Hilary ran down the streets of Batuken rapidly trying to reach her destination.
She had had some trouble starting a project, and had asked for some help. Wyatt, one of her now good friends, offered his services in his usual polite and cheerful manner. He said for her to bring the materials and the sheet that said what she needed to do, and he'd help her complete the project. She smiled back at him and thanked him for being so generous in the form of a hug.
Now, she needed to get to his house so they could begin working. When she finally arrived at her desired destination, his father greeted her cheerfully and told her that Wyatt was up in his room. She bowed and thanked him, before rushing upstairs to meet her friend.
She burst through the door, all sweaty and panting, and Wyatt raised an eyebrow at her disheveled look. Out of breath, she replied, "I wanted to get here quicker," before falling backwards onto his bed.
He gave her a small smile and waited for her to catch her breath before asking about the project. About five minutes later, she sat up on the bed, and he knew it was now his cue to ask the question.
"So, what's this project about?"
"Well," she replied, "I have to do a presentation and Bristol board on World War I Poetry and Photography."
"Ok, so do you know what you want to do for it?"
"Well, I was thinking that the Bristol board would be in the shape of a poppy and…," she continued to explain her thoughts in great detail.
Now, even though he'd never admit it, Wyatt was getting just a tad bit bored by all these details she was telling him. Why couldn't they just do the Bristol board and she'd tell him how she wanted it while they were doing it? Thinking to voice this out loud, he stopped her rambling by saying, "That sounds like a great project Hil, but shouldn't we get working on it, not just talk about it?"
Realizing that she'd been rambling, she hung her head in a bit of embarrassment and replied, "Yeah, that's a good idea."
"Ok, so let's get out that Bristol board!" he cheered, rubbing his hands together as a sign that he was prepared to do work.
She nodded enthusiastically and began to look for the bag she had her Bristol board in, only to not find it in the room. "Hey Wyatt," she asked, fearing for the worst, "did I bring a bright red bag with me when I came?"
He paused, in thought for a few moments before replying, "No, I'm pretty sure all you had was your knapsack."
"Oh great," Hilary groaned.
"What?"
"I forgot the bag at school."
"Well, there's a small shop for school supplies just down the street…we can go get some from there if you want to."
She sighed pathetically, and nodded her head in agreement. They went downstairs, to the shop, and bought the Bristol board, all the while blanketed in silence.
Even when they got back, they worked in silence, Hilary speaking up only on occasion to tell Wyatt how to help her finish the project. He did as he was told, but couldn't help but notice that she seemed so sad. He understood that forgetting your Bristol board at school was definitely not an ideal thing to do, but they got new ones, so she shouldn't have remained sad. He didn't know what was keeping her like this, but he didn't like seeing her this way, and by the time they finished the project, he'd gathered up the courage to ask her what was wrong.
"Hey," he began softly, "why are you sad?"
"Because I forgot the Bristol board and I rambled on about the project and then we had to go buy Bristol board; I wasted so much of your time, so many minutes. I'm sorry," she finished as she hung her head down in shame.
"Oh Hilary," Wyatt told her with a soft smile, "a minute spent with you is never a minute wasted."