"So you're the girl that made an embarrasment of herself last Saturday?" he asked her quietly which to Betty was a relief. He looked at her smiling mischeviously.
"Oh my Gosh, tell me about it, it was so embarassing." I looked around the class to see if the teacher was not near us but he wasn't, everyone including us, were busy doing "Free Art." Every Monday Mr. Boudini puts us to do our own drawings and paintings to express ourselves freely.
I was drawing a flowered Mandala, something I have come to cherish doing ever since I was introduced to it at an therapy kids camp when I was eleven.
Jim on the other hand was drawing some form of complex dwing that I couldn't picture what it was exactly.
"Me I actually thought it was embarassing, it was weird and crazy but awesome at the same time." Betty looked away from her drawing completely confused at what he had just said.
"What do you mean it wasn't embarassing?" She tried not to raise her voice as Mr Boudini was walking around the class admiring everyone's art work. Good thing no one was looking at u still. Betty thought happily as she went back to her work.
"To tell you the truth I've never met a girl who is so self-concious but yet is not afraid to do something embarassing." He merely laughed softly as he continued drawing.
That comment got me thinking already, "and to you that's amazing?" I rolled my eyes at him with disbelief.
"Yes it's completely rare and amazing to me," he stared at me still smiling satisfied at having mentioned that to me.
Through the school day I found out I had him for two other classes: European History and Anatomy which made the classes more insightful than ever as he kept on sharing with me the story of his life; he shared with me about his childhood living in San Francisco with his Mom who is an Art Professor at the university of San Francisco and his Dad who is a sound engineer for Capitol Records. The part that made me tears come down my face was when he was telling the story of how his brother and sister died in a car crash and how he almost died in the accident.
"I still remember the day crystal clear like if it was only yesterday that the accident happened instead of five years ago. I was only twelve when I experienced this, I was freaking scared out of my mind; my brother was eight and my sister was fourteen. We were all on our way home after a fun day of going to Universal Studios Hollywood, we had gone with our Uncle Samuel since he had bought tickets for all of us; he wanted us to have fun and forget about all the sadness and stress that we were going through due to our parents divorce so my Mom agreed to let us go with our Uncle out for a while to escape. Of course we were all very excited to look forward to something. It never crossed my mind that on that day I would loose both my siblings on that car accident. Me and my Uncle were the only one's that survived with only fatal injuries. It happened so fast and so quick that there are no words to describe it."
Tears swelled down my eyes as I listened to him during lunc, for I had no one else to hang out with and my best friend, Tracy was at Book Club. I quickly cleared them out of my face as I noticed that some people in the benches eating were looking at me probably wondering why I was crying.
"I'm so sorry." I told him simpethetically.
"It's okay, I have come to cherish them in my heart and have learned the hard way to remember them forever in my mind. But enough about me now that I told you the story of my life, now it's time for me to hear the story of your life." We were both quiet for a few minutes eating our lunches.
I chewed my sandwhich toughtfully "Well nothing much has happened recently in my life except that my Mom walked out on my biological Dad when I was a baby and met my Step-Dad when I was five years old and now it sucks because I never got to meet my real Dad, and on top of that I can't seem to get along well with my Step-Dad; everytime it's the same thing we argue and fight all the time because he is too stubborn, always wanting for me to agree with everything he thinks is right for me and he doesn't even try to listen to my point of view."
"Your Step-Dad is tough on you, Man I wouldn't be able to stand someone that's like that, how do you stand it?" he looked at me amazed as we heard the bell ring announcing the end of lunch.
"My Mom is the person I go to, I am closer to her and eventhough I have disagreements with her also, we always somehow get back together again."
I don't know why he did this but he touched one of my hands and squeezed it whispering in my ear: "You are brave." He let go of my hand waving Bye to me, heading to another class and me to Theater class were Jim wasn't in.
