Across From Me

Two

Elizabeth stood there for a moment, trying to gain her ability of thought back. Well, she wasn't really expecting that.

"Uh hi. You too, I guess?" She said, quite eloquently. She almost instinctively tried to fix her appearance and pushed her blonde hair from her face. She pulled down her shirt as if it wasn't going down her thighs.

Clementine smiled again at Beth's antics, "You're so cute," She said, which made Beth's face flush with embarrassment. She wasn't complimented often, especially by pretty girls. Clementine continued though, "I mean, look at your hair, and your eyes are so pretty too,"

Beth laughed nervously, "Thanks, you're pretty too." Elizabeth had meant that. Clementine really was very pretty. With dark skin, curly hair, and a radiant smile, she turned many heads.

"You know how weird it is that we haven't talked before, I mean we're neighbors and we go to the same school," Clementine laughed, and Elizabeth nodded. Beth wasn't exactly the best at keeping up a conversation or small talk in general.

Beth rubbed the back of her neck, "Oh well, I never really got the chance to talk to you at school. I didn't know if you would talk to me if I tried," Beth tried to explain because, in reality, she had no other reason except that she didn't really want to.

Clementine didn't call her out or say anything, she only said, "Well, I would have been happy to talk to you. You look so kind to me. You kinda have that face,"

"What face?" Beth asked, genuinely curious. She put her hands behind her back, she was more comfortable now.

Clementine was awkward now, "Well it's sort of a round face. It's a face where people know that you're kind, or it gives the illusion you are," She put her chin in her hand.

Elizabeth smirked, "I think the way you perceive someone visually changes once you get to know them. People can be so beautiful until they show their true colors, you know?" Beth rambled, her hands doing a circle-like motion to emphasize her point.

Clementine nodded, "Exactly I think so too. Which is why I think-"

They sat talking for hours until it was sunset and Clementine was being called by her mother to go and eat. Clementine, surprised by this, shot up and sat up straight, surprising Elizabeth,

"Coming mom!" She replied to her mother before she turned to Beth and with a sorrowful face said, "Sorry, I gotta go and eat, but tomorrow we can talk more alright?"

"Have we really been talking that long," Beth wondered aloud, she looked at her wrist, on which she had no watch. She looked back up pretending that she didn't just check a watch that wasn't there.

Clementine chuckled, having noticed, but didn't say anything, "I guess that's what happens when you have fun, I guess," She smiled at Beth once more before saying, "See you later..." She trailed off, not knowing her name

Beth smiled, "It's Beth, Elizabeth Lee."

Clementine smiled too, "I'm Clementine, but you already knew that. You can just call me Clem, okay?"

Beth nodded, watching Clem close her window and disappear from view. Beth dragged her feet to her bed and flopped onto it. She was exhausted, drained from her math test, and from talking with someone for a while. She hadn't done that in a long time.

But she smiled. It was nice to finally meet the girl across from her. Maybe they would end up being friends if all went well. One friend might be enough for her. Especially since she got completely sucked into a conversation about life and the universe with some girl who didn't really even know her name.

She showered and ate the dinner that was on the stove. Bothered her sister, who was doing homework. Went to do homework herself, where her sister bothered Beth for bothering her. Beth threw a pillow at her to make her go away, her sister threw a shoe at her back.

Soon they were trying to strangle each other on the ground. Really Beth didn't know what she had expected, they always fought. But it wasn't filled with malice or anger, just two people being dumb.

Her sister's name was Violet Lee. Beth liked to joke she was named that because of her eyes. Her eyes, in a certain light, would go this beautiful purple color. But her eyes were blue regularly.

"You suck, I hate you," Violet said hurriedly, rushing out of the room before Elizabeth could react. Beth scoffed, her sister might have been older than her but she was a child.

It was late into the night, and Beth was looking out her window. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to truly be up in space one day. That used to be her childhood dream. Literally and figuratively. She would have dreams about being in space and touching the stars. But she also wanted to be an astronaut. But she eventually settled for staying on the ground.

It's not that she didn't believe in herself to make it to space. She could if she really wanted to put herself up to it. It's just that she didn't really know exactly what she wanted. She didn't know if she wanted to study animals or plants or insects or the earth. She didn't know if she wanted to write a book one day or if she wanted to open her own business.

She was jealous of her brother and sister. Her brother, Charlie, was going to art school and was pretty damn good at drawing. Her sister was phenomenal at many things, singing, playing chess, volleyball, and math. She had so many paths, and she simply wants to help others.

Her siblings were horrible, but that's only because she was obligated to say that. She would never admit it, but Elizabeth was also grateful for them. Violet got her into chess and would make her laugh when she was sad. Charlie, the oldest, would help her with her homework, and make her feel welcome.

This is why it was her grand duty as the youngest to annoy them, but be there for them in the end. Their mother hadn't had the best run in the past few years, so they helped make dinner and keep the house clean. They had a hard time sometimes, but they could support each other when things were tough.

Beth loved her family, which is why when she looks at the stars she thinks of them.

This is why she stayed so late into the night looking at the stars and wondering about them. Wondering about the future. Her mind trailed back to Clementine. Her smile and her eyes crinkled when she laughed.

She truly was an interesting person. But she still wondered what exactly she might be going through. Her friends no longer talked to her, but she still seemed to be busy during school as Beth rarely sees her around. She works hard in class but barely listens.

Beth wondered how she did it. Beth wondered how she herself did it.

Her eyes were heavy, and she might as well have been falling asleep at her window. So she got up, closed the curtains, and got into her bed. The last thought she had before falling asleep was whether or not Clem was going to talk to her at school or at home tomorrow.