Simon's Point of View
For the first time in my life I was excited that school was almost over. Any other day I would have sighed at the thought of leaving the books and knowledge. I usually didn't like it when school ended and when the last bell rang, but today I was making an exception. After school I had plans with Jeanette, the chipette that I had a crush on since the day I met her. We were going out; no, not on a date, barely a walk in the park. We were both asked by our environment club to find various flowers to show everyone else at school how beautiful nature could be.
I looked in Jeanette's direction. She sat on the opposite side of the classroom, well she didn't sit, she stood on top of the desk, which could fit at least twelve of her. She was the girl of my dreams, literally. She defined beauty; her round, slim purple glasses fit perfectly on her sweet, innocent face, which had mostly soft beige fur, leaving the rest of her head with a darker shade of brown. Her hair was messy, but I liked it, her tail bushed brilliantly.
It was hard to look away, but I didn't want anyone to see me staring, that would be creepy, besides, I would get my time alone with her soon.
The bell rang at 3:15 and I could hardly contain my excitement. I hopped off my desk and waited for Jeanette at the door. After tripping on her way here, I could tell she was embarrassed and probably didn't want to talk much.
"Are you okay?" I asked. I couldn't help but worry if she was hurt.
"Oh, um… yeah." she said in a quiet voice, "Thanks." Her shyness was cute to me. It was a silent walk to our separate lockers. Every time I thought of saying something the words would get caught in my throat. I was always so nervous around her, always getting a dry throat and stuttering. Her shyness was cute, mine was pathetic. Our bags and supplies were already on the ride home with my brothers, Alvin and Theodore, and Jeanette's sisters, Brittany and Eleanor. Dave, my dad, said it was fine to be out of the house as long as we were back before dark and did nothing dangerous.
"You ready to go to The Gardens, Simon?" Jeanette questioned in a barely audible whisper. I nodded, afraid that I would say something embarrassing by accident. Jeanette smiled sweetly and we started our walk. The first five minutes were an awkward silence, it was still better than admiring her from afar. I got to be close to her, however I also had to be careful not to screw up anything. I quickly glanced at her; she looked eager to get to The Gardens; she was also walking a little closer to me than two friends normally would, not that I'm complaining.
"Um," I began, trying to start a conversation, "How have classes been?" Lame, but it was still something.
"They are very fun," she expressed, showing interest in speaking, "Mr. Leesan just started a new outdoor project." She trailed off. "Sorry, I don't want to bore you."
"You are not boring!" I replied instantly to her comment, "You're the most fun and interesting person I know." Jeanette giggled a little then dropped her head, staring at the sidewalk. Did I say something wrong? Something that might have offended her? I regretted following her motion rather than saying something, asking if I could help her with anything. We were silent until we reached The Gardens.
The Gardens were such a beautiful sight! This was my first visit and I hoped it wouldn't be my last. Both of our mouths hung open as we soaked in the beauty of the large field of flowers and trees. I took a deep breath after being knocked breathless by the sight. The air was sweet and clean and a cool, comfortable breeze greeted roses and yellow daisies swarmed the the field. Not one weed could be seen. I felt a sense of inner peace, tall, sturdy trees followed the sweet-smelling flowers.
"This place is amazing!" Jeanette exclaimed, "I want to see all of the flowers!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me along as we ran through the field. I blushed behind her, my cheeks burning. Did she know what she was doing? Did she she know she was holding my hand, or was she just over-excited? "Please let this be real." I thought. Just then something caught my eye.
"Wait, Jeanette." I stopped us in our tracks.
"What is it?" She asked, turning back, clearly unhappy about stopping.
"A flower." I stated.
"A flower?"
"A flower." I pointed to the spot where the flower sat. In the midst of of a patch of roses grew a single purple violet.
"Ooh," Jeanette soothed, "That's pretty." Her eyes glossed over the violet. "Not as pretty as you." I thought. At this time Jeanette noticed she was still holding my hand and immediately pulled away from me, blushing. I didn't want her to pull away, but she didn't seem to be bothered by me smiling.
"We can't pick this flower!" She begged and hung off my arm. I stared into her light purple eyes, almost matching the violet perfectly, but better and touched her shoulder. I completely forgot that we were here to pick flowers.
"This will be our flower. Our special flower." I said. Jeanette squeaked with glee and we slowly went through the rest of field for flowers.
It was starting to get dark by the time we were done picking (and maybe a little sight-seeing). Not once did we see another violet; there was only one in the entire field. I was going to count this as a date; picking flowers was peaceful enough that neither of us needed to talk much.
"Can we see the flower one more time?" Jeanette pleaded, "I want to say goodbye to it." I nodded and we ran to to the violet, still visible in the little light that evening provided. There was no verbal goodbye, we just stared at it.
"This won't be the last time we'll see it." I said without thinking or caring the fact that I was talking about a flower.
"That's a promise." Jeanette added. My heart skipped a beat, this meant that we would go on another "date"! We turned around and started our way home in a bit of a rush; neither of us would want Dave to worry. My heart stopped altogether when when Jeanette walked closer to me than before, close enough to touch.
Jeanette's Point of View
"What took you guys so long?!" Brittany, my older sister sister burst as she finished changing out of her pink tee and pink skirt and into her pink nightgown, "You were gone pretty long."
"Oh, uh…" I stammered and changed into a light purple night gown, "we had trouble finding the right flower." I didn't like lying to my sister, but I didn't want her to think I was on a date with Simon, she would only tease me and ask for what she would think would be major details.
"Uh huh, sure you did." Brittany said sarcastically, "Jeanette, if you're going to lie, you can at least make it convincing. I know you just wanted more alone time with Simon." I hiccuped out of shock. Was I that transparent? Then again, Brittany did know more about this kind of stuff than I did. She also had a big ego; true that she was very pretty, but she made sure everyone knew. She hopped onto her bed and started looking at a fashion magazine for the millionth time today. Before we got to say any more about boys the others walked in ready for bed. Eleanor, my younger sister who wasn't the skinniest chipette, but still cute and kind wore a light green night gown. Alvin, the too-cool-for-you lead singer of The Chipmunks wore red plaid pajamas. Theodore, the counterpart of Eleanor wore dark green pajamas with a food stain on the front. Then Simon walked in wearing blue plaid pajamas as I started climbing up to my bed, the top bunk on a triple bunk bed.
I stared down at Simon and hoped he wouldn't look at me. I could barely stand when I was around him, let alone climb while he looks at me. While reaching for the bed frame I heard Brittany whisper something to Eleanor and then Alvin. Distractions surrounded me, and I was too dumb to realize that there was nothing left to climb on; slipping and falling, I opened my mouth to scream but was cut short with a soft landing.
"Oof!" Simon responded to me falling on him, "Are you okay Jeanette?" All I heard was a whisper. I couldn't tell whether or not I was still falling. I burried my face in Simon's chest. Even though the pajama top wasn't as soft as his fur, I still felt safe and warm with him. My eyes remained closed, fear that I would fall if I moved and I wanted to fall asleep, escape to a dream where I could be this close to Simon without falling.
"Jeanette?"
"Hm? Oh… Yeah, I'm okay." I said sadly and opened my eyes. Everyone stared at us, worried that I was hurt at first, then probably wondering why I was still on top of Simon. I got up off of him and steadily climbed into my bed, wrapping the warm covers around me. They were nothing compared to Simon's warmth. He picked himself up and looked at me sympathetically, blushing, and lay in his own bed. I blushed back, wondering if I made him feel uncomfortable. Dave walked in and said goodnight to each of us. Before he could turn off the lights, I looked at Simon's face. Ocean blue eyes and his light to dark fur made him attractive. I thought I saw him look at me and smile before he disappeared into darkness.
"Goodnight Jeanette." I heard him whisper before drifting off into a dream; a replay of today.
Saturday morning; a day where most would want to sleep in, but not me though. I opened my eyes and put on my purple-rimmed glasses. Glancing at each bed, I noticed Simon's was empty and neatly made. Part of me wanted to find him and tell him I was sorry for falling on him, the rest of me just wanted to see him again. There were only two places he would be at this time in the morning; chatting with Dave about music or school, or on the roof. I climbed down of my bed, changed into some clothes, and dashed out the room.
"Good morning, Jeanette." Dave greeted as I walked into the kitchen. He was glaring at a music sheet. Dave wrote songs for us and managed our performances; I could tell he was having trouble.
"Good morning, Dave. Have you seen Simon?"
"He might be upstairs. Are you okay? I heard you fell last night." Dave had no idea that that we had access to the roof.
"I'm fine, thanks Dave." I scurried up to the roof. Stepping through the window, rough shingles welcomed my now cold paws. Simon sat on the edge of the roof, looking up at the sky; his fur shone brilliantly as the sun rose ever higher.
"Should I just say hi?" I thought, "I don't want to scare him." I nervously took tiny steps closer, the palms of my paws getting sweaty despite the cool morning air. Having a fur coat was nice, but I still froze, only wearing a striped purple long-sleeved shirt and a polka-dot purple skirt. Simon must be warm; he had fur and a thick blue sweater. His ears pricked, did I make a noise?
"Jeanette?" He said in a hopeful tone. I was at a loss for words, what should I say?
"Sorry for falling on you!" I blurted. Idiot! I turned to leave when he laughed nervously.
"Heh heh, as… As long as you're okay." At that moment I felt no coldness what-so-ever. I lit up. He wasn't angry; maybe a little embarrassed, but all he cared about was my safety. Simon stood up from his spot.
"You're shivering." He stated. I hadn't even noticed. "L-lets get you inside." He stuttered and guided me by the hand to the window inside. I may have been freezing on the outside, but that had no effect on me, I was melting on the inside. Hand in hand, I'd let him take me anywhere, I was lost in the tingles my hand was feeling.
Everyone sat at the kitchen table, barely awake and waiting for breakfast. Theodore had a stack of toaster waffles drenched in syrup to himself and Brittany had a single waffle with assorted berries. Everyone else had yet to receive their food.
"Ah, you found him." Dave pointed out between sips of coffee. We got more stares from everyone except Brittany, who smiled and winked at me.