“Matthew? It’s really you?!” I couldn’t help but stumble to my feet in surprise. “You’re all muscle now! And where’d that chin hair come from?”
He reached up to scratch at the scruff on his face, as though I’d reminded him it was there. “It’s not a beard; it’s just some scruff I haven’t shaved yet. I’ve returned home for a few months on break, and I suppose I let myself go.”
Birdie finally came over, having left her brother scolded to a pulp. “Oh, it’s so nice to see you both again! It’s been forever. How are you both getting along?”
Matthew turned his gaze to her, his expression softening ever so slightly. “Birdie, it’s great to see you as well. I feel you’ve gotten taller.”
“Don’t remind her! She thinks she’s better than me just cause she’s almost my height.” I scoffed, feigning irritation. When I went to stick out my tongue, I found myself met with the sweet taste of honey. It was all down my chin! I’d have to get it off before the ceremony.
“I’ll be back in a moment. I’ve got to wash my face off.”
Heading off down the hall, I reached up a hand to feel at my chin. Just as I’d suspected, it was covered in strands of sticky, golden ooze. Why hadn’t anyone told me? They must not have seen it. Either that, or they’d wanted me to make a fool out of myself. Almanzo probably wanted something he could use against me in the future.
Pushing open the door to the bathroom, I dipped my face into the sink, turning on the cold water. It was a shock to my skin, causing me to furrow my brow against the cold downpour. The school sinks had always been violent, just like the hose at my old preschool. Leto had sprayed me with that more times than I could count.
Leto.
I hadn’t thought of him in months. Just as he’d–no, I’d–wanted, he soon became nothing more than a memory. At first, just as I’d suspected, I still caught glimpses of his blonde hair behind the oak tree. I’d seen him out of the corner of my eye the first few times I walked by the park, sitting on the monkey bars with a sandwich between his hands. However, when I turned to look, he was always gone. I suppose my brain was just rewiring itself. Soon, though, I was able to walk by the tree without thinking of him. I walked by the park and saw not an old hangout spot, but a place where youth and childish joy blossomed. My mind became focused on the real people that I met and spoke with every day.
Now, thinking of him under the sink, I could see only the young boy I’d befriended in preschool. I didn’t see him as a teenager, but as a toddler, swinging on the swings and pushing me down the slides. I saw him excited about soccer, his grin lop-sided and shoulders as awkward as any child’s. I saw Leto for who he’d really been, not for who I’d made him. It was a comfort being able to remember him like that.
Shutting off the water, I shook off my face and looked in the mirror. To my surprise, I saw a dark-haired Leto looking back at me, one with long, black hair and glimmering blue eyes. I saw a Leto with a girl who cared about him and friends who had come all the way back to high school to see him graduate. I saw a Leto with my own face.
