Becoming Normal

Chapter 6

So the next morning, after reminding himself of what he had to do, Tanner made his way to the school library, and just as he expected, Autumn was there, sitting alone at a table and writing in her notebook. Hoping that Max’s advice will work, he took a deep breath marched up to her.

“Hi” he waved politely.

She gave him one glance before quickly looking down and shifting her body in.

“Look-” he breathed “I know you don’t wanna talk, and I get that. And I’m sorry if I did or said anything wrong yesterday. It’s just I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

She lifted her head up a bit, but she still avoided eye contact.

“I understand if you don’t wanna talk-” he continued “It’s just since we’re partners on this assignment, I really need you to cooperate with me, and if talking isn’t your way of doing so, then maybe you have a better way?”

She still said nothing, but she did give a small sigh while closing her notebook, hoping that it was a good sign.

“Um, can I sit?” he asked.

She gave a small shrug, not knowing if that was really a yes or a no. But he decided to sit anyway as she continued to look down. Remembering what Max advised, he needed to say something to make her laugh.

“So uh-” he began to say while tapping his fingers on the desk “You wanna hear something funny?”

She clasped her hands together nervously while biting her lip, hoping she was listening.

“Um- On my first date, I was in the 7th grade, and during the date, we ran into her ex at the movies, and she wanted to get back with him right in front of me.”

At that point, he noticed a little smirk forming on her lips while keeping her head down as if she was trying to hide it. And at that moment, all he could feel was amazement as what just happened. Max’s advice actually worked.

“Did I just make you laugh?” he grinned as she began to giggled while covering her mouth “Don’t hide it, you liked it.”

She then turned around, but he could hear her muffled giggling.

“I finally made you laugh” he beamed as he began to chuckle while pumping his fist in the air “Yes!”

“Stop it” she tittered as she turned back around.

But what surprised him more was that she was actually smiling, like full-on smiling, and he could see her face better. He noticed her chestnut brown eyes, her rosy cheeks, and her natural eye makeup that blended well with her eye color. He never realized how beautiful she was up close, then again her hair was usually covering her face so no one could see her pretty features.

“You know I’ve never seen you smile and laugh before,” he noted with a small smile “You have a really pretty smile.”

She looked down again, but instead of it being anxiety, she did it bashfully with a shy smile.

“Hey look-” Tanner continued to talk “I know we didn’t start off that well, it’s just I was trying to get you to talk to we can cooperate on this assignment.”

“Yeah sorry about that” she apologized in a quiet voice “I don’t really do well with people, I prefer working alone.”

“I can see that. But uh, you know we have to work together on this assignment right?”

“I know” she sighed.

“And uh, I don’t know how we’re gonna do this but, it seems that you don’t like to talk much, am I right?”

She gave a small shrug while pressing her lips together.

“I’m taking that as a yes” he declared “Well since talking is the only way to communicate, I need to get you out of your shell. So, tell me about yourself.”

“Um-” she looked down again a bit nervously while patting her head “What do you wanna know?”

“Anything” he shrugged “Like uh- I notice you always writing in that notebook, is that a school notebook or your personal one?”

“Personal one.”

“Oh, so I assume you like to write?”

“I do.”

“Oh that’s cool” he smiled, good start “What do you like to write?”

“Poems, lists, stories.”

“What kind of stories do you like to write?”

“Mainly fanfiction, but also fantasy, adventure, and romance.”

“Cool.”

So far, it was going better than before, he had to keep it up.

“Um, I like your notebook” he pointed.

Her spiral notebook cover had orange leaves designs, perfect for someone who’s name matched the season the notebook screamed out.

“I like the orange leaves designs” he commented, “It even matches your name.”

“Yeah” she agreed with a shy smile.

“I really like your name too, did your parents name you that because you were born during autumn?”

“First day of autumn to be exact.”

“Really?” he reacted astonished “That’s interesting, I don’t know where my parents got my name, although I never really bother to ask.”

She gave a small giggle while looking away shyly, not knowing why she wasn’t continuing the conversation like he was.

“So um-” he proceeded “About the assignment, did you already pick out a book?”

“No” she mumbled.

Hoping she would have said yes, now that meant he’ll have to help pick one of the boring books he dreaded to read.

“Oh,” he replied while managing to keep cool “Well then since we only have one class together, do you maybe wanna stay after school today and work on it with me?”

“Um-” she mumbled shyly “I’ll have to ask my parents first.”

“Okay then” he shrugged when a thought came to him as he pulled out a piece of paper from a spiral in his backpack and used her pencil to write.

“How about this? When you know the answer, or if we don’t see each other again today, text me.”

Just as he finished writing, the bell to remind students to head to first period rang.

“Uh, we should get going” Tanner suggested as he got up “So uh, it was nice talking to you.”

He headed off, hoping that he ended things well. And as for Autumn, after gathering her things, she took off from the library and headed to her first-period class while clutching onto the paper that contained Tanner’s phone number. Even though he seemed nice, she had this gut feeling that something wasn’t right. Not knowing if she should believe it or not, she put it to the side as she walked down the hall with her head down to avoid looking at anyone, just like she always did.