All American Boys

8. Sweet Home Beersheba

All American Boys

Chapter 8: Sweet Home Beersheba

"You showed up after all," the young man said, folding his arms as I approached. "And for a moment I thought I was going to get stood up again."

"Sorry," I said, walking up to him. "The teacher wouldn't stop talking."

"You could tell that old crone to shut up," he said, a smirk on his lips. "You've got more important things to do."

"Oh come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm not like you. I actually have respect for authority, and it's not like I have a wealthy dad I can fall back on in case I get into trouble."

For a moment, the smile vanished from his face, before he broke the silence with a laugh. It was brief, but I noticed anyway. Before I could say anything, he turned to look at the bus that was pulling up.

"Oh, that's the one," he told me as he picked up his bag. "Wouldn't take long for us to get there."

We boarded the bus, and I followed Isaac all the way to the last pair of seats right at the end. He sat on the inside, while I sat on the outer seat. He leaned against the window, looking outside as the bus began to move. I didn't know what exactly he was looking at, but the moment I made eye contact in the glass's faint reflection, he quickly averted his gaze.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, curious.

He quickly turned around, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Oh, uh," he muttered. "I was counting cars. Um, it's a- something I do when I'm bored on the bus."

"Right," I said. "Must be the perfect time killer."

I had an inkling of suspicion that he wasn't actually looking at cars, given that there were barely any at this time, but I just let the matter drop. We were quiet for a while, and I just let him go back to 'counting cars'. From time to time, I'd steal a glance at him, and our eyes met in the reflection, but every time he would quickly move his eyes away.

I thought that was really cute actually. I didn't know why, but I was still feeling pretty bold from the bleachers a while ago, so I 'accidentally' brushed my leg against his. I noticed him looking at me in the reflection, but his leg stayed put. I couldn't tell if he was ignoring me or if he liked it. Heck, I didn't even know if he even swung that way. I didn't even know why I was acting this way. My heart was thumping in my chest, but the day before he was the very last person I wanted to meet – even though I said that about three people already. But I just decided not to care, and let myself be taken where this takes me – whatever this is.

But before I knew it, I realised where the bus was headed – straight to Lavender street.

"Isaac," I said, my voice nearly caught in my throat. "Does this bus go through Lavender Street?"

"Yeah, it does," he answered, turning to look at me. "Why?"

"I-" I said, grasping to find my words as my heart thumped in my chest. "I'd rather not be here, actually. If I had the choice."

The young man's green eyes widened, coming to a realisation. I thought of what to do. There was no way I could get off the bus. The bus had just pulled out of the bus stop right before Lavender street. There was nothing I could do but sit through. I could feel my palms trembling, as much as I tried to control it.

"Hey, it's going to be all right," I heard Isaac whisper in my right ear. "Nothing's going to happen."

I felt him get closer to me, as my heart pounded in my chest. I told myself I'd never again pass by Lavender street, not after what happened. But I was careless. It didn't make sense of course, but it made sense to me.