(For the integrity of the piece I must ask that you please read part 1 here before continuing with part 2 below. Thank you!)
If
only I'd never looked into those eyes... Lexie shook off the memory and focused once again on the
road ahead of her. That day in English class had changed everything. But her mind kept drifting as the leaves
danced in the wind...
****
“I heard that he moved here from
California,” Joann whispered as the trio walked outside to the quad, lunch
sacks and trays in hand.
“Really? I heard he was from
Texas... and that he just got out of juvie,” Lisa responded, the same hushed
tone to her voice as they sat down at a table.
“Juvie? Yeah right...” Joann
protested. “No boy with hair that nice has ever been to juvie. I bet he still
kisses his mom every night before he goes to bed. He's definitely from Cali.”
“Seriously?! Don't you think his
hair would be a little bit more, oh I don't know, sun-bleached blonde if he
were from Cali?” Lisa and Joann fought more than siblings; if it weren't for
Lexie they might never have been friends. But as it were, they had met, and the
pair was close despite the bickering.
“What's it matter where he's from?”
Lexie interjected. “Did you see those eyes?” She was sitting with her chin
propped up on her hand, staring across the quad where the new guy sat
alone. He was sitting in the grass, his
back against the wall of the school, reading.
“Oh no; no, no, no...” Lisa said,
shaking her head. “Lexie, don't; he just got here, and you don't know anything
about-”
“Exactly! He just got here; he
doesn't have any friends yet... he doesn't know anyone at all. It's the perfect
excuse to invite him to sit with us,” Lexie interrupted.
“Lexie, no; just let it be for a
little bit, okay? You always do this... you fall for the first guy to bat his
eyelashes at you, and...” Joann started, but there was no stopping Lexie once
she thought about those eyes. Before Joann could finish her debate, Lexie had
already started crossing the yard, determination in every step.
Hi, I'm Lexie, no, wait, he
should remember me... Hey there, remember me? No, I don't want to sound
stupid... or vain. How's it goin' new kid? Oh yeah, like he needs to be
reminded that he's the shiny new fish in a bowl full of piranhas... Halfway
across the quad, Lexie doubted her confident decision to mingle with the new
kid. As she neared his spot in the grass, she expected him to look up from his
book, but he didn't even flinch. Before she could second guess herself again
and walk away, she sat down next to him.
“Whatcha reading?” she asked, taking
an open seat across from him.
“What?” he said, fumbling to keep
his page in the book as he looked over at Lexie, “Oh, it's a John Grisham
novel,” he peered down at the cover art on the paperback. “You'd be surprised what you get hooked on
when you spend a quarter of your life on an airplane.”
“An airplane, huh?” Lexie knew how
to put on a good front, even in the most nerve-racking of situations. She bit
the inside of her lip as she smiled at him, trying to keep her cool in the
midst of his smoldering eyes.
“Yes, I travel a lot. My dad's in
the military. He's been stationed all over the place.”
“So, how'd you end up in
Garrisburg?” Lexie smirked.
“He retired, actually, and this is
where he grew up. We moved into his
parent's old house on 4th street,” he said, turning to face her
slightly. “So tell me, how'd you end up in this tiny hell hole?”
“Well, as a lifetime resident, I
resent your description of our nice, little town. You know, some of us don't mind
living in this, how'd you put it? 'Tiny hell hole',” she said, trying to hide
her disdain. Perhaps Mr. Bright Eyes isn't exactly the nice guy he appears
to be. Maybe Lisa was right about juvie...
“Lexie!” Lisa exclaimed as she
walked by the table. “We should really get going... class starts in five
minutes.”
“Hold on, I'll be right there,” she
responded, turning back to Easton. “Well, I guess you'll have to hold on to
your little tirade about Garrisburg until another time,” she smirked again,
rising from the grass as gracefully as she could.
Easton stood up as well, smiling at
her. “Yes, I guess I shall,” he smiled. “It was nice chatting with you...” he
struggled for her name.
“Lexie,” she said, finishing his
statement.
“Easton,” he said, motioning to
himself. “Until we meet again,” he said, as she walked away.
****
“It's
unfortunate really; the first week of December and not a snowflake to be
found,” the radio men were talking in the background of the white rental car as
Lexie continued down the highway. “We
haven't seen a holiday season this dry since-” Lexie changed the station,
battling with the unfamiliar knobs to find any station that was playing
something other than ads or annoying talk shows. She finally settled on a
station blaring Christmas music. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just
like the ones I used to know... The song continued for awhile before
cutting off. Then the radio show host
said a few words about Bing Crosby, before launching into the next song, a
rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by some guy she'd never heard of. It
was a quieter version, light ukelele chords bouncing in the background.
This isn't Christmas music,
Lexie started to hum to the music. By the middle of the song she found herself
singing along with fervor, belting out the notes as best she could. That was one thing about Easton that she
really loved. He had taught her how to really feel the music that she'd
listened to for ages. She'd always been a music lover, mix CDs had littered her
car. After her collection had outgrown the middle console, she started keeping
them in the side of the door. Then they took over the glove compartment.
Eventually she'd had to throw them on the floor in the backseat. She couldn't
bear to get rid of any of them, each one a physical memory of some point in her
life.
Before Easton she had just listened
to them, singing along and occasionally dancing when the spirit moved her. But
Easton, he knew how to listen to music...
****
“Aww yeah,” Easton proclaimed,
blasting the stereo as high as he could without it distorting the music. “Best
part of the whole song right here,” he yelled over the music blasting out the
stereo, throwing his fist in the air as the chorus started to blare. Please,
please, please let me get what I want this time… He started to sing along
as they pulled up to a stoplight. Lexie looked over at him from the driver's
seat, noticing for the first time a spark in his eyes, which had a slight green
hue to them on this particular day.
Easton noticed her staring, and he turned a little in the passenger seat
to give Lexie the side smile that melted her heart a tiny bit. There was a slight crinkle to the edge of his
eyes.
“Am I right, or what?” he shouted
over The Smiths.
She giggled in response, trying to
keep her eyes on the road as the light turned green, instead of on his stubbly jaw
line. She tried to concentrate on her
driving, as she'd been taught by her father, but with his excitement and the
volume of the music, Lexie couldn't help but sing along at the top of her
lungs. She started to dance, as much as any person behind a steering wheel can
safely do.
The song ended and Lexie reached
over to turn down the stereo, knowing that the first chords of the next song on
the mix would blast them out of the car if she didn't.
“I wouldn't have thought that I'd
find that song on a CD in your car,” Easton said, turning in his seat to
face her, snickering. “You seem to be
more of a... Justin Timberlake fan.”
“What can I say?” Lexie laughed,
ignoring the sarcastic judgmental tone in his voice. “And it's not that I hate
JT, but he's quite obviously not my style.
I guess I'm full of surprises...”
“You sure are...” Easton said,
trailing off. “Thanks again for the ride. I didn’t know who else to call when
my car wouldn’t start.”
“Oh, no problem,” Lexie responded,
trying to make it sound as if his house wasn't ten minutes out in the opposite
direction of the school.
****
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