Honed Hearts

Chapter 4

"P-Paula?" I stutter through my teeth. Her eyes flicker in astonishment. I observe her closely, she's grown taller and her hair has gotten a bit longer. Her face hasn't changed much. She dashes away. I try and grab her arm, but I miss. "Paula!" I call out. She ignores me. I jog after her. I was quick enough to catch her. At this point I don't even care if I'm late, I need to talk to her! "Paula, I'm sorry about everything that happened before when we were kids," I jabber. "I really-" I continue, but she cuts me off.

"I don't care Annalise, just please head on," she blurts without looking at me, her head turned away. I try and think of something to say. I really am sorry and want to become friends with her again. It was all a misunderstanding. She doesn't know!

"RING!!!" the bell rings boomingly. "Oh shoot, I'm going to be late," she cries. I hold her arm gently. "I'll see you after school, meet me at the exit." She doesn't nod or shake her head, but she continues onwards, disappearing into the hallway. I sigh, watching her.

"What are you doing in the hallway? Get back to class," a random strict teacher demands. I nod quickly and run back to my classroom. I slam the door open accidentally, and all the heads face me. I lift my hand up slightly, in apology.

"Annalise? Why are you late?" Ms. Miller beseeches me. "I-I'm sorry I forgot my way to class," I respond. She nods, but still has a little down expression, "I understand, everyone forgets their way to class once in a while, especially because it's the first week of school. Just don't be late again!" she asserts me. I nod. She continues, "Today we'll be reading a poem by, E.E cummings and..." I rush over to my desk and set my light backpack down with my face flustered a bit. Noah hands a copy of the poem with questions that require you to provide evidence. I whisper, "Thanks!" He smiles the same smile for a hundredth time that gets my heart beating again. I look down and fidget with my pencil case. Minutes pass. Tens of twenties minutes pass. I start to yawn and the bell finally rings.

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When I finally come to realize that the end of the day has approached, I rush downstairs. "You going to go to the basketball game later, right?" Noah asks, tapping on my shoulder behind me. "Yes I will! I really gotta go! See you later," I pant, then continue to run across the hall. The exit door booms open as I push it with all my force and I scan the outdoor view. I can't find Paula. Where would she be? Maybe I rushed out too quickly. I will wait for her. I sigh and take a huge breath, calming down, and leaning onto one of the painted building walls. Various students file out, one by one, group by group. When is Paula going to come? I start tapping my foot. A delicate figure emerges from the doors. I begin walking alongside her.

I console, "Listen, Paula I wasn't the one who made the bullies target you. It's all a misunderstanding." Her head perks up. "I know how sad you were from that bullying incident, I really wanted to talk with you," I continue. She stays silent with a neutral expression. I try to get a word out of her, "I just wanted to say how sorry I am, you don't have to forgive me." I walk away leisurely.

"Wait! I forgive you Annalise, I wanted to say how sorry I am too. I just felt so guilty..." she mutters and continues, "It's my fault that you lost social status anyways. I have been wanting to tell you for such a long time, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell you that." Tears begin to arise from her eyes. I don't know if they were happy tears that were from meeting me again, nor sad tears content with regret. Nonetheless, I smile. I hug her warmly. She hugs me back. I yelp, "Augh, you're going to choke me!!" She starts laughing as I do too. "Do you want to get ice cream? It's such a hot day outside," I consider. She nods and we walk together just like the old elementary days. While our footsteps make sounds on the concrete, I come to ask, "So you moved to this school, this year?" She nods. I understand now. It's no wonder that I haven't seen Paula after these years. I thought that she went to a different school.