May 28th 2001
A new family had appeared on Hans' street. He wanted to say hi but was way too shy to voluntarily talk to anyone. His mother, Rosa, saw them and went outside to greet their new neighbors. Hans later learned that the new family that had just moved in were called the 'Steiner's' and that they had one and only one child, whose name he was yet to be aware of.
Hans had no friends of his own. He was an introvert, he was hopeless with people. His mother knew this better than anyone else. She tried everything but nothing seemed to work. She decided to let him take his time and did not force him.
Three days later
Hans found that the next-door neighbor's daughter would be going to the same school as him. (What are the odds?). He was unable to sleep that night. He tossed and turned thinking of how he would be treated at his new school. But more importantly, he wanted to be friends with the new girl next door. If only I wasn't such a freaking coward, He thought to himself.
June 1st 2002
A brand new academic year. Hans was now in 8th grade. He saw the girl standing beside him. She briefly looked at him. They made eye-contact for a second. She smiled and looked away. Hans internally screamed, Do something idiot. Talk to her, He tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't come out.
After the morning assembly. Everyone moved back to their classrooms. Hans was greatly pleased to find out that Denise was in his class (nice). and that she was sitting right next to him (very nice and totally real). Denise sat next to him but she didn't look at him. Hans was preoccupied with tension and anxiety from his bad people skills. He was even more relieved to find out that his classmates were, contrary to what he expected, friendly and welcoming people. Denise found herself in a group of friends and got busy talking. Hans too found some people and decided to attempt to talk.
"Sup dude. What's your name?"
"Name's Hans. Nice to meet you."
"Alejandro. But you can call me Al. Nice to meet you too. So. Hans, what do you like to do for fun?"
Hans could sense that Alejandro was not talking to him out of pity rather he wanted to be friends.
"As nerdy as this may sound, I love writing. Especially stories and personal accounts."
"You're an interesting person, hombre. Don't think I've ever met someone who likes to write. It's surprising how many like reading but not writing."
"Well... It's kinda sad. Writing is a good form of catharsis, you know?"
"You okay hombre?" Al said sounding concerned
"It's fine. I'd rather not talk about it anyways."
Hans surprised himself with how much he could speak. But before the conversation could go any further, their teacher had entered the classroom and silenced everyone before introducing herself.
A couple weeks later
Hans was happy. He managed to get one other friend and they had formed a friend group. The group consisted of Alejandro, Luca, and Hans himself. They hung out often and liked each other.
One fine Saturday morning, there was a knock on the door. Hans opened it to see Denise.
"Hello," he said shyly.
"Hi. You must be the Hubermann's unless I stand corrected? I've come to see Rosa Hubermann." Denise spoke.
"Yes you're correct. Come on in. My mother's not here at the moment but she will be back soon. Shall I put the kettle on for you?"
"Oh no, please don't trouble yourself."
Hans put it on anyway. Denise soon realized that she was completely alone in a boy's house. She had never done this before and therefore, was shy and stared at the floor.
The moment she did, Hans came out with 2 cups of tea.
"Help yourself." He said appearing confident.
"Thank You." Denise said without making much eye contact.
A little note on Hans
He may have been an introvert. But he was very good at hiding it.
Hans looked at Denise. She looked beautiful with smooth pale skin and brown hair. She noticed him staring and started to blush. Hans looked away so as to not make her feel uncomfortable.
As he looked away, he couldn't help but notice the change of expression on her face. She was blushing but now she looked pseudo-sad.
He looked at the clock. "1730. It's about time for her to come. Would you mind waiting just a little longer."
He had changed his tone of voice to say that sentence.
"S-sure. I mean, yes, I will wait." Denise said. Oh my god what was that you idiot? Speak to him properly will you, she thought to herself.
Hans' mother came in after a while.
YOU ARE READING
Creative Writer
Teen FictionA family with no father. But why though? Hans was starting to live a normal life up until his father left. To make matters worse, a new family moved in right next to them. AND THEY HAVE A DAUGHTER HIS AGE.
