What I Would Give

Meeting Someone New

The fiber of my being squirmed at the flashback; everything was so screwed up. An elderly doctor with a cotton white lab coat shuffled through the door with a clipboard. It was Dr. Russell, his white hair was precisely combed back, and his aging face barely showed."Hmmmm, he chimed loudly." "Natalie, how are you doing? This is the second time you've been in this month. It worries me that the episodes are happening more frequently. I swear you whippersnappers have more problems in your day to day lives than we did during World War II. Sugar free candy?" worry tainted his voice. Dr. Russell laid the clipboard down at the foot of the hospital bed. He patted the pockets of his pants and coat, scooped a handful of hard candies out of his pocket, and placed them on the table beside me.

"I'm fine, sorta. How are you and your wife? Has her condition improved at all?" I replied softly.
"I'm fine. And Miriam is doing well, but I don't know if that brain cancer of hers can hang on. I don't know how I managed to get a women like her. She has so much fire, even though we're both close to 80. I can't imagine a world without her," he beamed charismatically.
His comment cast a huge smile across my face. He was so kind to me, and he never treated me differently or pitied me. Maybe that's why I liked talking to him so much.
"Dr. Russell you shouldn't give out your wife's age so readily or she might release some of that fire onto you," I remarked humorously.
He let out a chuckle and answered, "We should probably keep this secret since I'm still in trouble for misplacing my house keys. She'll really ring my neck if she finds out-"
"Finds out what, Kurt?"a voice interrupted from the doorway. Miriam wheeled through the door in her wheelchair with a dangerous look on her face.
Dr. Russell cleared his throat and fidgeted a little before saying, "I was just telling Natalie here that I love you so much and that I can't imagine my life without you, right Natalie? Have I ever told you how stunning you look in hospitable robes?"
I couldn't contain my laughter; when I tried to muffled the noise with my hand, everything burst out. My stomach ached from laughing so hard, and both of them seemed to join in. For a while we chatted about current events, mainly about boneheaded things Dr. Russell does at home.

Josh knocked softly on the door, dressed in his white coat, and strolled through the door. While the both of us lived in the Bennett's house, Josh ended up cleaning up his life for me, even putting himself through medical school. He majored in Mental health and neurology because of yours truly, and  eventually got a job at the hospital. He handed me a bag of clothes and bag of hot Chinese takeout. We shared a meal together, while I talked about all the dirt I got on Dr. Russell. Josh laughed and joked along; he even suggested that I should get Miriam to make Dr. Russell do his rounds instead of talking all day. Everything seemed so much more tranquil in a hospital than it did in highschool. No one was there to make you insecure they genuinely cared for you, and their sole purpose was to make you feel better. It felt natural.

Josh tucked me in and kissed the top of my forehead. He mouthed "I love you" and promptly left.

The next morning I was finally released. Josh dropped me off at home then we talked about about getting the work I missed from being absent.

The next day I returned to school, silent as ever. My goal was to get through the day quietly and peacefully. A goal hardly if ever I've reached. Everyday was the same pointless arguments about relationships, grades, and sports. Then somehow I get dragged into them and my day is about as tranquil as a tornado.

One day a girl was crying about how her boyfriend dumped her, and me and my loud mouth jumped in.
"Hey you okay?" I whispered.
"Well, (the girl sniffled a little) my boyfriend broke up with me and it seemed so sudden..." she sobbed.
"Your dating Scott, right? Well seeing as to how bad his grades were to yours, and how he was avoiding you, I'm guessing it has something to do with parents, bad grades, and distractions known as relationships. You picking up what I'm putting down?" I said bluntly.

She sniffled a little, her brown eyes glistened from the tears, while her dirty blond hair fell into her face. "Do you really think so? It's not me?"

"I don't really know what goes on in your relationship, but probably not. My advice is to talk to him, work it out, and if you can't give it time. If worse comes to worse you move on, my brother hates the idea of me in the same room as a guy, much less a relationship," I stated casually.

That girls name was Taylor Vaughn, and she became the closest thing to a friend. Her face lit up, I had no idea what the heck I was getting into. Which leads me to present day, where I serve as mediator and couples counselor. I swear, it's more than the guidance counselor done for anyone.

The bell interrupted my nostalgia and shuffled me into my first period. Taylor was waiting for me at my desk, with a look of concern she wore often. Without a word she hugged me, and it instantly directed everyone's attention on me. The hug was awkward; it made me yearn to sit with my head on the desk and avoid eye contact. I just stood there instead, patted her stiffly on the head. This drew even more attention, which made me want to jump the window, and make a home in a ditch far away from civilization. Soon the train wreck moment was over, and I smiley kindly at Taylor. The thought of her concern set my mind at ease for bit, until I could refocus my mind on European government.

The lecture continued on towards a heated conversation of war. Each argument was an eruption to the last, each more staunch in their belief. My eyes traveled back and forth to each person like a tennis match, until I stopped on a stranger. He was staring intently at me, so I quickly averted my eyes away from his direction. The teacher immediately took note of me and called on me. I collected my thoughts and asked a question,"Is the question what is our belief on war or how we perceive it?"

My teacher was taken back by the question and the entire room fell silent. Each person murmured at a tone I could not hear, but teacher spoke up, "What do you mean? Are they not the same?"

I surveyed the room for reactions; there was a dead stare from everyone onto me. I mustered up courage and continued on,"Well belief is typically what one what thinks on something and is typically black and white. But how we perceive something goes much deeper, it's how we see, think, and rationalize about something and this area tends to be more gray than belief. I believe war is wrong and cruel, but I perceive it to be unstoppable because humans are naturally inclined to violence and the existence of strong leaders, that can harness the emotions of the crowd and move them to do anything. Everyone's go to argument is Hitler, and we often overlook Napoleon, Alexander the Great, and Attila the Hun."

Murmurs crept around the room, everyone looked at each other shocked. The boy just stared at me perplexed, but then smiled. The bell rang and I shuffled out of the door slowly behind the swarm of people. A hand grabbed my left shoulder, then I whipped around with a right hook. I managed to stop the punch before it made contact, it was the creeper that stared at me. He stood wide eyed with brown specked hazel eyes. His eyebrows had shot into his forehead, and he slowly looked around him.  Some of the crowd stared at what had just happened. That's all people ever did was stare at me, like I was a monster. I took a deep breathe and swiftly walked away.

"Wait up!" the strange boy shouted immediately after he was walking next to me. "That was amazing, have you been in that class all year?
"Yep"
"Are you new?"
"Nope"
"Then why haven't I seen you around?"
"Because I'm Batman"
"Makes sense"
He looked at me with the biggest grin on his face. "My name is Grey Knight, and yours?" He asked casually.
"Wow how noble. Mine is chocolate thunder. And despite all my sarcastic remarks to make you leave, you're still here. I'm not sure it's safe to give out information to people that stare at you throughout class.
"Ouch and after all that we've been through. See I can do it too. I won't leave until you give me a straight answer.
I sighed, then I thought about saying "answer, is that straight enough for you?" Then I caved and finally responded without sarcasm. "My name is Natalie, happy?"
"Very," he changed his voice to a sappy tone, "I stare because I love looking at beautiful things." Then he winked like a brick had flown into one of his eyes.
I laughed and glanced at the odd boy I had just met. I opened the chemistry rooms door and left without another word. After the door closed I realized this was one few conversations at school where actually laughed.

Sorry about the Late update, life has been nuts. Plus I didn't want to publish a bad chapter, so here it is. Sorry again. Ciao Poppets!