Glitches in My Code

Fallacies

As he walked, his shoulders bounced. The effect intensified whenever he would walk down stairs, and disappeared if he ran or moved generally faster than usual. For such a tall guy, he could duck through the crowd, almost evading sight, and make his way from one end of a room to the other and back again before you even realized he was gone.

As he walked, I noticed that his head stayed low, even though he wasn't making his way quickly enough for it to qualify as ducking.

Why?

As his shoulders bounced, I noticed how the rest of him moved almost the same way as everybody else's. While his shoulders were bouncing up and down as he made his way through the crowd, his hips stayed centered, his arms at his sides -but they were raised, as though he was expecting to have to fight- and his feet landed heel first. Then I noticed something I had never quite noticed before. His head was low, yes, but that wasn't the only thing that was slightly out of the ordinary. As he walked, one leg took significantly longer strides than the other.

So many ways he is like a marionette on stage. Walking jerkily, as though his controller hasn't been doing it for long, and not quite proportionally designed, generally long and thin.

I watch the tiles on the floor below me as I make my own way through the hall. I weave between people, opposite the flow of traffic.

And yet, despite all of this, he still has a sort of grace to his movements as he walks through the halls, as though he subconsciously knows that nothing could truly break him, nothing could be so bad as to break him, but consciously, he is fragile, made of porcelain. Almost as if he were a hollow china doll, but had been filled with glue and left to dry. Even if he was outwardly cracked, he'd never fall completely apart, no matter how hard the hit, how long the fall, or how much pressure was placed on him. To some people, he might seem broken, but he truly isn't. He isn't whole, he isn't broken, he's cracked.

I glance upwards to check that there isn't anyone in my way. When I see the figure directly in front of me, I stop, midstep, and watch him stop suddenly, as though he just realized I was there. He turns ever so slightly, opening his mouth as if to say something, but instead, he simply turned away and blushed profusely.

"See ya later then..." I mutter sarcastically as he walks away, only to see him shake his head, lowering it even more than it had been before, lips pressed together."I feel like an idiot... Why didn't I say anything?"

I jump at the quiet voice in the back of my head, one that seems to belong to someone else. What the heck just happened? As soon as the thought leaves my mind, I see him straighten and look around, apparently confused. An idea pops into my head. Turn around and look at the girl you just walked past, please.

"What on Earth...? OK fine then..." As he turns around and looks me in the eye, I cover my mouth with my hand, shocked. 

"Why does she look like that? She looks like she's seen a ghost..." It's because I feel like I have... Just go to her and she'll explain, alright? He nods, still shaken and walks towards me.

"Here's my number. Explain everything later, alright? I gotta get to class - sorry, but what's your name?" He says, scribbling a number on my forearm. I nod quickly before replying.

"I'm Shio, and you're...?"

"Maddox. I'm Maddox."