The Other Side of Unrequited Love [JustWriteIt]

Chapter 2- Meet Neil

Myra plopped down on the bus seat rather unglamorously, swinging her heavy bag into the empty seat beside her. She thumped her head backwards.

"Long day?" a voice asked, amused.

She turned with a nod. It was Neil, the kid who had sat in the seat across from her since they were in Elementary school. Second seat from the back, Myra on the left, Neil on the right. That was the way it had always been and Myra couldn't fathom a time where it wouldn't be.

"I had to take home my Language Arts textbook because Mrs. Thompson decided that we should do an analysis on a short story you can't find online," Myra grumbled.

"Oh ouch," Neil said, wincing. "And you had to take your World History textbook in today, didn't you? 'Cause it's a B day?"

Myra nodded grimly. "And my Chemistry one. Needless to say, my back is not happy with me right now."

"I can imagine," he agreed.

They sat in silence for a moment while Myra stretched out her back. She really didn't understand why she had to have so many textbooks. It was almost cruel.

"Uh, just by the way, you look really pretty today," Neil said a bit awkwardly.

Myra froze for a second. Crap. Then she put on a forced smile. "Oh, um, thanks."

She never knew how to respond to things like this. Ever since high school started, Neil would drop comments like this occasionally, about how pretty she was, or how incredible she was, and it honestly freaked her out. Neil was her friend that teased her and wasn't afraid to call her out. This complimenting thing was weird.

The rest of the bus ride was normal, filled with complaints about school and teasing. Neil was a nerd, and Myra made sure he knew it. Myra was kind of white-girl-basic, as Neil reminded her every day. (She insisted that basic was not an insult. You were allowed to like Starbucks without anyone judging you.)

Her bus stop came relatively early in the ride (only 20 minutes) which was the only reason she took the bus at all. School got out at 2:30. Most of the time, she had to be at the movie set by 3:30. She got home at 2:50, had time to set down her stuff and grab a snack before heading straight there. Carpool and getting out of the student lot actually took longer than the bus ride. Transportation was weird.

She got off after saying goodbye to Neil and began the trudge up the hill. Her bus stop was at the bottom of the hill; her house was at the top. She silently cursed whoever designed that system every day.

"Hey, Myra," a voice said from behind her. She turned around in surprise. It was Bryn Cavanagh, her next door neighbor.

"Hey, Bryn," she said. "Since when do you ride the bus?"

"Since track season ended," she replied with a grin. Myra smiled back. "Oh, awesome."

They began walking up the hill again. Bryn seemed to have no difficulty with the climb, but then again, she was one of the fittest people Myra knew. A little taller than her, Bryn was a thin, muscular, African American girl with hair that hovered just above her shoulders when it was down. Usually, however, it was pulled back in a tight ponytail.

"How was your day?" Bryn asked.

Myra jumped a bit. She had gotten lost in her own thoughts again. "Oh, fine. Lots of homework tonight." She sighed.

"I feel that," Bryn agreed. "As much as I love track, I'm glad I don't have it anymore. Frees up my afternoons a lot."

Myra laughed. "Yeah," she said slowly, "that would be nice."

"Got a lot going on?"

"I have to go somewhere right when I get home, and then I'm not getting back until 10:00." She grinned sarcastically. "Yay."

"Dude, that's insane!" Bryn exclaimed. "How do you get your homework done?"

"I stay up," she replied with a shrug. "Not too late, of course, because sleep deprivation causes acne, and then I get yelled at...but I mean, I get some homework done on set."

"Ah, right, the life of a movie star," Bryn teased.

Myra smiled uncomfortably. She hadn't meant to let that slip. "I guess."

Just then, her foot hit something sticking out of the pavement, and she yelped as she stumbled forwards. But before she fell, a pair of strong arms caught her waist and steadied her. "You alright there?" Bryn asked with a laugh.

Myra stood up shakily as Bryn's arms slipped away. "Yeah, sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I guess. This bulky backpack didn't help."

"Yeah, that thing is crazy big today," Bryn replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Thanks," Myra said with a smile.

"No problem."

They walked in silence for a few seconds before they passed Bryn's house. She turned into her driveway and waved. "Nice talking to you, Myra."

"You too!" Myra called in reply. She kept walking, but saw Bryn slip into her house through a side door.

The moment the door closed, Myra felt oddly alone. Such a short, simple conversation, and yet it was one of the happiest moments in her whole day. She had known Bryn for a while, and she wasn't sure why, but she always enjoyed talking to her more than almost anyone else. Yet they had never been close. She walked the rest of the way home slower than usual. For some reason, she was having trouble steadying her breathing.

And she couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of Bryn's arms around her waist.