Rewind

XI: Interaction

Once we are dismissed to go I gather all my belongings and try to escape as soon as possible. I still feel the humiliation burning in my bones and I just want to disappear. Human beings forget incidents pretty easily because there’s a continuity of other events, and if you take away that object that reminds them of what happened, then they forget even more easily. I am the object in this case so I need to be removed from their sight.

Oh boy, even Zeke laughed at me! I think. After a while I’m not sure if what I saw was a smile, it was so faint.

Keeping my head low, I walk as fast as I can towards my locker. I don’t even think I’ll wait for Sam or something. I just want to go home and study or do something as to keep my mind out of what happened. I swear on my life that I’ll never allow this to happen again. During class I need to be focused on class, not other people.

If my parents found out they would be so disappointed!

I finally make it to my locker and I hurry to grab the textbooks I’ll need and leave the ones I won’t when I hear someone coughing behind me. “Um…” the person says and I freeze, expecting another humiliating thing to happen. “Allison, right?”

I slowly turn around because it’s clearly this person wants to talk to me, but when I do and see who’s addressing me, I drop all the things I have in my hands and step back in a hassle, bumping into the lockers, even closing mine.

I hold my breath whilst my eyes can’t look away from Zeke in front of me. Why is he here? Why is he looking at me so intently? Is that a smile?

“Sorry for startling you,” he says and I blink quickly, confused. Last —and only— time he talked to me his voice was rough and threatening, now he sounds almost shy. He even looks a bit uncomfortable because he looks to both sides and his right hand sneaks to the hair at the back oh his head.

I don’t think I’m breathing or moving at all, I’m frozen, not knowing what to expect. Why is he here? I didn’t do anything to him, right? I mean, I was just staring.

Oh boy, why am I so panicky?

“I um… I’m sorry for today, I guess,” he says ever so softly and I blink again, thinking I didn’t hear properly. “You got scolded today,” he adds, I think as a reminder.

“Ah, no that was my fault, you have no reason to apologise,” I was the one staring, I add in my mind and that helps me to come back. I shake my head and take a deep breath. He doesn’t seem angry or anything like that.

“Still,” he says and this time I’m sure I see him smile. It’s a shy smile, almost awkward, and it disappears almost as fast as it came. “Anyhow I was… I was wondering if…” my eyes widen as I see him troubled over this. It’s just a simple conversation, right? I mean, he’s not confronting me or trying to demand for an explanation, he’s just… talking to me. Yet he looks so uncomfortable, almost as I feel. “Do you have plans now?” he finally asks and I blink.

Out of all the things he could’ve said, I never expected this.

“Uh… plans?” I shake my head once again to get rid of the surprise and confusion. I need to think straight. “Sorry. And no, I don’t have anything in particular planned. Why?”

I fight a smile of my own when I see a bit of colour on his cheeks when he looks down as he keeps ruffling his hair.

“Would you like to come with me somewhere?”

Have you ever had one of those surreal moments when it seems that the whole world stops because nothing makes sense? I’m living one of those. Here I have Zeke, the guy I’ve seeing getting into fights, beating a bigger guy up, shouting and looking intimidating, a guy that until now has made me shiver with just one look, asking me to go with him somewhere.