73 Memories

The Third Memory

I didn't know that that would not be the last I would hear from you that day. And when I did, I wasn't sure if I thought you were kind of cool or if I was annoyed that out of everyone in that class, you were the one that I had to be sat next to. Sure, that kept me from being next to someone I had never even seen before, but it also met that it would be rude of me to completely ignore you.

That didn't matter, anyways, because the Science teacher, Mr. Trucker, asked you to help me get caught up on the lesson. You turned your chair towards me a little and said, "Have you learned any of this before?" I wanted to say yes because I had, but I felt like maybe, just maybe, one friend couldn't hurt, no matter how much my father had warned me against it.

"Um, no." My voice was quiet, unlike what I was like at the cafe or at lunch. There were so many people here, less than at lunch, sure. But everyone was talking there. In this room, it was pretty much quiet.

I watched you smile as you took in my vulnerable state. "Why so quiet now? You're usually quite the talker."

I wasn't going to answer. I really wasn't. But you tilted your head the same way you had before, and it made me feel like I could tell you. Like you wouldn't tell anyone. "People."

"What about them?" You asked me, "People are everywhere."

I nodded my head, agreeing with you. "But people were talking there. No one is talking here, I just-" I stopped myself to figure out how to explain it to you, but I think you thought I wasn't going to answer. I held my hand up, and that seemed to calm the confusion I saw growing in your eyes. "I just don't really want to attract any attention."

You nodded your head at my answer, pulling the Science books from the front of the table towards us. "Why not?"

Again, a question I found hard to answer. I couldn't tell you the truth, because you could tell anyone and everyone, and I didn't want to have people staring and pointing at me while I walked down the hallway. "I guess I like to hide in the shadows rather than be in the limelight."

I could see you knew I wasn't telling the full truth, but I also saw understanding. You didn't expect me to tell my deepest and darkest secrets to a guy I had just met.

"Well, yeah. I get that. But if you want to be in the shadows, your doing a horrible job."

I felt my eyes pop open and your usual smile became wider. "How come?" My voice was small, like a squeak.

But you just laughed. "Because you're talking to me."

I was completely confused by this. What did me talking to you have to do with anything? "So?"

You just sighed. "You know those super cliche' stories where there's that bad boy who meets the good girl?" I nodded and you went on. "Well, I'm kind of like the bad boy- just dialed down by about forty percent."

"Well, you don't seem so bad to me," I replied.

Somehow, the smile you were wearing seemed to grow more. "That's because this is your first day. Just wait."

I didn't know what to think about that, so I nodded and turned to the book. "What page?"

The rest of the time you told me everything I already knew about different cells.