The Ups and Downs of Becoming a Recluse.

The dock was long and L-shaped, extending out into the lake so far that, from up on top of the hill, the end was difficult to make out. It was made of hundreds of wooden planks, although none of the different woods matched the panel that came before it; there were cherries, maples, and oaks, all different stains that only slightly varied from one to the next. No one really noticed it unless you looked out at it for a while, just as I had been doing for fifteen minutes.

Since Christina and I had arrived at the party, two separate bonfires had started up. From my place up on top of that hill near the parking lot, I could see her face. The way the embers cracked and burned the sky overhead lit up her eyes and gave them some unreal spark. I saw that she had one arm wrapped around Jim’s waist and the other resting casually in her lap, holding onto a red plastic cup.

I stood from my place atop the hill and began walking downward, my steps slow and steady. I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of everyone and trip over the earth, or maybe even my own two feet. That would just make sitting alone at the party even worse, to be perfectly honest.

At the bottom of the hill, there must have been some sort of stump or tree root I hadn’t seen. Of course there was. There always is; things like that just seem to happen to me on a daily basis. In any case, it was long and thin and any normal person might have seen it gleaming in the starlight. I, on the other hand, was not watching closely enough and caught my foot right beneath the arch of the root, causing myself to then stumble and pour my Mountain Holla all over my white, pristine shirt. It smelled like limes and carbonation, and my palms hit the ground in front of me. My knees scraped grass and twigs and, from across the lawn, a few people saw me take the fall.

“Hey, Princess Grace,” one of them called.

I scowled, getting up to my feet. Whoever had said it was now laughing about their snide remark amongst their friends, but it was - before long - forgotten and they quickly went back to their game of beach volleyball.

A cough came from behind me and I glanced backward.

There stood that boy from earlier, that one that I’d caught only from my peripheral vision. He had big blue eyes and dark brown, shaggy hair. And the easiest of toothy smiles cracked through his faultless lips like he was either smirking or laughing. I couldn’t tell which it was.

I wasn’t quite sure of what to say, let alone what to do with myself. I’m probably one of the most awkward, clumsy, and uncoordinated people you’ll ever meet, although I’m really not one of those girls who can make “awkward” look “cute.” Either way, I just fumbled with the hem of my shirt and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

My neck was getting hot and I didn’t know what to do.

“Hi,” I managed.

The boy chuckled a little, looked down at his shoes, then turned his eyes upward to meet mine. He had a red, plastic cup in his hand and as he placed his free hand in the pocket of his jeans, he readjusted his stance, moving each foot a little further away from each other than they had been originally. I’m not sure why I noticed it and not the look on his face, or even the fact that, later, I learned that Christina had been calling my name from the bonfire. I didn’t notice any of that.

“Well, hello to you, too,” he said, a small smile grazing his lips. “I think I saw you a little while ago.” He paused, then smiled a little wider. “I’m Garrett.”

There was a motion just below the waist and I glanced downward quickly; he stuck his hand out, motioning for me to take it.

I complied and smiled awkwardly.

“I’m Ione,” I said, shaking my head as soon as the words left my lips. I couldn’t meet his eyes, it was too hard. I was too nervous and there were too many butterflies. “I know, it’s really weird.”

He laughed. “Yeah, kind of.”

For some reason I thought he would say something along the lines of, “No, I think it’s lovely,” or “It’s beautiful, just like you,” but no. Instead, he agreed with me.

How charming.

“So,” I started after a moment. I drew out the ‘o’ and tried to get my words to last me as long as I possibly could because I really didn’t know what to say or how to act in front of this guy whom I had just had the pleasure of meeting and was, come to mention it, rather good looking. “Is there something you wanted to tell me?”

Our eyes met briefly before he turned his own upward, reaching the sky and watching the stars.

“No, not really,” he said. “I just thought you looked a little out of place and thought I would come and say hi.”

“Oh,” I said. My voice broke. “Well, hi.”

His eyes returned to mine and, taking a sip of his drink, echoed my response.

“Hi.”