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VALERIE
Before I'd met Riley, I thought I had so many questions. I thought I'd have a lot to say. But now that he's sitting here, with my mystery finally solved and all the answers sitting right before me, I have nothing to say to him. It kind of feels good to just sit by someone silently, knowing they feel no hate or resent towards you. I wonder if he feels that way too.
I look over at him and realise he is already looking at me. When our eyes meet, I notice a dullness in his grey irises-something I hadn't noticed before. It's strange because everything else about him seems friendly and approachable. But his eyes look like they've had life stripped out of them.
"Well," he laughs nervously, "I've never had a girl look at me like that before."
"Pfft,"I roll my eyes, "don't flatter yourself. I'm just taking you all in. We don't know each other, remember?"
"Oh. Yeah, forgot about that." He gives a goofy smile, and I turn away from him so I don't mirror it again. It's so annoying how infectious it is. "We should get to know each other then."
"How do you want to do that?"
"Can I start by asking why you're out here?"
My first instinct is to say, why should I tell you? Then get up and walk away, annoyed that he has poked his nose in my business, when he knows nothing about me. But instead, I tell him, "I got kicked out."
"Rebel related?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Then we'll probably be good friends." Riley nods, and I can't help but feel relieved that he hasn't asked why I got kicked out. He seems to know exactly not to.
"Have you gotten kicked out of the house before?" I ask.
"Yeah. And I kick myself out too, sometimes. I used to graffiti the walls on my street to pass the time, back when-" he pauses. "Like, back when my friends were here."
"Oh," I nod, noticing his sadness at the mention of his friends. He must really miss them. I shake away the urge to comfort him. That's not my business. And I'm not that kind of person anyway. I don't comfort people. "Graffiti is illegal isn't it?" I change the subject.
"Depends on whether or not you have authorisation. Most of the owners of the shut down buildings around here gave me and my friends permission years ago. They aren't in use anymore. And that wall at the park? It's literally breaking." He stops for a moment, "But child abandonment is illegal. It's a crime to kick an underage out."His dull eyes are distant now, as he stares over at the wall on the other side of the park.
"That's true." My parents' whole lives strived on doing the wrong thing, though, so of course knowing this fact wouldn't phase them. "Do you do graffiti to just pass the time then? Is that why you do it?"
