Wallflowers

1 mai

Today I decided to sit and read in the park bordering the inner-city and the street where the café sat. It was a beautiful, luscious trail lined with old trees with thick trunks and leafy plants.

"Adrien! Hey!" I looked up to see Jean waving at me and walking toward the bench.

"Hi."

"What are you reading?"

"Madame Bovary, it's very good. You should read it."

"I don't really read much."

"Oh, okay."

"Let's go for a walk, yeah?"

"Um, sure."

He showed me around the park and we walked through the flea market next to the café.

"They have a lot of cool stuff here," Jean told me, picking up a moth-eaten shirt and holding it up to his torso.

I nodded carefully. "Why not just buy the newer version?"

He looked up at me and smiled curiously. "I don't usually make enough money to buy the newer version. Thrifting is a lot more affordable."

"Oh. Yeah, true."

We walked through the market some more, and I took in the environment of the vendors tidying their booths and calling out to people.

"Where are you from again, Adrien?" Jean asked me.

"Like, uh, near the core of Paris."

He nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face. It was like he never stopped smiling about something, and it was enchanting.

"Your parents must make a lot of money," he said.

"My parents are dead."

He paused, letting his mouth fall open. "Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

I scratched the back of my head and smiled lightly. "It's okay. I was really young. I live with my grandfather and aunt."

"Oh."

"My grandfather makes a lot of money."

Jean nodded with a slight smile. He bought the hole-y shirt and we kept walking. It wasn't until a couple minutes later I realized he was walking very close to me. He hand brushed mine and I increased the space between us. I chuckled lightly and cleared my throat. "Ha. Sorry."

He smiled back at me innocently. "About what?"

"Um, the hand. You know, I should probably go home now, It's getting a little late. Today was fun, though. Uh, bye ...Jean." I sped off toward my house without looking back or waiting for a response.