Again, he waited for any change of expression, but when he had none, he continued. I was mostly interested in knowing more about that strange girl. I needed to know why she was like that, especially why she had never interacted with anyone but then on my first day she warns me to stay away and then assaulted me.
"So Lily...she's mostly quiet and doesn't like to interact with people much. As you already know she has no friends and doesn't care what happens around her; let's say she lives in her world and only does what she needs to do to survive. Did you notice any of these facts on your first day, or to be more precise, on your first encounter with her?"
This had to be a rhetorical question, so I did not attempt to answer him. "I guess you didn't know all these. You might have been wondering why people refused to interact with you after she hurt you and concluded that she was everyone's favorite or popular that's why they hate you so much. Well, it's quite the opposite. They dislike her antisocial behavior to the extent that they also chose to hate you since she interacted with you."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," I said genuinely. I guessed I was disliked because a girl attacked me, a gorgeous one too at that, but then it turns out they didn't hate me in the slightest, It was her they hated instead. I never expected her situation to be that bad.
"At home, she's quiet but not mute. she speaks some and smiles, even laughs. Teachers always called her mother and me to ask us to help her open up to her classmates at least, saying it's not good for her health, but she'll never interact with them. I...we decided to stop forcing her to open up fearing she might close up to even us. It would make things worse if she stopped smiling even at home don't you think?"
Another rhetorical question
"I understood all that, but then on your first day, she was to be your group member but then she attacked you and disappeared. Normally she wouldn't care at all about whatever that stuff was. She'd make sure she had no teammate, but... Christopher, you see you're the first person she's interacted with and her first act to attack you. I know you might not want to know too much about this, but I believe it is required even though the next parts may make you uncomfortable. Are you okay with that Christopher?"
I found myself nodding "I have no problem with knowing this sir, but if you see me able to help, I would do what I can to help as long as it doesn't pose a threat to me and others. Not to sound rude but that's what I think," I answered and from his expression, I could say he wasn't disappointed with my answer. Well, I accepted to help him though and watched as his expression became grave.
"There is one thing though that I still haven't figured out. The day she attacked you she didn't come home. She disappeared for the whole day with no trace," I listened quietly as he explained further, getting more and more interested and eager to understand more. "...She came back two days later and I could tell there was something different about her. I know my Lily, I have watched her ever since she was a baby up to this point and I can see when there's a difference no matter how little it is. She's a bit different and I feel it might have to do with what happened eleven days ago. My thoughts are baseless though but trust me on this Christopher. Can you?"
He threw the question at me from out of the blue, and after listening, I wasn't so sure what to say. This was a father who cared greatly for and loved his daughter, his only child, and he believed I could help her overcome whatever it was she was going through. The honesty in his voice and the seriousness in his gaze; the flames I felt burning behind those eyes made me want to trust him. He wanted my help or needed my help, I couldn't tell which or if it was even both, but whichever option it was, I could tell he believed I could help him, but…what did I think? Could I help, should I help? Lily…what are you up to?
"Do you?" He asked me again and I was pulled back to reality. Did I trust him or not? I looked into his eyes carefully and knew I could trust him, but why should I? What was this feeling within me? I didn't have time to dwell on such things. It was a yes or a no. Help or don't help. These were the options I had and I didn't know whether I would regret my decision, I didn't even think of that at all as I took a deep breath and calmed my body down before speaking. Normally, I would think it through thoroughly, choose my words carefully and practice some scenarios in my head of what could happen before opening my mouth, but I didn't want to. I knew my words may have seemed inappropriate if I thought them through, so I just said whatever crossed my mind first.
"I think I can trust your judgment and what you see and notice, but I believe you know I cannot entirely trust you because you're a stranger."
He listened to my choice of words and I could say he understood what I meant.
"I understand you, Christopher. We only just met and I'm asking for your trust. I'm only appealing to you, but before we can start anything, I need a definite answer. Do you trust me?"
Again I had to answer, but more clearly
"Yes, I trust you but I don't see any way I can help you or Lily. I don't even know anything about her."
I didn't like it, but I could feel something else within me, was I glad that I was helping Lily? Maybe I did want to see her, although on a percentage I'd say 15%. She was the prettiest girl I'd seen so far. Which guy wouldn't want to see the hottest girl in school? But I knew he knew that was far from my motive for doing so. I wanted answers.
"I understand your concerns and thoughts but I still ask you to do this even though it may seem difficult. I want you to come to my home, our home so you could talk to her, or at least try to. She may be difficult to deal with but you seem different." He paused for a little then, thinking of something he was about to say.
"I believe since I need your trust and for you to understand Lily, I guess it would only be fair that I should tell you this. The thing about Lily is that she has not always been like this. She…something happened to her in her past that made her lose her trust in people, most people I believe. Quite some people she trusted showed other sides of themselves, you could say she discovered how twisted they were and the ulterior motives they had when they did something. She ended up not trusting almost every other person, pointing out their flaws and the evil in their behavior. I used that to realize you're different. I'm guessing she may be afraid of you and not hate you as you may think."
I remember agreeing and accepting what he said. I did give him my word that I would help him so help I would. "We could leave right now if you wanted but what do you think? Should we leave now or you would prefer it done after school so I have you picked up?"
He smiled as he spoke, and waited for my reply. I was a smart kid and my lessons were easy enough for me as it was so I could go with him right away without worrying about missing any lessons. I was even ahead of the class in every subject but looking at things I honestly believed it was better if I went after school. That would give me time to think things through.
"I prefer it done after school. I need to think more about it before I can be sure of my answer." "Well, I have no objections to that. You may leave as requested. I will send for you to be picked up after school. If you still have any questions you need answers to before you go think about it, I'd be happy to answer, but if not then you can be excused."
He still gave off a hint of excitement that I would agree but I saw he doubted I'd follow through with my word.
"Thank you sir, but I believe my questions have already been answered and I should be on my way." "Okay then you may go but in case you rescind your decision you can choose not to come. I would understand and not hold it against you."
I nodded and got up to leave. When I got out, the secretary was still there. I thanked her politely and left for class. I remember walking into the class and the noise suddenly disappearing when I appeared. It was noisy as I approached, but now that was all gone. The chatting ended abruptly and they all pretended to not look at me even though I caught their eyeballs moving to the corner of their eyes to focus on me. I just moved on to sit down, pretending to solve some math.