Hazel Irises

Chapter Three

The rest of my school day was uneventful. I was forced to introduce myself in most of my classes, and I saw the redheaded girl again at lunch, but she didn't see me. She was really rather pretty, and she seemed nice. For some reason, though, she didn't seem to have any friends. I didn't question it. I knew it wasn't my position to judge.

The week continued in a similar, unexciting fashion. I didn't care for Los Angeles. It had a different charm (if you could call it that) than New York, not to mention the lack of snow. You couldn't do much here without any friends, so I was bored most of the time, and I didn't have the spirit to explore.

All this changed on Friday, the day that marked the end of my first week at a new school. By then, I knew enough about the school to realize that I hated it.

Jeez, how did I ever live like this? I thought as I made my way to the patio to eat yet another lunch by myself. I had started sitting outside as soon as I had realized that no one sits out there, thus relieving the pressure of wanting to sit at the right table.

I was halfway through my meal when something bright yellow entered my prereferral vision. I put down the sandwich I was about to bite into and turned around to see a girl. The redheaded girl. She was wearing a yellow shift dress (I must have been female in my past life, because guys aren't supposed to know these things, much less notice them), and her hair was pulled into a bushy ponytail.

"Josh, right?" she asked. I was immediately taken aback by her serene voice. It was on the lower side, for a girl, but I liked the smooth, warm sound.

"Yeah," I said, embarrassed that I couldn't remember her name. She sat down across from me.

"I'm Iris."

"Hi."

There was a long pause as we both ate our food. I felt a thousand times more awkward now that Iris was here, but she seemed the opposite. She was relaxed, calm. Her eyes would often look over my shoulder and glaze over. Daydreaming.

While she did that, she didn't notice that I was looking all over her. She had a heart-shaped face and big, round eyes. Hazel eyes, as a matter of fact.

Hazel.

I felt a knot in my throat and swallowed it away. Despite my efforts to get over her, it felt like I was going to cry every time I thought of her.

"Do you want to hang out?" Iris asked suddenly. I looked up.

"Huh?"

"Like, after school. You do know what hanging out is, right?"

Great, now she thought I was stupid. "Um, yeah, of course..." I mumbled.

"So is that a yes?"

At this point, it was clear to me that Iris wasn't one to take no for an answer, so I told her yes, and it was settled that we would meet at the same spot.

I probably shouldn't have agreed to hanging out with this stranger. No, I definitely shouldn't have done that. But I was sick of being alone. I thought I could have made it through the next year and a half of my life focusing on my studies, mulling over Hazel, and having the Internet as my best friend. It wasn't as nice as it sounded.

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"Where do you want to go?" Iris asked. We were sitting on the patio after school, checking our phone notifications and trying to break the ice between us.

"I'm new here."

"Well, obviously. I know a new kid when I see one."

"No, I mean, new to Los Angeles," I said.