The Junk Box [Short Stories]

Green Converse

Green Converse

Lily laced up her shoes. They were - and probably always will be - too big for her. She wore a pair of thick, thermal socks underneath to fill the spaces her feet wouldn't. Was it possible for a pair of oddly coloured converse to hold so many memories?

~*~

"Walk the dog, Lily!"

"Yes, dear mother of mine," She drawled back, wrapping the leash around her wrist.

"Don't be sarcastic," Penny reprimanded, standing over the stove and stirring tomato sauce with an experienced hand.

"It's kind of the native language in this house," Lily muttered under her breath. Apparently not quiet enough, because Penny caught it.

"What was that?"

"I said sorry, Mum."

Before the subject could be further expanded, Lily grabbed the bag of treats and darted out the front door with Bella at her heels.

Today, Bella was restless. She wouldn't sit still when told nor would she walk steadily. As Lily bent over to tie her shoe, Bella spotted a pigeon flapping harmlessly at the bush and deemed it her priority to chase after it. She pulled Lily off her feet and dragged her along the sidewalk with the strength of a Rottweiler, never mind a terrier! Kicking and squealing, she finally managed to bring her dog to a halt.

She found herself face-to-face with a pair of green converse.

A handsome boy with shaggy hair grinned down at her. "Hi," he said. "Have a nice trip?"

~*~

She was just walking, minding nobody's business but her own. Watching the ducks flap in the water, admiring how the leaves danced in the breeze. When a boy with blonde hair cropped close to the crown decided to accompany her.

"Nice shoes," he said. "Never seen green converse before. Swaggy."

Swaggy. Distaste curled in Lily's stomach.

She was all set on hating him until she bothered to look up and was annoyed to find he was unfairly good looking. He had thin lips and a lanky figure. His hands were shoved deep into his coat pocket and his nose was placed maddeningly perfectly between his two almond shapes eyes.

"I'm Braden," he introduced. "I'll see you at three, then?"

"For what?" asked a perplexed Lily, racking her brains to remember if she had subconsciously made plans without noticing.

"Why, coffee, of course."

~*~

"Would you like some milk with that tea?" James teased his girlfriend, a fond tone of mocking to his voice. "You're going overboard, Lil. Leave some milk for the rest of us peasants."

"No one ever got harmed by going overboard," Lily defended. So what if she liked her tea mild? It was her house, she could take as much as she wanted. Just because she didn't take her tea practically black...

"Tell that to the people on the Titanic." Lily shoved him against the counter. He laughed.

"Shut up."

"Is my sarcasm bothering you?" James jibed mercilessly, enjoying the irritated look on her face.

"Will it bother you when I wrap my hands around your throat?" Lily joked, lightly slipping her careless fingers around James' neck. She never intended to hurt him. She recoiled when he began to cough dryly. It sounded as if he were choking up his lungs.