The next week went by in a flash. One moment, I was a newcomer who had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. The next, I felt like I knew the building as well as the back of my hand. I suppose the routine of going there every day gradually branded the school’s outline into my head.
Classes were running smoother than I could’ve ever imagined. One of my main worries was that the honors classes I signed up for would be much too hard for me. Turns out, they were the perfect level of challenging. Easy enough that I could keep up straight As, hard enough that I wasn’t breezing through. In addition, I was slowly starting to get to know people. A few kids in my math class were regularly coming to me for help on our Algebra 2 work, the red-haired junior and his friends in my history class had started waving to me each class period, and Birdie had chosen a permanent seat next to me in English. I’m sure the shock on my face when she plopped down beside me was comical. Her friend, a blonde who either goes by the name Eleanor or Elaine (I couldn’t remember), certainly seemed to think so. I could see her giggling softly over Birdie’s shoulder, though she never uttered a word.
Birdie began by talking with me about our interests, simple small talk stuff. She was quite the history lover, able to recite dates and give you answers to questions you never would’ve thought to ask. I don’t know how she was able to memorize it all, but it only made my awe grow. She loved anything cute, though our definitions of cute were a bit different. Sure, we both agreed that puppies, kittens, and fluffy bunnies were adorable, though Birdie was certain that blobfish, naked mole rats, and proboscis monkeys were the pinnacle of cuteness. In fact, she owned two Syphnx cats and loved Aye-Ayes, long-fingered lemurs with perpetually frightened eyes.
“You seem to have an affinity for ugly things.” She was leaning onto my desk as we spoke, one hand on her face as she studied me like I was something worth examination. “I don’t think I ever would’ve guessed that.”
“Oh, you should see how some people look at me when I tell them that I own hairless cats,” She chuckled, her whole being radiating confidence. I could feel my pupils shifting into hearts with each word she spoke. At this point, I had to look like a Charlie Brown character. “The horror in some people’s eyes is so funny. I don’t see what’s so disgusting about them. The only thing they lack is hair. Imagine if we talked about bald people like that!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, a real, rib-aching guffaw. I hadn’t laughed like that in a while and, to be completely honest, I’m not sure why I found it so hysterical. There was just something about the way she delivered it, the fact that it came from her lips and was her voice, that made it hit ten times as hard. I hadn’t laughed like that in months, years even.
Birdie began laughing as well, her laugh loud and uncontrolled. It was the kind that turned heads and echoed even in a loud building. Nonetheless, it was perfect. Though a few people around us shot her quizzical and slightly annoyed glances, I couldn’t help but fawn. Such beauty, such confidence was in that laugh. She made no effort to subdue herself, to calm it down, just to appease those around her. She was one hundred percent, without hesitation, herself. I loved it.
We soon figured out, through continual discussion, that we shared a lunch period. Supposedly, I had the same one as Leto, but I never could find him. Who knew where the kid was? He never spoke of any other friends, but, then again, I didn’t really either. We simply hung out under the oak tree after school each day, though with work piling up, our time was cut shorter and shorter. In my head, I couldn’t even distinguish his laugh from my own.
“You should come sit with Elaine—” so that was her name, “—and I at lunch tomorrow. My brother and his friends sit with us too. I’m certain you’d have a grand time, Caspian. What do you say?”
It wasn’t like I was going to say no.
