thought I had a good enough response. "How long have you been able to do that?" I asked, Ryan seemed confused, "The whistle-chirp thing, you executed it very well" I said. Ryan chuckled, "Um...my father taught me, he's taught me everything actually. He wanted me to be able to find a bird from whatever direction, know a few of their sounds, and recognize their look." He responded, listing off the things slowly as though he was imagining his father still showing him how to do each one.
"What about you? Why do you like birds?" He noticed...why'd that feel nice? "I've been watching them for a lot of my life, there's just this fascinating thing about how they can glide so easily and land perfectly. It's like they know exactly what to do, they have everything down to a T" I ranted.
Ryan nodded, then waved to me. I wondered why when I noticed we were at the end of the road, he was turning right and I was turning left. I had never noticed that we went separate ways before. I waved back and then continued home.
I enjoyed the walk home for some reason, like I got to be a bird. Then I caught myself planning what to do next, what I would say to him next. I finally was going to land peacefully.
Part Two: Another Walk
The next day I said hello to Ryan while we were at school and he waved back. After that he went back to a conversation with some of his friends. He already had friends in the first week of school and as a kid who came from outside of the district, wow.
I saw him laugh as his friends said something and I couldn't help but smile. Then a hawk flew over my head. I smiled, it was so elegant, perfectly slicing through the air. Ryan started to watch it as well, then his buddies followed his gaze and they were all in awe.
Then of course the hawk swooped down and tried to grab Mr.Lansely's toupee so we all laughed.
After school was over Ryan waited for me again, I couldn't help but feel grateful, like I had finally made a new friend. "So, what's your family like?" I asked after only a block. Ryan looked into the distance for a moment like he had to seriously consider the question when he finally shrugged. "I think they're pretty great. I've got my dad, he's pretty strict but he can be very kind. I've got a baby sister, she's only two but man is she a handful, and a Black Lab, he's a hunting dog but he's very cuddly. What about you?" he asked. I also shrugged. "It's just me and my mom, no pets, no siblings. I would like a dog though." I said, thinking about how fun it would be to play fetch with a dog.
"What kind?" Ryan asked, I shrugged, which he laughed at. "What??" I asked, chuckling. "Nothing, nothing, it's just, you know, you want a dog but you somehow don't even know what kind of dog you want." Ryan responded. "Okay smarty-pants, then I want a husky." I said, crossing my arms. Ryan laughed even more.
"What??!?" I said, laughing with him. He waved the question away and I decided to do the same.
Scene: Across the street
MC decided it would be fun to waste some time playing a game, we would each stay on a different side of the road, and every time we walked past a car we would look at eachother with a different expression. It was really stupid but honestly it was pretty fun. That is until for some reason I started thinking about my knee-jerk reaction to his expressions, how would I immediately feel when seeing the stupid faces MC was making? I don't know why I did this, honestly I have no clue, but for some reason I did and I wish now that I would have stopped.
At first MC made a very happy expression and I couldn't help but smile with him, then he made a sad face and suddenly I felt like I needed to run to him, comfort him. He then made a goofy face with his tongue sticking out and I laughed before I could come up with my own expression. As I passed the next car I decided to make a goofy expression as well, but after a few moments I realized that I was walking past a long truck. I felt my heart sink slightly, expecting to see MC there but only finding more of the truck instead. I kept trying to show him my expression but I was just facing a white wall of metal. Then I accidentally faced the front of the car, with the driver inside, while sticking out my tongue and I quickly ducked away. Finally I saw MC but before I could do my expression again I saw an angry face.
I know it was a fake, over exaggerated, expression, but for some reason my initial reaction wasn't even fear or anger, or even confusion. I felt like I should run up to him and comfort him again. Then I realized I still hadn't done my part so, forgetting the game, I raised my hand and waved. I felt confused at first when he didn't wave back until he walked past another car and gave me a shocked expression and I remembered, it was just a game.
...He considers emotions to just be...a game...
*That's all for now, come back in a couple months! Also, this still needs many improvements so please give some constructive criticizm.*
