Take Notice

“Hey, what’s-your-face! you leave that nest alone!” Lucas whipped around, rock in hand, to see a small blonde figure running toward him at full speed. She stopped just short of ramming into Lucas; her pale face, rosy from anger and sun, glared up into his, her blue eyes alight with rage.   

“Uh, hey Skye,” Lucas stammered, immediately regretting that he knew the name of his eccentric neighbor and ignoring a pang of hurt that she didn’t know his. “Don’t worry about it, we were just messing around. It’s just a plain little nest anyway, it’s not…” his words were drowned out by a frustrated shout from Skye.

“Ugh! You don’t get it do you? Listen, if you don’t leave that nest alone, I’ll… I’ll--” Skye looked scathingly at the group of boys clustered underneath the tree in the schoolyard, trying to think of an adequate defense. Her piercing gaze fell upon the stones scattered around the base of the tree that held the esteemed little nest, and she seized the largest one. “I’ll send these stones through each one of your plain little heads, see how you like it! Understand?” 

Lucas and the other boys exchanged uncomfortable looks. Will, who had proposed the idea to upset the nest in the first place, sauntered forward and slapped Lucas solidly on the shoulder. 

“C’mon señor Atilano,” he said with pompous nonchalance, while Lucas rubbed his shoulder and winced at the nickname, “She’s probably just jealous because the birds have a nest, while she looks like she slept outside.” 

This comment was met with more laughter than it deserved from the awkward audience of eighth graders. Lucas dropped his rock and rolled it around with his foot, unsure of whether to laugh or apologize. The strange, unwavering spirit of Skye Marigold, with her slender wrist cocked above her head, prepared to loose her stone on the unforgiving Goliaths. Will, deeming Skye as beneath his concern, led his audience away, offering derisive comments that Lucas hoped were out of Skye’s earshot. 

The crowd dispersed and Skye set up guard under the tree with the dedication of the ancient Hesperides. Her blonde brow wrinkled in concentration as she scanned the dissipating congregation. She slumped against the tree trunk, the nest hovering in the branches over her head like a halo. Unnoticed by the other boys, Lucas lingered behind near Skye, struggling to invent a justification for the actions. His attempts at reconciliation died before they reached his lips, however, and he eventually went to join the crowd. He couldn't help noticing, however, as Skye half-heartedly scrubbed her dirty t-shirt.  

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As Lucas sat studying that afternoon, he noticed through the window in front of his desk a golden head bobbing to and fro, just barely visible above the privacy fence between his house and the neighboring Marigold residence. He knew that she was gardening-- every morning as he got ready for school, he saw her through his upstairs window as she marched out onto her back deck and descended the stairs like a soldier on a mission, armed with gloves, a shovel, and a watering can. Lucas shook his head as he recalled the events from earlier that day. He returned to his reading, scanning a few paragraphs-- his eyes kept drifting back to the golden head before they comprehended any information on the page. Eventually, Lucas slammed his book closed and reluctantly headed outside. 

Lucas approached the fence, wringing his hands. He heard shuffling on the other side, accompanied by the humming of some indistinct melody. 

 “Hey, uh, Skye?” Lucas heard the shuffling behind the fence halt abruptly, followed by a frustrated sigh. A pair of skeptical blue eyes and a furrowed brow appeared over the edge of the fence, hoisted up by dirt-caked hands. 

“What do you want, what’s-your-face?”

“Uh, hey, I’m Lucas...” Lucas did not count on getting this far and was suddenly very unsure of what he wanted with Skye. Grasping desperately for something to say, his eyes landed on her dirt-encrusted nails. 

“How’s your garden bed going?” He asked weakly. 

“Oh gee that’s clever, a garden bed, har har-- I don’t sleep outside, contrary to popular opinion,” Skye rolled her eyes, as if she expected better from Lucas. “Now if you're finished making fun of me, I have other more important things to tend to.” Lucas cringed at his unfortunate choice of words as Skye dropped out of sight. 

“Wait, Skye!” Lucas, anxious to resolve the meeting on a good note, clamored for something to say. 

“I just wanted to say I really am…” He faltered. “...thinking about getting into gardening?” The attempt at delaying the conversation felt lame, even to him, but to his surprise, the blue eyes reappeared over the edge of the fence.

“I didn’t think you understood gardening.” Skye said, confusion replacing her frustration. Lucas seized this opportunity to ingratiate himself to Skye without having to breach the subject of the earlier incident. 

“Uh, yeah, for sure!” Lucas began, proficient in feigning interests. “I’m thinking a really big one right over here in my yard; and I could put some of those plants that eat bugs in it, like the ones we learned about in Life Science? And since you garden every day, maybe you could --” 

“How do you know I garden every day?”

“Oh…” Lucas worried briefly that he would be seen as a creep-- then realized that merely being seen talking to Skye Marigold would hurt his reputation more than anything he could say to her.

 “I just noticed you going to water your plants every morning before school.” He scratched the back of his head, adopting a sudden interest in the moss at his feet. 

“You noticed…” Skye surveyed Lucas pensively, and he squirmed under the scrutiny of those intent blue eyes. 

“Do you want to see my garden?” Skye asked timidly, her airs of frustration softened. 

Lucas agreed, albeit reluctantly, and Skye admitted him into her yard. While Lucas was no gardening expert, he was fairly certain that the collection of weeds, rocks, and other strange odds and ends peppering the scruffy yard did not qualify as a garden. 

“So?” Skye inquired, strangely eager. “What do you notice?” 

“Uh…” Lucas surveyed the yard, noticing the weeds carefully cultivated weeds, tastefully arranged rocks, and feeders and water sources for more backyard creatures Lucas could name. Her blue eyes glimmered with affection as she surveyed the flourishing yard, and narrowed with concentration as she carefully nurtured the withering spots-- wilted leaves brightened under her touch. 

“It’s not really what I expected when you said garden, I guess.”

“You don’t notice anything?” Skye’s face fell.

“Am I supposed to?” 

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “I thought I’d found a kindred spirit is all.” 

“Sorry? I don’t really understand--”

“No one ever does,” Skye sighed, absentmindedly caressing a blooming wildflower. “Most of the time when people notice anything, they notice all the bad things-- the slightest thing goes wrong and people hang onto it for ages. But there are so many little pieces of magic and beauty in the world... Don’t feel bad though, you’re not the only one who misses it.” Skye hesitated before continuing. 

“Lucas?”

“Yeah?”

“Try to open your eyes, won’t you? You might be surprised at what you can see.” Skye’s blue eyes were suddenly welling with tears, and before Lucas could react she had shoved him out of the gate and slammed it shut, leaving him to wonder what on earth he had said to make her cry like that. Feeling rather lame, he returned to his house, pondering over her comments for the rest of the evening. 

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At lunch the next day, Skye slumped at her table, picking at her lunch, and Lucas couldn’t even manage to catch her eye to offer an apologetic smile. 

“I think we ought to dump that nest on Skye’s head today, just to teach her a lesson. What do you say, señor?” Lucas’ focus was pulled away from Skye by a severe punch to the arm. 

“Uh,” Lucas hesitated, debating on how to reject Will’s invitation. Open your eyes, Skye whispered in the back of his mind. What did she mean? Lucas rubbed his arm, thinking of his attempts to ingratiate himself to these boys and feeling heat rush to his cheeks in shame. Resentment overflowed within him like a pot of water boiling over.

 “I say you stop calling me señor, and find something better to do.” Lucas picked up his lunch, suddenly disgusted by his present company, and stormed over to the corner of the lunch room, startling Skye out of a daydream as he threw his lunch down across from her. 

“I noticed,” was the only explanation he offered. Lucas could feel her piercing gaze on him, dissecting his motions, but he ignored her and feigned fascination in his sandwich. Eventually, Skye abandoned her attempts and turned her focus to the crowd of students over Lucas' shoulder. Lucas followed her gaze and suddenly became very aware of the many glances being thrown in his direction as he sat with Skye-- he groaned and turned around with his back facing the lunchroom. His reputation was effectively ruined.

“Thanks for sitting here,” Skye said, as if reading his mind, “not many people do.”

“It’s weird,” Lucas squirmed under the surreptitious gaze of the lunch room behind him. “You’ve been nicer to me in the past few days than any of them the whole year, yet they’re the ones who think you’re--” Lucas cut off his sentence too late, realizing that he was about to endanger his last fragile friendship. 

“It’s okay,” Skye laughed-- a beautiful, airy laugh; nothing like Lucas’ nervous snicker. It was a laugh that pulled at the corners of the deepest frown. 

 “I know what they think. I can’t do anything about it though; they aren’t going to understand, no matter what I do, if they don’t care. Besides, I’d rather sit here and watch how they come to life than be at one of those tables, fighting for survival.” She looked out at the tables with a tinge of sadness, as if she was privy to a secret that the rest of them didn’t understand.The two sat in silent observation for a while; Lucas watched Skye while Skye watched everyone else. As she surveyed the room, her nose, splashed with freckles, wrinkled in disgust; her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes narrowed in worry; she smiled affectionately. She watched over the lunchroom with the same tender light in her eyes as if she were tending her beloved garden.  

A girl passed their table. Lucas knew very little about her, other than she always cried in his seventh grade history class, and he recalled seeing her sit with Skye occasionally. 

“Hey Lila,” Skye commented as she passed. The girl returned the greeting with a toothy smile over her shoulder, her fingers tapping out the rhythm to a cheerful melody. A contented grin crossed Skye’s rosy visage as the girl retreated. 

“She’s singing again.” 

Lucas looked from Skye to the girl, and it was as if she had removed a blindfold. “It’s the magic in the little gestures.”

Skye looked at him, and it was as if an invisible fence between them had fallen. 

“I knew you would understand eventually.” She smiled as if an immense weight had been lifted from her small shoulders. 

“So tell me,” Skye leaned in conspiratorially, “what do you notice?” Her bright eyes gazed eagerly into his brown ones with such enthusiasm it was as if they unlocked a hidden wealth of ardor within Lucas that he didn’t realize he had been dying to release. Lucas longed to pour out the pieces of his soul to Skye in that moment, feeling that she could fit them together to make a beautiful picture.  Lucas looked out into the jungle of faces, and realized the glances he perceived earlier weren’t looks of judgement, but of sympathy. They were smiles from people like Lila, who had been in Lucas’ position. 

“You look out for them-- for us--, because you notice the little gestures and changes. You watch out for people who feel unwanted, and you want to help us grow. But--” Lucas shook his head, confused. “Why wouldn’t they stay here with you?” 

“They don’t leave me,” Skye shrugged, “any one of them would help me out in a pinch. They just don’t grow here; this isn’t how they flourish. That’s okay though, they all have their own little magic.”

 “But,” Skye’s voice tightened as she continued, her eyes swimming with memories. “Some people... It doesn’t matter what I do or how much I want to help, they just keep wilting away. That’s why I like gardening-- you’ll never find a plant that doesn’t want to grow; a plant that refuses water, or sunlight. Plants will just find a spot-- whether it’s in a wide open field or a crack in the concrete-- and simply live. They grow, against all odds. Oftentimes, they flourish. 

“Humans, on the other hand...” Skye trailed off, so filled with compassion that it spilled over from her eyes. “We’re a little more complicated. Sometimes we grow, sometimes we can’t, but for the most part, we don’t grow because we don’t care. We close our eyes and blindfold others because we’ve given up. We don’t take the time to truly notice and think about the world around us. We’ve blinded ourselves to the truth, and the little pieces of magic hidden everywhere around us. Imagine what the world would be like, if we all just opened our eyes...and took notice.”