"What do you need them for?"
"The flash drive I need to transfer the ST videos cuz there's no more space on my laptop," Jared says, "and I just need to borrow your sword cuz we're larping in Glunt's class."
I stare on in disbelief. "That class is such a joke." I say, shaking my head and smiling. "There's no way I'm bringing my sword, I'll get friggin tackled the second I walk in!"
"Okay, okay that's fine, but can you bring the flash drive tomorrow?"
"Yeah, whatever floats your small, dismal boat."
"Alright cool, see ya." Jared says as he breaks away down the science hallway.
I turn right, toward the band room, hoping to see her but to no avail. She's nowhere to be seen.
She? Who's she? Well, to answer your question, SHE is the most amazing person in the world. As a start, she laughs at my jokes even though they aren't funny, she always knows how to have fun, and whenever I see her, I get butterflies, my heart does a summersault, and for once, my life seems complete.
Her name is Elizabeth and we share a common interest: dangling large hunks of brass from our necks and blowing into them passionately. You'll know, it's on the cover.
You guessed it: saxophone. Tenor saxophone, to be specific. That's the one that's bigger than an alto but not big enough to break your neck while you're carrying it. Thats why playing tenor is the best, but tenor players are also the only people who know how to have fun in our marching band, and in general.
So anyway, I continue to the band room, slightly disappointed. It takes a minute or so to walk all the way down the hallway, and as I pass the hall between the Audi and the band room I catch movement. I stop in my tracks and step back into view of the hallway. It's her! My heart goes through the cycle of upside down, inside out, then back to normal again.
I meet her gaze as I enter the hallway, and I make a the funniest face I can muster. She shows a hint of a smile, but it fades and I can see that her eyes are rimmed with red as though she'd been crying.
I continued forward and then turned around so that I was walking next to her. "You know, crying doesn't suit you." I inquire as my hand silently slips into hers and our fingers interlock.
"What?" She looks at me like she has no idea what I'm talking about.
I sort of stare back, wondering if I'm crazy.
"Oh this?" She points at her eye. "I was chopping onions!" She laughs.
I couldn't get over her laugh. It made everything else just melt away, every worry, every other thing on my mind just seems to disappear for a moment. And her eyes. I get lost in her eyes...
Woah, back to reality.
"Where in God's creation would you be chopping onions this early in the morning?" I ask laughing.
"I was making up a foods lab!" She acts offended and smacks me in the arm.
"What'd you miss?"
"I missed the casserole lab that we did yesterday." She says. "Miss Matthew makes it so fun!"
I audibly heard my stomach growl. "Woah," I said, "I didn't eat breakfast."
"Well what'd you do that for silly?"
"I was in a hurry!" I laughed again. "and Sadie was being a bitch." I pause. "Well she's a dog so I guess she's always a bitch but you know what I mean."
"Wow." she laughs, there it is again.
I drifted a bit too far that time, tripping over some little seventh grader's backpack. Now I'm on the ground, still laughing. She's looking down at me, still laughing. Both of us without a care in the world.
Oh Elizabeth.
