The October Amaryllis

Chapter 72 - May 23rd, 2020 11:51 A.M.

I'm going to do the unthinkable; I will compliment myself. I love that I never come late to anything. It's a good quality to have.

I got to Kerry Park almost ten minutes before we were supposed to meet up, so I had plenty of time to kill. The only question I had was what I would do with all of this extra time. I considered checking out the view of the Space Needle for the umpteenth time, but it wouldn't feel special to me. When you see something every day, it quickly loses its charm. I mean, you have all these tourists freaking out over seeing the Needle because it's a novel experience to them. Nothing feels worse than losing your love for something or someone. I miss being a child so much. Everything was easier back then.

I decided to sit down on the closest bench, and right away, my mind flashed images of my seizure. I felt so sick and nauseous from seeing the pictures that I nearly vomited. I was foaming at the mouth, and my jaw was tightly clenched.

Analee, please just be here...

The unmistakable scent of bacon bubble gum woke my senses up like adrenaline. There was only one person I knew in Seattle who chewed gum like that, and it was Analee.

"Analee, your game is up," I said with a chuckle as I looked all around for her. She was like a spider, here one moment and gone the next.

"Fine, I guess I'll play by the rules," she said with a chuckle as she walked over to where I was. She wore a camouflage-colored hoodie the same color as the grass, and on her neck, she had a necklace with some kind of message. I couldn't read the text on account of my blurry vision.

"It says 'To thine own self be true.' You probably don't get the reference," she said with an awkward chuckle.

"I do actually; it's a Shakespeare quote from Hamlet. Just for the record, it's my favorite play," I said as a genuine smile spread across my face.

"I'm impressed you got that right. What did you think of Ophelia?" she asked curiously, leaning against a tree with her back.

"I honestly felt awful for her. Hamlet said many messed-up things to her face; he basically told Ophelia to become a nun and never speak to him again. Heh, that made me think of Spider-Man 3," I said with a chuckle at the end. Hamlet made me think of Spider-Man 3 because, in the movie, Peter Parker turns into a complete edge lord. Hamlet was almost like their progenitor. Dude, imagine Holden Caulfield and Hamlet meeting and just talking about life and stuff. Holden would probably call Hamlet a phony and then rant for an hour straight about how much he hates movies. For someone who claims to despise them, he sure watches a lot of films.

"Spider-Man 3 was definitely the worst in the trilogy," Analee said with a deep sigh. One thing I didn't tell you is that she's obsessed with Marvel Comics. She even knows obscure characters such as Captain Ultra. He's so ultra you never even heard of the guy!

I'm not sure why, but I started feeling flirty as hell at that moment. I have these moments where I flip a switch and become a different person entirely. I am a slave to my id.

"What's the most beautiful thing you've seen today?" I asked her with a sly smile.

"Hmm, I saw the sunrise, if that counts. What about you?" she asked curiously.

"I'm looking at it right now," I replied with a self-satisfied smile. I'm not sure why I was messing around with her feelings like this, but it honestly was quite entertaining. I felt just like Bully Maguire at that moment, like a corrupted version of myself.

"Me, beautiful? Maybe in my dreams..." she said with a frown. I find it fascinating how so many attractive people consider themselves ugly. There's this girl named Martha Henry in my History class who is drop-dead gorgeous but constantly feels like she's the most unattractive girl on earth. I always remind her she's beautiful, but she never believes me when I say it. Trust me, when I say something, I sure as hell mean it.