She was perfect from the first.
We met in drawing class. Me with my clumsy little scribbles on the canvas, I looked around the class. There wasn't really anyone I actually knew in the class. She sat in the seat diagonal from me. She looked at her work with complete focus. I didn't know much about her except her name, and that she was good at what she did. Her drawings came to life, though they too were not the best, her perfectionism disallowed her to create something too far from it.
I looked back down at my clumsy drawings. There wasn't much that we had in common, I was awkward and loud. She was quiet, petite and a perfectionist.
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I'm usually not very good with observing, my attention was always diverted. I'd scribble some lines down, shade some, erase and repeat all the while occasionally chipping in a couple sentences in the larger conversation of the room. I wasn't the most popular. Correction, I wasn't popular at all... but I could make do from time to time - I was number one at looking like I belonged somewhere though.
The girl was quiet, her long straight black hair cascaded down to her waist. I had always wanted waist length hair, but I lacked the endurance and patience to accomplish such a feat, and many other feats as well. She had been quiet all the while, then her eyes focused on me. She tapped the iPod laying in front of me, "You're an ESSENCE fan too?"
I nodded enthusiastically, ESSENCE was not only a band I enjoyed, but for once they were something I loved, was passionate about. I looked at her with surprise, previous to this we had never had a conversation I realized. Our interactions had consisted of, "Could I borrow your black charcoal?" or "Could you open the blinds so we can draw the shadows?" simple things, or polite acts of courtesy such as picking up a dropped pencil. Like acquaintances. But, she could be so much more, so long as she liked ESSENCE.
To be honest, I never quite fit in, I listened to music no one listened to, watched television that no one knew about. In fact, I never felt like I belonged here, even if I had been living here for twelve years. Nothing just ever seemed to make sense and I could never quite conform and acquire the interests or lifestyle of those that lived here. I was the outsider.
She snapped me out of my thoughts, "I haven't quite seen them in concert just yet, but I bought a concert shirt the other day. Want me to bring it?"
I was quite surprised. Any ESSENCE concert shirt was first of all limited edition and they were difficult to obtain here, must have bought it online for a crazy amount. I was impressed. "Of course! I love ESSENCE, I had wanted to buy a shirt too, but I've never found a place that sold one with a design I liked at a reasonable price."
As the bell rung, she smiled at me, the first time I had seen her smile a smile that went beyond courtesy, "It's a deal then. See you tomorrow."
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- Rei
Labels: Rei, Written