Tangled in South Park

Streaming

*A Couple Days Later*

"Um, sorry to bother you as you are drawing, but you're Rosa, right?" A boy's voice stops me from continuing the drawing of a scene in my new comic, Coffee Shop Adventures. "You help out in the 3-D art class."

I set my pencil down, looking over to see an underclassman boy with a shy smile on his face. "That would be me. Is there something that I can help you with? I can help you brainstorm a project tomorrow if you just ask me to." I'm sat at the counter of the coffee shop, where almost no one actually sits, and were I can get work down without interruption. I guess there's a first for everything.

"Oh, no, I just, I follow you online, and I really like your art," he hops up onto the empty stool next to me. "I thought it would be weird to come up to you in class and tell you that, so I saw you over here, and decided to come up and tell you." He awkwardly smiles.

"Well, thanks." I wish that I could get away from this kid somehow, but there's no job that I could even lie about that I need to do. Kenny and Tweek have the drink orders under control, and my cookies are already out on the counter for people to grab. I'm sure this kid means well, but I don't like the vibe that he is giving off. "I'm just doing what I love and happy that people enjoy what I draw."

"Have you been drawing for a long time?"

"Not terribly long. I just put in a lot of time to get better. It takes work to improve a skill." I look over at Kenny as he interacts with Stan and Kyle. The biggest smile on his face. All I need is for him to look over here.

"I watched the stream that you guys did yesterday. It was interesting to see what you all do, and that all your businesses are connected. That you are all supporting each other. There were some times when I wished that Kenny would have taken more a backseat, but I guess you need someone to keep track of the chat and such since you all are focused on your work."

"I think we have a great group for streaming, and it went wonderfully for our first time." I narrow my eyes at the boy as I understand his angle now. This little punk has a crush on me, and not like an art crush where he just likes the art I do. He has stepped over the line to actually liking the real me, and he's quite bold for who he is. He's also jealous of Kenny, which is almost laughable since he has zero chance with me. If only I had walked away when I had the chance. "Be honest with me, is there something that I can help you with?"

"Oh, um, yeah," he fiddles with his fingers. "I know that you're with McCormick and all that, but everyone knows who he used to be, and it is only a matter of time before he is falling back into that hole, and I want to let you know that I will be right here when that happens. I can treat you right."

The laugh that leaves my mouth is harsh. "Listen kid, even if you were my age, I wouldn't consider you an option after coming up to me like this. It's a good thing you aren't my age, and I hope that you can learn from this experience right now. Keep continuing to like my art from a distance, and we won't have any issues."

His eyes widen in shock, and I can see the gears grinding in his head as he searches for how to respond. "Are you serious? What did I do wrong? I complimented you, and I have been so nice, and I'm not even saying that you break up with Kenny, just that you'll realize that he's not a good guy. Are you ungrateful?"

"Ungrateful? Who do you even think you are? If you don't like my respond, then you can just go the fuck away. I'm the one going out of my way to make sure that I am being nice to you. Take a moment to realize how creepy you are being. What even got into your head to come up to me like this? Did your buddies hype you up? Stop," I hold my hand up to silence him as his mouth opens. "I don't care about the answers. Please, walk away now, and I won't hold it against you. Mainly because I'm going to forget this entire encounter as soon as possible."