What An Odd Boy

The boy waits at the bus stop, checking his watch every two seconds, a part of him chipping away everytime a minute passes. He kicks at a little stone, smirking at how helpless it is, how it cannot run away, having no choice but to endure his painful kicks. He messes around with it a bit more, and finally, out of boredom, he crushes it with the heel of his shoe. More minutes pass. This time, the boy stomps on the already broken pieces of rock. Not because of boredom, but because of anger. He stomps and stomps until they are nothing but grain. He no longer has anything to crush. He waits for a few more minutes, but the minutes turn into hours. It has been two hours. It is now nighttime and the bus has already driven away, leaving the boy in its dust. This is stupid. I'm stupid. I'm sure she just forgot. The false slit of hope desperately clings onto the boy, afraid to let go, using all of its strength to stay on. Yeah, she just forgot. After a few more minutes, the hope loses its strength, unable to hold on any longer. The boy finally gets up to leave, realizing that it is useless to wait. As he looks ahead, he sees a small figure not so far away, swaying side to side in an entrancing sort of way. The figure walks closer and the boy's eyes finally trace the details of the it. It is the girl. The girl has been watching the boy for a while. She watched him crush rocks over and over again, she watched him run his fingers through his hair aggressively, she even watched his facial expressions going from eagerness, to tranquility, to boredom, and then to anger. It really was very amusing to her. She felt bad, but it also felt nice to watch someone get so worked up over waiting for her. What an odd boy, she thought over and over again as she watched his antics. The boy rushes over to the girl, nearly tripping over his own shoes. The girl gives a cute little smile.

"I'm sorry for making you wait so long, I got a little busy. You don't mind, right? You don't seem to be doing much these days, so I figured waiting this long wouldn't be that big of a deal for you," she says. The boy stands as still as a statue, arms at his sides, completely speechless. Who does she think I am? If I could, I would lecture her right now for messing with me like that. You know what, I'll tell her how angry I am. I'll tell her how exhausting it was to wait this long for her. Angry thoughts like this swarm in the boy's head for a while. Finally, after a long minute of silence, the boy speaks.

"Yeah, you're right. I didn't have much to do today anyways. The weather was nice outside, so it was an enjoyable experience." The weather is freezing cold and I'm wearing nothing but a flimsy scarf. I thought I would've turned into an icicle if I had waited any longer, he thinks. The girl grins, showing off her two adorable dimples, the same two dimples that had made the boy fall in love with her not long ago. The girl wraps her arms around her body and starts to tremble.

"I'm cold," she says. Those two words are enough to excite the boy, raising his hopes up again. Just as the boy is undoing his scarf to give to the girl, he is stricken by a thought. If I remove my scarf now, I'll surely freeze to death. It's the only thing I have! She's wearing about twenty garments right now! She'll do fine without this scarf. I won't give it to her. No way. The boy glances at the girl and looks back down at the grubble underneath them. He finishes undoing the scarf and hands it over to her. How pathetic, thinks the girl as she carefully observes the boy's face. I didn't think he'd actually give it to me. Is he this dense? This is more insulting than it is sweet. What an odd boy.

"Aww, how sweet of you! Are you sure you're okay? " asks the girl. I feel as if I'm about to pass out, thinks the boy.

"I'm fine," he replies. "Didn't you come here to meet me so that I can give you some extra money for your travels?" asks the boy. The girl nods. "You'll pay me back later, right?" The girl nods again, her pretty ponytails bouncing in the process. Of course I won't pay him back. I know that he won't do anything if I don't pay him back either. "Of course I'll pay you back," she says. This time, the boy nods his head firmly to confirm the deal. I know that she won't pay me back. I also know that I won't do anything if she doesn't, he thinks.

"Of course you'll pay me back. I trust you," he says. It is extremely quiet outside, except for the sound of the two voices echoing through the winter air, and the noise of the boy's big, clumsy feet shuffling around while taking the bag out of his backpack. He hands the bag over to the girl, and the girl quickly snatches it, the speed of her movements defying her usual, gentle composure. Stupid boy. You're too easy. Stay like this and I won't be the only girl pushing you around.

"Oh you sweet, sweet boy!" cries the girl. The boy's face breaks out into a huge, glowing grin.

"So you're leaving town tomorrow?"

"Yes," the girl replies.

"Oh." Please don't go, thinks the boy. The girl watches the boy's facial expressions once again, knowing exactly what he's thinking.

I don't want to hug you. Please don't make me hug you, thinks the girl. Too late. The boy's head is hanging low, shoulders slumped, and his eyes fixated on the dirt. He seems like a sorry sight, instantly making the girl feel guilty. She hesitantly raises her arms out, knowing beforehand that she would do something like this.

"Goodbye hug?" she asks. I don't want to hug you, thinks the girl again. The boy instantly looks up, his hooded, sorrowful eyes slowly widening. He takes a few baby steps towards the girl, his heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings. The boy wraps his arms around the girl, melting in the warmth of her body, breathing in the scent of the perfume he had bought her for her birthday two months ago, even though she had never once given him a birthday gift, let alone even remembered his birthday. But none of that mattered. The girl is in the boy's arm. And that's all the boy wants. They soon part, the boys arms still on the girl's shoulders. The girl, knowing that she'll doubt it later, carefully places a kiss on the boy's cheek. "I have to go," says the girl. The boy, who is still standing in the exact same position, looking completely lovestruck, quickly jolts back to attention. Please don't leave, he thinks sadly.

"Oh right, it's late. You should get home," he says. The girl's face drops a little, disappointed that the boy didn't even try to stop her from leaving.

"Goodbye," she says as she looks at the boy. "I'll miss you." The boy, whose mind is already messy with thoughts and questions from the little kiss the girl had placed on his cheek, feels as if he is about to explode as even more questions tumble into his mind.

"Yeah, me too," the boy manages to mumble out a few words. The girl soon leaves, her perfume still lingering in the air. The boy watches the girl's figure disappear into the shadows, and he is left alone, once again. He slowly wanders back to the bus stop and starts to step on stones, waiting for her.