Prodigies Are Made

>9<

The whole day dragged on slowly. It was just talking to Simeon. So why did my stomach feel weird?

Probably because he was from Ark Academy and he was in a fight and I shouldn't be talking to him.

My plan was to take the bus again and meet him at the station. However, when I arrived, Simeon was no where to be seen. Did he not come to school?

He probably wanted to avoid me at all costs, considering the fact he hates me. But I didn't want to leave this open-ended, no matter how he felt right then. Gritting my teeth at how selfish that was, I made my way to the only other place I've seen him hanging out.

He was there, but wasn't holding the rolled up paper or anything like I'd imagined. Instead, he was sitting against the wall, curled up into a ball.

"Simeon?"

He didn't even look up, "Go away."

"I-"

"I don't care. Go away." Even though he was trying to sound is voice was fragile, on the verge of breaking.

Instead of doing what he said, I walked over and- hesitantly- sat on the concrete next to him.

Even then, he didn't look up.

"Are you okay?" My voice turned down its volume as well.

"Does it look like I'm okay?"

"...Do you want to talk about it?"

He let out a small chuckle, "Do I want to talk about it."

We were silent for a moment before Simeon spoke again, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"What else is new?" He muttered.

"I had fun talking to you and I shouldn't have ignored you for the past couple of days."

He didn't respond for a good minute before saying, "I didn't expect anything from you. You don't need to apologize."

"Look, I'm trying my best here," A sigh escaped my lips, "I want to be... uh... friends."

This is what causes him to look up at me. There were no sunglasses on his face so my eyes were met directly with his. His eyes were slightly puffy, as if he'd been crying recently. They slowly narrowed as my gaze moved to the front. The marching band was playing in the distance.

"What are you, a third grader?" He finally asked.

A smile grew on my face, "I guess so?"

He laughed a small bit, the genuine kind, before directing his vision towards the marching band as well.

"The reason I avoided you was because... well... if my parents found out I even know you..." Oh, now my brain stops working.

"I get it."

His response actually surprised me, "You do?"

"Yeah. No one wants to be seen with the Ark kid, especially if the whole world is watching you."

"Well... yeah." He described my whole situation perfectly.

"Even if I don't understand it, I get the gist." He added.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened now?"

He thought about it for a moment, "Not really, no."

The bad mood he was in seemed to be completely dispelled. Either it wasn't that bad, or he was really good at hiding it. I was inclined to think the latter.