(KAI’S POV)
> > > > An acquaintance I talk to in school asks me,
“Why are you so quiet? You should talk more.”
< < < <
I’m out with friends, having Chinese food. Looking at the chopsticks, Izzy frowns. “How do I use these?”
I start, “Uh, if you look at the side of the holder-”
Talking over me, Charlie says, “Maybe see if it’s on the paper thing?”
I try again, “Y- yeah, if you turn it you’ll see-”
“It’s on the back, Izzy.” Sam talks over me.
I lower my head and focus on my own plate of food, not caring anymore.
< < < <
We’re out on Halloween, and Sam squints at the sky. “Does it look like it’s about to rain?”
I rub my arm. “It’s definitely going to rain soon.”
Charlie raises an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“Well I just got bit by like, two insects...”
“So?”
“Well bugs do that before a storm. They can sense the change in barometric pressure and know they need-”
“OKAY, KNOW-IT-ALL!” Charlie interrupts, “Anyways! We don’t need to worry about rain because I have an umbrella with us.”
< < < <
I’m sitting with Lori and her friends at lunch, and they’re joking about the Homo-Neanderthalensis (AKA, cavemen)
Lori jokes, “For all we know, they rode dinosaurs around.”
I say, “Well, actually, there’s archeological evidence that dinosaurs and cavemen never actually met each other. The cavemen fossils are above the layers of earth the dinosaurs are all buried in. There’s a huge amount of time difference estimated... uh, I don’t remember the exact number but I know it’s millions and millions of years worth of difference.”This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Looking up from her phone (that she just pulled out) Lori gives a rather pointed, “Sorry what were you saying?”
Catching her tone, I tell her, “Uh, Nevermind.”
< < < <
Blythe notices something and groans. “Ugh... where is my earbud?”
As she starts looking around her seat, I joke, “Maybe it’s lost in Narnia.”
Blythe looks at me confused. “What?”
“N- Narnia... it’s... it’s a place from a book... uh, my sister makes that joke all the time- heh... about, uh... things getting lost...”
I quickly realize she doesn’t care what Narnia is or what jokes my sister makes.
< < < <
Jana is venting to me about a person she’s messaged, and this guy is trying to hit on her but he just won’t take the hint and keeps texting her things that make her uncomfortable.
“And then he said I’ve heard that one before- like what?′
Trying to be helpful, I offer, “If it’s bothering you, ask him to stop.”
Jana looks at me, seeming annoyed. “I did. He didn’t stop.”
I look back at her. “Then block him(?)”
“You’re not listening!”
“... What?”
“Ugh. Anyways, I told him that I was telling the truth and he was like yeah sure whatever and I was like -”
< < < <
Owen Hayes stops me. “Wait, what did you just say?”
I repeat slower, “I have a pillow that looks like that...”
Hayes snickers a bit. “Oh my gosh...”
“What?”
Instead of explaining, he taps someone else on the shoulder. “Listen to the way she pronounces Pillow! Haha”
< < < <
We get numbers assigned to us to know who uses which calculator. Every so often, the teacher changes the numbers.
Andrew (who sits next to me and chats with me) just got calculator 11.
Aww~ I’m jelly~
I note, “You know, in the bible, 11:11 usually is assigned to a passage detailing some sort of judgement, even in disaster form.”
Andrew gives me a weird look.
“What? It’s a random fact I know...”
“Some random fact...”
< < < <
My mom and I are talking about the actions of historical figures.
I add, “Well George Washington was a...” the word gets stuck in my mouth, and I vocally stumble. “A- a- s... sh... sho... sho... suh... s...” I close my mouth and give up, feeling embarrassed.
Why can’t I say the word ‘soldier’? I managed ‘pepperoni’ the other day!
My mom puts an arm on my shoulder. “It’s fine. I know what you meant.”
Just feeling more ashamed, I look away from her and let her hand slide off my arm.
< < < <
Ajax sneers, “Your voice is so annoying”
< < < <
A little girl asks, “Why do you talk like that?”
< < < <
Tara laughs. “Is English really your first language?”
< < < <
Molly sing-songs: “Boring~”
< < < <
Charlie says, “I don’t need all that extra detail.”
< < < <
My sister whines, “That’s because you weren’t listening!”
< < < <
Interrupting me, my English teacher shakes her head. “Kai, you gotta finish this up. We don’t have time.”
< < < <
My dad says, “You need to tone it down, Kai.”
> > > > I look down and shrug while mumbling,
“I dunno...”