Destined

Chapter 8 - Flirting or Courtesy?

I inserted my library card into my sparkly peach coloured wallet.

"Give me your book." I told Austin.

"No, that's alright. I can just hold it for a while." Austin replied.

"I'll just put it in my bag for you, and you have nothing with you. Where are you even going to put it?" I asked.

"Alright. Thanks." Austin gave me the book.

"You don't have to say thanks all the time Austin." I said as I placed his book in my bag.

We walked out of the library. Tall trees were planted at our sides. We walked along the sidewalk, keeping to our right to let the guy with the skateboard pass through. As we walked, we neared a playground. The noise from the happy children overshadowed the silence between us. Many young children were on the playground. Some were on the swings while the others were on the slides. Two youngsters were on the seesaw and a small group of children were playing hide and seek. We walked past the playground. I realised that none of us were talking. Feeling the awkward silence between us, I asked Austin

"So . . . are you done with your homework?" I immediately looked to the other side and cursed at my communication skills. Great! Now he'll think of me as a nerd.

"Yeah, almost. I have finished most of the homework. I think I just need to finish Biology." Austin replied.

"Well, you're fast. I have not even written a single thing on the book until today." I said.

"Oh that's normal and you wouldn't even have any difficulty in doing the homework at the last minute cause you're so smart." Austin said.

"Oh I'm not that smart." I replied.

Austin stopped and looked at me and raised both of his eyebrows.

"Are you kidding me? You're always getting an A plus in every assignment and you think that's not smart?" Austin asked.

"Ok, ok. A plus is a good grade I guess." I said, starting to feel a little shy.

"You guess?!" He asked.

"OK. A plus is a good grade." I said and started to giggle.

I didn't even realise when we had reached the McDonald's. We kept on talking as we entered the McDonald's.

"Hey, how about you go and grab a seat for us and I'll go order the food?" Austin asked.

"Sure." I said and handed him some money.

"I want set number five." I told him.

"Set number five will be served to you in just five minutes ma'am." Austin said and I smiled.

The McDonald's was big and had two floors. I climbed the stairs and reached the second floor. I looked around and there were very few people. The McDonald's was huge with many tables and chairs neatly placed. A couple ate their burgers and chatted away softly in the corner while on the other side of the McDonald's sat a family. A father, a mother and their two children sat together, laughing at each other's jokes. They looked very happy. The children's loud voices filled the floor, making it seem like there were many people here but the McDonald's was almost empty.

I found us a table at the corner. I walked across the family and sat on the chair and placed my bag beside me. On the other side, was a glass window, exposing us to the wanderers outside. Apart from the laughs of the children, I heard the music play in the background. I noticed that my shoelaces were untied, so I bent down to tie them when Austin's sudden voice scared the shit out of me and I sprang up immediately, bumping my head into the corner of the table on the way.