I sat at the front desk of the town's library. Checking over the list of check-outs and overdues. The door jingled as it opened, the loud giggles of a group of girls flooded into the quiet room.
Not surprisingly it was Honey and her followers. Holly pointed to something in a far room and Honey nodded. The headed off, leaving Sylvia behind. I looked down at my paper hoping she wouldn't look straight at me.
Instead she called out a name.
"Tan! Come on!" Sylvia's shrill voice bounced off the walls. A pink berry shot her an annoyed glare, which Sylvia gladly returned.
Oh great, I thought. Another one.
Not another girl, but a young man walked in. His teal hair lay messily on his head. He looked over at me with a smile.
"Hey." He said. I could feel the heat rushing up my face.
"H-Hi." I stuttered, I wasn't used to people talking to me, let alone nicely.
"Ugh, you don't have to be nice to her. She's just a mixed." Sylvia sneered. She shot a glance my way, her expression especially snarky today.
"Berry Syl, you don't have to be so mean." He said. I couldn't see Sylvia's face but I could tell she was mad, the way she stalked off.
He moved closer to the desk.
"Sorry about her. She can be a bit of a berry-hole." The teal man said with a half-grin. I blinked.
"Yeah, I know." The words slipped out before I could hold them back. He snickered.
"I'm Tanner Ocean." He said, holding out his hand. I stared down at it.
"A-Amethyst White." I mumbled, tentatively slipping my hand into his.
"So how do you know Syl?" Tanner asked. Well this should be awkward.
"She's...um. I've known her since High School." It was only half a lie. I stood up and walked around the counter.
"So Amethyst, you been in town long?"
"My whole life." I answered. This was the longest conversation I'd had in a long time.
I cast a nervous glance out the window at the darkening sky. Night made me especially nervous.
"Well, I uh...I have to go." I said hastily, darting past him.
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I was back at my house in no time. Hurrying up the steps and inside, I bolted the door behind me.
Just as I was about to enter the living room, the doorbell rang. I froze. People don't visit me. People definitely don't visit me at night.
It rang again. I glanced to see who was there.
Tanner stood outside the door looking worried. I unlocked it and stepped outside, shutting it behind me.
"Hi Tanner." I said quietly.
"Hey. You ran off so fast I was worried I'd frightened you off." He smiled.
"Oh it wasn't you it was just..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain.
"I can leave if you want."
"No, stay." I don't know what made me say it but I did. Tanner smiled again, the porch light reflecting off his bright eyes.
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And that's how twenty minutes later we were in my living room talking. Talking about everything, our parents, our lives, almost everything. He was wonderful to talk to, he listened well.
"I should be going. Thanks for having me." Tanner said, standing up. I too stood up and followed him to the front door, closely behind.
"Thanks for listening."
He gave one last grin before disappearing out the door and into the night. I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness swell in my chest.
I'd never really met another berry, let alone a man, who didn't even seem to notice that I was mixed. It was refreshing, and it felt nice to have a friend. Needless to say, for the first time in a long time, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Yay!!!! She deserves a little kindness
ReplyDeleteEeee. Tanner's cute. When she said nighttime made her nervous, I was like, walk with Tanner, he's right there and he's being nice to you! LOL. I'm glad he found her again and she let him in. Yay!
ReplyDelete