the strings

:: six ::

"What color do you guys want?" Nat asks, passing Hudson and I a clipboard. There's a list of the nine teams and then a list of colors over to the side.

"What is this for?" Hudson asks, pulling the clipboard away from me and running his finger down the color names slowly and deliberately. There looks to be a dozen or so on there, and he looks to be taking it quite seriously.

"Each place on the scavenger hunt list that's a specific destination that you have to go to, you'll stick a piece of colored string at that place once you're finished there. Sort of as a way to see who's done what. Each team will have a different colored bunch of string, and I thought I'd let you guys pick first."

I duck and stick my head in between Hudson's arms so I can see the list. It's my only option since I can't exactly look over his shoulder.

"Is gray on here somewhere?" I ask, wrinkling my nose at all the bright colors. It looks like a toddler's coloring book threw up on the clipboard.

Hudson lifts the paper up higher so I'm no longer in the circle of his arms and can no longer see the paper. I stamp my foot in frustration. The burdens of being short.

"I'm gonna act like you didn't just ask if the blandest color in the world was on here, We are not going to be the color of elephants, ash and dead dreams." He says, looking entirely disappointed with me.

I roll my eyes, "It's not my fault I don't want to carry around blinding neon string all night long."

He hands the clipboard back to Nat, looking at me all the while like I'm a child who has done something she needs to be punished for, "It is very much your fault. And we'll take the red string, please."

I open my mouth to complain about the color choice but Hudson simply points to my hair, and then slowly swivels his finger around to point at his own hair, raising his eyebrows like he's daring me to contradict his decision. "We're too cool not to take advantage of this. I don't want to hear your complaints, ginger- girl."

And with that, the ginger- team was born.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's the last day of school for fall semester, and I'm so ready to have some time off. Partly from schoolwork, partly from teachers, partly from couples making out in the hallways, and partly from Hudson who is everywhere all at once it seems.

He finds me in the school library after my last class somehow, buried in a pile of books at a table in the very back of the room.

"Hey, nerd," he greets as he shoves some books off a chair to make room to sit down. 

"Hey, moron," I greet as I jot down something I need in my notebook. I don't even have to look up to know who it is anymore. If there's someone talking to me nowadays there's a seventy five percent chance it's hime.

"You excited about school being out?" He asks, flicking me in the forehead. 

I narrow my eyes at him, "Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking," in a tone that says I'm anything but grateful. 

It's quiet for a couple of minutes and then something hits me, and I turn around to face him, "You've literally only been here for a week and a half. Why not just wait until spring semester to start?"

He shrugs, "I didn't have a reason not to. Plus two days before school started I saw your loveliness in the coffee shop on Main Street and knew I couldn't wait a month and a half to meet you."

I laugh and a snort comes out, "That's complete and utter bullcrap and you know it."

He grins at me, "I'm being serious! I saw your hair and thought to myself, 'Self, she has the exact same shade of hair as you. You shall date that girl.' And I like listening to myself. I have some good advice."