The Winds of Change (NaNoWriMo 2012 Day 3)

~ CHAPTER 3 ~

"No expression, no expression.."

The final months of the boy’s fifth grade school year were strange at best, but also interesting. He’d finally gotten a grasp on how to correctly solve those troublesome division problems given to him nearly every day by that stuffy old teacher. Even if it was only because he learned the difference between the dividend, divisor, quotient, and the remainder because he made him point at them on the dry erase board fifty times each. Practice makes perfect, he guessed. It was at this point, however, that he decided that he had a mild dislike for mathematics. Yet, he’d been told constantly by other teachers as well as his parents that the mysterious three years that consisted of middle school were a much higher step above the content and agendas practiced in basic elementary school, hence the "elementary" bit. The boy didn’t quite know how he felt about this, because he had a feeling that they were just saying these things to make sure the children they were teaching were completely prepared for the next grade level. He had no doubt it would be more difficult. I mean, what’s the point of having another grade level if it’s not at least somewhat challenging? However, he still felt rather invasive regardless, and this was an odd feeling indeed. We’re getting off topic though.

It was near the end of spring, and the boy’s daydreaming habit was stronger than ever. He would come into class every day, quickly – and almost carelessly – finish his work for the day before drifting off into an imaginary land, where nothing was ever as boring or annoying as sitting in the same spot for eight hours a day and listening to the wind blow. He’d gotten the art of "not getting caught" down to a science now, and had discovered that if he sat a certain way, and propped his arm against his head, he could successfully make it seem like he was being a perfect little student, doing his assignments quietly and obediently. He would learn in time that this provided additional benefits as well. The small desks in the boy’s classroom were bunched into groups of four each. They were pushed together to make cubes around the room, an organization method that was common among this teacher. He would constantly shift around the desks to which held the students’ assigned seating without any sort of warning in an attempt to sift out any conversation between them. It was a bit of a annoyance, the boy thought. But not something that couldn’t easily be gotten over.

It was quite unexpected. Perhaps the most unexpected thing that had ever happened to him, and probably one of the most significant things that had ever happened as well. She was the oldest in the class, and had transferred from an out of state school during the middle of the year. Bright, shiny blond hair, with crystal blue eyes and a smile that could kill. An hourglass figure with a personality that could warm up a penguin, he couldn’t do anything but believe it was fate when they were sorted together in a group. At first, nothing happened. The calm before the storm. Several days went by and they had grown to be friends. This was common between table mates, and the boy thought nothing of it. They’d sit next to each other in extracurricular classes such as Art and Science, and sometimes even in the cafeteria for Lunch. He definitely didn’t think anything of it at all, and most certainly found it as a shocking occurrence when completely out of the blue, he was passed a note from this blond bombshell with only three words scrawled into the paper: "I like you."

Bright red. Hands shaking. Head numb. What in the WORLD was going on?! Wait, no. That wasn’t right – he knew exactly what was happening. But he couldn’t believe it. He was blown away so far that his mind had reached the next town over by the time his eyes reached the period on that one, small, powerful sentence. Stupefied in utter disbelief and curiosity, he slowly looked up at the girl sitting across from him. The one he’d been daydreaming about for ages, the one who he’d been spending time with non stop, the one who was staring right at him…and she was smiling. It was inconceivable. How could he have missed such a thing? He’d noticed that romanticism was beginning to become something of a fad in his other classmates, but he knew that it required not only physical attraction, but also a charming personality, two of the things he, up until this moment, believed that he had neither of. Maybe he had misread it. He looked back down at the note. Nope, no error. Perhaps it wasn’t meant for him? That must be it. Just to be certain, he pointed to himself with an expression that only said "Me?" The girl nodded, still smiling. He felt his breath growing short. "Why?" he mouthed silently. She gently reached over and pulled the slip of notebook paper from his fingers, and began writing something more.

During this time, the boy noticed two things. One, that the other two members of his table group had large, knowing, and sly smiles on their faces. This only made his eyes widen further, as it suddenly made him realize that they too were good friends of the girl, and he’d even hung out with all three of them at more than one point in time. Two, that it seemed like an eternity had passed since she first passed him the note. He begun panicking. Where was the teacher? He’d surely take the note from them if he discovered they were passing them around. What if he read it aloud? Oh, the humiliation he’d endure. Worse yet, if the teacher took the note, he wouldn’t be able to find out what she’s writing! Quickly, the boy swiveled around in his chair. A whole world of relief was released from the boy’s chest when he saw the old man sitting in his desk across the room, focused quite heavily on what looked like some important paperwork. Speaking of important paperwork, it was right about then when his arm was touched lightly with the re-folded note. He spun around quickly again. The girl was still smiling, and the boy thought, as he quietly unfolded the paper, that this was beginning to look like one of his daydreams. Perhaps he WAS dreaming. Maybe that stuffy windbag had a point…

He breathed a steady sigh, and shakily lifted the last fold from the paper. He was almost afraid to look at what she’d written. The fact that this was happening at all was imponderable. Unbelievable! And also..perhaps, maybe just a little bit wonderful. He’d never experienced anything at all like this before. It was very strange. He felt like a large group of butterflies had suddenly taken flight in the pit of his stomach, and his cheeks felt hot red. Was this just because it was Spring? He had heard it mentioned once in a book that Spring was the most active time for courtships such as these to happen. But how did it happen, was what he began to wonder as his nerves calmed down to a normal, human level. He wasn’t exactly the most attractive person in this class. His hair had grown out a bit, and was now slightly passed his ears. All shades of blond had faded into a dark brown, as a result of spending more and more time inside playing video games. "I’ve grown taller.." he supposed. However, he was still not one of the tallest kids in his class by any means. This was a conundrum. He quite possibly the most

average person in this room. Why would anyone pick him for, well, anything? He looked down at the paper, and the words scribbled on it only further unhinged any logical grasp that his mind had placed on this situation so far. "I think you’re cute."

Cute? Cute?! Of all the things that people have called him throughout his school years: shy, awkward, quiet, creepy, even dumb.. cute was not one of these things. Any emotions that the boy had felt thus far had absolutely no definition for this, and therefore he responded with almost robotic like senses, by reciprocating the same sentence back at her, almost without thinking. As he passed the note, and observed her opening it, he noticed that his senses were, more or less, fried. So much so that his mind completely failed to register the fact that she smiled wider, and even giggled upon seeing his response. What exactly was happening to him? Was it selfishness? Stupidity? Denseness? He wouldn’t know for some time, but as these two people locked eyes for yet another time, one smiling and confident, the other bewildered and awestruck, a new relationship was developing. The first relationship, in fact. A weight suddenly felt like it was being dropped in the boy’s stomach as an old reminder came back into the light. It wasn’t because of his height, or his hair. It wasn’t because he was one of the most average people around, or that he was noticeably different than most of his other classmates. This was because of his personality, and it had returned in full force. In fact, it had never left. He’d only ignored its existence. As the day closed, and the new couple made sure to dispose of the note in several shredded pieces so nobody else would discover this,the boy had his mind set on many things that were quite different from video games. From a fantasy land of monsters, imaginary heroes and epic adventures, to emotions, nervousness, and that warm fuzzy feeling that reminded him of drinking hot chocolate – it all became very clear that these new feelings weren’t to be ignored like the last, or he would dare suffer the consequences that would result in such an act.