Edge of the Ravine

6

Chapter Six

It took me a week to learn who he was. The boy with the dark brown hair that had just entered our school. Very much unlike myself, the boy was welcomed with curiosity and open arms. Even more unlike me, it was these very invitations of friendship that he spurned with great distaste. But after a week, even I learned that his name was Alec Baldwin and he was born in Chicago. His parents had recently divorced and he was now living with his dad in the house north of Amelia's valley.

I never talked to Alec, myself. Just watched him from a distance. He was fascinating to me, being so opposite from myself. From the moment I got here, I wanted to fit in. Alec couldn't care less. About anything. Friends. School. Even rules or laws.

Truly it shouldn't have surprised me to find him hanging out with Dylan Memphis the following Monday. They were sitting beside the courtyard, their knees up to their chests and their backs to the railing. Dylan already had a cigarette to his lips, the smoke curling lazily in the breeze. Alec pulled a cigarette from the pack in his hands before looking up to see me watching them.

His feathery eyebrows raised and his blue eyes captured my own. Deliberately, he put the butt of the cigarette into his mouth and lit the other end with a match. All the while, his eyes never left mine. Challenging me like a dog would.

Coward that I was, my eyes dropped and I hurried to my class. It felt as if I could feel eyes burning into the space between my shoulder blades. At the same time, my skin seemed to warm. For once, someone actually noticed me.

Something even more miraculous happened later that afternoon. The final bell clanged through the aged halls of the school and I gathered together the books I would need to take home. I was not aware until that moment that Alec's locker was just a few down from my own. My eyes constantly shield away from him, honestly afraid that he'd realize I was the boy who watched him smoking.

Moving as quickly as I possibly could, I grabbed my books and headed for the front of the school. Five miles was a distance to walk, but if I moved quickly I could make it in an hour. I remembered having to wake up at four in the morning before school in the beginning, it would take me that long to get ready and walk the five miles. I'd been so excited when I first realized I could sleep fifteen minutes longer each day.

It was just as I was about to cross the road lined with cars of parents retrieving their kids that a voice called out to me. "Hey, Oliver! Hold on a minute!"

I froze where I stood, unable to even turn around. Surprised was not a strong enough adjective to describe how I felt at hearing my name from someone other than Amelia or my teachers. Of course, the minute he called my name, everyone else turned to stare as well.

Seeming not to notice the disturbance in daily life, Alec bounded around me with such energy as I had never seen before. Tossing his head a little to shake his brown hair out of his eyes, he smiled as he stood before me. It was the strangest thing I had experienced in six years.

"Hey. My name is Alec," he said, nodding his head emphatically, his hands jammed into his front pockets.

"Oliver Hart," I murmured. Since he did not offer to shake hands, I kept mine tightly around the books that I clutched to my chest. My heart was hammering against my ribs, I was so unnerved by him. Unnerved and fascinated and intrigued and, yes, even frightened by him.

"You walk home every day, don't you?" Alec demanded to know.

"And to school," I responded quietly. His voice was much louder than what I was used to.

"How far a walk is it?"

Oh yes, Alec unnerved me. Normal friendships did not begin with an interrogation, I had always thought. But Alec and I... we were not normal. In fact, few could become as unusual as we two, I always believed.

"Five miles," I answered cautiously.

"Five miles?" His feathery brows rose high on his forehead, looking more surprised than I thought necessary. "And you walk that every day?"

"Twice a day except on weekends," I answered. To me, it was normal. I did not understand why he should concern himself with it.

"C'mon, Oliver. We'll give you a ride." Alec turned away towards a shiny, silver car and climbed into the backseat. He left me the door wide open, clearly expecting me to follow.

And I did.

I mean, I hesitated for a few minutes. After all, Amelia would be very upset that I got a ride from a stranger. But my rebellious streak had not yet died and I was certain that I could hide this occurrence from my great-aunt. After all, what punishment could she thrust upon me now?

So I followed him willingly.