The Girl At The Last

Chapter 17

Alex

The sky was soft and blue, scattered clouds fading into thin dusty freckles.

An evening in Summersville was everything compared to Orlando, this town was the definition of calm and peace. I wish I could talk the same about the people here.

The door to the house behind me closes as an old man enters after watering his plants. I have been observing him for about fifteen minutes now. That could be me, old, alone, and only source of companion as trees.

The street was lonely once again.

Leaning my shoulder against the pole I shuffled through the packet of cigarettes. Shoving one in my mouth, I cupped my hands in front of it while my left-clicks on the lighter.

The ascending train horns blare somewhere from afar, and the chirping of the birds circulated me. But my train of thoughts confused me like an asymmetrical illusion in a kaleidoscope. Not nature but a puff of smoke did put an end to it.

My chest felt light and before I knew it I was on third.

They say anger ruins everything, and it does. People see the person with extreme anger as a monster who is not in control of himself. Like a wild beast out of cage.

That's what I am. Every single day the guilt eats me, how my single action taken in anger changed so many lives.

Yet I did it again.

I tried to stop, but nobody listened. Maybe sometimes action does speak louder than words.

She was scared of me, I could see the fright in those grey eyes. I think I lost a friend.

The moment I saw the commotion in the canteen and her a target of it, everything in me snapped. I had to do it.

Do I regret?

Yes, I do regret not burning that place down.

"Is there a reason why you are hanging out around a trashcan?" startled I turn around to face a distraught looking Elaine, her hair in a messy pony, loose strands danced around her forehead in course of open wind. On her side was a garbage bag.

"I-I was- "her eyes diverted to my almost dying bud in between my fingers. Her lips drew thin. Disapproval and frown confirmed anger.

She took heavy strides, walks past me. Dumping the bag into the trash with a loud thud. The amusing part was she did all of this with her eyes sternly focused on mine. I bet she imagined the trash to be me as well. While admiring nature I did fail to realize that the street dumpster was just a few steps away from me.

That explains the muddled look of the old man a while back.

Elaine wiped her palms across jeans and stood facing me. Craned her face due to her height, but still tried to look intimidating.

"You just have to admit that you are embarrassed because of me and can stop being weird while attempting to avoid me" her glare wavered as she folded her hands across her chest.

Initially, I blinking, the intensity of her ideology settling in as perplexed I frowned.

"I wasn't avoiding you, why would I even be embar-"I insinuated but she cut me off.

"Oh spare me the excuses, I saw you in school today. But you skipped the exact two classes we shared. Is that not enough confirmation?" irritation oozed out of her words. "I know you don't want to be friends with a sorry excuse of a girl who gets bullied, nobody does"

This was not what I expected, Is that what she believed?

"Is that what you think? So low of me? Does degrading yourself makes you feel good, is that how your mind works? Now listen to this, i just happened to realize that my way of dealing things is just going to make things worse for you, I avoided you because I thought that's what you wanted. After that day atleast"