Water Will Run Out

six

the halls were crowded with people, and the chaos was so perfect, like in a movie. there was the couple that was always making out on the left side of the hall, and about ten feet farther down, the cliquey girls right by penelope's music class. between them, the parade of band geeks with their huge instrument cases. in her opinion it was a well balanced mix of people.

---

rowan was never to be found within a class. it was always more like within the corridors or bathrooms. sometimes even outside the building.

today the minutes of the lesson passed, the ceaseless buzzing of the classroom and the unlimited amount of energy the students contained increased. first hour was always the most difficult for penelope to concentrate in.

after a few seconds, penelope turned her head to the door window because above it, the clock marked six more minutes till music class was finally over. but on the other side of the window...

she never mentioned what was on the other side of the window though. she didn't know how to bring it up. anything she could use to describe would come out to be an understatement.

because when two eyes lock over the classroom window. the soft expressions of only a few yesterday's ago evaporate.

and the girl who watches with her pen in hand smiles lightly from her wooden desk, her heart lighter than that of the workload sitting ahead of her. laid out before her, her music theory. beneath that she's just beginning her trigonometry assignment from the night before.

but you're not supposed to do your math with a pen, it's basically an instinct.

you're also not supposed to talk to strangers, or for that matter even smile. it's basically an instinct.

rowan was a different type of stranger though. he was that stranger people felt good about, so they smiled.

the pen had left its stain between her ring finger and middle finger. long since dried and black around her callouses, its knowledge has dripped. a scribble instead of andante, a doodle instead of logarithm. a doodle she worked on just over the course of a week. she didn't take art seriously and this 'portrait' was proof of that.

her papers scarcely touched, having hardly enough to contribute anything to the world, for an hour her mind wandered through endless day dream fantasies.

rowan the one from outside held his gaze expressionless, his eyes still focused on her. penelope's eyes just as still.

she shifted her eyes downward, thick black lashes brushing the apples of her high cheeks.

staring became there only form of communication.

and for her it was enough to communicate because she fell as if his eyes could talk in silent words.

they were beautiful. from afar they were a plain ebony, as normal as any other pair. but up close, she actually didn't know and she had to find out.

the corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile as his eyes dropped to the floor.

when the bell rang she immediately stuffed her unfinished doodle in one of the many pages of her planner. zipped up her messy backpack and swung it onto her back. by now his eyes had dissolved into a crowd and penelope rushed after those lush green eyes.