To the End of the Rope
A few days after Maya had come to visit us when we first moved in, all I could think about was repaying her. It was so nice of her to come out of her way just to greet us and I figured that it would be nice to show my thanks.
Word around town was that she liked food. A lot. It gave me a clear idea of what to give her. But there were just so many choices to pick from, and what if she doesn't like it? I'm not particularly good at cooking, but I guess that there's a first for everything.
I decided that I should probably ask her what her favorite food is, but one can't just go up to someone and ask. Getting to know her would be the next step to take, but... What if she doesn't like me? She was probably just being polite that day, so...
But I still wanted to give something back to her, so figured that I would have to ignore my doubtful thoughts and go on with it. Luna would have been so proud.
Luckily for me, the cook had appeared at the door the day after I had decided to learn to cook. Maybe she was genuinely interested in me, and I hadn't the slightest clue why.
"Hi, Candace!" she greeted jovially, her eyes lit up in a bright smile. I offered a small smile of my own, glancing up for a brief moment in acknowledgement of her presence. My shy actions caused her to tilt her head, leaning in to look at my downcast eyes. Obviously she disregarded the idea of personal space.
"What's wrong?" Orange hair tipped to the side as she inclined her head the opposite direction. "Are you tired?"
"N-No," I replied, wondering where she had gotten the idea from. The cook was so close that I could see her chest rising and falling with every breath she took. Definitely too close for comfort. Denying her my gaze, I shuffled a few steps back, thinking in the back of my mind that I will never, ever accomplish my mission.
Her demeanor weakened and I could see her arms fall a few inches, indicating that her shoulders had slumped. Maybe she realized that I was just shy and was now giving up all hope.
"You know, if you think I'm ugly you should just tell me," she mumbled, her voice hosting hints of hurt. I snapped my head up to look her in the eye. With the way that her shoulders jumped to her ears, I could tell that she was just as surprised as I was when our gazes met. That familiar feeling of blood rushing to my face graced me at that moment, staining my cheeks a bright red.
"No, that's not it!" I exclaimed hastily, hands waving and everything. What was supposed to come after that, I didn't know. Was I supposed to give the excuse that I'm shy and expect everything to be forgiven? "I--" don't enjoy the feeling of judging eyes? "Um--" Your intrusiveness is making me uncomfortable? "It's just--" that I'm not a people person?
Maya's eyebrows drew together in what I was certain was confusion, a frown completing the puzzled expression. "Yes...?"
"You're pretty," I blurted, surprising the both of us again. Well, that's not close to what I thought I would say, but the smile that stretched across her face told me that she was pleased by my response.
Everything about her seemed to perk up before she grabbed my hand and led me out of the store. "Come on, you're taking a break!"
Past the fishing store, um, On the Hook I think it was called, was another extension of the beach. I'm sure that the path behind the little shore led to Ivan's farm, so we were in the Caramel Falls area. I don't remember Waffle Island that well; we moved out when I was little, but I'm sure Luna might have known about this place.
My shoes sat neatly beside Maya's, which had been kicked off haphazardly in a rush to get to the water. I was currently placed at the edge of the water, watching as the waves lapped against my ankles. Since my skirt was a little long, I was having difficulty getting past the sandy shore. I sent a jealous look at Maya; she seemed to be enjoying herself, splashing around in water past her knees. Her dress was shorter than my skirt, and looser, so she held it with one hand almost tauntingly.
Soon enough, I could feel her curious gaze on me, the movements of the water stopping and the air quieting down. Her questioning eyes fell to my skirt before landing back on mine, an understanding smile pulling at her lips.
"You know, you can take off your skirt," she stated, returning her gaze to th offending article of clothing, "We're both girls here. If I were wearing a skirt, I would have, too, but I'm wearing a dress, and I don't think that..." Maya trailed off, her face becoming blank for a moment. In an instant, her countenance lit up and she began to run back to the shore, water splashing in her wake.
Standing next to me now, she reached behind her and began to untie the apron around her waist. A blush rose to my cheeks upon realizing that she was going to strip down to her underwear. Did she think that would encourage me?
She was pulling off her puffy sleeves when she noticed that I was still. "Don't make me come over there and strip you myself, Candace."
Okay, now that was concerning. The blush on my face reddened further as I hurried to remove my clothing to mirror her state of... nakedness. Eyes trained on the sand by my feet, I wiggled my toes in the cool water and hoped that she didn't expect anything else embarrassing, though I couldn't think of much.
I wrapped my arms around my torso, hoping to cover up... something. There, I was wearing almost nothing, are you happy now? Turning around, something in the back of my mind wished that she could hear my thoughts just so I would be spared the embarrassment of speaking aloud.
When I managed to lift my gaze to meet her eyes, I saw that she was mirroring my blush. Hey, now she's copying me. She was not very subtle, eyes hovering near my, uh... Yeah. Did she have no decency? I blushed even more, the movement of blood making me a little dizzy.
It took a large amount of effort to look at her again, what with the staring. Why she was looking there I had no idea. Was she... jealous? I swallowed a lump in my throat. There was no way she could possibly be jealous of any aspect of... me.
"Um, haha, I..." Maya started, rubbing at the back of her neck sheepishly, "Sorry. You just... You know."
"Y-Yeah, I know, I'm ugly," I muttered under my breath, keeping my eyes low. She didn't have to rub it in by staring.
"No!" The volume of her exclaimation attracted my gaze again, and she was blushing even more. At this rate, she looked like she could rival my levels of blushes, and I was hard to beat. Maya cleared her throat, eyes darting around. "You're not ugly. You're nothing close to ugly! You're..." Again, her eyes traveled back to me, putting me under the pressure of judging scrutiny. "You're beautiful," she finished, tone breathy and quiet.
I blinked. What? Beautiful? Me? I shot her an incredulous look. I didn't think it was kind of her to mock me. "Are you j-j-joking?"
Orange braids flew around, moving so fast I thought they might have slapped her face as she shook her head vigorously. "No, of course not! Geez, I'm not that mean." A wry smile twisted her lips. "Though I guess I'll have to show you that myself. C'mon, let's have some fun!"
Without any signs of warning, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me past the shallow waters of the shore. I almost tripped, but she held me up, grinning. When the water was at our waists, I tripped again, her hands absent to allow me to fall. My hair weighed me down, threatening to break out of their ties and pool around me.
Maya giggled at my poor state, her eyes shining as they reflected the light in the water. Despite my current situation, I couldn't help but laugh also. It was a little hard to grasp, but I don't think that she was laughing at me. Thinking about it made my stomach jump, which made me laugh a little harder. What a curious sensation!
Gathering my courage, I took in a deep breath and splashed her. She flinched away, her giggles carrying on as she stepped back to avoid my attack. In return, she pushed water at me. I ducked into the water and dodged it easily. My hair was drenched and heavy on my back, but I would not let it hinder me on my way to her knees, aiming to bring her down to the waters with me. A surprised gasp ripped through the air, the sound muffled as it reached my ears underwater.
Grinning, I threw back my hair to get it out of my face. Maya's head popped out of the water, drops of it rolling down her cheeks. She plucked her braids away from her face and smiled back at me.
"I knew you were fun," she said out of the blue, catching me off guard. I stared at her quizzically, expecting her to continue. "I mean, you seemed pretty interesting yesterday. Just needed to get you out of your shell, I guess!"
I nodded, playing along. Sure, sure... Me, fun? I'm quiet and shy. This... This happened because she... Well, she made me do it! I prefer this over having my personal space invaded.
Maya glanced at the sky, peering up at the moon. "I think it's getting late. This was fun." She stood, water cascading down her back and shoulders, glimmering under the moonlight. I blinked hard, opening my eyes just in time to see her extend a hand to help me up.
"Um, yeah," I agreed, using her assistance to hoist myself up. On my feet, I realized that I was taller than her. I stared at her as she beamed back at me.
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
Well, I couldn't say no to her, especially with the way she gave me a look full of expectant hope. I nodded quickly, watching as her eyes lit up again. Man, I wish that I could look even half as bright as she did when she looked at me like that.
"Good!" she chirped, grabbing my hands and clapping them together. "I'll walk you home! Come on, let's put some clothes on, it's starting to get a little chilly."
I blushed as Maya dragged my back to the shore. As overwhelming as she was, I wondered just what would come of another day of this.