My shoes scuffed against the sidewalk, kicking pebbles around like small soccer balls.
I was supposed to be getting groceries for myself.
But I kind of forgot I don't have money.
So instead, I resorted to pebble football as I called it, a game I enjoyed when I was little.
I used to use pincones and sticks, acorns, whatever I could kick basically.
There I was, looking like a doofus at six o clock in the morning, playing with rocks in the faint light from the sunrise that had just begun.
I was also thinking.
And, if you know me, leaving myself alone with my thoughts isn't the best idea.
I start remembering things.
Questioning things.
But mostly, I just think about school.
How all those kids were right.
I never was going to fit in anywhere.
I let out a puff of air, adjusting the scratchy straps of my backpack on my bare shoulders, as I shot one last rock into the 'goal'.
I had been out for about an hour, so I guessed it would be okay for me to start heading back now.
I walked down to the crossing walk, pressing the button and crossing my feet into an x, gently bouncing one foot on top of the other as I waited for traffic to slow.
"Morning." I mumbled, acknowledging the people waiting with me with my head.
"Hi."
I turned around, furrowing my eyebrows. "What, are you stalking me now Hood?"
He laughed, sticking his hands in his pockets, his eyes flicking to the ground.
"No, I'm just headed in the same direction as you."
"I doubt that." I muttered under my breath, squinting up at the crossing light as it flashed to walk.
I stepped off the sidewalk, figuring he hadn't heard me.
I was wrong.
"What do you mean?"
I shrugged, "Nothing."
He stopped me in the middle of the road, grabbing me by the shoulder and spinning me around.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
I bit my lip, my eyes going up over his head. I'd asked myself this question for years, and yet, I still didn't have an answer that seemed correct.
I shrugged. "'Course."
I jogged a bit to reach the other side, wishing more than anything he would go somewhere else.
"You know you have one of those faces."
"What?" I asked, more than a little ticked he hadn't left me alone yet.
"The kind thats easy to read. So long as you look for the signs. Faces are like road maps in that way, you see a sign once and you never forget. You'll still recognize it from a distance."
"Hmm." I wasn't really sure what to say to that. Instead, I just turned my attention back to the path and continued walking.
"Its also easy to read someone when their face is in a permanent frown." He laughed.
"Its also easy to read someone when their face is in a permanent smile." I said, mocking him.
"Its not like I'm happy all the time." He nudged me with his elbow, his face breaking into a smile.
