"Freak."

"Faggot"

"ggaaayyyyyy"

"ewww get away from me, sicko!"

Aleck sighs as he walks into work. Yes, work. You'd think that when teenagers are at work, they would be a little respectful towards him! But, no. They aren't. When he stands behind the cash register, he sees a girl walk up. The way she looks at him, he knows she heard what his co-workers had said about him. He braces himself for the harsh words, but none come. She says nothing at all. The gleam in her eyes tells him she understands what it feels like to be an outcast. Her lips turn up at the edges slightly, but not before he notices, she quickly puts a straight face on and wraps her body in the protection of her arms. Looking up, she mumbles her order while twirling a piece of dyed black hair around her finger. As she goes to hand him her money, he shakes his head, smiles and says, "It's on me." He finally gets a smile out of her when he hands her the warm chocolate fudge. "Are you free in about...*looks at his watch* 15 minutes? I get my break then." Aleck says with a smile on his face. "ummm...yea. I'll be over there...my name's Aria by the way." She says softly and walks over to a table in the back. 15 minutes later, Aleck takes his break and goes over to sit across from Aria. "Hi" she mumbles, taking a small piece of fudge and rolling it between her fingers. "Thank you for the fudge, by the way."

"No, I should be thanking you." Aleck says seriously. Aria gives him a confused look, waiting for him to explain. "I know you heard what they said back there. Most people laugh, or join in. You are the first one who didn't. You looked at me like you really understood...I want to thank you for that."

"Well...I...is it true?" She looks at him curiously. Aleck laughs and nods his head, not needing to explain himself further. "Why?" He asks her. "Why what?" She responds with a small smile. "Why didn't you say anything? Any other person would...so why didn't you?" He asks as if it is the most simple question in the world. "I know how it feels to be made fun of...why do it to other people if you can't handle it yourself?" Aria tells him with her head down. Aleck smiles, leans across the table and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "You seem like a really great girl, Aria..."

"Hendricks. Aria Hendricks."

"Aria Hendricks. I like it." He smiles, holding her eyes with his.

"and you are?" Aria asks, suddenly realizing she hadn't asked yet.

"Aleck. My name is Aleck." Aria waits for him to say his last name, but he never does. She gets a nervous feeling in her stomach and stands up so fast, the chair flips over. Stuttering, she says, "Well...I...umm...I-I...I should g-go..."

"Are you ok, Aria? Do you need some water?" Aleck asks, genuinely worried. Before he can say another word, she runs as fast as she can out the door. He watches as she runs, wondering what he had done to upset her. Going back to work, Aleck can't get his mind off Aria. It's like her face was glued to his mind. The way her hair fell in bouncy black curls around her heart shaped face, her blue eyes, so striking against her pale face. He closes his eyes and sighs, still wondering what he did that would make her run so nervously. Even though he had only gotten to talk to her for all of 10 minutes, he already felt like he had known her his whole life. He immediately got a sisterly feeling from her. He never had a sister, but he thinks he just found one.

WORK ON HUMOR