MELODY (Rewritten #1)

Superman

"Sweet potatoes! "

"I know, right?" Asha turned to wink at me, twisting and untwisting her ponytail.

'Clark' was really, I mean, really easy on the eye, it made my heart skip a beat. There was something different about him. Something… graceful. He owned a sort of smooth, clean-cut good looks, which was rare to see nowadays. He had on a crew neck, white sweater and a pair of jeans, yet he radiated more elegance than a movie star. It was unfair.

This was ridiculous! Was I crushing on him, too? I knew I shouldn't. First, because he was Asha's crush. And second, I'd never had a crush on real people. Only book characters were worthy of my attention. And third, he was a stranger. For all I knew, he could be a drug dealer, or a psychopath killer. Appearances were deceptive. 

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I wanted to determine what exactly made him so attractive from this far. I couldn't even examine his face closely, but he seemed… distant? Beyond grasp? He was unaware of the world around him, too engrossed. And it made him look untouchable. As if he was tucked into a lustrous bubble that made him look so ravishing, yet so out of reach. 

There was a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. He was bending over a paper on the table, fully absorbed, as if trying to solve a mystic dilemma. A short lock of his classic-cut hair arched over his forehead and he was so preoccupied with some mysterious activity that he didn't notice Susie was standing next to him.

"What's he doing?" I whispered to Asha, noticing Clark was wearing earbuds. His fingertips, both hands, were tapping on the edge of the table. His hands sailed with so much fluidity as though he was typing on an imaginary keyboard.

"It's 'the finger workout'." Asha whispered back, making quote marks in the air.

"He does that a lot?"

"Yeah, It's magical!"

"It's weird!"

"He's kryptonian. He's sending signals to his mother ship or something, it's so cute," she crooned.

I stifled a giggle. This girl was obsessed with alien superheroes, but I guess I could see her point. He was an intriguing mystery. There was nothing more attractive than an unsolved mystery.

"Invisible laptop?" I asked, playing along.

Asha snorted and shook her head. Her bead necklace made a clattering noise that started to sound familiar. "Nope. Never mentioned in the comics, not even the movies. Please keep up with me, Melo."

"You said he was back. Has he been away for a long time?" I asked, too aware of my curious probing, but I was wholeheartedly keeping up.

"Two weeks." She pulled up two fingers. "Spring break, I think. I bet he's an exchange student like me. He's been a regular since last year, always came around three in the afternoon, so definitely after school hours, and he always ordered the same things and left a generous tip. He's probably rich, but he's not the type to flaunt it, 'cause he wears nice brands, but nothing too flashy."

"Nice work, detective!" Asha's keen analysis would make her one helluva private investigator one day. 

Asha giggled and curtsied. 

My eyes followed the guy's quirky movements. "Have you tried to talk to him? Ask him out or something?"

"Noooo," Asha denied, almost offended. "I told you, not my style. I'm team old-school and I insist that the guy must make the first move or else he goes bye-bye," she said in one breath and hopped away to take another order.