Our Story

Chapter 2

The look on my face must be priceless, because not only is Richard whooping with laughter, but he bought me my coffee today. I mutter something obscene at him as we sink down and he drops a large stack of papers on the table between us.

    “Come on, I couldn’t leave you with only one opinion; you’ll get close minded! Now, help me grade these.” he slides Paula White’s paper on “Love - A Profound Happenstance” in front of me.

    “For your information, I thought your opinion to be more than sufficient and insightful.” I glower at him. “You just wanted to cop out on work.”

    He stares at me, pen poised over Mandy Tarr’s slightly perfumed paper. “Me?” A pained expression covers his face so realistically it’s almost believable. “I’ve never been so insulted in my life!” He pouts in a most un-adult-like fashion.

    “Sure you have.” I retort. “Remember that time you told me about, when-”

    “Shh-t-z-uddt!” Richard shushes me frantically, eyes darting around the nearly empty coffee shop, pointer finger an inch from my face. I grin, visibly this time, and chuckle.

    “So you’re still wounded over that one, eh?” I ask, highly amused by his antics.

    “Deeply.” Richard says gravely, turning his head back to the paper before him, and I do the same.

    The only reason Richard and I are so close is because of these coffee shop meetings. Being the only A+ student of his class we were already on friendly terms, but one time, after spending a few hours at the shop after school, I’d begun to walk home as usual. It was pouring out, so when Richard stopped to see if I needed a lift, who was I to argue. I distinctly recall his observation that I looked like a drowned rat. Since then we stopped awkwardly ignoring each other in the shop. Grading earned me some extra credit, and extra time out of the house. So I’d nearly jumped when Richard had offered me the task. This is part of our daily routine now, and I quite enjoy it.

    A warm dusk is brewing by the time we’ve finished, and the boy behind the counter shoots me a look. I shove the stack of papers into Richard’s bag, slightly irritated.

    “So?” He asks, holding open the door, as I step out of the shop.

    I open the passenger door to his car and wait for him to climb in before answering. “My class is full of dimwitted, shallow ninnies.” I announce, startling a guffaw from Richard.

    “That’s not very kind.” He scolds, pulling onto the quiet road.

    I sigh, relaxing back into the seat. “Oh?” I stare out the window. “What depresses me the most is that I’m pretty sure that is the kindest description one can give.”

    Richard sighs, silently agreeing, and once more I’m caught wondering how he got himself pinned teaching Senior English. His brilliance could easily send him to be a professor at a top notch college. Perhaps it was because of how young he was.

    I like to watch Richard drive. His large hazel eyes widen in attentiveness, and his large long fingered hands hold the wheel firmly. I like to watch his fingers dance on the side of the wheel as we wait at the stop light right by the coffee house. The way his long fluffy brown hair swings along the tops of his shoulders as he searches the intersection. I also like just looking at his face while he speaks, or stays silent, with unspoken words simmering under the surface of his skin. Some days we talk, some days we don’t. Both are perfectly okay with us. Sometimes, we even talk without words. That’s something I truly enjoy. I’m not sure if he loves it as much as I do, but it’s incredibly nice to take a break from words every so often. I think he would agree with that if I ever brought it up.

    “So have you figured it out yet?” The question takes me by surprise, even though I’d watched as his lips parted. He tilts his head slightly, to examine my expression, which is one of slight confusion. “What you’re going to do.” He clarifies.

    Oh. I frown faintly. He’d asked me two weeks ago what I’d decided to do with my life. I’d told him to ask me again in two weeks, as if two weeks more would be enough to answer the question that had plagued my mind for years. Richard is certainly punctual, if anything. I’d almost forgotten.

    I stare down at my hands, clasped loosely together, and stay silent for another moment. “Richard?” I murmur, not meeting his gaze. “When did you know?” His pause is a question. “When did you figure out your own path?” I hear him sigh after another brief second, and the light changes to green.

    Accelerating gently, he replies with something that had never crossed my mind. “I never did.” My eyebrows lift, and my eyes lift to search his face.

“Then… what are you doing?” I’m feeling a little scared all of a sudden, for a reason I can’t quite place. His hesitation makes it worse.

“I… don’t know.” I almost don’t hear his quiet reply. “I love English, sure. I had to in order to make it through so many years of study.” I nod, waiting patiently. “Yet… there’s something missing. Something I feel like I haven’t yet achieved, and never will, on the road I’ve chosen.” He looks sad as he says that.

He waits, until I open my mouth. What comes out shocks me a little, since I hadn’t thought about it beforehand. “Then lets leave.”

The statement seems to have shocked him too, since he’s looking at me with an expression of absolute incredulity. “What?”

I nod firmly. “Today. Right now.”

He laughs at the stubbornness on my features. “If we got caught I’m pretty sure I’d get charged with kidnapping.” I can hear the amusement in his tone, but I can also hear the slight excitement.

I shrug, a small smile on my lips. “Not if my parents are okay with it.” He raises his eyebrows, staring out the windshield. “We both know I can get them to agree.” The eyebrows fall and are replaced by a wide crooked smile. He takes a hand off the steering wheel reaches into his pocket, producing his phone since mine is out of reach in my bag, in the back seat. I grin, and start dialing.