two // sea lions, strangers, and skeletons
One time when I was nine, I got lost while visiting the zoo with my family. Jazza and my oldest sister, Noelle, had been spending way too much time for my liking at the butterfly garden, and I wanted nothing more than to see the Benny the baby sea lion. Benny had been born a couple days prior to our visit and the zoo had made a whole new section just for him. My parents had taken Eli to buy some kettle corn, and I figured that I knew my way around well enough to go see the Benny on my own.
I followed the big orange banners that said "Come and See Benny the Baby Sea Lion This Way" and got there in no time. Benny was cuddled up to his mom, his eyes closed shut. As exciting as it was to watch him sleep for the first five seconds, I decided that I had had enough for the day and wanted to go back to my family.
Making my way through the crowds of people snapping pictures and the whining toddlers that were demanding ice cream, I trotted up the hill that I had come down earlier to get to the exhibit. At the top of the hill were two paths, each going in opposite directions.
I was never an anxious child, so the thought that I was lost never even made its way into my stupid little head. I thought that if I concentrated long and hard enough about it, the answer would come to me and I would remember exactly the way I came from.
So I sat down on a little bench, furrowed my eyebrows together, squeezed my eyes shut, and thought. What did I see right before I went down the hill?
"Excuse me?"
I opened my eyes.
"Are you lost?" A man in an orange polo shirt that matched the Benny Banners stood towering over me.
Remaining silent, I slowly scooted over on the bench--closer to the middle--so that he would know that he was not invited to sit down next to me.
"My name's Joe. I work down there at the Benny Exhibit." Joe weaseled his way next to me on the bench, forcing me to scoot over so that his hairy leg didn't touch mine. "Do you need help finding your parents?"
I shook my head.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded.
"Where are they?"
And that's when I ran. Without even thinking about it, I got up off the bench and darted left, my skinny little legs moving as fast as they could. I continued to sprint down the paved walkway until I knew I was as far away from Joe as possible.
I eventually found my parents, though I was out of breath and completely traumatized from talking to one of the creepy zookeepers for two whole minutes (I actually didn't do any of the talking, but it still felt like one of the longest conversations of my life). I had nightmares about Joe for weeks after that unfortunate trip to the zoo.
I'm not sure what it is about talking to strangers that makes me so nervous. Maybe it's the unfamiliarity, the awkward small talk, or the lack of trust that makes me uneasy. Who's to say that when you meet someone randomly in the street they won't call your mom an ugly boar, or steal your brand-new watch, or kick you in the shin and run away. You'll never see them again, so they will never have to fess up and say sorry for what they did.
But it's different with strangers at school. There are students that you have never seen before in your life, and then one day you accidentally wave at that person because you thought they were someone else, and boom. You can't stop running into each other for the rest of the school year.
I tend to avoid having any type of interraction with people I don't know at school, for said reasons. I don't try to get to know people or make casual conversation with someone in the lunch line. High school is awkward enough, there's no need to try and make it even more awkward.
So I'm sure you can imagine how many sirens go off in my head when I feel the light tap on my shoulder in the middle of the hallway, and then hear a boy's voice asking me if I'm the girl that he was eavesdropping on.
I ponder what would happen if I pretend I didn't hear (or feel) him, and just scurry into the safety of Mrs. Brodbent's English class.
No, that wouldn't work, he could still ask me the question after class, and then he would confront me about running away as well. Scratch that idea.
Maybe if I just--
"It was you, wasn't it?"
I turn around to face the person that is causing me such unwanted distress.
"What?" I ask, suddenly not knowing what to do with my hands.
Fold them? No, too stern. Let them hang at my sides? Too sloth-ish. Put them in my pockets? That will make him think I'm perfectly fine with talking to a random stranger.
I wrap my fingers around the thick straps of my backpack and take a step back.
"I heard someone talking about Inspector Ruins in the cafeteria, and I saw a blue backpack, so I chased you down when the bell rang. Was it you?"
"Um..." I consider telling him it wasn't me and to get lost because I know thousands of ways to kill a man from all of my mystery shows/games/books, but there's something so desperate in his expression that compels me to do otherwise. "Yeah, why?"
"Thank goodness." The boy's tense shoulders relax into a more casual slouch. "I've been trying to beat Murder in Madrid for months, but I can't figure out what to do when I hear the gunshot. I die every time."
"Oh, yeah, it took me a while too. You actually will have to start the chapter over and go to the drugstore to buy some ear plugs and then--" The warning bell cuts off my blabbering.
The boy doesn't move from where he's standing, even though other students are pushing and shoving all around him, threatening to knock over his skinny frame.
"I have to go to class," I say and start to walk halfway into the classroom.
"Wait, you have to tell me how to beat the level!"
"I can't right now." My heart is pumping loud and fast from so much social interaction with a complete stranger.
Before he can argue any more, I rush into Mrs. Brodbent's class and sit down in the desk closest to the back.
***
After the period is over, I sprint out of English class and go straight to where Ren, Joni, and I meet to go home, not even stopping to put my textbooks in my locker.
I wait for ten minutes on the metal bench, feeling quite proud of myself for ditching another awkward conversation with the tall, skinny boy.
"Whoa, you got here fast," Ren muses as she and Joni stroll towards the bench.
I nod. "I was avoiding someone."
"Ooh, who?" Joni plops down next to me and drops her backpack onto the floor.
"Just this guy. He wanted me to--" I stop myself. Joni can't know about Inspector Ruins. "He wanted me to ask my sister to go out with him."
"What? That is so lame, he should've just asked her out himself." Ren puts her hands on her hips. She doesn't tolerate nonsense.
"Was he cute?" Joni had been trying to find some poor sap to be her boyfriend for quite a while now.
"Not Jazza's type," I adlibbed. "She already has a boyfriend anyway."
"Sure, but what did the guy look like?" Joni pressed on.
Ren gave Joni her best 'are you serious?' look. "It doesn't matter! You don't want to go out with someone who asks girls out on dates by asking their sisters to do it for him."
Joni shrugs and looks at me expectantly.
"Well, he was pretty average-looking, I guess. White-ish blonde hair, pale skin, probably six foot, really skinny."
"He sounds like a skeleton."
"Now that I think about it, he did look like one."
We all laugh and start walking to Ren's car.
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soooo this is the second chapter i've posted today...and normally i wouldnt do that bc i like suspense hahaha
but i feel bad bc i won't be updating for three weeks since i just remembered im leaving for a big trip on wednesday so like i thought i owed it to you guys to post two chapters today since it'll be a while until i post another one
btw i know this chapter was super awkward and weird but it's important I PROMISE
no picture for this chapter bc i havent found the perfect basil yet but the song is perfect so go listen to it
thanks again for reading, lovelies
xx beth