Childhood Crush- A Corey Taylor Story

Chapter 1

-Kindergarten, first day of school-

-Corey's POV-

"Bye mom," I say. 

I kiss her cheek and hop on the bus, my house being one of the last stops before school. I shyly walk down the aisle and see an open seat, taking it without hesitation. I climb on the seat and sit, looking out the window to see the last stop. 

The girl gets on and I keep looking out the window, feeling the bus jolt into gear. She walks past and sits a few seats behind me and on the other side of the aisle, looking around like she's new like me. She swings her feet and fidgets with her coat hem, then her sleeves, then her skirt, then her bracelets. 

She had at least 7 or 8 bracelets on her wrists, each having 6 or 7 charms on them that jingled like wind chimes when she moved. They jingled nonstop through the short bus ride to the school, and I got a little irritated by the sound. The bus stops and I stand, getting pushed by the other bigger kids behind me.

I finally get off and I walk to my room, the girl passing me at a fast rate while playing with one of her ribbons on her braid. She darts into the same classroom as mine and I walk in, the teacher noticing me and trying to hold in a sneer.

"Sit there," the teacher says. 

They point to an empty desk next to the same girl on the left of her, and I take a seat in the chair. I put my backpack on the back of the seat and the girl looks over momentarily, looking back when I look over. 

She reminded me of a hummingbird. She was always moving something and fidgeting with a piece of her clothing. She would tap her left foot, then her right foot. She would play with the hem of her shirt, then the sleeves of her sweater. She would play with the hem of her skirt, pulling it up to her knees, then down again. She would twist her bracelets around and around her wrists, making them jingle. She would play with her braids, twirling the ends around her fingers as the teacher talked about the first day of school.

"So today, since it is the first day of school, it's a free day. Go converse with the other kids until snack time," the teacher says. 

They wave at us to move on and they sit at their desk, drinking from a flask. The other kids get up and talk, but the girl takes out a piece of paper and starts to draw, her being left-handed. I look around and see the other kids' eyes on me, whispering to their friends. I look back to my desk and think, digging in my backpack for something to do. I find a pencil and a notebook, deciding to try to copy what the girl's drawing.

-snack time-

"Okay kids, get your snacks out," the teacher says. 

The girl puts the paper in her desk where her backpack is and gets a snack out. I silently sigh, not remembering to pack one. Mom said she would pack my lunch, but the snack was my job. The girl gets out a bag of grapes and chicken crackers separated with a clothespin decorated as a butterfly. She looks at me, then my desk. She sets her snack on her lap and digs in her desk, getting her lunchbox out. 

She opens it and gets about 6 crackers out, putting her lunchbox back. She turns to me and puts her crackers on my desk, not looking at me. Instead, she looks all around me. She turns back and unclips her bag, opening it. I look at the crackers and take one, eating it slowly. I don't know if she's going to kill me or not.

-1st recess- (there are 2. One after snack and one after lunch.)

"Okay kids, go outside," the teacher says. 

The other kids jump up and run out, the girl walking out at the fast pace everyone else was running at. I get up and walk out, following the others to go outside. I get outside and I see the girl walking, more like pacing, up and down the pavement while waving her left hand in front of her. Her mouth's moving, and I hear her talking, but why is she talking to herself while waving her hand around? It's a little weird.

"Hi," two twins say in sync, making me jump a mile high.

"Um," I say.

"We see you're staring at Liz. She won't make the first move because she's shy," they say. They're speaking in perfect sync, and they're holding hands with sister bracelets on their wrists.

"But-"

"You can be our friend," they say. They're starting to creep me out.

"Uh, I'll think about it," I say. 

I back away and walk to another part of the playground, still watching the girl. I think those twins said her name's Liz. It's a nice name for someone like her. Maybe I should talk to her. But what if I mess up on what I say? I'll look like a fool in front of everyone. Not to mention she's kind of cute with her big, dual-colored eyes, her reddish-pink lips, her little button nose and her strawberry blonde hair braided into two pleats.

"Come inside," the teacher says. We all go back inside and I sit in my seat, hearing the jingles of the girl's bracelets as she sits down.