Firsts and Lasts- Kliensen

First Hello

I'm back again. Sorry the last few weeks have been a bit too much of a mess for me to get on my publishing game, but at least I finished publishing the last one so that I didn't leave my one reader on a cliffhanger right?

-7 years old-

---Evan---

What if he doesn't like me? What if he makes fun of me? Mommy taps my shoulder and I glance up with a smile. I hope it's a smile.

"Evan. This is Ms Kleinman. She's a friend from high school."

The woman in front of us has skin a little darker than Mommy's and lipstick. It's dark lipstick and I've only ever seen Mommy with light lipstick, but I guess her friend is different.

"Hey, girl," she greets, and Mommy gives her this one armed hug and I wave with my elbow, not my wrist. The woman's heels click as she walks over to me, peering down, and I clutch Mommy's hand a little tighter.

Ms Kleinman's eyes crinkle when she smiles. "You look like your Daddy."

Daddy. I haven't seen him in a while and I don't think he's coming back.

Mommy doesn't look too happy.

"You have a son, right? Jerry? Jeremy?"

"Jared." I start to wonder if Ms Kleinman's smile will stay, because it's a nice smile, when a boy peeks around her and I look him over. He looks nice- well, not nice like kind, but he looks good.

I like the way he looks.

He's dressed just like me, in shorts and a T-shirt, but I bet the kids at school don't tease him for it and his T-shirt is cooler than mine. H,is hair is brown, which is better than blonde, I think, at least on him, and definitely better than hair that can't choose whether to be blonde or brown and keeps changing.

"Come on," Mommy tells me, "Say hello."

"Hello." I say. Jared looks bored. Am I boring? How can you say hello more interesting-ly?

"Hello."

Mommy pulls her hand out of mine and puts it on my shoulder.

"Tell him your name."

"Evan." I tell him. "Evan. That's- that's my name." Oh, wait- "I mean, sorry, you already knew- I mean, I didn't have to say, that's my name, 'cuz you know that's what I-"

"Jared." The boy with sea-green eyes smiles like he knows everything.

Oh, my. Can that smile stay?

---Jared---

Click. Evan presses the lego piece into place, and I grin at the castle we've made.

"Is there a princess in that tower?" Evan points to the highest turret, but pulls his hand back when I scoff.

"This isn't a princess castle. I don't like princesses."

"Oh. Okay." Evan nods and doesn't ask why that is. I can't figure it out. How do I make him talk without getting him to go nonstop? I don't know what to say when he barely says a thing, and when he goes on and on, he seems more nervous than actually interested in what he's talking about. Am I making him nervous?

"It's Hogwarts. Duh." I don't really know all that much about Harry Potter. I think he's cool, though. He's only five years older than me in the first movie. Four, really.

Evan's eyes widen at this, and he swings open one of the plastic-wooden doors, peering in. "Whoa. Have you seen them? I haven't because Mommy won't let me yet, I mean, because she thinks I'm not old enough or something, I don't know, I think she thinks I'll get scared or something or- but I won't! I'm not a scaredy-cat..."

I doubt it. Evan looks almost terrified at the words coming out of his own mouth like he can't stop them. His eyes are wide and they go good with his hair.

I try to give him a smile that might calm him down. Evan shuts up completely, fidgeting with the hem of his blue shirt.

I want to hold his hand. I blink, quickly, until the thought goes away, because it doesn't make sense. Princes hold princesses' hands

Anyway, Hogwarts needs a Quidditch pitch and I don't know how to make it. So I tell Evan and he shakes his head, I don't know.

His hair seems to change color with the shadows and the light, sometimes brown and sometimes blonde. I like them both.

"Maybe we could make it up as we go?" Evan suggests, and I smile at him, delighted. I grab a handful of legos and let them spill over the carpet.

"That's a good idea. I think you're smart."

X X X

It would be the last time in a long time that Jared was truly friendly.

I freaking love you readers. Chapter a week, as always. You know the deal. Give me shit if I don't follow through (but I always have, right?) (Right?).

              -The Worst Writer on Wattpad

        (Wow, I've missed this.)