Coloration

Chapter 12

From that point on, April decided to keep her distance from me. It seemed as though I had become some kind of nuisance that she didn't want. Although she kept her distance, it was clear to both of us that we wanted to be friends, and whether I scared her or not, it seemed as if that is what was going to happen. In hindsight, as the days went on, I figured that I had imagined the burst of color that had come over me when April had touched me. I began to convince myself that it wasn't real, and everything that had happened was in a dream, or the trick of the lights...but a part of me knew that wasn't true...a part of me knew that I had seen color. I had seen color because she had shown it to me, whether she knew it or not. My world was no longer as black and white as I had thought it to be. In my heart, hope stirred. Color could not be forgotten if there was still a way to access it. April had told me to not freak her out, but something made me feel like she had been holding out on something...the truth maybe.

As more days went by, I decided that the only thing I should focus on at the present time was to gain April's trust. She was a nice girl and I did not want to scare her off. The color thing could wait until I got her complete trust. Then again, that whole thing might have been an accident but there was no way for me to be sure.

As I paced the length of my room, frustration entered my head and my palms began to sweat. I had become obsessed with color....especially the color red. It was the first color I had ever seen and it was that of April's hair. I shook my head and pushed my hair back, gritting my teeth. Calm down Tyler. Everything will work out. I told myself over and over. It was just so hard for me to sit still. I wanted to know what would happen if she touched me again. All the possibilities circulated in my head, but I knew....I knew how painfully long this process would be....so I took the first step.
I crossed the length of my room and placed my hand on the phone that was placed on my dresser. Carefully, as I slowed down my breathing, I picked it up off the receiver and typed her number in.

1....2....3....ring....4...5...6...ring

Will she pick up?
Am I going crazy?
Will I come off too strong?

7....8....9...ring..... "Hello?" April's voice answered on the other end of the line. At first, I couldn't speak. My mouth had gone dry and I couldn't find the words that I needed. "Hello?" She asked again.
With all the strength I could muster I said. "Hi April...it's Tyler."

"Tyler?" Her voice seemed happy to hear from me. "How are you?"

"I am fine...I just wanted to know..."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I just wanted to know if you would like to hang out with me..." I licked my lips carefully, anxiety ran up and down my back as I waited for her reply.

"Sure." She said softly into the phone. "When?"

"15 minutes?"

"Okay."