"If you could be anything in the world what would it be?" Cree adduces inquisitively as she and Benny continued to gaitered down the crowded hallways of the school. He scoffed incredulously almost as if he feigned a fake offense at her inquiry.
"You've met me, right?" He quips sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.
She rolls her eyes, smiling softly as she playfully nudges him against the shoulder. "I mean besides being a professional baseball player. You said you like to draw as a hobby, right? Have you ever thought of doing something other than playing ball?" Benny pursed his lips together as he inwardly contemplated on her suggestion. Truthfully, he hadn't dreamt of being anything but a baseball player. It was all that he ever wanted to be since he was younger.
"Nope. Playing baseball is my life. It's all I want." He ripostes truthfully with a mere shrug. "What about you?" Cree numbly nibbled on her lip as she momentarily pondered on his inquiry. While she did obtain a great petulance for drawing, she was fully aware that the statistics of her becoming a professional artists were slim to none.
"I don't know. The obvious answer would be an artist but, I know that it'll probably never happen for me." She answers truthfully, her retort causing Benny to furrow a moue frown. He didn't understand why she doubted herself, especially since she was the most talented artist that he had ever met. He hated that she upheld the belief that she couldn't achieve the dream she strived for.
"It probably won't mean much but, I believe in you. I know that you're gonna be a great artist one day." He says, the tenor of his voice is assertive and reassuring. She chuckles softly, shaking her head in amusement as she ganders at him. It amazed her that this boy, one of whom she barely knew, had such high beliefs in her ability of achieving her dreams while she constantly berates and doubted herself.
Her mouth tutted upward in an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Benny." She replies softly, watching as he timorously fiddled with his fingers. He smile abashedly, gazing up at her underneath his lengthy eyelashes as they stood their in silence. Benny could hear the cacophony timbre of his heart beating against his chest, the palms of his hands sodden with his dewy sweat. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, flushing his entire face and the tip of his ears. God, she's so pretty. He sees Cree smirking coyly in amusement. "I should get going, but I'll catch up with you later?"
"Y-Yeah, yeah. Sure." He stammers, inwardly chiding himself in chagrin.
"Bye, Benny." She says before slowly gaitering up to him. He feels his pulse hasten, his eyes widen as he feels her puckered lips softly pampering a chaste kiss against his cheek. He could feel the wisps of her cool breath tickling his face as she allowed her lips to linger momentarily. Cree smiled once more before pivoting on her feet and sauntering off in the direction of her classroom, leaving Benny standing there aghast with his mouth hung agape.
By the time school was finally over, all Benny could think about was Cree and how soft her lips felt against his cheeks. He was so consumed in his own reverie that he didn't hear Bertram calling after him. "Huh?" He asked, blinking rapidly as looks up at his friends who were all standing around him with bemused expressions marring their faces.
"Dude, we asked if you're coming to the mall with us? I heard a few guys in my shop class say that the girls usually hang there after school." Bertram answers, smirking roguishly.
"Yeah, and I heard Susie Travoli's gonna be there too." Timmy sighs breathily, referring to the upperclassman, tenth grader that he was currently infatuated with.
"Oh, uh, no. I'll pass. You guys have fun without me." Benny refutes, much to the avail of his friends who all groaned in disappointment. "Sorry guys, but I have a lot of homework to do." He blatantly fibs in hopes that his answer would be enough to suffice their inquisitiveness. In truth, he had full intentions of seeing Cree again. He wanted to get to know her more and hang out with her sans the presence of his friends who would only teasingly mock or embarrass him in front of her.
Squints raised an accusatory eyebrow up at him, almost as if he was contemplating on whether or not he believed Benny. Ultimately, his suspicions demised and the guys all walked off down the street, in the opposite direction, heading towards the mall. Benny realized a fault in his plan while he was walking back to his house; he didn't know where Cree lived nor did he have her house number (assuming that they had a home phone). He groaned in defeat, inwardly cursing himself for not coming to the realization sooner.
