Thanks for waiting! I tried hard to get this done fast so I could post it, but I was so busy! So, I apologize for making you all wait an extra day. But, I had a fun 4th of July, and I hope you all did too.
Thanks to my awesome reviewers! This story is not worth your words: xStarfirexRobinxo (thanks GOD someone thinks it's not rushed!), katara12171 (who likes my really bad stories, and makes me feel good), Eve Royal (Happy Canada Day!!), amethyst-dreams27 (who, for some reason, is really high up on my favorite reviewers list), Rainbow Queen (almost the shortest review!), dsangel12 (who wins for the shortest review!), kjesStar (who always give awesome reviews that make me smile), cartoonfire (yes, five year olds give AWESOME advice!), musiclover9419 (not as short as the others!), Erifrats101 (no, not all of my stories are great), and linkinparkh2over (who wins the most descriptive review award again!)
XX
Monday, September 29th, 12:06 PM
It was lunch, and he hadn't eaten a thing in two days, but he wasn't hungry. Not since his screw up with Kory. It had only been once she left had he realized what a mistake he had made. He kept telling himself that there was no use in crying over something that was now out of his control. But, that didn't stop him from feeling horrible about it.
"Richard." He was sure someone called his name, but his mushy food held all of his attention. "Richard!"
He looked up from his tray to see Garfield, madly waving his arms in front of him. "Rich, you have to come see this." Unwillingly pulled from his seat, Richard was dragged outside and into a big crowd. As they got further and further into the deep mass of students, he found himself more and more reluctant to take another step. And as they reached the very edge of the crowd, he wished he hadn't come at all.
Kory Anders, the star attraction, was happily dancing on a bench, twirling around with her eyes closed to the world. There was no dance floor, no music, and no other dancers, but she danced on anyways, not caring about the repercussions.
But he did. He wasn't the one dancing in front of a hundred other students, nor was he the one being laughed at. But, he seemed to experience every emotion she should have been feeling. The humility, the embarrassment, the isolation. It all filled him from head to toe, and he wanted nothing more than for it to stop. He wanted to pull her right of the bench and out of the spotlight, but he couldn't get his limbs to function. They saw a girl embarrassing herself, a girl being stupid. But he saw something else entirely. He saw a girl that fascinated him beyond comprehension, a girl that was like no other. A girl, a person, he wished to know the secrets of.
Before he could blink, he was alone with her, and everyone had gone to class. For some reason, the humility stayed avid in his body, and would continue to make him dizzy until she stopped dancing. "Kory," he spoke, trying in vain to get her attention. "Kory!"
She stopped twirling, turning to look at him with glazed eyes. She was dreaming, far away from earth and out of his grasp. She had heard his voice, but she didn't seem to register much else. "Hello Richard." And yet, she seemed completely sober.
He took no time in stalling, and no time in thinking. The words came naturally, "Kory, I'm sorry about last time. I didn't mean what I said. I mean, I meant to say something, it just didn't come out right."
An elated and giddy grin spread across her face, the one that lit up the room every time she came to school. It was something he saw every day, and each time it made his heart flutter. But, now, it was different. Sincere wasn't the right word for it, because her smiles were always sincere. Now, her smile was sheer beauty. It was full of warmth and gratitude, instead of her usual enchanted grin. It spoke the only thing he wanted to hear: forgiveness.
"What did you mean to say?" Through every word, her smile stayed wide and vibrant.
"I meant to ask you why you're this way," he said. "Why are you so different?"
She was sitting, now. Her eyes were shining up at the sky, her smile died down, but still alive on her face. "To me, a leaf will fall and my heart will ache, and flowers will bloom and I will dance. No one else sees the sun drop in the sky; no one sees the beginning of each season, of each day. I see things differently than others."
He could have thought for hours on end, but none of it would have made sense. In a desperate attempt to understand what she meant, he tried dissecting her words. "How do you see things differently? What do you see differently?"
She smiled up at him, her beauty taking his breath away once again. "You'll have to learn." And then, she walked away.
And he wanted, right now, more than anything, to learn how to see things differently. Because, in all truth, he was sick of the world he saw now. And he was pretty sure no other perspective would make it look any better.
XX
In the weeks that came by so swiftly, and the events that followed, Richard found himself learning more each day. There was no longer an option of following along or not; this was essential. He wouldn't back down from this, because he found himself wanting it more than anything he could remember. It was hard, though, trying to understand things that were on a completely different level. And it seemed the more he found out, the more he became confused.
XX
Choppy AND rushed. Whatdya know, I can be a sucky author… Well, not that that's news to anyone…
Review please! It helps so much!
-Alien