I feel awkward when the boy accompanying me opens a packet of teddy bear-shaped jelly beans, which are my favorite, and with a smile on his face, hands them into my hand.
- I can see that you are concerned. I don't have to guess: why. Are you wondering what I have messed up so much that I have to deal with dangerous people? - He opens the bell pepper chips and starts eating the snack, while I don't take my eyes off him. - It's not entirely my fault, although I did add unnecessary fire to an extinguishing fire. I think it's because I don't like to be submissive to others and do everything my way.
- Are they really going to kill you if you don't manage to escape next time? - I know it's an inappropriate question, but I'm terrible at making friends.
Why don't any clever statements pop up in my head like when I'm upset and feel like verbally smashing the man who is teasing me?
He starts laughing. He puts his hand in the package and looks at me with amusement in his eyes.
- If I don't give them what they need, then yes. They will probably kill me. - He puts the chip in his mouth and lowers his head. - The problem is that I'm stubborn, and they definitely won't get it from me, even if they bury me alive in the woods.
- You're kidding, right? - I look at him and hope he will start laughing again, but he looks serious.
- No. It's just that's my character, and I won't let people take something that doesn't belong to them. I will fight for it until the very end.
- Are you really ready to die for it?
- That sounds cool, doesn't it? - He looks at me obliquely, curious about what kind of answer I will give him. - Girls don't like such heroes by any chance? Surely, they think that they would be ready to give their lives for them, and after all, chivalry is old news.
- For me, this is not cool at all. To lose a precious life through stupidity is the worst thing a person can do. I know this from myself. I tried to commit suicide, and now I regret it. I am grateful to the heavens that I got a second chance.
Currently, I am not looking at him, but I can feel his intense gaze on me.
They say that talking to a stranger is the best therapy to get rid of the dragging pain.
- A hard time?
I'm surprised, but in a positive sense because he doesn't feel sorry for me and doesn't ask me with feigned concern about what happened.
- You can say that not the period, but the whole seventeen years, contributed to the fact that one day I couldn't stand it and gave up. - I smile weakly and shrug my shoulders. - I don't know myself anymore whether it's better to be weak or to have a character like you because everything brings a person to death anyway.
The boy crumples the empty package of chips and rests his elbows on his knees.
- It's true. Being mentally weak is bad, as is a strong character that leads to a lot of trouble and exposes a person to unnecessary danger.
I put another jelly in my mouth and chew it hard as I feel tears gathering under my eyelids. I would rather not cry in front of him.
- Life likes to throw stumbling blocks, so I envy people who are happy and have no worries.
- There are not many such people. Everyone has some problems. It seems unbelievable to us, but even the richest people struggle with something.
I look at the time on my phone and realize that I have to go home soon, as my grandmother is waiting for me with dinner.
- By dragging you here, have I spoiled your plans? Do you have to go now? - He asks, and I tighten my lips and nod uncertainly. - It's okay," he adds, glancing at my uniform, where the name of the school I attend is written. - Nice to meet you... - He pauses and, squinting, looks at my name badge. - Alice.
- You too...
- Jackson - he prompts, and I smile in a friendly manner.
- Take care of yourself. Don't give up your life for something that may be important to you. Your life is more valuable. - I rise from the swing and take the sweets I got from him in my hand. - I thank him for the snacks. I think that at least they will make my life adequately pleasant.
He nods, and I take one last look at him and walk away. I regret that I have to go home, but I promised my grandmother and I would rather not worry her unnecessarily. I hope that the red thread of destiny will make me meet this boy again.
*
I knew. I just felt it in my bones before I came to school the other day. Literally, it was as if I had predicted that I would be on the target of the school's disgustingly perfidious beauty, whose boyfriend is a complete in my eyes.
I'm generally quiet; I attend all my classes, I have one friend I talk to, so I don't understand why a gray mouse like me caught the attention of this pompous moron?
Were they just looking for an undistinguished prey to throw a party? That's precisely the impression I got.
- Chubby cheeked girl, you'd better stop as long as I'm nice. - I look over my shoulder and nervously swallow my saliva when I see Samantha approaching me. Dressed in a uniform the same as the one worn by me and the other students at the school, she stands out with her mega-slim figure and attached red hair, which she has tied up in a ponytail.
She is beautiful. She has perfect features, which make her face a tad villainous. I, on the other hand, have a girlish beauty and, as she mentioned.... plump cheeks.
- What's the matter? - I ask, trying to control the tremor in my voice.
She stops in front of me and measures me from the bottom up, not hiding a mocking smile.
- Did you ridicule my boyfriend yesterday because you thought he was serious? Do you think you are pretty enough for him to pay attention to you? - She laughs artificially, and her friends look at me with visible derision. - You're cute.
- I was just defending myself. I don't want anything to do with him.
- And correctly because if you come even one step closer to him, I'll give you such hell that even Satan will be ashamed," she points out, jabbing me in the chest with her finger. - Do you understand what I'm saying to you?
- Yes," I answer obediently, wanting her to finally get away from me.
The end of the year is fast approaching, so all I dream about is the vacation I will spend with my grandmother. I know that this time these two months will be freedom and a longed-for rest for me.
Samantha measures me one last time with disdain in her eyes, then turns her back on me and, tossing her bushy ponytail, walks away with her friends toward the parking lot, where the driver is waiting for her.
I let the air out of my mouth and look back toward the gate, but I don't even take a small step in that direction when my eyes find the boy with brown hair standing there.
His arms are crossed over his chest. With his back and one leg he leans against the gate, not taking his eyes off me. He looks amused.
- I guess this is the one nuisance, huh? - he speaks to me, and I open my mouth in amazement. - He has red hair and a witch's face. - She shakes her head and smirks with displeasure. - I guess we're both unlucky about the redhead's company.
I walk up to him and still can't believe that he is really in front of my school.
- What are you doing here? Can you just walk down the street like this? Aren't you afraid?
- No one will forbid me to walk on the street. This is a free country. I won't hide from anyone, and if I meet bad guys, I'll just start running away. - He shrugs his shoulders with indifference.
From the headphones that hang around his neck comes the melody of the latest song "Panic! At the disco."
- Your approach is truly wonderful.
The only thing that puzzles me is, doesn't he have any activities during the day? He just roams around the city like that, without even worrying about being threatened?
- I thought to myself that we had a nice conversation yesterday, that's why I picked up the name of the school on your uniform, and I've been waiting here for a long time. I like to have contact with good people, and usually such people avoid me like a fire. - I blink my eyelids as he makes my heart palpitate again with his smile. - You also ran away from me yesterday, but I guess that you really had a reason.
- I had to go home," I reply, looking over my shoulder. I see that my friend has already left the school and is looking closely at the boy I am talking to. - Today I have more time to myself.
I don't know why I said that? On the one hand, he has been making an electrifying impression on me from the very beginning, and it started when, on the stairs, he saved me from a painful fall. Although I'm learning more and more about him and know that he deals with dangerous people and I should stay away from him, I somehow can't.
These two chance encounters and yesterday's conversation have made him intriguing to me. I thoroughly enjoy talking to him, well, and I feel quite at ease in his company, which is unprecedented considering that I don't easily make friends due to the harm my mother caused me.
Rather, I am an unapproachable person. What is it about Jackson that manages to reach out to me?
- Alice! - shouts a friend in my direction, and I glance at the boy accompanying me. - Should we go home together?
- Sorry, but I already have plans.
He smiles in a way that I wouldn't be able to send him back to the devil now.
*
What if we run into these bad guys together, I think intensely as we walk down the sidewalk. As a polite student, I should stay away from him, as trouble pulls at this boy with unimaginable force. But what if I just need a dose of adrenaline to finally stop feeling sorry for myself and taste this bit of danger?
I guess I've read too many books and online stories that allude to the feeling between a gray mouse and a bad boy. Except that... he is unlikely to behave like the typical bad boy created by girls dreaming of him, as he is nice to me and even manages to show help.
It seems to me that he is a good boy, but with a strong character that does not allow him to lose and intends to fight for something that is his, even if he knows the danger. He understands he could lose his life at any moment.
- All the time wondering, what is so important to me that I am able to give my life for it? - I tear my gaze away from the sidewalk and look at him with curiosity in my eyes. - I think you know the answer to this question very well. It is money. A giant sum that is mine.
I stop in mid-step and look at him with wide-open eyes.
- So you borrowed from the wrong people?
He smiles and shakes his head in response.
- I don't know you, and for my safety I shouldn't tell you, but still, something makes me want to trust you. Maybe it's because I'm comfortable talking to you, and I have no one by my side to listen to me?
- Do you live alone? - We both sit down on a bench in the city center, which he doesn't pay attention to at all. He is not worried that he might be spotted by people who want to get him at all costs.
- I have no family. My parents died some time ago in a car accident. Until now, I lived with my older brother, but he disappeared without a trace. Because of him, I struggle with people who would like to get a refund at all costs. My brother probably went into debt to them. I know that he tried to steal the passbook his parents left behind, but I figured out beforehand that he was planning something and hid it just in case. He was so terrified that in his nerves he beat me, and then he disappeared. - I notice the sour smile on his face. Now I know that he also does not have an easy life and has to suffer through his brother's thoughtlessness. - I won't give them money that doesn't belong to them. They can even kill me, but they won't get a penny from me.
I admire him. He is persistent because I, out of fear, would have given them everything I had long ago, just to get away from me.
- Are you really going to run away from them all your life?
He looks at me obliquely as he leans on his knees with his elbows.
- It was my brother who went into debt to them. I didn't take even a penny of that money, so it's up to him to prosecute. It's none of my business.
- My mother is a bitch. - I see great surprise in his eyes when I unexpectedly make a statement about my family. - While we're on the subject, I also have to share information about my miserable life. - I force a smile and look ahead with sad eyes. - She gave birth to me only to abuse me mentally. She hates me because my father left her when she was pregnant. She has been destroying me internally for seventeen years and even managed to get me to the point where I couldn't stand it and wanted to commit suicide. The worst part is that she is a woman without a heart because even after the incident she showed no compassion. She mercilessly called me a weakling and stated that I was good for nothing and only brought her shame. - I start laughing as tears run down my cheeks. - A mother's medal, eh? Especially since she finally broke free of me and suddenly moved out of the house, notifying my grandmother to take care of me.
- Indeed, a heartless bitch. - His answer is direct, but I like it. I'm not angry that he called my mother that. I'm pleased that he shares the same opinion as me and finally makes me start laughing sincerely.
Furthermore, I look at him, unable to control my laughter as I wipe the tears from my cheeks and see the corners of his mouth rise.
- You know... ever since I can remember, she has been dyeing her hair red all her life. Do you think the saying that red is mean is actually true?
- Of course it is. The man who sicced those bastards on me is also a redhead, so what's there to say?
We both burst into laughter and at that moment I can't take my eyes off him. Could it be that the heavens have finally heard my prayers and sent me an angel?