The Beautiful Life of Robyn Rose

Curly Haired Girl

I sat in a tree that hung over a pond, my fingers  brushing charcoal pencils across crisp white paper. The sun would soon set, and the park would close but it didn't matter. I would stay until the moon came up. The weather had cleared up so that not a single cloud was in the sky and I would be able to see the stars.

Today was uneventful.

Drew wasn't in school, I was talked about and confronted by curious people, and had even served my detention.

School is so fun.

"Hey."

I jumped and almost fell out of the tree, into the pond. I squeezed my book to my chest, pencils and all and glanced around for the perpetrator. A curly haired girl peered up at me, her warm brown eyes glinting in the setting sunlight, much like her glowing almond skin. Her pink lips formed a grin, a little piercing right in the middle of her bottom lip.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she laughed, swishing her big hair from side to side.

"No, you're fine.... geez kid I almost died," I sighed out, my heart racing.

Mostly from how gorgeous this girl was.

"I saw you sitting up there and wanted to see what was up. I thought you were sad or something," she scratched her arm, her eyes concerned and curious.

"I'm alright..." I laughed.

I couldn't stop staring at her.

"Wanna sit with me?" she randomly asked and motioned towards a mossy log near the bank of the pond.

I was slightly taken aback from her outgoing personality but jumped down, dirtying my boots even more.

"I like your shoes," she complimented. I grinned.

"Thanks. I like your shirt," I eyed her Led Zeppelin T shirt enviously.

There were a few pins stuck above her right breast, one of them boldly stating 'feminist' while others represented lgbt+ and other movements.

I liked her even more already.

She smiled and sat down, and I plopped down right after.

"Oh shit, I forgot to introduce myself," she laughed like it was the funniest thing. Her laugh made my heart flip and I couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Well, I'm Robyn," I held out my hand.

"K.C." She shook my hand, soft and warm.

I traced my eyes over her features, memorizing every dip, curve, and blemish.

After a moment of silence, she spoke.

"Oh sick! You have an animal tattoo, too?" She gestured toward the fox on my wrist.

She brought her leg up to her chest and rolled up her pant leg to show me her ankle.

A delicate little owl rested right on top of her ankle bone.

That had to have hurt.

"That's so cute, when did you get it?" I asked her.

"About 2 years ago, when I was 15," she left her pant leg rolled up and crossed her ankles.

"Oh, I got mine when I was 13," I laughed at how weird it must have sounded being so young.

"What, really?" I could feel her eyes on me but I was afraid I'd end up staring at her for too long if I looked up.

I nodded, gently tracing the outline of my foxes head as I thought about that day.

"Whatcha drawing there?" she pointed at my sketchbook.

Her smile never left her face, and I noticed she had a dimple.

"Um... Here," I couldn't really think let alone explain my surreal art, so I just handed her the book.

It would give me an excuse to look at her some more.

She took it gently, like my sketchbook was sacred. Her eyes were lit up, lips quirked up at the corners as she gazed at my drawing thoughtfully.

"Wow," she breathed, eyes full of wonder. My heart fluttered at the small praise, but I stayed quiet.

"It's beautiful," she grinned at me, displaying perfectly straight, white teeth. My heart sighed at that.

"Thank you. Do you... have a hobby?" I asked her. She nodded enthusiastically, then reached inside her pocket and pulled out a tiny pad of paper.

"I like writing, poems mostly," she fumbled with the pad before handing it to me and I took it with the same care she dealt with my sketchbook.

Hear me

For I was once caged

Silenced

Oppressed

But no longer

I have broken free

From this cage

And I will continue

To shout

And fight

And live

So hear me.

"I think that's really good," and it was.

It was powerful.

She didn't seem to think as much, but her smile never left.

I gave her back her book, wanting to dive deeper into those pages and explore her thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires. I was already hooked, despite knowing her name for only a few minutes.

We fell into another moment of silence, just staring out across the pond watching the sun sink behind the trees.

"You go to Brooke, right?" her voice lured my eyes back to her face, her expression curious.

"Yeah. Do you?" I asked, my teeth lightly biting into my lip.

Her eyes flicked to my mouth for a split second before resting on my own eyes again, her head bobbing up and down.

"My first day will be tomorrow," she drew a little cloud in the dirt at our feet. I watched her every movement, completely enraptured.

"I could show you around, if you want," I offered, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

She grinned at me, warm brown eyes twinkling in the setting sunlight, giving off an amber hue. I wanted to capture the nearly magical moment, my mind already working out which colors would be appropriate to make it as vibrant as it felt.

"I'd like that, Robyn," she wrinkled her nose teasingly at me.

I laughed at this strange girl, a genuine and carefree laugh as if we had been friends for years.

After another minute of oddly comfortable silence, she noted the darkening skies.

"Well, I better go. I'll see you tomorrow though, at the front gates?" she stood and brushed off her jeans, her expression expectant.

"That you will, kid," I clicked my tongue up at her in confirmation.

She saluted me, giving another award winning smile and walked off into the trees. I let out a sigh once she was gone, my mind replaying the strange events.

It's rare I ever feel like this towards somebody. And I already knew it.

I had a major crush on the curly haired girl.

And I would get to see her tomorrow.

Now that was exciting.

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