Useless

The Kind Stranger

(Chris' POV)

Chris wandered through the halls of his old high school, towering above all the people passing by, which in return, earned him a few irritated glares. He had a huge grin slapped across his face, smiling at anyone who would look at him and although no one returned his smiles, it didn't bother him. Chris was a friendly soul, but often avoided because of his size, standing tall at around 6'3 with the build of a brick shithouse. It also didn't help that each and every one of his seven brothers passed through school before him, his family had a reputation of being big, loud, and angry. Besides being big, Chris was actually the exact opposite, not that anyone noticed, but that didn't stop him from trying to brighten everyone's day.

Suddenly, a small yelp rung through the air. It was quiet and pained, almost inaudible but it was enough to stop Chris in his tracks, which earned him a few annoyed scowls from the people behind him. He looked around eagerly, smile quickly fading as he spotted a delicate looking girl frantically crawling through the crowd. She was clutching her hand and her eyes were watering in frustration, "why is everyone ignoring her?" he thought angrily. Chris immediately stepped towards the girl, everyone instantly clearing away from him. He bent down and carefully picked up the scattered books, brushing them off. The girl's eyes widened in suprise as her mouth gaped open. "H-hey! Those are mine! Those are my-" Before she could finish her scentence, Chris stepped forward and gently pulled her to her feet. The girl only stood as high as his shoulder, but she didn't seem bothered by it. Her head tilted as she silently looked up at him in confusion. Eyes burning into him as she stared directly in his eyes, as if searching for some kind of answer . Chris was taken aback by this action, shifting nervously and trying to look back at her. No one had really ever looked at Chris directly, all he ever got was fearful side glances and dirty glares. He was not use to such eye contact and it made him nervous, but as he looked back at her, he relaxed a bit. The eyes that stared at him were soft and faded, they didn't hold any fear, surprise or irritation, only kindness.

The corner of his lips pulled upward into a slight smile as recognition flickered in the girl's eyes. She narrowed them and leaned back a bit as if saying "Oh, it's you". Her head tilted upward as she kept looking at him, never glancing away not even once, it was a bit unnerving.. "You're much taller up close." His eyebrows shot up, out of everything that could have been said she chose that scentence. How odd. Something fluttered in his chest, rumbling upward and before he knew it, Chris was laughing. It was kind and friendly, the girl almost seemed relieved to hear it. After a few moments he paused, his voice was deep and rough as he spoke "Well, you're welcome". He chuckled softly and with that he spun around, continuing to his next class. As he walked down the hall, he couldn't help but grin ear to ear, that girl sure was interesting. "She's just so tiny and akward, like a kitten" He thought, smiling to himself. For the first time, someone was not afraid of him nor intimidated by his size. She was odd and different and undaunting, never seeming to waver in his presense, or others in fact, the ordeal this morning had proven it so. Chris shook his head at the memory chuckling to himself, she was a fearless little thing.

For the rest of the day he went through his lessons like normal, keeping an eye out for the brave little kitten. He had seen her in his classes before but had never really noticed her, she didn't exactly make herself known. Always sitting in the back hiding behind her hair and usually doing something with her pencil, he assumed drawing. She never spoke and didn't seem to pay attention. At that point he realized he wasn't either, that could be a problem. Chris turned back to the geometry lesson and tried to refocus. This class was a bore..

Chris had third, sixth and eighth period with the girl, not including lunch. Third period was geometry, in which he sat by the window to the left of the class, while the girl sat on the right of the room. During sixth period (which was honors English) he actually sat right in front of her. And finally, at eighth period, which happened to be Spanish 3-4, he sat two tables over.

It was eighth period now and Chris was staring blankly at the instructor. He had completely checked out and barely heard the teacher instructing everyone to rehearse with their table-mate. "What? What's happening?" He thought out loud. Someone nudged his elbow as he turned to face them. It was his partner who was obviously irritated with his lack of attention. "Were supposed to repeat that," he pointed at the board "to each other until we get it right." The kid rolled his eyes before continuing. "But since you obviously weren't listening to the pronunciations, just forget it." Chris frowned at the boy but took the free pass not to do schoolwork. Instead he focused his attention on the instructor who was making his way to the kitten's table. She was sitting alone as per usual and was drawing in her notebook, not seeming to be paying any attention. The teacher must've been addressing her on not having a partner, and after a while she spoke back to the man, but Chris couldn't make it out. The girl seemed to be looking everywhere but the man's face, tapping her fingers lightly on the desk. The instructor suddenly raised his hand to rub the back of his neck, and if Chris hadn't been watching as closely as he was, he would've missed it. When the man had raised his hand, the girl flinched and jerked away instinctively. It was quick and the girl probably hadn't even realized she did it. But in that moment something flashed through her eyes, something like fear, but it was gone in a second. This raised a whole new suspicion with Chris, like a giant red flag had planted itself right in front of him. What the hell was going on?