Breaking Loose

An Unexpected Sensation

Cristina did not wait for the bus to empty; after all, she had to move over so that Wanda would get out and she did move through the horde of students through the aisle to get out of the bus. She accidentally stepped the tips of her crutches on other people's feet and the complains did not stay unheard.

She hobbled as fast as she could to the small 4-step staircase which she climbed up with ease. Once at the open ground level lobby. Once at that level, she stopped to get her breath and while doing so she scanned the lobby between the two groups of school buses.

A familiar face appeared at the other end kneeling at the bottom of one of the large pillars as he usually did, it was the same guy that was always there when she came. He smiled at her as he scanned that long slender leg in a cast. Her bare toes with lacquered black toenails hovered over the floor. They were slightly curled up as if avoiding contact with impure surfaces. He was right then, like him, she disliked dirty surfaces.

She gave him only a slight hint of a smile. She did not know him and did not want to encourage him too much, and yet she did. She began hobbling in his direction as he started to get up from the floor. Just when he thought she was going to greet him, she turned left towards the lower end of the 30-step stair to the upper esplanade.

Cristina stopped a couple of feet from the first step, looking in awe at the seemingly insurmountable challenge before her. From her own eye level she had to look up and the height she estimated to be around three times her own height at least.

She weighed her chances, going upstairs now on crutches with all these non-caring students bumping into her or her crutches, almost a recipe for disaster, and in the end, she would -if she did not end in the hospital again- she would be all sweat by the time she climbs up. Or perhaps she could wait until the stairs were empty but then she would be late for class, "What else?" she thought.

In the meantime Reese Everton, who had seen his dream girl approaching stayed a few steps behind her trying to again muster up some courage to talk to her. Maybe he could offer to carry her backpack, that could be an icebreaker. Reese looked her up and down, she had a pretty body, her naked leg had an impeccable skin, and then the cast seemed to go up under her skirt but it was beautifully shaped down to her heel.

Reese sidestepped a little, still thinking about the backpack offer. He continued admiring her cast, as shapely as her own beautiful legs. He looked at her casted foot, fixed in that position for weeks. For a moment he tried to imagine what it would be like to wear one of those, but the prospect of breaking a leg was not worth finding out. He was going to look up to her when the incarcerated, motionless foot showed signs of life, her bare toes first curled down and then relaxing for a brief moment. Then the four smaller toes curled down and the big toe curled up as if protecting his little brothers from unwanted staring/

He noticed a slight change in her stance by the movement of her crutches and when he looked up to her, he noticed she was watching him. She had caught him staring at her toes. He felt a rush of warm blood all over his face, but was his face redder than hers? They were both blushing.

Reese did not say a word, he was mute as his heart pounded in his chest. He felt impotent, wanting to say what he wanted to ask and yet no word came out of his mouth which was just slightly open as if his words had died in mid-air.

Cristina tried to reposition herself to face him sideways.

Reese saw her beautiful lips open up enough to see her beautiful white teeth, she was going to say something to him, perhaps she knew how to break the ice.

"Have you never seen a girl's foot?" Cristina was going to say, but her words never came out.

"Hey kiddo, need some help?" a relatively tall, stocky guy appeared on her left, looking at her eyes with a confidence that pierced her will.