The making of a Luna

Chapter 10

Ashley

There is a small coffee shop on the main road which I thought looked cute and cozy on my way through yesterday, so I head over there while dragging Ed along. As we reach the door Ed pulls me back. I give him a questioning glance.

"That's Giles' mum's place."

"Oh. So not here then? What about that diner? Do they have anything good?" I point at the diner straight across the road. Ed nods his head so we go there instead.

The atmosphere in the diner is warm and inviting as we step through the door. It looks old and is a bit worn down but that doesn't matter. It smells of burgers, fries and coffee.

"Where do you want to sit? Over there by the window looks good." I point to a booth with two cozy brown leather couches which can seat at least four people. We barely have time to sit down before a young man comes up to our table.

"Welcome! I'm Eric and you are the new girl." I giggle at him and Eric's ears turn the same bright red as his hair. He rubs the back of his neck and chuckles along.

"Eh, sorry about that. I was just excited to see the newest addition to our town. Tom, my friend, said you were beautiful but he was totally wrong. You're gorgeous!" I feel my whole face burn in embarrassment at his words. He slaps his hand over his mouth as he realizes he just said that out loud. Then he clears his throat.

"Um, before I make more of an ass of myself, do you want some time before ordering? Maybe something to drink?" By now his whole face is burning with embarrassment, but he's brave enough to keep going, I'll give him credit for that.

"I'm Ashley." I reach out my hand to greet him and he shakes it. "I can start with a diet coke. Do you want something to drink, Ed?" Ed looks down at the table not saying anything. "It's my treat." He looks up from under his lashes and goes to bite his lip until he remembers the cut on it.

"Can I have a milkshake?" His voice is low and unsure so I give him a brilliant smile.

"What flavor?"

"Strawberry."

"A diet coke and strawberry milkshake coming right up!" Eric says and leaves us alone at the table. I pick up my menu and look through it.

"Are you hungry or do you only want a snack? I think I'll have something sweet. A doughnut or something."

"Fries?"

"Anything else?" Ed shakes his head and when Eric comes back with our drinks I place our order.

"So I had a meeting with the principal today after you went to class and he told me that I'm gonna work with you." I beam at him, but he stirs his shake without looking at me. "What's wrong? Don't you want it to be me that works with you?"

"You'll only think I'm stupid like everyone else." He murmurs and his stirring turns into stabbing his shake over and over again with the straw.

"I already know you're not stupid. Why would I suddenly start to think that just 'cus I'm working with you?" Anger flashes through his eyes and he forcefully pushes his milkshake away causing it to fall over, spilling the content over the table.

I give out a surprised shriek as the shake slowly drapes the whole surface and starts dripping down the edges. Before I can gain my bearing Ed is out of his seat and running towards the exit. I hurry after him, giving Eric a sign that I'll be right back.

"Ed! Ed! Stop!" I run up and grab his arm to stop his flight from me. He hits my hand with a closed fist and I have to bite my cheek to keep from groaning in pain. "Ed, stop! It's okay. It was an accident. Come back to the diner and I'll buy you a new shake." Ed shakes his head but refuses to look at me. I wrap my arms around him.

"It's okay Ed. I'm not angry and no one else is angry either. You can get a new shake and your fries should be done soon as well." Ed keeps shaking his head but his small arms wrap around me to grab my shirt.

For several minutes we stood on the curb with our arms wrapped around each other. Ed's body is stiff and his breath is shallow and labored to begin with but slowly he relaxes and his breathing slows down. I stroke his head but don't say anything.

"Are you ready to go back to the diner and eat your fries?" I ask him once I feel that he has calmed down. He nods his head but does not release me. "Then I think we have to release each other." He unwraps his arms and takes a small step away from me. I bend down to look into his eyes. They are a bit wet but it is obvious he hasn't shed any tears.

"Are you feeling better?" He nods and I smile at him. I take his hand and lead him back to the diner. Our table is clean and when we sit down Eric comes back with a new strawberry shake, my doughnut and Ed's fries.

"Even if I work with you I wont think you're stupid, Ed." Isay once Eric has left us alone again. "I know that you are far from stupid, and besides, I am here for you. I'm here to help you with your schoolwork, with friends and anything else you might need help with. I'm not here to judge you. I'm not a teacher. I am your friend." For a long time we sat in silence, me eating my doughnut and Ed picking his fries.

"I can't read." His statement jerks me from my own thoughts and for a second I'm confused over what he means.

"You mean-"

"I mean that I can't read. I don't understand what it says."

"Oh. Well, that can easily be taken care off-"

"No! I can't learn to read! I'm too stupid to understand!" I reach my hand across the table to take his hand in mine.

"It is no problem, Ed. If you can't read or if you can't learn to read. There are other ways to learn. Do you know what dyslexia is?" He shakes his head. "It is a diagnosis that states that a person has trouble reading and writing. It can be that they can't read anything or it can be that they have trouble reading when the text is too complicated."

"It does not mean that a person is stupid or unable to learn. They just can't do it the same way as many others can do. And it is so common that there is even a name, so it's not like you are the only one out there who has it." He relaxes somewhat and looks up at me.

"So I can learn anyway?" I smile and nod my head.

"Maybe I can read for you, or we can look into audio books. And writing will be easier to do on a computer, perhaps with an audio recognition program. There are a ton of possibilities. We just have to find what works for you." He smiles and once again I can see the wetness in his eyes. My chest constricts in both happiness and sorrow for this poor, misunderstood child.

"Will it be okay that I will work with you? We can still be friends." Ed jumps from his seat and throws himself in my arms.

"Yes!"

***

I wonder why Ed is opposed to entering the café just because Giles' mom owns it?

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