Ocean Rose

Her Eyes

He didn't know why, but he kept looking at her. Something about her, shone like the sun.

But something about her was dark. Very dark.

The way she looked at him. The dark look she had given. It scared him. 

It was amazing how such inner beauty could seem like it had so much pain. Her eyes were beautiful crystals. But the misty pain they had in them, took him by shock.

They seemed broken.

And when she had shot pure hatred in his direction, he honestly had no idea what to do. He was not good with girls. He had gotten that straight a year ago , when he asked Mindy Hunter out for ice cream.

No, he was just a 13-year-old guy who loved adventures, books, mint-chocolate ice cream, and crayons.

He loved crayons, because each one had a color. They had something that spelled their names out. They all did something different. Blue belonged with the sky and green with the grass, but they could still work together.

And they all had the same smell. That was the amazing part.

Anyway, it hadn't really gone that well with Mindy last year. But this year, he was determined to know this girl and fix her broken eyes. He didn't know why, but his heart told him he had to. 

Later, in lunch he saw her sitting alone in a table, her fingers tracing something. He walked towards her. She suddenly jerked her head up and watched him. 

She was like a guard and the table was her castle.

He gulped. Her eyes revealed nothing. Her lips were tight.

He hesitantly said, ''Is this seat taken?,''.

It seemed like the thing to do. In books, people always did that. And they always got an answer. Whether it was sneers and cackles or a welcoming smile. 

But not this time. She just watched. Her lips twitched, as if uncertain whether to smile or not. It was as if she hadn't heard him at all.

Again he asked, '' Is this seat taken?'' .

She said nothing. Well, it didn't seem like anyone was going to sit there anytime soon. When anyone so much as came near her table, she gave them a glare. 

And so he sat, and set down his tray on the table. Her eyes suddenly darkened and she went back to tracing on the table. 

He noticed she had nothing with her. She had no tray and no lunch bag. Her eyes looked at his food. She looked at his crummy sandwich, chocolate milk, apple and nuts.

''Aren't you hungry?'', he asked.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness and her thin hands shaking. Then she looked away, and kept tracing.

It made his heart break. He never liked to see anyones pain.

He slid his tray over. He waited.

She turned on him fiercely, making him jump. Her eyes were full of anger. She pushed the tray back to him, and got up. She ran.

It left Ash stunned. He looked down at his lunch. Where had he gone wrong? 

He grabbed the tuna-sandwich, and threw the rest of the lunch out. It was almost time for recess. He'd try there. 

But maybe, she didn't want pity. 

Or maybe, he was just too much of an idiot.

He ran to the open doors and stepped outside into the fresh air, looking around for her black shirt. Looking for her gray eyes. 

There was no trace of her. Ash sat down on the steps and put his face in his hands. 

But, hey, it was only the beginning.