The Girl with Cherry Earrings | ✔

9

It's been a week since that rainy afternoon, and all I could think of was that note. The faded blue letters still sat fresh in my mind, taking up all the space reserved for all my other thoughts.

There's no such thing as in-between.

I mean, what was I supposed to take it as? A threat? A joke? But more importantly, how did she take it? Although she seemed to show no signs of it taking any effect at all, I couldn't be so sure that it didn't.

Ever since that day she had been talking to me much more often than usual.

On the way to school.

Before and after Mr.Woodworth's class.

On the way back home after school.

It started to become like a routine for us.

Naturally with all that time that we spent with each other, people began to notice. And of course it didn't come off too well.

Loner boy and mysterious no-name girl hanging out together at school on a daily basis? It was a drastic change for them to say the least, but I suppose it was the least of my concerns.

Other than the dirty looks and vicious glares I got from kids around the school, no one really knew enough about me to start spreading unrealistic rumors across the school. An excellent example of what I like to call, the benefits of having no friends.

I let out a sigh, shifting my attention towards her.

Her golden brown hair was tied up into a loose bun, showcasing the two crimson cherries dangling from her earlobes as they shimmered brightly, catching a ray of the hazy moonlight. As usual, her hazel eyes were glued towards the sky, gazing off with oblivion.

Suddenly, as if she read my mind, her head turned to face me as her eyes twinkled with concern.

"You're still thinking about that note?" she asked, shooting me a weak smile.

I shrugged my shoulders lamely in response.

"I suppose so," I replied truthfully, plastering a delicate smile over my lips.

She let out a long sigh, breaking eye contact.

"You shouldn't be. It wasn't even for you, it was for me. Some person just decided to take it out on you, that's all."

I slumped back in my spot, sliding my palms backwards against the cool, concrete surface of the vert ramp to support my shoulders.

She wasn't exactly wrong about that. But then again, I couldn't help but think about it. Clearly someone was trying to target her. How could I not think about it?

But instead of letting that tumble out of my mouth, I kept quiet.

"You know Vince, you don't need to be so scared of other people, I mean, they're just normal people aren't they? They can't do anything that we can't. Plus, that note was simply a piece of paper with words written on it. You have to realize that words don't have a meaning unless you give them one, and in this case, you don't have to. Some words are just better off as a bunch of meaningless letters."

A hint of underlying pain coated her words as her lips tugged into an attempt at a genuine smile.

I raised an eyebrow at her as yet another wave of worry washed over me.

"Are you really okay about the note?" I asked her, watching wearily as she took a deep breath, her shoulders beginning to tremble as they rose and fell.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered, snapping her attention to her watch. "We've already made our wishes haven't we?"

With a click of a button, her face was illuminated in bright white rays, the numbers 11:17 popping up right along with them.

Again, she plastered another false smile across her face as the brilliant lights beaming from her watch flicked off, vanishing in the darkness of the night.

"Well then, good night wish-buddy."

I watched as she turned her back to me, disappearing down the rope ladder and out of sight.

And at that moment, I finally realized that there was something really, really wrong.