Roses are Red, Black Eyes are Blue

The next day Anna woke up, still unhappy about losing the notebook. She dragged herself out of bed and to the kitchen. She wasn’t really hungry so she grabbed an apple and a bottle of water on her way out the door. When the bus came to a stop and the doors opened she slowly ascended the stairs. She wanted to ask the bus driver if he had found the book, but she wasn’t exactly good at conversations. Heading immediately to the seat she had sat in the previous day she looked around, hopeful that it had been left alone. Anna sighed when she didn’t see it and slid into the seat, defeated. She stared at her hands in her lap and jerked backwards when something was suddenly dangled in front of her face.

“Looking for this?” a familiar voice asked her. Anna turned around to find Frank in the seat behind her, holding a small purple notebook.

“Frank! You scared me. And you found my notebook!” Anna exclaimed, happy.
Frank slid into the seat next to her and smiled, replying, “Yeah. You rushed off the bus so quickly yesterday I couldn’t get your attention in time. You sure do lose that thing a lot.” Anna blushed and looked in her lap, trying to hide her red cheeks with her brown curly hair. Frank smiled and continued, “So, did you write the music in that book?”

Anna’s head shot up and she looked at him, shocked. Her mouth was opened slightly, trying to form words. “You...you looked in it?” she asked quietly, reverting back into her shy shell and trying to not make eye contact.

Frowning at her reaction, Frank rubbed the back of his neck while answering, “Yeah. Sorry if you didn’t want anyone to see it. I was just a little curious. I can forget about it if you want me to,” he offered.

Anna shook her head quickly, not wanting him to feel guilty. “No, it’s fine. I’ve just never really showed them to anyone. Not even my dad.”

“Well I feel special now,” he smiled again, making Anna smile too. “Oh, here’s our stop.”

They got off the bus together and walked the short block to the school. When they entered they both went to their Trig class and sat in the empty classroom in their usual places. They were both quiet for a while, just staring at their desks when Anna finally interrupted the silence.

“So, is being suspended and stuff a normal thing for you?” Anna asked, genuinely curious.

“Heh. I guess it’s that easy to tell, huh? Yeah, I don’t really spend much time in class. I think I’ll be lucky to pass this Trig class with a low C.”

“I can help,” Anna said without thinking. She mentally slapped herself when she realized what she said.

“What?”

“I can help you with Trig,” She supplied, still digging herself into a hole.

Frank smiled at her briefly and said, “I might have to take you up on that offer.”

Anna stared at Frank for a moment, not sure of what to say, when the teacher entered the room and called the class’s attention, saving Anna from floundering around for a reply.

School was boring, as always, and although Anna was thought to be the smartest kid in her grade, she really did hate school. The only reason she did so well in school was because her father wanted her to go to law school and she knew he would have an absolute fit if she got anything lower than an A in any of her classes. For once, though, Anna just wanted to take it easy and have fun. She found herself envying Frank, who seemed to be just barely making his way through school but also seemed completely content with how his life was.

Anna pushed her way through the cafeteria, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. She had brought a small lunch with her and was planning to find a quiet spot to eat where no one would notice her, but her plans quickly changed when someone clutched her elbow from behind. She turned quickly to see Frank smiling down at her as he steered her away from the corner table she was headed to.

“You, my shy friend, are going to eat lunch with my friends and me. The new girl shouldn’t be eating alone,” he stated confidently. Anna stared at him with wide eyes, quickly realizing that she was going to be thrown into a social situation. While they approached the doors to the picnic area outside, she noticed the big sign above the door that read “Senior Patio.” Anna dug her heels into the ground in an effort to get Frank to slow down.

“What’s wrong Anna? Come on, we’re not gonna bite you or anything,” he said as he stopped and looked at her.

“I can’t go out there. I’m not a senior,” she quickly explained, remembering that the rule book stated that she would be given a detention if she were caught.

“Wait a second.” Frank let go of her arm and shook his head as if that would help him. “You’re not a senior? What are you doing in senior level classes?”

“Well, my dad had me transferred here because the test scores were better at this school, but they wouldn’t let me skip a grade, and I’ve already taken all the junior level classes, so he had me enrolled in senior classes,” Anna explained, looking everywhere besides at Frank.

He looked contemplative for a few moments before shrugging and saying, “That bites. Guess I just chill in here with you then. Don’t really wanna sit with those losers anyways.”

“Really?” Anna asked, looking back at Frank to see if he was joking.

“Yeah. Like I said, the new girl shouldn’t be eating alone.” He grabbed her arm again and led her to a round table by the wall, turning a chair around and sitting in it backwards. Anna hesitantly sat down next to him, taking out her sandwich and small bag of chips.

“So where are you from anyway?” he asked, snatching one of her chips from the bag.

“I’m actually from here originally. My dad and I moved shortly after my parents got divorced and he decided I needed to be in a better school and stuff I guess. Recently the scores at the school I just left started to decline, so he thought it would just be better to put me in a private school and so we moved back here,” she answered as she peeled the crust off her sandwich. Frank watched her pick at her food for a moment before snatching the crust and eating that along with another stolen chip.

Anna couldn’t help but laugh at his “sneaky” food stealing skills. “Why don’t you just go get some food or something? I’m sure you can find something better tasting than bread crust.”

“Eh, don’t feel like it,” he replied, waving his hand in the air dismissively. Anna rolled her eyes and pushed her bag of chips over to him, watching as he quickly began pigging out on them. “So you wrote all that music in the notebook, huh?” he asked, turning his attention back to the girl next to him.

“Uh, yeah. It’s kind of like my hobby I guess,” she answered, trying to not look nervous.

Frank smiled and continued with his questions. “Do you know how to play any instruments?”

“A few.”

“Like?”

“Well…pretty much anything that isn’t low brass. They’re too heavy for me to hold.”

“No way. I don’t believe you,” he said quickly, but still smiling. Anna didn’t reply, just picked at her sandwich and tried to avoid looking at Frank. “Wait, you’re serious, aren’t you?” He waited for a reply and when Anna blushed and looked away again he quickly shouted, “That’s awesome! How in the world did you manage that?”

“I started taking violin lessons when I was around nine, I think, and I liked it a lot so it just kind of went from there. I’m not amazing or anything, I just enjoy it.” Anna looked away, blushing. She really didn’t want him thinking that she was bragging or anything. She hated it when people
thought she was full of herself or high strung, like at her old school.

“Do you have any instruments at home? Can I hear you play something?” Frank quickly asked, ignoring Anna’s shy actions. This caught her off guard; she had to think it over. She didn’t want Frank to see her house or her studio and think she was spoiled or anything like that, and she was sure her dad would have a heart attack if he saw who she was hanging out with. It would definitely have to wait until her dad started working at the office again.

She bit her lip before slowly nodding and saying, “Yeah, maybe.” Frank smiled in reply and the bell rang, sending a wave of students to their feet and towards the hallways.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you on the way to the bus stop.” Frank waved and began making his way towards his own class, leaving Anna to blush and quickly scurry away.

After school finally ended, Anna made her way to the front gates of the school and wondered if she should wait for Frank or not. After a few moments she decided that she didn’t want to risk missing the bus so she began to make her way towards the bus stop.

“Hey wait up!” she heard someone shout from behind her. Turning, Anna found that it was Frank, who was running to catch up with her. “You weren’t really going to leave without me, were you? I thought we were friends,” he said, feigning hurt as he began to pout.

“Well, you never told me where to meet up, so I figured you had probably already gone to the bus stop,” Anna accused, playing along with him.

Frank pretended to be stunned for a moment before returning to his hurt look. “I would never leave a friend behind! And I thought you knew me better than that!” he shouted as her crossed his arms and turned his back on her. They were silent for a moment before Anna couldn’t contain her giggles any longer and they came tumbling out. At the sound, Frank looked over his shoulder and smiled at her, arms still crossed.

“Well I deeply apologize. Now let’s get to the bus stop before we’re both left behind,” Anna said as she started to walk down the sidewalk.

“So how are your classes going? Hm? Is being a fake senior too hard for you yet?” Frank asked as he nudged her with his elbow.

Anna rolled her eyes as she stumbled to the side due to the nudge – she was rather smaller than Frank. “No. And how do you think they’re going? It’s school, they’re boring.”

“Huh…” Frank trailed off, looking contemplative.

“What?” Anna asked, wondering if she said something wrong.

“Well, that just wasn’t the reply I was expecting. I thought you were going to start ranting about quantum physics or something like that. You know, ‘cause you’re a brainiac,” Frank explained.

“I am not a brainiac!” Anna shouted, suddenly feeling defensive. “Just because I’m ahead of other juniors doesn’t mean I’m some sort of super brain or something. I’m a normal teenager too, you know.”

“Except you can play like every instrument. Or did becoming a musical prodigy become a normal teenage thing?” Frank asked jokingly, not really taking the conversation seriously.

“I’m not a prodigy…” Anna said as she got quieter again, reverting into her shyness. “I just really like music, that’s all. It’s not like I’m some freaky genius…” Anna trailed off as she stopped at the bus stop, looking at her shoes.

Frank’s eyes widened as he started panicking, realizing that she might have taken his jokes the wrong way. “Wait, Anna, I wasn’t calling you a freak. Really! I was just kidding around, you know that, right?” he asked as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and bent down to try to see her face.

“Got ya!” Anna shouted as she looked up and laughed at a stunned Frank. His surprised look turned to a glare and he softly punched her shoulder.

“So not funny Anna. I thought you were crying or something. I don’t know how to deal with those kinds of female emotions. Everyone knows that. Not cool, Anna, not cool,” he reprimanded as he tried to keep the smile off his face. Anna giggled in reply as she began to board the bus that just arrived.

“So when can I come over and hear the prodigy play? Hm?” Frank asked as the two slipped into a seat.

Anna bit her lip as she thought about a good way to reply. “It won’t be for a while, sorry. Our house is still kind of a mess from moving and you should probably wait until my dad goes back to working in the office. He’s kind of at home all the time now.”

“Oooo…is there a reason I can’t meet daddy? Is he one of those dads that points a shotgun at all the guys his daughter brings home? Aw, you’re worried about my safety, how cute!” he shouted as he pinched Anna’s cheek.

She swatted his hand away and blushed slightly. “It’s not that,” she tried to explain. “He just thinks that any time I make friends with a guy it’s going to affect my grades and he flips out and rants about how I’m throwing my future away from some guy. Actually, he freaks out any time I try to make friends…” Anna sighed and leaned her head on the seat in front of her.

Frank stared at the girl next to him for a moment, taking in what she said. “That really bites, Anna. So I’m pretty much your only friend, huh?” Anna sighed again and nodded in response, head still pressed against the back of the seat in front of her. “Awesome! I’m gonna be the best friend you ever had!” he shouted as he punched his fist into the air, causing Anna to laugh even though she didn’t feel like laughing.

“Ok, so when your dad starts working in the office, I can start hanging out with you then?” he asked as the bus started to pull up to Anna’s stop and she gathered her things.

“Yes, I promise we will start hanging out when he finally leaves the house,” Anna replied, smiling.

“Awesome, I’ll introduce you to some of my friends to.”

“Awesome,” Anna replied as she waved goodbye and stepped off the bus.

As Anna walked the rest of the way home, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. “I can’t believe I’ve only been at this school for three days and I already have a pretty awesome friend. I guess transferring again wasn’t such a bed decision. I should remember to thank dad for bringing us back here,” she thought as she pretty much skipped up her drive way.

As Anna was finishing up her homework, she glanced around her room and couldn’t help but think about the fact that in a week or so Frank would be hanging out with her in her house. She tried to imagine him chilling out in her room, but it just made her realize something.

“Argh! My room is so boring!” she groaned as she buried her face in her light purple comforter. The walls were a boring white, the furniture was a boring light brown, the wood floor was also a boring light brown, and the curtains, her throw rug, and her bed spread and pillows were all a pale purple color. The only furniture she had in her room was her dresser with a mirror, bed, and desk with her swivel chair. Nothing hung from the walls except a silver clock and she had one picture of her with her mom at the park sitting on her dresser. The only thing on her desk was a laptop, a printer, and a small pencil holder.

“I am the most boring person on earth,” she mumbled as she dragged herself out of her bed and down the stairs to her studio, deciding to vent her annoyance through music.