Saving Me: Ruinene

The Cost Of Ideas (1)

Rui

I sit on the floor, twisting a piece of string around my finger. My puppets are lined up in front of me, but I can't focus on them right now. I keep thinking about what happened earlier at school.

"Nene, do you think I'm weird?"

She looks up from where she's setting up the small little stage, her head tilting.

Nene: "Huh? Why would I think that?"

I sigh, messing with the strings some more.

"Some kids in my class... I tried to get them to do my new show. I wanted them to try this new thing I invented. Y'know, just jump off a building with my flying gear..."

Her eyes go wide, and I can already tell what she's thinking.

Nene: "You... told them to go jump off a building?"

"Yeah, but it was safe! I just wanted to test it... everything was planned out and stuff..."

Nene

I stare up at him, not knowing what to say. Rui is always coming up with crazy ideas, but this one... this one is a little off the charts. I mean, it depends on the building, really...

"What did they say?"

Rui looks down at his lap, his shoulders slumping.

Rui: "They called me a weirdo. Said it was too dangerous. Then they laughed and walked away."

I feel a tightness in my chest. I've never seen Rui like this before, and it made me feel bad for him.

"That's mean... why would they say that?"

He shrugs, pulling the strings tighter around his fingers.

Rui: "Maybe I am weird. Maybe my ideas are too much for other people."

I shake my head, quickly scooting over to sit next to him, then punching him in the arm.

"No way! Your ideas are awesome! They just don't get it, that's all!"

Rui

I winced, then turned my head to look at her, trying to believe what she's saying. Nene's always been the one person to never make fun of me, but after today... it's hard not to feel like maybe those other kids were right...

"It's just... I thought it would be fun. I wanted to show them something cool. But they didn't even try."

Nene crosses her arms, her face serious now.

Nene: "Well, who cares about what they think? You've got me, right? We can make our own show, and it'll be better than anything those kids ever done in their lives!"

I chuckle a little as I hear her say that, and to be honest, it did make me happy. But there was still a knot in my stomach.

"Yeah, but... I still feel bad."

Nene

I don't like seeing Rui like this. He's always so full of energy, always coming up with new stuff for us to do. It's weird seeing him all sad like this.

"Let's practice. Maybe it'll help you feel better."

He nods slowly, and I grab one of his puppets, waving it around in an attempt to make him laugh. He smiles, just a tiny bit, but it's a start.

"Come on, let's make the best show ever! And this time, no jumping off buildings, okay??"

Rui laughs, and it's the kind of laugh that makes me feel like maybe everything will be alright again.

Rui: "Yeah, definitely no buildings this time. Just me and you."

We get back to work, but I keep glancing at him. I'm going to make sure he has fun today, no matter what!!

~~~

notes: awww, that last sentence made me smile. Ruinene is best no one can tell me otherwise :))