I guess you could call me a hat person. I wear a sunhat every day. Literally, not a day has gone by that I can remember when I wasn't wearing a sunhat. I have a whole array of them in all different colors, from vermillion to violet.
It's not so much that I'm a "hat person" as it is that I'm allergic to the sun. Really, I am allergic. When I even begin to let my arm out of my constant circle of shade, red itchy bumps surface on my skin. So naturally, I've resorted to sunhats.
Sunhats may not seem like much, but they really keep me in the dark. Like, when I go indoors into a well lit room, sometimes I'll take my hat off and it takes such a long time to adjust to the light that I put my hat back on. So, I haven't really seen "light" since I was about 3 months old. I'll go off on a limb and say that I don't know what having sunlight on my face feels like, or even what a florescent light does to your eyes. I probably never will. I prefer to stay in the cool calm serenity of the dark… or dim, I should say.
My name is Yellow Midori, and I'm the girl who has the "hat exemption" at school. I realistically have only two friends. No one really wants to talk to me, I'm an outcast. While everyone shimmers in the bright light of the sun, I'm trapped under the cool shade of my sunhat.
At least once a week, I'll watch a boy named Red walk over to a pretty girl and play one of my favorite songs on his guitar as he serenades her. And I die under my sunhat every time.
Of all the boys in all the world, it had to be Red Sakishima. It's hard not to drown in all of his popularity and dark eyes….
"Yellow," my best friend Blue Chitanda swats my already blushing cheek. I pulled my white sunhat over my face and looked down at my journal to see that the open page was covered in scribbly hearts.
" Was I staring again?" I asked meekly, still looking down.
"Yes!", said both Blue and my other friend Crystal Hiradaira, simultaneously. I glance up through the shade of my hat and my blonde bangs and across the grassy quad to Red, carrying his guitar and a bag of Sour Patches over to Lyra Hiradaira, Crystal's outgoing twin sister.
Lyra is bubbly and popular and wears her brown hair in two pigtails. Her big brown eyes are always smiling and dancing, even at the most boring times. She's nothing like Crystal, whose dark blue hair stays in one low ponytail, and you hardly ever see her eyes, which don't ever smile. I could go on all day, but, in short, Lyra is a popular cheerleader and Crystal is a quiet, shy, and serious type of person.
Red pulls Lyra from where she was standing under a tree with her friends and sits her at a lunch bench. He kneels before her and starts playing his guitar. A crowd is starting to gather. I, of course, stay seated at my table, far away from the action. I know my friends want to watch, especially with Blue being a hopeless romantic and Crystal being Lyra's twin. It pains me to watch them restrain themselves from walking over there.
"Go," I said. After their hasty apologies, they ran to the scene. I heard the lazy guitar notes forming the melody drift towards me. With every new chord, I feel a new wave of pain. Then, he began to sing.
"The day we met,
frozen, I held my breath,
right from the start,
I knew that I'd found a home
for my heart…"
I knew this song. It was part two of "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri, my favorite songs. A part of me, okay, all of me wished he were singing to me instead. I pulled my journal up so that it met the lip of my hat and tried not to cry.
"I've loved you for a thousand years,
I'll love you for a thousand more."
The sweet guitar melody slowed to a close as Red spoke softly, "Lyra, will you be my Spring Queen?"
Lyra squealed as she said,"yes, yes! Of course! Our royal love will live on forever!" That was a little extreme.
That's when Gold Horiki slid into the seat next to me and said into my ear, "wow, that's some gesture."
I look up from my journal and notice that the inky hearts of the page have begun to swirl with my tears. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gold half-smiling at me. Eww. He's liked me for a long time and I really wished he'd stop. I called him "Horrific Horiki" in my mind.
"Oh, hi Gold." Real smooth. I hoped my red eyes and tear-stained face had sent a message.
"Well, about the Spring Fling," apparently, they hadn't sent the message. "I'd wanted to ask you, but I was too nervous. So, wanna go?"
"I'm flattered, but we'd go as friends, right?"
"That wasn't what I was intending…"
"Listen, after my break-up with Wally…"
"That was seven months ago." He had a point.
"Why don't you ask Crystal?" He glared at me and left.
Under the brim of my hat, I could see Red teaching Lyra guitar and feeding her Sour Patches. I shoved my face in my hat and wept harder.
It's the night of the dance, and I'm sitting on my bed with Crystal, waiting for Blue to get ready.
" I still can't decide! Teal or red?," Blue screams from my bathroom. she have to say "red"? All I needed was another reminder that I was going to the Spring Fling alone. Well, technically speaking, I was going with Blue. But that doesn't really count.
" Definitely teal, it's your color," I reply. Truthfully, I just didn't want to say his name, and who could blame me. I've only liked him for 3 years. Psh.
I'd noticed that Crystal was being very quiet. She was looking down and twiddling her thumbs next to me. Crystal looked beautiful in her peach on cream floral print fit-and-flare dress. Her matching peach and cork wedges and glittery, messy bun sealed the deal. Overall, she looked amazing.
"Crys?", I said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder," What's the matter?" She stopped twiddling and slowly looked up at me.
"Well, I have a confession to make," Crystal croaked. " I kinda got asked to the Spring Fling."
Blue ran out of the bathroom in only her underwear and said,"OMG! Crys! How come you didn't tell us?"
" I didn't say 'yes' yet."
" Crystal," I said calmly," go call Gold."
The dance kind of sucked in the beginning. Blue and I arrived fashionably late, trailing Gold's car. It was the only way Crystal would go with Gold. We had to literally be right behind her. The whole time.
When we got out of the car I looked down at myself. Not much to look at, actually, I was wearing a pale yellow collared button-down shirt-dress, a wide black cinch belt, and black flats. I pulled my black sunhat on and held Blue's hand tight, compared to Blue I looked terrible. NO wonder Red didn't ask me.
Blue was wearing a strapless dress with a black bodice that stopped before her waist with a teal tutu skirt and black wedges with gold buckles. Her glossed lips were in a pout as she texted Crystal, asking her why she and Gold hadn't gotten out of the car; which was three spaces away. When we walked past their space, we realized that we should leave them alone.
Eventually, we got to the metal doors of our gym and stepped inside. The whole place looked magical, the wall covered in Christmas lights and hydrangeas dangling off the ceiling, watching the partygoers. There was a slow song playing and I could see Red and Lyra. They looked so perfect I had to go outside.
The quad had been transformed into an enchanted garden paradise. Each table candle-lit and scattered with daisies. Blue and I sat down at one of the tables and slumped. We looked out of our peripherals at the large group of popular kids exiting the gym.
"OHMIGOD! Did you see that, Yellow? DID YOU SEE?! HELLO!?" Blue surprised me and got in my face.
"Of course I saw them, it might be dim over here, but I'm not blind!" Under my hat, my eyes stole a glance at the popular crowd, with Lyra and Red at the front. They were bubbly and giggly and living in my dream, I'd never been so jealous. While they had fun I was confined to being miserable with Blue, who was trying to grab my attention
"Yellow! No! I meant the one wearing my color.' Hmm. I scanned all the girls. Lyra was wearing red, curse her. Platina was wearing gold. Sapphire was wearing purple. When I began to look at White's dress (which was black,) I saw it. A flash of seafoam teal on Green Oak's tie.
In short, Green Oak is what you'd call a nerd. He was in my accelerated math class and always sat in the back. He doesn't seem like much, but it's rumored that he's never missed a test question. Ever. Some say it's because his grandfather is this genius named Professor Oak. I've met this "professor" myself and he's a total nutjob! Green isn't like him. Green is… mysterious.
Suddenly, Blue pushed off of my shoulder and stood on the table, to make more of a scene, she yelled, "EXCUSE ME!" right at the group of popular kids who turned to see the 5'4" (in heels) girl on top of the table with her arms crossed, sitting in one hip, and giving them the death glare that could stop a train. Their confused expressions intensified as my embarrassed one grew from under my sunhat. Did she have to be standing on the table I was sitting at?
Red responded, "Were you talking to us?" Could this night get any worse? Of course it could. Why do I even ask?
"Don't think so much of yourself now, Rude." Blue retorted, staring at Red's appalled expression. "I couldn't care less about you," she winked at me and i pulled the brim of my sunhat far below my face, nearing the collar on my dress.
"Well then, what do you care about?" Red asks back.
"Isn't it obvious? He stole my color," she said pointing directly at the tie on the enigmatic popular kid, his eyes beginning to look up at her through his long bangs. His eyes are hazel, I've never noticed before. Red's and his friends all turned to look at Green who had begun to blush.
"Um, excuse me, but don't colors belong to everybody? Especially someone named after one, like me." This was the first time I have ever heard Green speak. The voice coming out of him was unexpectedly deep, with a dark tone to it. It contrasted hard with Blue's shrill screech.
"Green Oak, I know you. And I know that you know me. My name is Blue, as in 'Blue hoo, you'll have to get a different color.'" A chorus of those oooohhhs you hear when someone gets burned erupt from Red's table. I was still hiding under my white seersuckered hat.
"Well then, maybe it should just be our color." After saying that, Green walked over and put his hand on Blue's left shoulder, sitting her down on top the table and kissed her. By this time, I was blushing so hard, I decided to leave. Not that there was anywhere else I could go.
Crystal and Gold were sitting at a table alone hitting it off. I've done a great job of setting them up, I suppose, even if it was out of malicious content. I was now halfway in between the table of Blue and Green making out and Crystal and Gold in their giggle fit and decided to go for the giggles. It seemed to be the lesser of the two evils.
They each had one forearm on the table, Crystals was on the top and they had their fingers interlocked. The way that she looked into his eyes at a slight angle with a look of pure joy on her face made me happy inside, but then I felt sad. I wish I could be as happy as she was at that moment. Of course, it still felt good to know that I caused her euphoria, and that should've been just as satisfying as euphoria itself. At least, that's what I told myself as I walked over, my flats scraping across the concrete.
I sat down at the table across from them and they didn't even notice me. "Guys," I said.
No response. More giggles and cute corner-eyed stares, but not even a single sign that they knew of my existence.
"Guys!" I said again, slamming my pale hand on the plastic table. Finally, the vibrations hit their hands or something because slowly, they grudgingly unraveled them and turned to face me.
They caught one last glance at each other before Crystal finally said, "Oh, hey Yellow. Sorry, didn't see you there. What's up? Where's Blue?" I gestured over to a few tables away, where Blue and Green continued their escapade in the light of the sunset and with all of the student body as onlookers. "So I see," Crystal said.
"Well, that's nothing compared to what you guys were up to in the car earlier! Oh my God, I had to cover my eyes and walk away." I cringed overdramatically, making them do that lovey-dovey giggly thing again. "What was that all about anyways?"
"We were just talking in the car and I learned a shocking truth about Cryssy-" Gold was about to continue but I interrupted him.
"Cryssy?" In all of the nine years that I've known and been friends with Crystal, not once have I ever (and I mean ever) been able to call her a nickname without being slapped immediately after. I noticed that Gold was not in any physical pain and felt a little jealous of how easily Crystal accepted Gold. Better her than me though. She can have him all she wants.
"Yeah," Crystal says,"she started calling me that and it just... I don't know... stuck." The words were slightly incomprehensible as she was doing the high-pitched giggle the whole time.
"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," Gold gave me a fake glare and I rolled my eyes in response, though, I'm not sure if he saw because the brim of my hat was low due to not wanting to look at the grossness in front of me, as well as the grossness between Blue and Green. "I found out that Cryssy had never had her first kiss. So, I decided to give it to her, right then and there."
I tried really hard to smile back at the two, who were smiling at each other, but I couldn't help but think how Crystal had lost her first kiss to Horrific Horiki. Of course, it was kind of my fault. Should I have felt guilty? Was Gold really happy with Crystal? I pondered these questions through my fake smile.
After what seemed like eternity of third-wheeling with Crystal and Gold, it was time to announce the Spring King. At our school, whoever is voted King gets to choose his Queen, and they share a special dance together. Of course, Red is one of the nominees.
"I'd like to welcome everyone to this year's Spring Fling…" White, the president of the Spring Fling Committee goes on forever about all these people she would like to thank for putting together this wonderful dance. She speaks microphoned from a stage where the band was playing earlier. We are all standing on the dance floor, anxiously awaiting the crowning. The spotlights all over the gym are bright, but they still look dim to me under my hat.
I was standing with Crystal and Gold, but Blue saw me and waved me over to where she and Green were standing. We had to push through the crowd, but eventually, we had reunited with them.
White was still droning on and on, thanking every single faculty member and such when Blue lifted the brim of my hat and whispered into my ear, "Did you know that Red was nominated? He's so well-liked, I'd be surprised if he didn't win."
"Of course I know, why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, you seem to not pay attention to that stuff. Then again, it is Red.."
"Okay Blue, shut up, I need to listen to the results."
I had seen the scene play out millions of times through my head.
"And, this year's Spring King is… Red Sakishima!"
Red in all of his bright-eyed smiles walks up to the stage, shocked. White hands him the lightweight metal crown and he slips it over his silky hair and onto his temples. He stands there for a second, waving to the crowd and smiling and trying to shout a "thank you." No one can hear him though, we are all cheering so loud.
Eventually, White hands him a second microphone and he is able to give out his thank you's to all of his voters.
White says to him, "Red, who do you pick as your queen?" Immediately, the girls start squealing, "Pick me! Pick me!" But Red looks directly at me and smiles a little bit. I feel like I'm floating as he says, "Yellow Midori? It would be an honor to have you as my Spring Queen."
Small murmurs of "Yellow? He picked her?" and "Isn't that the girl with the hat-exemption?" and my personal favorite, "Who is she?" fill the room, but I walk through them and up to the stage where White holds my tiara. I step up and greet White with a smile as she slips the tiara over my sunhat. I must be quite a sight.
Red takes my hand and walks me off the stage, smiling the biggest I have ever seen him smile. We take to the center of the dance floor and all of the students clear a large circle around us. A slow song starts and I'm melting in his arms… swaying to the beat…
"Yellow! Yo! Earth to Miss Midori!" Blue is shaking my shoulders with such intensity that my hat falls off and hits the ground. As she bends down to pick it up, I come back to reality. She slips the hat back on my head and says, "I thought I lost you there for a second. Did you hear? Red won Spring King."
"Really? Who'd he pick as Queen?" I ask her.
"He hasn't picked yet, we're still waiting for his response. Shh. I want to hear too."
Red is on stage straightening out his suit and holding a microphone. "Well, thanks everyone, I wasn't really expecting this," he points to the crown on his head. It messed up his hair a little bit, but in a good way. "I realize you're all waiting for me to pick my Queen, and let me tell you, this is quite a hard decision. You see, I was here with a really special girl, but it turns out, she wasn't as special as I thought." What?
White stands on stage, as appalled as the rest of us were, her jaw looking as if it was going to hit the floor if it went any lower. Red took a deep breath, "so, I'd like to call up my best friend, Green Oak, to be my uhh, Spring Queen? No homo... Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that, well, I'm not." Silence throughout the room.
Blue looks up at the face that belongs to the tuxedoed arm she'd been holding on to. Green looked sickly pale as he took his other hand and lightly pushed off Blues manicured hand as he walked with a blank stare towards the stage. The students parted like the Red Sea for him to get through, but also because he repelled them. Eventually, he got up there and White handed him the tiara.
Green just held the tiara limply for a second before White announced the King and Queen dance. Red took the microphone, "I'd like to invite everyone to the dance floor to share, this, uhh, wonderful moment with my... good friend." And so we did.
When we were leaving the dance, we saw Red take the tiara back from Green and go back home, looking ruffled and lost. Blue and I went home in tired silence, both waiting for the aftermath that was to come Monday at school.
