To The Moon And Back | ON HOLD

07 | Ginan

E L L I E

Five minutes to spare. I threw my fist up in the air in victory, giggling under my breath giddily as I shuffled towards my seat. I usually arrive as soon as the bell rings which gives me no time to talk to my friends whenever I arrive at Mrs Alexandrio's classes.

During my four years of attending this high school, her classes were either on the other end of campus which required me to run from one point to the other before the bell rang or I have her for first period which means I have to get to school extra early. News flash, I hate doing that.

"Ellie." I jolted in my seat at the sound of my name, snapping out of my reverie. Something tapped my shoulder lightly and I tilted my head behind to face Xavier. I was so caught up in my thoughts when I arrived, I neglected to acknowledge him.

"Hi!"

"Hey," he smiled. After Xavier attempted to murder me with three stacks of vanilla pancakes, we spent the rest of the night chatting until he dropped me off at home. I learnt that he had two siblings, a 25 year old brother and a nine year old sister.

He also told me about all the tours his band has been on. Montreal, Vancouver, they went as far as crossing the border and driving to Arizona. As I began to learn more about Xavier, the dreadful reality of my boring life began to dawn on me.

I'm as uninteresting as an uncooked potato.

Today, after school he's taking me to the cafe where he plays with his band. There isn't anything important for me to do anyways and I'd love to meet his band mates. "Can I ask you a question," he inquired.

I nodded my head. His eyes then flickered down to the floor, "why do you wear heels and knee high socks? Isn't that uncomfortable? Like doesn't it feel squeaky, don't your feet slide off?" His brows knitted together and lips parted, his face was a reflection of confusion.

I stared at him in astonishment, completely forgetting that we weren't the only ones in class as I burst out into laughter. I wasn't laughing at him per se but more so at the fact that his cluelessness was quite adorable.

I had on black ankle strap closed toe heels and a pair of white knee high socks. His confusion is valid but I don't know how to answer this question seeing as he seems genuinely interested. "Uhm no, they don't feel squeaky and my feet can't slide off because they're strapped in. It's just chic, I guess. W-well in my opinion."

Though he still seemed to be confused about the concept, his thumbs shot upwards and he smiled, "I like it." My mouth fell open, "you do?" I questioned incredulously. He chuckled softly, his pearly white teeth flickering on display, "yes, it's cute. I don't get it, but it's cute."

For some reason, even though his compliment was so minuscule: my heart still warmed.

~ ~ ~

"Do you play any instruments?" He asked, breaking his gaze off the road to look towards me. I nodded, "yes, I play the keyboard. I've been playing it since I was like ten." As his head swivelled back towards the road, I could see his eyes rolling, something between a scoff and a chuckle parting through his lips.

"I'm not talking about the text keyboard on your phone." As he turned the car into a parking lot, I pursed my lips in a thin line, trying but failing to conceal the laughter threatening to burst through my lips. "How–how did you know?"