The Perfect Kid

Part 2

Her auburn hair flew behind her, her emerald eyes shone with determination. I was so caught up, I didn’t even move when Sandra blew past me and made a basket.

“Should I be going easy on you?” She gloated, tossing the ball at me.

“Sorry, it doesn’t work if both people throw the game.” She slapped my arm, but I could tell she was amused. It was then that I noticed she was panting. I threw the ball aside.

“You need a break?” I asked.

“Nope.” I shook my head; Sandra amazed me. She was so proud. She refused to ask for help, no matter how bad she needed it.  I understood though, I was the same way.

“Okay. But I do need a drink. Seriously, how are you not parched?” She shrugged, but followed me to the water fountain. A good thing, too. I’d be the one picking her up if she passed out. But then again, wrapping my arms around her didn’t sound so bad.

“Hey Dec?”

“Hmm?” I said, taking a sip.

“Do you want to hang out sometime?”

“I thought that’s what we were doing?” I said, smiling.

“No, I mean...like a date?” My back stiffened.

“Yes. I mean, sure. Yup. Yeah. Sounds cool.” Oh my god Declan James Murphy just shut up before you manage to look any more stupid.

“Is tomorrow night okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling like a dork. She exhaled visibly.

“Cool. I was thinking we could meet up at six and go-”

“Shit!” She looked startled.

“Um, if that doesn’t work be could meet at seven...”

“No, it’s not that. I have winter percussion. Again. I’m sooo sorry. Is Friday okay?” I said. Sandra grinned.

“Yes. I mean, sure. Yup. Yeah. Sounds cool.” She mocked. I nudged her.

“Oh, shut up.” She nudged me back.

“Never.”

I floated through school the next day. You’d have thought I was a four year old girl at a Wiggles concert, I was so giddy. Everything seemed much quicker and less painful. I didn’t so much as glance at a clock all day. I spent my time imagining resturants and her crooked smile and a kiss at the door.

I was so rapt up in my own head, the final bell ringing came as a complete surprise. I was so unaware of my surroundings, I was half way through percussion practice that night before I noticed the stares. The instructor was staring at me, just studying me. Like he was assessing me. But that didn’t bother me quite as much as the blonde boy. He was intent on me. But this time it wasn’t pity on his face, it was sadness. He looked like his eyes could well over at any moment. I sort of wanted to hug the kid.

That’s when I realized; that was what the difference was. People always told me my eyes were bright and happy. The blonde boy’s eyes were heavy. It was like he had lived a thousand years instead of fifteen. I could feel that image burning into my mind, the amber eyes that were so similar to mine, yet so different. So lost.

I knocked on Sandra’s door the following night with no idea what to expect. She flung open the door to reveal a magnificent smile and a dainty little sundress that made me unsure whether I was underdressed or overdressed.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Hello,” She chirped. And because there was nothing left to say, we set out. Under most circumstances, the walk to our local park was a short one. But in that moment, it seemed like it would never end. I became eerily aware of how stiff my arms were at my sides. I switched to swinging them. It felt too ridiculous. What are you supposed to do with your arms while walking? Why doesn’t anyone ever teach this sort of thing? I eventually settled for crossing them.

We finally arrived at the park. I was expecting Sandra to want  to head over to the basketball court, but she made a beeline for the jungle gym. She suddenly spun back around.

“Do you want to, erm, go on a walk or something?” She stammered. And I started laughing. Right there and then, I burst out laughing so hard that I almost cried. Looking utterly bewildered, Sandra started to speak several times, but nothing came out.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, gathering myself. “But this is ridiculous. Sandra Jane, you have never wanted to ‘just walk’ in your entire life. The second we label something as a date, we get unbelievably awkward,” I laughed, beaming like an idiot. “You clearly were about to do something before you realized that you were on a date and had to be all proper. And it is honestly killing me to find out what your plans were.”

A smile slowly spread across her face. Sandra kicked off her shoes, whirled around, and ran straight for the tire swing. I just stared at her in amazement.

“Well come on!” She hollered. “You said you wanted to see my plan!” I shook my head and followed her onto the swing.

“As it turns out, tire swings and I have a long history together,” She said, smiling. “When I was little, my brothers and I didn’t have many toys around my house. My parents just never bothered with them. But we did have a tire swing.” Sandra laughed at some far off memory. “ I spent hours out on that swing, going as high and crazy as I could. I pretended that I was an adventurer on a river raft, and that the water was knocking me around. Those rapids took me so many places...”

“Like where?” I asked.

“What?” She said, coming back to earth.

“Where would your river raft take you?”

“Mostly Paris,” she said. “Sometimes the North Pole. One time it even took me to the moon.” She blushed. “It’s stupid, but I still get that amazing, adventurous feeling whenever I get on a tire swing.”

“That is the farthest thing from stupid I’ve ever heard. Hold on tight,” I commanded, sliding my own legs out of the swing.

“Why?” She challenged, gripping the handles tighter.

“Well, I figured if you stopped at the moon, Pluto is our next great destination,” And with that, I started pushing her. Her eyes lit up, and she let out a musical laugh. The rest of the date went by like that, her laughing, me pushing, and the both of us on Pluto.