Rez and the Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes (I)

Beneath the sweltering heat of the summer Daysprites and within the canopy of the Hollow Tree in our school’s garden, Rez stood before the most entrancing girl he’d ever laid eyes on. Eyes. The girl stared back at him with her bewitching, evershifting, kaleidoscopic irises for which she was named.

“Kleio, will you go out with me?” On the outside he looked unfazed, even confident, expressing his want without blinking and without a single waver in his voice. His friends had coached him well. She let the words echo through the garden and made no moves to respond so he continued instead, “I think you glow as brightly as a Diamond Spider when the Lightsphere hits it just right. And I love your laugh, it reminds me of-”

“I’m going to cut you off riiiiiiight there. I don’t need poetry or sweet talking. If you want to fool around a bit, I’m open to it, but I’m not looking for anything that’ll weigh me down, any sort of baggage, or a boyfriend, or anything. If that’s what you’re fishing for I’ll need you to screw off, m’kay?” She smiled and any illusions Rez had about Kleio were immediately and summarily expelled.

Rez stared at her as a warm wind blew past them causing her hair to flare like a pink flame. Rez thought she was the most beautiful girl in school, she could have been the school idol if it weren’t for the fact that she looked so different from everyone else. This wasn’t the sort of place where being different was a good thing. Everyone had grey hair, silver eyes, and pale skin, except for her, and hardly anyone treated her kindly because she was so different. In another world this girl might have been celebrated and everyone would have been curious to know where she was from and how she went about her day-to-day life, they’d be gawking and going crazy, but here she was a pariah. Kleio was about a head taller than everyone else, she had honey beige skin, hair that started off purple in the morning and got lighter throughout the day, and eyes that never settled on a single color or shape. She was completely alien to them and that’s what excited Rez, he found beauty in the unusual and unique.

“You’re staring.” She began snapping at him, “Helloooo. Come in, uh, Urn.”

“Yes. Sorry. I was mesmerized by your-”

“Ah, ah! No! Bad!” She scolded him like a puppy. He felt incredibly embarrassed by the turn this conversation had taken.

“What should I talk about then?”

“Not a thing, I have class.”

“It’s lunch, we still have about 20 minutes.”

“That long, huh?”

“I wrote a poem.”

“Tch.”

“Okay, do you have anything you like to do? Any hot conversational topics? Likes, dislikes, idle chatter, etcetera”

“I hate talking to people, I like not talking to you, and you’re in my way, so kindly screw off, m’kay?”

“Not exactly what I was looking for… we could play a game?”

“Are we 10 years old?”

“I’m just throwing stuff out there.”

“And I’ve been perfectly clear. No means no.”

“We could start off as friends.” Kleio groans when Rez says this.

“No baggage also means no friends.” She folds her arms across her chest. He notes that her chest is also way more developed than most of his classmates. She clears her throat, “I’m quickly reconsidering my stance on giving you a freebee. In fact, Urn, consider it revoked.”

“That wasn’t what I was after – did you just call me Urn?”

“That’s your name.”

“It’s Rez.”

“That’s dumb, get a new one and come back and I might give you another shot.”

“I can’t just get a new name.”

“Too bad, well, I was lying anyway.”

Rez had come out here to confess to the girl of his dreams but that’s all she was turning out to be. He’d always seen her as someone aloof and quiet and he’d always assumed it wasn’t her choice, but maybe it was in fact, at least in part, her choice to be so isolated.

“Why do you do this?” He asked quietly.

“What?”

“You say that you don’t want any baggage, why is that? I know that the rest of us keep are distance from you, but I’d like to know why you just accept it?”

“Isn’t that what’s expected of me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not from here. I don’t belong. You think I’d push people away on purpose. People don’t want to be friends with someone like me, so what is the point in even trying? And even if I could get the other students to be friends with me, the backlash from the elders and parents would make us miserable. It’s better that I keep my distance and push people away. So, you should stay away from me as well, it’ll just put a target on your back.” Her lips quivered.

It made perfect sense. Her walls had finally come tumbling down and he could now see the scared, desperate girl on the other side.

“I’m not like them, I’ll stay by your side! It’s not about wanting to be with you anymore, it’s about solidarity. We’ll bring the other students around and make all the adults see that you’re not a danger or a threat, or anything to be feared. What do you say?”

“I say… will you just go away! I have 10 minutes of my lunch left, you’ve wasted pretty much all of it. You’ve wasted both of our lunch periods. I’m a hungry girl, ya know.”

“Wait –“

“Urn, that was all BS. I enjoy being by myself, I want nothing more than to be by myself, but then petty little boys like you approach me and waste my time.”

“Have other people asked-”

“No, I’m talking, zip it. No, they have not, but I’ll say the same thing that I’ve been telling you all along: I’m not interested in relationships of any kind, friendships, boyfriends, parents, loved ones, concerned acquaintances, any of it.”

“You don’t have parents?”

“Who doesn’t have parents, I’m sure they’re somewhere. That’s beside the point, 5 minutes left.”

“I get it, I get it. I’m sorry for bothering you.”

“Apologies are just meaningless collocations. They explode in the air then fade away like fireworks.”

“Fireworks?”

“Just go.” She takes a step forward.

“Wait!” She stares at him blankly.

“If you make me late for class, you’re signing your death warrant.”

“I really do want to get to know you, even if you’re really intent on turning me down. I think everyone needs at least one friend.”

“Is that what you believe?”

“Yes. There’s not a lot of people here who will take your side, there’s been plenty of times where they wouldn’t take mine. This sort of place where everyone is of a similar mind, with varying attitudes about it. Being on the outside won’t do you any good in the long haul.”

She stands a minute, seeming to consider what he just said.

“What are your opinions about me?”

“I think you’re pretty, I don’t really appreciate the tone you’ve been taking with me, so I’d describe you as a bit prickly as well. You’ve obviously got a massive, multilayered, fully armed fortress guarding your innermost feelings, and I doubt you’ll willing to let down your drawbridge, so to speak, and let me in.”

“You’re absolutely correct-”

“That doesn’t the mean I don’t want to try. I worked up a lot of courage to invite you out here.”

“I’m usually eating out here, you didn’t invite me, it’s why we’re out here in this beautiful empty garden.”

“Head cannon, I guess. Anyway, it took a lot of effort to be standing in front of you right now.”

“Are… are you gonna make another pass at me?”

“No… well, I can’t promise that I won’t try again, no… yeah, I can’t promise that. Right now, though, I’m extending a hand of friendship. I don’t know what exactly you’re problem is and I’m not going to pretend that I’ll be able fix whatever it is. I just want to be there for you.”

“And?”

“And I hope that I can catch you at a vulnerable moment that I can take advantage of? Is that what you wanted me to say?”

“Close enough.” A bell rings, “And that’s time.” She begins walking away.

“Hey! Hey.” He rushes to catch up.

“You need something, Urn?”

“Kleio, will you go out with me?”

“Sure, I have a lot of baggage though, could you help me out with that?” She continues walking towards the door.

“Anything you need, I’ll be there; I can hold anything you hand me.”

Kleio turns around.

“What if I told you I’m going to kill myself on my 20th birthday?”

Silence. The birds stopped chirping and leaves stopped stirring and everything fell into silence.

“Ha” Rez let out an awkward laugh, he didn’t know how else to respond. Kleio, however, looked deadly serious. Her eyes were always shifting but they still appeared to be laser focused on Rez. She slips off her handbag and tosses it to Rez who nearly fumbles it.

“See if you can carry that for me, m’kay” She turns around and continues inside, leaving Rez to deal with the bombshell she volunteered out of nowhere.