It's been almost half an hour since my new friend and I got talking and I just realized that I dunno her name. "Pardon my manners, we've talked about everything else except our names. I'm Elena and you?"
"Moriah" she smiles. "I didn't realize that either"
"So... Moriah..." I say her name with emphasis because it's the second time I'm meeting someone with such name. "...do you live around here?"
"No. Let's just say I'm a constant traveler. I'm always on the move"
"Oh..." I say, blinking momentarily, somewhat displeased by her response, considering that this might be the last moment I'd get to share with her. She could wake up tomorrow and decide to leave town and travel elsewhere.
"Something wrong, love?" She looks at me with care in her eyes.
A random breeze blows around us which slightly scatters her hair and fills the air with her scent. I sniff gently, taking it all in. "Uhm... nothing, Moriah. It's just that... hanging out with you is fun. But I'm guessing you aren't gonna be around for long".
"Come on, Elena. You don't need to be worrying about that. What happened to you living in the moment?"
"You're right" I chuckle. "You're here now, and it's fun having you around"
She smiles, adjusting the strands of her hair scattered by the breeze.
I sniff again, and again till it becomes obvious so I end up asking. "What fragrance are you wearing?"
"Paco Rabanne" She smiles.
Okay, she's pretty, got charisma and she's also rich. Why would one person have it all? Oh my geez, I wish I were her. I just wanna live her life, mine's too messed up.
"And now you're quiet" She says, coming closer. "You sure nothing's wrong?"
"Well, you're the shrink. Read me". I chuckle.
"I think you look down on yourself a lot. I'm sure you have a wonderful family but you're focusing your happiness on the wrong things... or should I say 'not so important things'... that's why you tend to feel depressed at times. There's nothing exactly wrong with you but you just feel as though you need to be more than what you are or as though you have something to prove". She pauses and smiles. "You want me to keep going?"
"Yes, please". I'm amazed at how easy it is for her to read me.
"Your hair looks so neat and well kept. Not all thirteen year old girls spend time on their looks. So I'm guessing it's something you're used to because you grew up doing it. Your mom must have helped you dress up everyday as a kid and made sure that your hair was prettier than hers. You dress like a girly girl but you're putting on a boy's wristwatch... I'm guessing it belongs to your brother who gave it to you to hold for him while he's out there on the football pitch, sweating it out".
"Yeah, it's his" I smile. How does she do this? She's really good.
"Your brother leaving his watch with you and not in his school bag, that means something. That he trusts you and feels safe with you".
"Yeah... yeah, they do. I've got two brothers. Twins. And I always help them hold their stuff".
She smiles, fixing her gaze on me momentarily before talking. "Your brothers love you, your family loves you... you reek of love!" She chuckles.
"Thanks for that" I smile really hard.
"I might be wrong but you seem like your parents favorite kid... and you're smart, you speak well and you know quite a lot of things. I'm guessing you're your teachers favorite as well"
"You're not wrong". My smile lingers.
"You're doing great at home, you're doing great at school..."
"Uh uhm... not so great at school". I cut in.
"Tell me, what's your lowest grade?" She asks.
"B minus... but I'm not talking about academics, I mean..."
"Your social life" she completes my sentence.
"Yeah, exactly. I suck". I look away.
"You only suck if you believe you do. Sometimes it has to do with your mindset. Enjoy all the good things going on for you, stop seeking the validation of your peers and you'll realize that your life is amazing". She looks me deep in the eye.
"You wanna know what's amazing?" I ask.
"What's that?"
"You" I smile. "You're amazing, Moriah".
"Okay, that's it! Bring it in... right now" She stretches out her arms for a hug.
I'm about to have myself wrapped in Moriah's arms when a shout erupts from the jocks, everywhere falls silent immediately. It looks like the tryout has been disrupted because people are running helter skelter and hovering around a player who's laying on the grass. What's going on? Did someone get hurt? "Gimme a second, Moriah. Let me see what's happening over there, I'll be back" I smile at her before running into the pitch. Why do I have a weird feeling about this? I just hope it's not my brother or else this is gonna be the third time he's getting injured this summer.
I reach the pitch, the center of the chaos and my heart skips a bit. Unfortunately, my suspicions are correct. Watching Elvis lay on the grass, holding his left wrist in pain almost brings me to tears. I inquire about what happened and I'm told that he took a hit from an opposing player and he fell on his wrist. Immediately, he's placed on a stretcher by the Red Cross and is being carried away to a less crowded place so that they can have the wrist properly checked. I follow them, walking just a few steps behind them, but I notice a boy following me. He catches up with my pace.
"I swear on my dad's grave, it was a clean hit. I didn't mean to hurt him"
Oh, I guess he's the boy responsible for the accident. He must have found out that I'm Elvis's sister. I say nothing to him because I've no idea what to say. He mistakes my silence for anger and he goes on pleading.
"I'm really sorry. I... I know I'm a bit bigger but I honestly thought he could take it. What can I do to help? Please say something"
"Hey... it's okay. It's a sport, accidents happen all the time. No one comes to a tryout with the intention of hurting anyone. Just take a breather, drink water or something. My brother will be fine". I look at him briefly before increasing my pace so he can be out of my hair.
We eventually get to a corner of the bleachers, at the bottom front row. Elvis is placed down carefully and boxes of drugs and ointments are brought out. I'm asked to step away from the medics to give them some space to attend to my brother.
"Why the face, dork?" Elvis raises his head and smiles at me. "You're acting like I got shot. Chill out, I'll be fine. I'm a big boy"
"But... that wrist looks like it really hurts" I say with a worried look.
"I'm okay!" He mimicks the Nickelodeon character Captain Man from 'Henry Danger' as he flashes me a thumbs up with his right hand.
I know he's just trying to make me stay calm even while he's in pain. Now I feel bad for getting distracted by Moriah instead of staying to watch his tryouts. "I'm such a bad sister" I mutter, thinking aloud.
"No, you're not"
I look beside me and it's the same boy who tried to apologize earlier. "Are following me?"
"Yes... no, I mean yes. I was following your brother on the stretcher to know how he's doing, you just happened to be around. Not like I'm trying to stalk you or something" he replies, scratching his hair.
"You don't have to do this. Like I said, my brother will be fine. I'm sorry but... you need to leave" I tell him with a straight face. All of a sudden, I find myself admiring his face, realizing that he's kinda cute. He must be an eighth grader because he looks too big to be in the same grade with me.
I'm still staring at the slightly chubby boy. His arms and body look like he's been making conscious effort to burn some fat. He's got black hair and full eyebrows but not bushy, with small lips and freckles under his eyes. Judging his height, he should be about 5 feet 7 inches.
"I'm sorry, I'll stop bothering you" He flashes a friendly smile, about to walk away.
"Hey..." I call out, getting his attention again, he turns around to look at me. "I didn't mean to be rude, you were only being nice... I'm just worried about my brother, that's all"
"I know" He smiles. "He's lucky to have a sister like you who worries about him"
I smile too, looking at his eyes. "I'm Elena".
"Joey" He says, hesitating before opening his mouth again. "I'm not gonna ask for your number but... will I see you around?"
"Probably not" I reply.
"Well, that's okay. In our lives, people come and go, right? I'm just glad I met you today... you made my day" He smiles. "Bye, Elena".
"Bye, Joey" I smile back, watching him leave. Dang it! I would have loved to exchange numbers with him but he wasn't expecting me to ask, was he? He already said he wasn't gonna ask for my number so he doesn't expect me to be the one to ask. Or was that reverse psychology? I'm still contemplating in my head when someone taps me on the shoulder from behind.
"You're already out here stealing hearts, huh?"
"Eric?" I look at him surprised. "You're back early, did the science fair end so quickly?"
"Forget the science fair" He chuckles. "It was a total bust"
"What happened?"
"Some sophomore dude built a huge blender with compartments inside for the purpose of blending about three to four different things all at once..."
"That's a brilliant idea" I interrupt.
"Yeah. Everyone was feeling his invention until..." He chuckles "wait for it..." He starts laughing "It exploded!"
"What?!" My mouth is hung open. "Why? What caused it?"
"I dunno exactly. I considered heat or pressure, or too much food stuffed inside, I dunno. But that's not the funny part" He laughs again.
"Then get to the funny part!" I hit his chest playfully.
"All the fruits and food that were stuffed in the blender..."
"Oh my geez!" My eyes widen.
"Yes, yes... I'm sure you can guess how this story ends. It splashed all over the hall. The principal, the judges, the volunteers... everyone got their share of the splash. I mean, look at me!" He laughs hard, pointing at a stain on his T-shirt.
"Whoa, that must have been horrible" I join him laughing.
"He must have built it with a faulty electric motor. Stephen Poplawski, Williams Emerson Ritter and Edward W. Scripps would be disappointed in him"
"Am I supposed to know who these are?" I make a face.
"Oh, the first name I mentioned is the inventor of blenders and then the last two are the originators of the idea of science fairs" He smiles.
"You're such a nerd, oh my geez!" I give him an uninterested look and he laughs.
"Hey, dumb ass!" Eric waves at Elvis. "Heard what happened. How many times are you gonna get hurt this summer?"
"As many times as possible" He smirks. "No gain, no pain"
"Uhm... I don't think that's how the saying goes" Eric takes a step closer to the medics.
Oh my geez! I just remembered that I left Moriah, would she still be waiting for me? "Guys, I'll be back"
"Where are you going and when will you be back?" Eric asks.
"Chill out, officer" I raise a brow. "I wanna quickly check on a friend"
"Oh, is it the jock I saw you with some minutes ago? You like the big guy, huh? Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell mom and dad that you kissed anybody, your secret's safe with me" He gestures like he's zipping up his mouth.
"What the h... you don't even know what you're talking about. Stay out of my business, dork!" I roll my eyes, walking away. Crazy of him to assume that I'm sneaking off to hook up with Joey who I just met. Not like it's a completely bad idea though, I wouldn't mind if it happened, I'm open to new experiences. But right now I just wanna find Moriah. Where the hell are you, shrink?