What happens when you can't even recognize your own parents, but you're able to identify the most notorious playboy in school? //
Asher Thomas lives in a world where she isn't able to recognize people's faces, including those of her parents and even...
I walk to Physics with a slow pace, dreading a classroom without Chris and an Asher Thomas that I recently unveiled all my insecurities to. You would think I'd know a thing or two about how to express myself around people, but now I've wrapped a collar around my neck and Asher has the leash. She isn't the type of person to blackmail someone else, but I learn something new about her every day.
Per usual, she's waiting in her seat, buried into a book. Her hair is knotted up into some messy fray, and her giant black glasses keep sliding down her nose. I wait for the disgust, but it never comes.
"Hey," I say, stopping in the chair next to her. "Can I sit here?"
Asher looks up, miffed. Her nose is wrinkled. "Why are you even asking?"
I shrug. "No more vodka in it for me."
She nods, allowing me to slide into the seat next to her. She keeps her eyes trained on her book.
I begin unpacking my things, feeling the ice grow thicker between us by the second. I swallow uncomfortably. I never have trouble talking to girls, they're all the same – compliment, woo, take her home. Now, I don't even know where to start.
"No Chris?" Asher prompts, still looking at her book. At first, I'm not even sure she spoke at all.
I clear my throat. "Yeah. He flunked."
The corner of her lip curves into the tiniest of smiles, as if she's restraining herself. "Lucky him."
"I don't even know how he made it in here in the first place."
The ice begins to melt, little by little.
"How did you even make it here in the first place?" she wonders aloud.
"The principal is pretty easy to charm."
She rolls her eyes. "You know, for someone who wants to change-"
"I'm working on it."
"Oh?" She arches an eyebrow, though her eyes are still trained on the pages in front of her.
"Yeah," I respond. "I sat with some nerds today, but they just used me for a picture."
She snorts. "I'm sure you're enlightened."
By now, the ice is nothing but water, no longer a barricade, but a mode of transport. The air remains cold, as if the ocean could freeze over at any moment, but it's progress. For once, today, I achieve something I'm proud of.
When the bell rings, Asher doesn't bolt out of her chair like she used to. She leisurely packs her bag with no hurry, no rush. It's refreshing, knowing she no longer feels the need to run away from me.
Before she leaves, she turns to me. Her gaze is serious. "What are we, Aaron?"
Her question catches me by surprise, and it takes me a few seconds to answer. I should have seen this coming. Asher isn't one to shy away from a question.
I look away, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder. "I don't know." I bite my tongue. "Friends?"
She stiffens, her grip tightening on the leash, threatening to choke me. Her tone is suspicious, bewildered. "And why would you want that?"
"Why not?" I retort.
"I'm the farthest thing from your current friends."
I smile sadly, thinking about the people I've surrounded myself with.
"Maybe that's exactly what I need."
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