He's doing it again. The fake laugh, the fake smile, the overall fakeness. She hates it when he does that. She knows he can feel her watching him. She wants him to feel her watching him. She needs him to know she's still looking for him, still trying to find him, still waiting for him. Just like he asked her too. Sure, he probably didn't mean it that way, it was most likely in reference to later plans, but she kept waiting and tried to put those thoughts behind her. She could still remember it, the day he asked her to wait, she could still see the something in his eyes that made her want to wait forever.
---
"Hey Lizzie!" Gordo smiled brightly as he approached his long time best friend in front of her locker. He figured it was probably too early for anyone to smile as brightly as he was, but oh well. She kinda just brought it out of him no matter what time of day it was. That's probably why she'd been such a close friend for so long.
"Hey Gordo where ya been? Did you get the math homework done?" Lizzie returned the bright smile and Gordo thought maybe he was wrong about the early morning business. Then he thought maybe he brought it out of her, the way she brought it out of him. He quickly brushed the thoughts aside.
"Yeah, why? Did you have trouble with it?" He leaned his back up against the locker beside her open one, as she furrowed through hers in search of her math book.
"Mhm, I couldn't figure out number 16 for the life of me. I was gonna call you but...damn it, where's my math book?" Gordo chuckled softly as Lizzie continued searching, mumbling to herself and at times to him. He reached behind her and into her backpack and pulled out the answer to her problems at the moment.
"You think you maybe left it at home?" He asked, the smile present in his voice. She shook her head sighed impatiently, accompanied by a quick stomp of her foot.
"I know I had it, I was looking it over on the way here. This cannot be pos-" Gordo couldn't hold the gales of laughter inside as he watched Lizzie's expression go from shock, to confusion, to anger when she realized he was holding her book out in front of her. It had to be one of the prettiest things he'd ever seen from her. Wait. What?
"Gordo you brat! Give me that. Now I'm not gonna ask your help, I'm gonna go ask..." Miranda chose then to walk up to the two.
"Yo yo home dogs." She greeted cheerfully. Gordo nodded his 'hello' and Lizzie smiled.
"MIRANDA!" Lizzie cried triumphantly, finishing her sentence where she had last been interrupted. Miranda all but jumped ten feet into the air, which only caused Gordo to laugh more.
"Jeez. Someone's happy to see me." Miranda quipped sarcastically.
"Ha, no. I was just telling Gordo here that since he thinks it's so cute when I stress, that I'm going to have to ask someone else for help on math. And here you are. So did you ge-" It didn't seem to be Lizzie's day for finishing sentences. Before she got the chance to ask Miranda for help, the bell rang, and the school halls filled with the noisy hustle and bustle of kids trying to get to class.
"Guess I can't help ya Liz, gotta get to History. See ya 3rd period." And with that Miranda was off down the hall to her classroom. Gordo smiled at Lizzie, the smile that said 'guess your stuck with me for help after all' without words. And Lizzie got the message. She giggled softly, eliciting a strange flutter in Gordo's gut, and rolled her friendly brown eyes.
"Come on Gordo, let's get to cl-" Once again Lizzie was interrupted.
"Hey David! You're not gonna believe what my dad got me this weekend man..." Someone, whose name Lizzie didn't know, came up to Gordo, talking a mile a minute. Lizzie could hardly understand what was being said. Of course this wasn't new to her, for the past two weeks Lizzie had had to endure this from one camera nerd, or another. Not that it mattered that they were camera nerds, she was sure they were nice enough, she just didn't like the effect they were taking on Gordo. He wasn't around as much, and when he was he had another camera nerd hanging around. He was kind of becoming distant; she was actually starting to miss him even though she saw him everyday. It wasn't at all like it used to be, and that scared her.
"Hey Gordo, we gotta get to class." She spoke up, a bit loudly, interrupting the conversation he was having about this guy's new camera. Gordo barely even glanced at her.
"I'm gonna go check out Kevin's new camera real quick." He paused and this time he did look at Lizzie. Right in the eyes, and she saw something flash in there. Something she didn't recognize. Now, maybe it was just her imagination, maybe it wasn't, all she knew was that what he said next meant something more than it should have. Something a whole lot more. It was like a secret message had been sent through that split second flash in his eyes.
"Just wait for me, ok?" And with that he was gone. Jogging down the hall with Kevin in search of a camera. And Lizzie was left baffled in the now empty halls, struck silent by whatever had just happened.
---
Maybe she was making it up. Maybe she had imagined it. But something inside her told her to wait, just like he had asked. There were other instances, times when he would be talking with Lizzie and get distracted, or have to go somewhere, and he'd turn to her and look her straight in the eye and ask the same thing. -Wait for me, ok?- And every single time Lizzie took it as another secret message. He was telling her that he was still coming back, some day, he just needed her to wait for him. And she did. She always did.
Sure there were times when she'd sit and she'd wonder if he was really in there, somewhere, just waiting for the right time to come back. Sometimes she'd wonder if he was gone forever, and she was waiting for nothing. Sometimes she'd wonder if he knew he was never coming back and was only asking her to wait because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, or upset her. Sometimes she'd wonder if he knew she was waiting, or if he'd forgotten, or thinks she's pretending to wait, or thinks she's already stopped waiting. Sometimes she'd wonder if he really wanted her to wait for him, or if she was just waiting because she knew that if she didn't then he was really gone. But then she'd stop wondering, and she'd push all the wondering out of her mind and keep waiting. She had to wait. She just had to.
---
"Hey Lizzie!" Gordo smiled brightly as he approached his long time best friend in front of her locker. He figured it was probably too early for anyone to smile as brightly as he was, but oh well. She kinda just brought it out of him no matter what time of day it was. That's probably why she'd been such a close friend for so long.
"Hey Gordo where ya been? Did you get the math homework done?" Lizzie returned the bright smile and Gordo thought maybe he was wrong about the early morning business. Then he thought maybe he brought it out of her, the way she brought it out of him. He quickly brushed the thoughts aside.
"Yeah, why? Did you have trouble with it?" He leaned his back up against the locker beside her open one, as she furrowed through hers in search of her math book.
"Mhm, I couldn't figure out number 16 for the life of me. I was gonna call you but...damn it, where's my math book?" Gordo chuckled softly as Lizzie continued searching, mumbling to herself and at times to him. He reached behind her and into her backpack and pulled out the answer to her problems at the moment.
"You think you maybe left it at home?" He asked, the smile present in his voice. She shook her head sighed impatiently, accompanied by a quick stomp of her foot.
"I know I had it, I was looking it over on the way here. This cannot be pos-" Gordo couldn't hold the gales of laughter inside as he watched Lizzie's expression go from shock, to confusion, to anger when she realized he was holding her book out in front of her. It had to be one of the prettiest things he'd ever seen from her. Wait. What?
"Gordo you brat! Give me that. Now I'm not gonna ask your help, I'm gonna go ask..." Miranda chose then to walk up to the two.
"Yo yo home dogs." She greeted cheerfully. Gordo nodded his 'hello' and Lizzie smiled.
"MIRANDA!" Lizzie cried triumphantly, finishing her sentence where she had last been interrupted. Miranda all but jumped ten feet into the air, which only caused Gordo to laugh more.
"Jeez. Someone's happy to see me." Miranda quipped sarcastically.
"Ha, no. I was just telling Gordo here that since he thinks it's so cute when I stress, that I'm going to have to ask someone else for help on math. And here you are. So did you ge-" It didn't seem to be Lizzie's day for finishing sentences. Before she got the chance to ask Miranda for help, the bell rang, and the school halls filled with the noisy hustle and bustle of kids trying to get to class.
"Guess I can't help ya Liz, gotta get to History. See ya 3rd period." And with that Miranda was off down the hall to her classroom. Gordo smiled at Lizzie, the smile that said 'guess your stuck with me for help after all' without words. And Lizzie got the message. She giggled softly, eliciting a strange flutter in Gordo's gut, and rolled her friendly brown eyes.
"Come on Gordo, let's get to cl-" Once again Lizzie was interrupted.
"Hey David! You're not gonna believe what my dad got me this weekend man..." Someone, whose name Lizzie didn't know, came up to Gordo, talking a mile a minute. Lizzie could hardly understand what was being said. Of course this wasn't new to her, for the past two weeks Lizzie had had to endure this from one camera nerd, or another. Not that it mattered that they were camera nerds, she was sure they were nice enough, she just didn't like the effect they were taking on Gordo. He wasn't around as much, and when he was he had another camera nerd hanging around. He was kind of becoming distant; she was actually starting to miss him even though she saw him everyday. It wasn't at all like it used to be, and that scared her.
"Hey Gordo, we gotta get to class." She spoke up, a bit loudly, interrupting the conversation he was having about this guy's new camera. Gordo barely even glanced at her.
"I'm gonna go check out Kevin's new camera real quick." He paused and this time he did look at Lizzie. Right in the eyes, and she saw something flash in there. Something she didn't recognize. Now, maybe it was just her imagination, maybe it wasn't, all she knew was that what he said next meant something more than it should have. Something a whole lot more. It was like a secret message had been sent through that split second flash in his eyes.
"Just wait for me, ok?" And with that he was gone. Jogging down the hall with Kevin in search of a camera. And Lizzie was left baffled in the now empty halls, struck silent by whatever had just happened.
---
Maybe she was making it up. Maybe she had imagined it. But something inside her told her to wait, just like he had asked. There were other instances, times when he would be talking with Lizzie and get distracted, or have to go somewhere, and he'd turn to her and look her straight in the eye and ask the same thing. -Wait for me, ok?- And every single time Lizzie took it as another secret message. He was telling her that he was still coming back, some day, he just needed her to wait for him. And she did. She always did.
Sure there were times when she'd sit and she'd wonder if he was really in there, somewhere, just waiting for the right time to come back. Sometimes she'd wonder if he was gone forever, and she was waiting for nothing. Sometimes she'd wonder if he knew he was never coming back and was only asking her to wait because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, or upset her. Sometimes she'd wonder if he knew she was waiting, or if he'd forgotten, or thinks she's pretending to wait, or thinks she's already stopped waiting. Sometimes she'd wonder if he really wanted her to wait for him, or if she was just waiting because she knew that if she didn't then he was really gone. But then she'd stop wondering, and she'd push all the wondering out of her mind and keep waiting. She had to wait. She just had to.