The bag was filled with expensive coloured pencils from the brand Faber Castell. It reminded Monty of the time his mom took him into town. As they passed by the art store, he had seen the pencils in the window display.
As the teacher was taking attendance, Monty decided to ask Winston the question that had been lingering in the back of his head.
"Why were you almost late today?" Monty whispered.
"I was developing some pictures in the dark room and lost track of time. When I realised I might be late, I almost skipped but didn't want to miss out on seeing you so I ran." Winston explained, absentmindedly while opening his sketch book to a blank page.
Even though he couldn't name the feeling, Monty's heart melted a little every time he spoke. He could listen to Winston talk forever, especially if it was about something he was passionate about.
Class was short, only about forty-five minutes. Monty and Winston worked on the project quietly until the bell rang. After finally deciding on which image they had wanted to use, they had just begun the outline process when the bell rang. They both wanted to keep working to keep the momentum moving. Especially Monty who, as much as he loved art, enjoyed having Winston by his side even more. Plus, they only had a few more days to finish it. .
When they started to pack up, Monty took a step towards him.
"Hey, do you want to finish this after school?" he proposed.
Winston smiled at him. He was glad Monty wanted to spend time with him, especially outside of school hours..
"Okay, where?" he replied.
Monty thought quickly, "Eisenhower park?"
"I'll see you there." Winston agreed, disappearing with a wink.
An hour after dismissal, they were both preparing for the meet up. Filled with nervous excitement, Monty realized this would be the first time they actually hung out outside of school, just like best friends did.
Monty left the house, closing the door as softly as he could behind him. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and set the skateboard down on the ground. The skateboard wasn't anything special or fancy. The greying deck was quite old and shabby, but it held a special place In his heart. He had gotten it as a birthday present a while ago from his mother, back when she had actually given a shit about him. He taught himself how to skate in an old abandoned skate park that no one knew about. He hopped on his board and skated down the empty road, beginning his short journey to Eisenhower Park.
As he crossed the street, Monty kept thinking about how grateful he was for Winston. He'd never had friends; he was always an outcast, invisible wherever he went. He thought of Winston's eyes and how they lit up when he was talking about something he loved. He thought about the scar in his eyebrow that somehow made him look so imperfectly perfect. He thought about his lips, they seemed so soft. At times, Monty wanted to brush his thumb across them to test his theory.
Arriving at the park, Monty sat on the bench. It was five in the afternoon and he could tell the sun was going to start to set soon. The sky had started to blend in shades of blue and pink that always reminded him of cotton candy from the carnivals.
They both lived on the opposite side of town. Winston lived in the upper part of town where the houses were mansions and everyone owned at least three cars. Monty lived downtown where the houses were significantly smaller and you were lucky if you had a garage. . His family wasn't poor, but they had just enough money to make ends meet. They could afford to put food on the table, but they weren't going to buy things they didn't need.
Chapter 4: Park
Start from the beginning
