When You Came Along

It was Thursday the next day, a fine day. Just like her mother had promised her, pancakes were on today’s breakfast menu. The smell wafted up the stairs and through to Alisa’s open bedroom door, filling the house with its pleasant aroma. Alisa stumbled out of the bathroom and walked to her room. Her stomach grumbled for breakfast and she couldn’t wait to get to those pancakes. Alisa’s was almost completely healed from Tony’s punch. She smiled as she took the stairs two at a time, today was going to be a great day, she could feel it.

“Thanks for the delicious pancakes mum,” Alisa thanked her mother after finishing off the five pancakes stacked on her plate.

“No problem sweetie,” her mother said, clearing the table.

Alisa looked up at the kitchen clock, 8:00. She grabbed her lunch off the kitchen counter top and headed back up stairs to her room. She packed her bag and blow-dried her hair before giving it a quick straighten ad leaving it down. She grabbed her math’s book and went down to the kitchen to say goodbye to her mother before leaving for school.

Outside it was nice and sunny with a faint breeze that made Alisa’s hair swirl around her face. She decided to take the long way by the park, since she fairly early today. As she walked passed the park she saw, little five years old running around and playing in the sandbox. She looked up at the clouds, she loved the shapes they made and could stare at them all day.

Just as she had stopped a little steam train, she felt herself collide with another surface, off to her left. This is why you look forward when you walk, thought Alisa. As she stepped back she felt her foot get caught in a weed of some kind and se fell back, landing hardly on her butt. “Oof, “she huffed.

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t look–“

Alisa looked up from the stop on the ground as she recognized the voice speaking to her. It didn’t sound anything like how it normally did. It sounded kind and apologetic, of course that all changed when the speaker realized who in fact they were talking to.

“Alisa?” the voice sneered.

“Tony,” Alisa said back, getting up and dusting herself off.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked in annoyance.

“Same thing you are, going to school,” Alisa shot back.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, so why don’t you watch where you’re going?” Alisa said, walking off.

“Me?” Tony ran to keep up, determined to prove that it wasn’t hid fault, “I wasn’t the one looking up at the clouds when I should be watching where I place my feet!”

Alisa continued walking as she spoke, “Well you were the one who bumped into me, not the other way around. So clearly it’s your fault,” she stated, matter of-factly.

Tony scoffed, “As if, just get your head out of the clouds and we’ll all be better off. No wonder why you don’t have any friends.”

That’s stung, but only slightly, Alisa continued with her argument, “If I was looking up at the clouds, what were you doing, that you couldn’t have stopped up colliding? Huh?”

“It’s none of your business, but if you must know I was thinking about my dad. He got himself a new girlfriend and I was just wondering if it was the best choice for him,” Tony told her.

“Have you met her?” Alisa asked curious.

“No,” Tony replied, surprised but her sudden interest.

“Well how can you judge if you haven’t even meet the woman?”

“I don’t know,” Tony grumbled, “My dad has had a lot of girlfriends over the years, and obviously none of them have turned out to well. I was just wondering if this was going to another one of those times.”

“Oh,” Alisa said.

Neither talked for a while, both in thought. They kept walking together though, a safe distance apart, never making contact. Soon they reached the school and went their separate ways.

As Alisa walked off toward her locker she thought about what had just happened with Tony, neither of them had gotten so mad as to start a fight. In fact they had actually had a proper conversation, like friends do. But they weren’t friends, no. Alisa didn’t have friends, and she was fine with that, she was an individual, she didn’t like having people drag her down. Sure she had a few acquaintances’, but that was it. Friends only ruined the imagination.

It was five to nine when Alisa reached her locker. She pulled out her English workbook and proceeded to her classroom. There were already a few people there. Alisa dropped her books on the ground and sat in a crossed legged position on the grass, patiently awaiting the start of class.