The Bad Girl & The Muslim Boy (Humor)

The Zipper

                                           Meet me at the library in five

He wants me to meet him? I figured that once I told him that I aced my Biology quiz, he wouldn't want anything to do with me. I looked at the time on my phone, shit it's almost 1 a.m. I plopped down on my bed once more and covered my face with my pillow, almost suffocating myself. My mind was in a extreme state of disarray. Contemplating whether or not I should take this meaningless risk. 

That's when an idea formed in my head. Think about it Lessandra, this is the chance you were waiting for. Don't you want to put these unwanted feelings to an end?

Yes! Who was this "Elyas" to make a fool of me in the first place? Where was the strong and independent Lessandra? Determined more than ever, I locked the front door and began jogging to the Library.

It only took about 15 minutes but guessing from the way Elyas kept walking back and forth in an impatiently manner made me bite my inner cheek nervously.

I could recognize his tall slim silhouette even though I was about 20 feet away from him, he kept looking at his watch after short intervals. 

A sense of guilt rose in my gut, he's probably freezing. As much as I love autumn, at nights the temperature would sometimes fall as low as 2 to 5 °C.

He didn't seem to hear my footsteps. Should I say Hello? Normally when I'm conversing or socializing with people that I've never met or short acquaintances, I don't have to think about this twice, it just comes naturally. 

But with Elyas, I become this fragile little girl that has to think thrice before even parting my lips.

 I settle with an awkward cough.

He stops in his tracks and notices my presence in the empty parking lot.

Silence

We just stand there for what seems to be ages. My mouth forms small movements in desperate attempt to say something but my tongue is paralyzed.

The hoots of an owl seem to resonate in the empty parking lot and the winds seems to blow harder now, my hair is freeing itself from it's loose shackles.

"Why didn't you take your car?" He whispers yet I hear it loud and clear.

"Sorry I didn't think I'd take that long," I try to break eye contact but resistance isn't familiar to me anymore.

"It's cold," He takes a step forward and I involuntarily step back. 

"Don't move." And like magic I freeze. 

He leans forwards and I suck in a huge breath, this is not happening!

The scent of vanilla infused with oud engulfs my olfactory senses and leaves me in distress. I peer down at my sweater and follow the movement of his fingers with wide eyes.

"Next time, wear a thicker sweater if you decide to walk instead." And with that he walks away.

He zipped my sweater

He zipped my sweater

He zipped my sweater

A gesture so small yet it left me in shambles. I stood there, dumbfounded by what happened and furious at myself because of how weak I felt.

"Aren't you coming?" I looked up at him and mustered up all the courage that was left inside of me,

"No." I mumbled

"What?" I couldn't even hear any alarm in his tone.

"No." I said clearly this time.

I looked at his face in search of any slight signs of emotion.

He remained complacent.

I waited for a response. 

He seemed to be in deep thought, for which I figured was my queue to leave.

Just when I was about to turn around and leave I hear a faint "Please," I turn back, and realize that he looked sincere despite his solid poker face

"Where are we going anyways?" I ask with a sigh.

"You'll see" He says with a hint of smile tugging at the corners his mouth.

We walk for what seems like hours but in reality was around 10 minutes in silence. The dead leaves mixed with the color of newly fallen leaves made the forest look aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

 We walked in comfortable silence mostly but from time to time I'd get paranoid and think that I'd see things in the woods, I kept my suspicions to myself.

The woods started clearing; I started to hear the sound of water.

"Wait, this isn't what I think it is!" I ran towards the sound of the water flowing and discovered a small river, surrounded by birch trees.

"Wooh, I didn't know there was a river here! It's breathtaking," I said overjoyed with happiness.

"That isn't the best part." He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to a small canoe that was tied to a post. "This is my most prized possession." He said it with so much emotion; I was taken a back by it that I didn't notice he was still holding my wrist.

He seemed to notice this and immediately let go, "Err, sorry about that." He said, scratching his head, still expressionless "It's cool! Can we go on the canoe?" I asked, trying to divert his attention.

"Wait, let me set up the sheets." He said and boarded the wooden canoe.

"Sheets?" I asked, confused.

"The best is yet to come." He said, fighting back a smile.

No. Don't do this to me. My heart is literally going to shit it's way out.

I collect a few pretty rocks while he "Sets" up his sheets. 

"Lessandra! It's ready,"

The canoe is no longer a canoe. It looks like a floating square tent with the top part uncovered.

He grabs a hold of my wrist and helps me board the canoe/tent.

"What is this?" I ask once again.

"Ssshh" He says and lays down on the blanketed floor of the canoe. He was staring at the sky with a foreign expression on his face. I sat down, facing him "Why do you look so happy?" I asked.

Silence

I figured I should find out.

I crawled out of my sitting position and laid down next to him. The moonlight illuminated our dark tent and that stars seemed to shine infinitely. It was the first time that I could clearly see the night sky so clear yet so dark. We lay like that for a long period of time, not touching but simply appreciating the beautiful silence.

"Lessandra," He whispered.

"Yea?"

"Why did you follow me at school today?"