Hey guys, yeah, another story I know. Anyway, this, again, isn't my top updating priority but I hope you like it!
As memory recalls, it was mid-November, a Tuesday I believe, when he first caught my eye; Alexander Ambrish. Of course I'd noticed him before; in the past twelve years we've shared eleven classes together, as this was the only year he was not in my class, so it'd been near impossible for me to not have noticed him. Yet, we'd never spoken; of course we hadn't, he's from the Seam and I'm from the Town. It was an unspoken rule among our District that those of the lower class do not speak to each other unless we're making a sale, or trading, and even then it's rare. There was a fine, invisible line dividing us.
But it was on that cold November morning that, for the first time, I felt like breaching that line. I shivered in my fur-lined coat and I pulled it closer to myself. At the moment I was so focused on his face—the way he smiles which, I'd noticed, was a rare thing. The way his dimples lit up his face—that I just about fell when I slipped on a patch of ice. A pair of hands reached out and steadied me. I turned to see my best friend Valerie Phoenix, trademark smirk and all. "My, my Addie, if you keep slipping I just might begin to think that you're falling for someone. Get it?"
I rolled my eyes and continued to walk toward the schools front doors. "I get it Val; it just wasn't funny."
"Aw come on Addie, have a sense of humour." She said smiling, oh so blissfully ignorant.
I didn't even respond, instead I began to sing under my breath as I walked;
"Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man they say murdered three
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the dead man called out for his love to flee
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where I told you to run so we'd both be free
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rose, side by side with me
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree."
I finished the last verse and noticed Val staring at me; I would be, too. I had absolutely no idea what had prompted me to sing that song. We were at the front of the school door, and Valerie's hand was frozen on the door handle. "What were you singing?"
"Um," I began. "The Hanging Tree."
"Why?" She breathed out and I sighed; that was the thing with Val, unlike me she completely agrees that the people of the Seam and the people of the Town should be separated completely, as if from two different districts. And since The Hanging Tree was a song that originated in the Seam...well, it obviously didn't sit right with Valerie. It probably wouldn't sit right with many people, to have me singing that song. I shrugged in response. "It's not a bad song."
"But it's from the Seam." She hissed out. "Why would you sing a song from the Seam?"
For the first time I noticed that Alexander, who had been previously leaning against the doors, had moved and fallen silent. I felt a sudden urge to defend the Seam which, though I'd never agreed with how the people of the Seam were treated, I'd never felt before. "Because I like the song and I don't care where it originated. The Seam's just as much a part of District 12 as the Town is!" I snapped, my cheeks red form both the cold and the embarrassment of yelling at my best friend.
"Shh, be quiet! Someone might hear you!" She whisper-yelled, opening the door and practically shoving me in.
"Don't care." I said as the door slammed behind me. We walked in silence for a while, occasionally waving to a few friends, but we never spoke. I could hardly believe that Valerie was still mad, so, as usual, she was probably just as embarrassed as I was.
Finally Val spoke up. "I have to get to class," She said just as the bell rang. "But no more talk about the Seam being equal to the Town, alright?"
I scoffed. "Yes, mom." The sad thing is, my mom probably would've said the same thing.
She fell silent and walked off causing me to roll my eyes. I turned around and began to jog to get to my class before the next bell. For The first time that day I wasn't paying enough attention to notice him, and he apparently didn't notice me. So, as we both jogged in opposite directions both in the path of the other, we crashed and fell to the floor. The contents of my bag spilled out across the ground, and I blushed a bit knowing that in similar circumstances pretty much every resident of District 12 would scoff and ignore the other person. But, I was never normal, and i wasn't just anyone. "Sorry!"
He looked shocked that I'd spoken to him, but he still responded. "It's okay; it was my fault, too."
He picked up my books and bag for me and I smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem." He said, handing them to me before standing up. He paused for a moment before extending a hand to help me up as well. I reached my arm up and he took it, his soft skin gripping mine. He pulled me up and he smiled in amusement, briefly.
I blinked in confusion. "What?"
"You're light as a primrose."
I was surprised at his reference to the flower, my favourite flower. "Oh. Is that a bad thing?"
"No," He said, shrugging. "I just wasn't expecting it."
I looked down and blushed, a fierce scarlet red, not saying anything. Did I really look that heavy that he would expect me to weigh a lot?
He seemed to realize what he said and quickly backtracked. "NO, I didn't mean it like that; it's just I have a younger sister who's heavier than you, and she's underweight and I just figured you'd be heavier than a scrawny nine year old—"
"It's okay." I said, cutting off his rambling. "Really, I don't mind."
Okay. Good." He said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"But, you know, I kind of have to get to class." I said.
"Oh, right. Uh, bye...what's your name?"
"Adeline." I said. "But I go by Addie."
"Oh. I know you weren't asking, but mine's Alexander, though I like to be called Zander."
I smiled a bit. "I know; that's why I didn't ask. We've had eleven classes together since kindergarten."
"Oh." He said, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
I laughed it off. Of course he wouldn't notice me. "Again, it's okay; but I do have to go."
"Okay, well, bye." He said and, with that, we parted ways. Just as I was about to turn the hall, though, I heard him call after me. "Addie?"
I turned around. "Yeah?"
"Thanks. For defending the Seam." He said. And, with that, he was gone.
"You're welcome." I whispered into the silence of the hall.
As the school day came to an end my mind wandered back to Zander. He'd seemed so polite, so formal, as if he'd had something to prove. I guess he just wasn't used to someone from the town being nice to him—God knows how the others treat him. Gathering up my school supplies, I steed out of the classroom, peering through the halls for Zander. "Hey Addie, who are you looking for?"
I turned around to see an acquaintance of mine, Victoria James. "Oh, hey Victoria. Just Valerie." I lied.
"Oh, I saw her a few minutes ago; she's out front looking for you." Victoria said with a smile.
"Oh, thanks." I said sullenly. "I'll just go see her now then."
A worried look flashed across her face when she said "Are you okay Adeline? You seem kind of distressed."
"Hm? No, i'm fine, really." I said, faking a smile. "But I should go find Valerie. Bye, Vic."
"Okay well...bye." She said reluctantly.
"Bye." I replied as she drifted off into the sea of students.
I sat down on the steps of the school, sighing in actual distress. I'd given up looking for Zander about ten or so minutes ago, finally accepting that he'd probably gone back to the Seam, but Valerie seemed to have disappeared as well. She'd probably gone back to the town, anyway. As I was about to stand and leave, I heard someone cough, presumably to make their presence known.
I looked up, startled, before breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh, Zander; you startled me."
He shifted his weight from his right foot to his left, and he appeared uncomfortable. Um..."
I peered up at him, shivering again; Zander must have been freezing in nothing but a t-shirt and a black windbreaker. And, you know, pants. "Yeah?"
"I just...I have a question."
"Mmhm?" I said, as if urging him to go on.
"Well, I just wanted to know why you defended the Seam earlier. I mean, i'm glad you did it but I don't really get why."
"Because," I began. "I never liked how the Seam was treated differently. I hated it even as a little kid, when I didn't fully understand it. Like I said before, the Seam's just as much a part of District 12 as the town is. It's not like it's your fault you were born into the life of the Seam. It's not fair."
He shrugged. "Life isn't fair."
"True." I admitted. "But that doesn't mean there can't be some fairness in life."
He smiled a bit. "Thanks."
"No problem." I said, returning the smile. "Hey; you wanna sit down?"
"I do but I can't; I have to go home. Sorry." He said, sounding genuinely apologetic.
"Nah, it's fine; I should probably be getting home too, anyway. But I'll see you later, alright?"
"Yeah." He said, nodding.
"Okay, bye." I said.
"Bye."
Then, just as quick as he came he was gone, leaving me with a silly grin on my face and a warm feeling spreading throughout me.
Oh, what have I gotten myself in to?