An Ironic Happenstance

By NationChild

Created April 2007

I’m not known for being a bad kid. In fact, when my name is mentioned in a conversation, you often hear, “Oh yeah, she’s an okay kid.” I have no criminal record, and I’m quite good about school-related things.

We’ve lived in this town for about four years now. By “we” I mean me, my two brothers, my little sister, and my parents. I wish I could say that I miss our old house, but I don’t. I mean, it’s been four years. I’m not sure if anyone could be expected to totally miss their house after that period of time, unless, of course, they really hate their new residence.

It happened that I met the new kid a couple days before the new school year started. This year, I was to be a junior at the local high school. Of course, he too happened to be starting his junior year.

My mom had asked me to run to the store for some milk and eggs. Our relatives who lived “far away” (not that far, only a couple hours) were coming to stay that evening and a perfect dinner was needed to please them. The walk wasn’t much, just a few blocks. Still, as I was walking, I couldn’t help cursing under my breath. I had just finished procrastinating and was about to start on my preparations for school when Mom had barged into my room, demanding I go to the store.

The local grocery store’s quite…quaint, I guess you could say. It’s situated in a fairly modern building, painted a combination of sophisticated browns and beiges. The storekeeper and employees know every customer personally, which often leads to unsuspected, unplanned small talk. Sometimes the conversation would last an hour or more.

I was climbing the steps leading to the store, completely engrossed in my own thoughts when –

“Crap!”

I blinked. My reverie was dissipating fast. A soft clanging caught my attention. I turned my head to see numerous cans of soup rolling peacefully down the steps, boxes of pasta littered here and there, and the occasional container of yogurt lying on its side. “Crap it!” Once again, I heard the voice. Only this time, I noticed the boy kneeling on the steps, picking up the grocery goods. Muttering a cuss word, he turned his face to mine and I barely contained my gasp. He. Was. Gorgeous.