A Lost Boy

21

"life is funny. things change, people change, but you will always be you"
~ zayn malik

For the next few days, Eliott doesn't show up at school, making my life considerably more boring. It was strange how much of a difference he made in the few short days I had known him. I couldn't remember the last time I had let someone in so easily. After all, everyone in my friend group had been there since elementary.

"Are you still worried about him?" Beth asks. She drops her backpack on the ground, wincing at the loud thud. "Can you believe I carry that every day?"

"Just think about Kaia's backpack," I say with a laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen her without at least two books on her. She was always prepared for whenever boredom might strike.

Beth grins. "Yeah. But you know, I'm kinda worried about Eliott as well. It's been five days."

"He used to be gone for a lot longer than five days," I mutter. "Is he sick?"

"Is he dead? Can I not be at school? Because whatever he has, I'll take it," she jokes.

Chuckling, I tilt my chair back and yawn. "Same. I just need my sleep."

Beth opens her mouth to say something, but Ms. Charters chooses to finally walk in, effectively shutting up everyone's conversation.

"Good afternoon!" she chirps, clapping her hands. "Today, we'll be watching a movie, but before you all start cheering, just know you have to take notes."

"Aw, dang it," someone mutters, making everyone laugh.

"Thank you, whoever that was," Charters says drily, but everyone knew that she didn't mind it. The small smile on her face allowed us to see that. "Alright, notebooks out! This assignment will be turned in."

. . .

I tiredly walk back to my car, ignoring everything and everyone. I don't notice Eliott until I nearly bump into him.

"Woah, there." He laughs when I startle away from him and nearly fall. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Even I can tell how dead I sound. Before he can ask anything else, I ask, "Where have you been?"

He shrugs. "I wasn't feeling good."

"For five days?" I was more than a little curious about what his reasoning was now. After all, he had just gotten sick a few days ago.

"Well, I might have skipped a couple too," he says, laughing. "I wouldn't want anyone else to get sick."

"Mhm." I scoot past him, trying to get to my car. "Just so you know, Beth would love to get sick. You should think about her and try coming to school. She was worried that you died."

"Aw, did you miss me?" Eliott laughs when I roll my eyes. "I'll make sure to think about her next time, then. Now you can tell her that I did not die quite yet. And just so you know, I missed you too."

I smile, my face hidden as I unlock the door. "I never said I missed you."

"Well, I could tell. I can sense you just wishing desperately for me to come back," Eliott teases. He steps back to let me get in the car.

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong."

Raising an eyebrow, I look up at him. "Really?"

"Well, almost never." His smile might have fallen just a little when I held onto my poker face, or maybe I just imagined it. "Did you miss me?"

I wait for a few moments before facing forward. "Maybe. Just a little bit."

"I knew it!"

"You had to ask," I say, chuckling.

"I was just making sure."

"Of course." Leaning back, I gesture to the passenger seat. "You know, Berger, you should sit. It's not nice to tower over someone who's already not that tall."

His grin widens before he jogs over and takes a seat. "I've never heard you say my last name. You roll your 'r's."

Immediately feeling a bit self-conscious, I shrug. "It's a natural thing. I grew up speaking Italian, and it just stuck."

"Huh, I've never heard you speak Italian." Now I can feel the full weight of his gaze as he focuses his attention on me. "You don't have an accent."

"Don't worry, once you're around me, you'll learn almost every Italian swear word there is," I say. "Those are usually the only times I use the language. You, however, do have an accent. I'm going to guess French?"

Eliott nods. "Born and raised right in Paris. I moved here when I was ten. I still go back every year to visit my family."

I watch as he slowly starts to relax in front of me. This was probably the most personal information I had gotten from him so far, and although it wasn't much, it made me just a tad bit happier. What was even stranger was how much I wanted to know this boy. He was one of the few people I couldn't read at all, and it was both utterly annoying and fascinating.

"Do you have siblings?"

The small smile was answer enough. "Yeah, a little sister. She's four and gets mixed up in every little bit of trouble possible." He blinks and the vulnerability is gone. "So, you going anywhere?"

"Not really. Want cupcakes?"

"Now, how could I say no to that?"

. . .

bleh. ew. i tired. i need sleep. i dumb and ignored me brain. instead, i wrote something.

thanks for reading! if you enjoyed, please vote, leave a comment and i'll see ya later!

~ Jells ♥