Rainbow in the Darkness

Chapter 6

            Sitting in my spot had always worked to clear my mind, but I had a friend now and my mind was anything, but clear. I finally had a friend that liked talking to me and did not mind hearing the horrible parts of my day. Not only was I happy I had a friend, but I could feel that this friendship was going to last. Derrick and I were not afraid of being ourselves around each other which allowed me to finally be myself with someone.

When I was in my old friend group I still felt like I needed to hide who I really was. I felt like I could not express the real me; the real me that was scared of growing up, her dreams becoming crushed, not being accepted, feeling like an outcast. I tried so hard to fit in with that group of friends that I had lost the most important thing, the real me. But now that I have a true friend I can finally be myself and be accepted for who I am.

"Favorite animal," Derrick said.

"Penguin," I answered, finishing my lunch, "Yours?"

"You're going to think it's weird, but I like ducks. They are so weird and different, but they are accepted for being weird."

I couldn't help but laugh. We have been talking since the period started and there has not been a dip or awkward silence in the conversation since. We have been asking each other random and weird questions, such as the previous one, and the generic questions, such as 'do you have any siblings?'.

"It's not that funny," he said, embarrassed.

I could see the tops of his ears turning pink. I looked at him and said, "Yes it is. Here you are being fit and handsome and your favorite animal is a quirky and adorable duck." I couldn't help but laugh harder.

"So you think I'm handsome?" he said with a smirk.

I stopped laughing immediately. I had not realized what I had said. I was embarrassed, my checks turning pink. I shielded my face with my hands, trying to cover my increasingly pink checks. I had meant what I said, but I did not want him to know that I thought he was handsome. I did think Derrick was very attractive and now that I had gotten to know him I was starting to have a crush on him. I didn't plan on going through with my feelings, but I forgot how you felt when you had a crush.

I decided to ignore his comment, trying to steer the conversation towards a different topic. "What's your favorite genre of books?"

"I like fantasy, but I'm open to read anything. What's your favorite genre?" he said, seeming to forget about my handsome comment, which I was very grateful for.

I quickly said, "Poetry. I love poetry."

"What's your favorite poem?" he asked, interested in my opinion.

"That's a very hard decision. I've read so many and so many of them have made an impression on me, but I can't just pick one to make my favorite."

I finally look at him; I mean really look at him. His eyes showed his interest in our conversation. He was intrigued. His eyebrows were furrowed, showing the concentration of his thoughts.

"What?" I ask.

"You seem to have a very close and personal relationship with poems almost like you write them. Do you write?"

"I mostly write for myself, but I write stories and poems," I answered.

"What do you write about?"

"I write about things I'm going through. It's a way for me to vent my feelings or frustration. But enough about me," I said, wanting not to talk about myself anymore, "What's your favorite song?"