Tuesday, 14th June
I've been all about rhubarb this spring. I mean, what's not to love?
A rhubarb crisp with crunchy streusel topping? To die for. Or just chop it, put in the pan with a splash of water and a few tablespoons of brown sugar. Cook until it becomes soft and light brown in colour, spoon into the prettiest bowl on sight and enjoy while it's still warm. Or the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie I brought to school in the morning, still warm? Everyone loved it.
But I'm not here to write about my rhubarb obsession!
I'm here to write about today. And of course, Jack.
"That's no less of an obsession," Merida points out as she looks over my shoulder and reads my writing. I shoot her a glare. She sticks out her tongue at me in return.
Right.
I skipped class again today, but only because I needed to catch a bus to see my friend's exhibition which I promised to her I wouldn't miss. Actually, no, I promised it to myself. Now, which bus do I need to take? 486. Buses that go outside our region always have these crazy numbers. I remembered that Jack and Hiccup, who both take this bus everyday, simply call it "6". I would need to get off of it in Burgess and catch another bus.
Burgess. It's not often that I visit the town. Why does Jack need to live so far away from -
"Hey Punz."
I turned around and the next thing I saw was Jack's pale lips smiling at me straight in the face (Jack is obviously taller than me.) His part of class always finishes one hour sooner than mine on Tuesdays.
"How did you manage to escape from Physics?" he asked, probably in expectation of some morally wrong and wicked plan I made in order to get out of school. He did tell me he thought I was crazy, after all.
"I excused myself."
"Pfft."
The 486 bus turned around the corner and began to slow down. "Ah, that's my ride," I said.
"You're going to Burgess with me?" he asked. To Burgess. With me. I didn't even start to count the times I wanted to hear this sentence.
I nodded. "Yeah."
We got on the bus. Jack let me go first (how gentleman-like), so I walked farther into the bus in hopes for free seats. I found one double seat at the very back and plonked onto it before anyone else could occupy it. I moved closer to the window so that Jack could sit next to me.
"Excellent choice of seats," Jack said and I could sense a slight playful tease in his voice.
I chuckled. "Well, it was mathematically inevitable."
He laughed. I loved the easy and relaxed atmosphere. I loved that I would have him just for myself for so long. That day, I loved everything.
During the next hour of bus ride, we discussed a lot. Like our summer plans (he was going abroad for a month to visit his relatives, like he did every year. I wanted to go with him. He always told me so much about his travels and it sounded amazing!) Or graduation. Or movies (one of our favourite topics. We both suggested we should go to the cinema to see some.) Or theatres (we were just going to one the following day! And it was one of the more representative ones. I hoped Jack would wear his navy blue suit.)
When we got off the bus in Burgess, he offered to walk me to the next station (I wouldn't find it on my own anyway) and when we found out the bus wasn't going for another twenty minutes, he waited with me.
The late spring sun tickled our cheeks, soft breeze played with our hair and we were warm at heart. There were no people walking the streets, no children playing in the gardens. There was no sign that the time was passing. I didn't think of time at all.
"So, where are you going, if I may know?" Jask asked with a hint of poetry in that if I may know.
Of course you may. I would probably tell you anything, if you asked. "To my friend's exhibition opening, I'd like to surprise her. Why is there such a problem with surprises, though? They hardly ever work out. Like that one time I wanted to visit Merida and ended up waiting in front of her house for one hour. It was freezing. She wasn't at home."
He didn't laugh, he just contemplatively replied: "Well, you managed to surprise me."
I shot a glance at him.
"When you came to dance lesson with Tooth, that was a nice surprise."
I smiled. "Yeah." It was a nice evening.
He didn't mention the lesson that was after this one and it left my own mind as quickly as it came. But I remembered what he told me that evening when I told him I thought I forgot all the steps.
If I led you? You'd know how to dance every single dance, I think. And then he hugged me.
I hid the memories away and told Jack my brief history of surprises gone wrong. He laughed at the stories with that beautiful sincere ring to it.
"By the way, I loved the pie you brought today."
"Oh thank you! I'm actually planning to bake cherry pie this summer, too. I don't know where I'll get the cherries, though. Maybe I could get them from my relatives? They have a cherry tree." I was rambling, but I didn't think about it and he didn't seem to mind.
"Or you can get cherries from us. We have a tree."
"You do?" Do you think I could google "houses with a cherry tree in Burgess"?
"Yeah. I'm sure mum wouldn't mind giving you some."
"That would be nice."
We fell silent for a moment. I inhaled the fresh mountain air and observed the view - I could see my tiny house on the horizon. I wondered why we had to live so far apart again.
Jack sighed. "I don't want to go home."
"Then come with me," I offered.
"I can't. Too much schoolwork."
"So you will let the lady go alone, huh?" I gestured overdramatically so that he knew I wasn't trying to push him or anything.
But he played along. "You're trying to play the emotion card, aren't you?"
"Was worth the try."
We both laughed. The bus appeared from around the corner and I felt like talking Jack into coming with me, but I knew it wouldn't be fair. So I just stood up, thanked him for waiting with me and wished him good luck with schoolwork with a slight tease in voice.
Jack made an annoyed frown, rolled his eyes and then smirked in a typical Jack Frost fashion. "Bye Punz. See you tomorrow. Enjoy the exhibition!"
I got on the bus, he waved at me and left the bus stop. I ran to the back of the bus to watch him walk home and when he got off my sight, I slid down on the seat and looked outside the window. Though I was too absent-minded to pay attention to the countryside running by.
