Tapping. Tapping. Tapping. Tapping.
Benjamin stopped knocking his foot against the thick staircase railing and looked up when the front door opened and Joseph descended the front staircase.
"Ready?"
Joseph hummed as he slowly came down the stairs, stealing glances at the door opening across the street. But not get a full view as he reached the bottom of the stairs and the two began walking away from his home.
"I don't know what it is but yesterday just felt like it wasn't the first day and today feels more, first dayie(day-ee) than yesterday did."
Joseph listened as his friend spoke, their conversation abruptly ending as they stopped at another staircase that was a few blocks from his, and watched as their two friends came into view, the foursome continuing the rest of their walk to school.
The second day, or the first real day as it was being called all day, was winding down. The group of boys had found themselves sitting at the entryway, the had the best staircase to sit on, they were made of stone and made wide width so it felt more like a seat than a stair, and with the added wide set attached railing that set off the doubled sided low height steps, it was the perfect place for friends to sit and relax before and after school. That's what was occurring at this very moment.
He was just about to put it up to his mouth when a person came into his line of view, taking a good glance at her, he extended his hand not too far, handing it over to her,
"Yea, yea, go ahead."
She grabbed it and before he cod set back into his place on top of the railing he was sitting on, she was hugging him, he couldn't help the chuckle that erupted lowly in the back of his throat,
"You're welcome."
As the two hugged, more people were still coming out of the school building, some bidding adieu to him and his friends,
"Have a good afternoon, boys."
A chorus of "You, too." followed as the last of the adults left through this side of the building.
As it became quiet once again, the two's hug ended as she slid out of his unintentionally tight grasp, she held his hands in her palms as she looked directly into his eyes,
"Take ya time."
With one final small shake of their hands together she left.
About 20 minutes later when everyone was able to walk, the groups of boys headed home as well, talking on their way, the subject of the conversation quiet as his friends talked around him about him.
"Did she just, she just."
"I'm telling you she did. Saved his ass completely."
"my thing is where did she put it?"
Ken was quiet as they walked, walking each friend home one by one, he was on the phone on autopilot as he entered his home. His best friend in his group called to make sure he was home safely. The call ended once he announced he was in his home with the door locked and secured. As he had the keys and book bag on the table near him, the doorbell rang lowly and a soft knock followed.
There she was again, twice in one day and it wasn't even his birthday.
She moved aside and invited him to step outside on his own stone step landing, leaning his body against the railing just as it was at school except it was mahogany stone instead,
Once he looked at her, she was the one extending her hand to him, not too far just as he did earlier,
"This is for me? I'll use it at home. I'll make study guides out of it. Thank you."
He held it exactly as she held it out to him.
And once again she was gone.
He placed the big four-ringed binder on his desk in his room, before he bolted from the room, grabbing his keys as he locked the door once more,
"Hi, you're quick. I wanted to walk you home, well the rest of the way, if that's okay."
He didn't see her running off so he figured it was fine.
She pointed when they were nearing the end of the block,
"Oh, ha, you didn't have far to go, huh?"
He followed her up to her door, once it was opened, she hugged him unexpectedly once again, he chuckled again from the back of his throat,
"Bye, baby girl, see ya tomorrow."
His words slipped behind her as she went into her house.
But before she could close the door completely, he spoke again,
"Hey, I'm gonna shout from my house that "I'm home" so please listen out for me."
He explained as he held the door, gazing into her eyes as he spoke.
Her eyebrows rose a bit, and he finally let go of the door and it closed gently.
She sat at her window as the breeze of the cool late afternoon, swept her light curtain, through the window's opening, as she sat at her desk using the last of the sunlight to begin setting up her homework assignments as she had her pencil box on the table, she heard the faintest, "I'm home" only catching the -me of the second word, as the curtain bellowed into the room, settling against the wall, wiping the floor before stopping as the window closed for the night.
