Nina’s lips parted, surprised at the outburst, before pulling them into a smile.
“You do?”
Suddenly, he couldn’t grab hold of the reins anymore.
“Yeah. Even in English, you always have a different outlook on life. Like - like,” he wasn’t as good with words as she was, and he felt his tongue stumble about. He swallowed, feeling heat lick at his cheeks.
“You know the movie WALL-E?”
Oh gosh, now he was comparing her to a Pixar post apocalyptic film. Nina seemed amused, her cheeks puffing a little as if holding in a laugh. He had no choice but to continue.
“You know that scene where it’s all grit, but WALL-E finds one plant and suddenly he’s filled with hope? Like this small piece of plant is all he can see, even amongst the rubble, all the ugliness?”
She understood now, where he was going with all this, because she nodded slowly.
“Well, that’s how you make the world seem like,” he said, quietly. Then cleared his throat. “You’re just a very bright personality.”
“Thank you, Seth,” she said, after a moment of stretched silence.
If Joshua, or Will, or anyone else were around, they’d surely never let him hear the end of it. He’d be a laughing stock.
Or would he…?
Stolen moments and quiet conversations with Nina, that’s all they had. At least, here, in high school.
Would it be any different if they met each other elsewhere? Would she have still crushed on him, and would he have acted on it?
No, he couldn’t dwell on theseifs.
The reality was, that wasn’t the reality.
Thiswas the reality, being ridiculed, scoffed at by his friends, being the centre of gossip over one girl’s harmless crush. It was all stupid, but that didn’t matter.
“We should find them, they’ll probably call for security or something if they notice us missing for too long,” Seth professed, moving away from Nina.
The moment was over, and Nina silently compiled.
“Yes, you’re right. Let’s go.”
They didn’t walk side-by-side out of the exhibition. Instead, Seth walked a little ahead of Nina.
Eventually, they found their classmates in the open field that was just outside the Art Gallery, all preparing for their lunch.Seth said hello to Joshua and Will, who teased him for getting lost.
He laughed along, like he really found them funny.
Then, falling to a moment of temptation, he glanced behind.
Nina was sauntering toward her own group, smiling widely. She was telling them something, using her arms in big wide movements. Likely telling them about how much she liked the art gallery.
For a moment, Seth could imagine, for a moment, what it would be like if he sat with Nina.
To listen to what she had to say about the artworks a little more.
Then Joshua said something, and he was pulled out of it.
16
Now
