The Loner Girl

Part 16

"Tristan?"

"Hi, Lexi. I'm surprised you still recognized me all these years..." Tristan says, on the verge of tears.

"Who wouldn't forget that sexy, hot face of yours. Look at you. You've become a man now." Lexi puts her arms over Tristan's firm shoulders, then pulled him into a tight hug. She looks almost a lot like Sequoia, even thought Lexi's in a black t shirt like the one above. "You're still so skinny. You haven't changed a bit. Well, at least you got muscles finally."

"Yeah." Tristan rubbed his neck nervously.

"I remember when you were so skinny and small back then, you wore these big shirts that always fell off your shoulders. I still remember that one day, watching your Star Wars Chewbacca shirt slip down your right shoulder, then left, until it slowly disappeared behind your desk. And you were showing off your chest too, and the teacher had to pull it back up for you."

"Yeah, that shirt's neck was big, it was stretched. And it went down to my elbows. Only once, did I took it off, just one arm, to write. And that teacher chewed me out. After, an hour had passed with me looking like that."

"The boys picked on you and called you a "girl" and a "sissy"."

"They still do to this day."

"I loved the way you looked back then. You were so feminine-looking with that long hair, feminine face. I was so jealous of you then. I always thought you were a girl. And you'll always be a girl in my eyes. At least you pulled it off far better, for a boy." Tristan rubbed his neck again, and looked at me.

"How's the tiny place up there?" Lexi points to the craggy mountains in front of her house. Those mountains reminds me of a scene from Star Trek Beyond, and as I looked around we were surrounded all by these sharp rocks in the distance. "I heard the high school's packed."

Tristan looked at the mountains. "It is packed. We mostly have kids from the other side of that mountain. Otherwise, it's still the same since you left."

"You mean that Exxon's still there?"

"Its a Shell now. With Krispy Krunchy."

"Chester's Chicken inside the market?"

"Dillon's now."

"Pine's Market?"

"Pine's still there. With a Krispy Kreme donut inside as well." 

"I think those places really caters to the high school now." Rae, Dylan, Ash and this Japanese kid named Ryo came to mind when she said that. They liked to eat inside Pine's Deli for their school lunch, just to get away from the school drama, and sometimes bringing in Dillon's Fried Chicken from Pine's so they can snack out in their classes. Lexi finally notices me, as I was getting cooked from standing in the sun.

"Who is this handsome devil here?" Lexi wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "He yours?"

"Yeah, he is," Tristan blushed, which I could've easily mistaken for sunburn.

"Though I haven't seen him at our school before. Did he transfer when I left?"

"I noticed him even when you were there; we had the same kindergarten and 1st grade class together."

"I see. How come I didn't recognize him? He looks like a playboy to me."

"Hey, you take that back." Tristan sounded hurt.

"I was just kidding. But still, how come I didn't see you there? Anyway, that your car there?" Lexi points to Tristan's mom's Accord.

"That's my mom's."