_______________________________
I sat at my table and he sat at his. We exchanged looks a few times, trying not take the focus off of our parents too much. As I drank my tea, he drank his coffee. He was very tall. Blonde hair, blue eyes. He wore black ripped skinny jeans and a nirvana shirt. I could tell he was naturally pale . . . but he seemed lighter. Maybe he was upset or scared?
A man sitting in front of him got up. I guessed it was his father. His face looked almost emotionless. He walked away from the table and looked back. The woman sitting grabbed the boy's hand and smiled slightly.
"Liz, let's go." His words were harsh, making the woman get up and walk out of the café with him, leaving the boy alone. His lips parted to let out a sigh loud enough for me to hear. He rubbed his face and then set his head onto the table.
My mother was going on about something, but I wasn't paying attention. I was lost in trying to read this boy's emotions, I wanted to figure him out.
"Brynn? Brynn, honey. Are you listening to anything I'm saying?" My mom stared at me.
"Huh?" I turned and faced her.
She grinned at me, clearly not impressed. "I said. That I will drive you into school tomorrow considering its your first day." Right. First day at a new school. Start of a new grade and year. It should make kids excited. They get to see all there friends again. But I didn't have any friends; I was the new girl. I smiled back to my mother.
She took one last big sip of her coffee and began to get up, gathering her things. "Well, I'm heading out now. I've still got a lot of unpacking to do. Are you coming?"
I glanced at the boy quickly, then back to her. "No, I think I'm going to explore the town a little. I'll be back later." I answered after a moment.
She kissed me on the head and walked out. It was mid spring. The sun shinning brightly and it's warmth balanced the cool wind that blew through the city this time of year. I grabbed my sweater and put it on.
Giving the nice waitress a tip and walking to the door, I looked one last time at the blue eyed boy and smiled. He was something like beautiful, even with the sad look spread across his face . . . He was almost angelic. He didn't catch me staring.
I stepped out of the small café and walked left out of the door, deciding to go to the park. I had only seen it once when we were driving by on our way to my new house. From what I remembered it was big, great for kids. I remembered a baseball diamond and a basketball court.
Most of all I remembered the view of the water there. It sparkled as the sun hit and made it seem like there was thousands of diamonds floating within. When I got there, everything was exactly how I'd imagined, but this time I could smell the fresh ocean off the water.
I sat on the picnic table looking out onto the water. There were some boats. Big and small. I thought about how much I was going to like it here. I hadn't met anyone my age yet but most people I'd met were friendly.
I looked back to the park. I wished that I could have had a play structure like that when I was little. There was a basketball sitting on the ground of the court beside the jungle gym. I walked over and picked it up. Examining it in my hands for a few seconds, I looked up and to see an old rusty net. Deciding it couldn't hurt to take a shot, I went to the foul line and dribbled the ball a couple of times. I positioned my hands to shoot and then threw the ball towards the net. I almost surprised myself when it goes in because I hadn't shot a basketball in quite some time.
I heard a branch break and clapping from behind me. I dropped the basketball and turned to see who it is. The blue eyed boy stood at the opposite net leaning against the post.
"You've got a pretty nice shot." As the words came off his lips I could now hear his Australian accent.
I stared at him, trying to speak but the butterflies in my stomach fluttered up to my throat and stopped me.
"I, um, yeah. I guess so." I stuttered, finally finding my words. I picked up the basketball again and held it out to him. "Want to take a shot?"
He walked towards me slowly with his hands in his pockets. He took the ball out of my hands gently and held it by his side.
"You're not from around here." He said with a deliberate smirk. He was about 6 inches taller than me, making me feel smaller than I ever had before, but he wasn't intimidating. His eyes were more blue than they looked at the café. I almost let myself get lost in his eyes. Brynn, stop it.
"Oh, uh, no. I just moved here, actually." I smiled.
He smiled back and dribbled the ball. "That's a big move, you're from . . . Canada?" I nodded.
"I'm Luke." He smiled and put out his hand.
I shook it. His hand was bigger than mine, but they were soft, warm, and fit almost perfectly with my own.
"Brynn." I watched him carefully as he set the ball down and headed over to a picnic table, sitting down. I followed him and sat on the other side of the table.
"So, did you . . . follow me here?" I asked him, considering he showed up out of nowhere.
I saw a grin creep onto his face. "I didn't follow you here . . . Well, maybe I did, but you're the new girl. You looked like you needed some friends. I don't usually do stuff like this. I'm actually really shy." He looked at me. "So be honored to be my friend, Brynn from Canada."
Something told me he didn't tell people he was shy much either. We somehow made it to the swings and sat, enjoying the silence and the sight of the water. I turned to him but he was already looking at me. I could feel my cheeks starting to burn up as he smiled.
Then he stood up. "Well, I should probably get going. I've got friends waiting. I'll see you around. It was nice meeting you, Brynn from Canada."
I stood up to say goodbye. "It was nice meeting you too, Luke from . . ." I searched my mind for a word to complete my sentence, but came up empty.
"Luke from the Café?" He offered with a shy smile, looking into my eyes. I nodded with a beam on my face, then he turned around and started walking.
I watched his stride. His walk was slow and casual, but was still purposeful. Although it had a clumsy look to it, like he was going to trip over his long legs. Once he disappeared, I got up and left.
_______________________________
When I got home my nose was filled with the smell of delicious smoked meat. The scent made me think of home since it was a typical Canadian food. The kitchen table was set and ready to be dined at.
My dad kissed me on the cheek and I helped my mom bring everything to the table. I didn't tell her about how I met a boy. I simply told her about the amazing view at the park and how we had to go sometime. We all sat down and said grace.
I looked over at the empty chair at our table, thinking about how this used to be Adam's favorite meal. We would eat it together every Friday after his football games. I thought about how my mother was doing. Did she still cry? Did my father still blame himself?
I thought about how I didn't have a little brother anymore; there was still that feeling, that feeling of needing to protect him. Like he was still here.
I shake my head, ridding myself of the thoughts, and then I ate.
_______________________________
