Friday, March 5, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 19 - CHAPTER 2

Chris came outside to recess and spotted Leo sitting on a bench nearby. Since Angie wasn't outside, Chris decided that he should stay by his friends, even if that included Leo.
Chris walked over to Leo and gestured to the seat next to him. Leo shrugged, a bit distastefully, and Chris sat down on the opposite side of the bench.
"Hey, Chris?" Leo said without looking at Chris.
"What?" Chris said, a bit cautiously. Leo seemed to flinch every time Chris spoke, so Chris tried to be careful.
Leo looked like he was in deep thought while he said, "Have you ever had a crush on a girl?"
Chris thought about this and sighed, "Well, once, in kindergarten."
Leo raised an eyebrow at him and Chris continued, "Her name was Marble Hopscotch."
Leo snorted, "Dude, are you kidding me? Marble Hopscotch?"
Chris shook his head, "I never knew her real name, that was just what we all called her because she was the only girl who ever played kickball with the boys. I must say, she was something."
Leo looked at Chris, confused, "Okay, two questions. I can't picture you playing kickball with the boys and what does kickball have to do with marbles?"
"Well, 'Marble' sounded like a much better name for a girl than 'Kickball' to us, so that's what we called her." Chris explained, "And no, I never played kickball to my will. The other boys never seemed to except me anyway."
I wonder why... Leo thought sarcastically. He cleared his throat and said, "So, describe this.... Uh.... Marble girl."
"Well," Chris said, smiling slightly, "She was different from the other girls. She played with the boys a lot and wasn't afraid of anything. One day, Alice didn't come to school and I.... I was very sad, you see...."
"You totally lost it." Leo said flatly.
Chris blushed a little and nodded, "Uh, yeah. So, anyway, I was crying and Marble came up to me and asked what was wrong. I told her that my best friend wasn't there and that my sister wouldn't play with me."
Leo grinned as he easily pictured the scene and Chris went on, "So, Marble asked if I liked Barbies and I told her that I loved them. We played Barbies for almost an hour, it was so much fun; I then realized that I was in love. I went home that day and told my family all about Marble and Barbies and how I survived an entire day without Angie or Alice with me."
Chris sighed and smiled to himself, "But, one day, Marble told me that she couldn't play with me anymore."
"Why? What happened?" Leo gasped, hoping Chris didn't notice the anxiousness in his voice.
Chris stared off into the distance, the smile slowly fading from his face, "She found someone else."
He clenched his fists and Leo tensed, wondering what Chris was like when he was mad. Leo really didn't think it would be anything to worry about, but then he remembered the time that Chris had punched Mouse in the face.
Chris said dramatically, "Conner Lincoln was his name. I guess she just wanted someone who she could play kickball with instead of Barbie."
Leo didn't say anything and Chris continued sadly, "I can still remember Marble walking hand-in-hand across the playground; His black Doctor Octopus tee shirt, her adorable, green summer dress and bright red hair, fashionably positioned in two ponytails.... Oh, she had always loved green."
Leo sighed, annoyed by Chris's insanely detailed memory. Then, he realized something, "Hey, Chris? Did..... Did you say red hair?"
Chris nodded sadly, "Yes, she had the most beautiful red hair."
Leo thought about this and said, "I-I'll see you later, Chris."
"Bye, Leo." Chris said, trying to cheer up.


On his way to the bus, Leo went up to Kathy and said, "Hey, Kathy...."
Kathy turned around and smiled excitedly, "Hey, Leo! Is Chris with you?"
Leo shook his head, "Um, no.... I.... I have to ask you something."
Kathy smiled at him and handed him a piece of paper with her phone number on it,
"I'm free on Friday."
Leo shook his head again and said, putting the paper in his pocket for later reference, "No, no, that's not it either. Um.... What was your favorite color when you were in kindergarten?"
Kathy looked confused and smiled awkwardly, "Um... I'm sorry, what?"
Leo's face flushed and he said, "Sorry, dumb question."
"I liked green." Kathy said, looking at Leo curiously.
Leo stared at her and stuttered, "What? R-really?"
Kathy nodded and Leo said, "Um, okay! Uhh.... What.... What kind of games did you play?"
Kathy studied Leo and said, laughing quietly, "What's this about? Why are you asking me all this?"
"J-just answer the question." Leo said. He could feel his heart beating faster for several reasons.
Kathy stared at Leo and said, smiling a bit, "Um.... I really liked.... Kickball.... The other girls weren't really into it, but I loved it."
Leo's jaw dropped and he said, "Did you have any.... nicknames?"
Kathy pursed her lips and laughed a bit, "Yeah, um.... It was Marble. Everyone called me that until third grade because it sounded better to them than 'Kickball'. You know, because I always played sports with the boys. I loved sports, but the most fun I had in kindergarten was probably playing Barbies with Chris. You know Chris, Leo. Chris Harper."
She smiled brightly, but in a sweet way. Leo's heart practically skipped a beat for these reasons:


A) He had just learned something unthinkable
B) This was just like a scene from a movie
C) Kathy was standing close to him and she was reaalllyy hot!


Kathy studied flabbergasted Leo, looking concerned, "Are you okay, Leo?"
Leo said, trying to regain his breath, "I don't know."
Leo closed his mouth and turned around walking away without another word. 
"Wait, Leo-" Kathy called after him, but Leo ignored her.




Oh my god, Chris was in love with Kathy when he was in kindergarten!

1 comment:

  1. The thing about Conner having a Dr. Octopus tee shirt is kind of a joke because when Chris was a kid, he loved Spiderman.

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