Just call me James

She was among the popular crowd. He was a social outcast. She was
pretty, nice, and popular. He was, although handsome, withdrawn and
angry. She never saw anything in him before. Until the day he saw her
crying under the palm tree.

He had been sitting in a small trestle of wood which he had cleverly
hidden in a clump of palm trees on their school campus. It was late
afternoon, and the classes had ended a short time ago. He sat, munching
on an apple, reading over his Physics homework, scanning the paper with
sea blue eyes, occasionally pushing his brownish blonde hair out of his
face with his pale, slender digits. He was just going over the last of
the papers when he heard a sniffle. He put down his book and peered out
from his hidout and saw her.

An ample tear trilled down her delicate cheek.
She was sitting with her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them,
crying her hazel coloured oculars out. Her flowing cascade of auburn
coloured hair fell in tangled masses all down the side of her
tear-stained face. Her troubles were just beginnning to sink in. Today
had been the worst day. Her girlfriends had yelled at her for
forgetting that today was not only Purple Shirt Day in their club(she
had worn a yellow turtleneck instead), but also her day to pay for
lunch for the other girls. She had only brought enough money for
herself, and adding to the budgets of seven other girls, there was only
enough money for each of them to have a small carton of milk. To make
matters worse, her six year relationship with Thom Greensfiedl had just
come to an abrupt end. She was miserable and nothing could put her
right. Right?

He approched her cautiously, a concered look on his face.

"Are you alright? Is there something I can help you with?"

She stopped crying immediatly and looked up at him with a soft
sniffle.

"Who are you?"

"James. James Cauldwell."

"Oh, aren't you the one they call, 'Freak'?"

"Yeah, I guess they do say that about me, huh?"

"I'm really sorry! I didn't mean-"

"It's alright, really. What'd you say your name was?"

"Oh, its Julia. Julia Roepert."

"Nice to meet you Julia. What were you crying about?"

The whole story spilled out. Tears once again trilling down her face,
she told him the whole story with a wail of sadness every few
lines.

"...and now my boyfriend just broken up with me. You've seen him
probably, Thom Greensfiedl."

"Oh, yeah. He's the bloke who started calling me freak."

"He's really not that mean! Sure, he's hit me a couple of times. Pushed
me around a bit, yes. But he's really a nice guy. "

"Pushed you around?" Jim asked, his eyes lit with concern.

"Oh, well he hit me a few times." she said, then added, "Ok, more than
a few," from the look on Jim's face.

"That seems serious. Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked.

"He told me if I told anyone, he'd.....he'd ruin me. Ruin my
reputation." she said, wiping tears away from her face.

"Reckon its already ruined, don't you? With all this talk about your
club, and having to wear this colour on this day, and buying lunch for
other people doesn't sound fun. That's why I chose my own
group..."

She looked at him with a look of complete astonishment. Here she was,
one of the most popular girls on campus, talking with the guy that
everyone else had termed, "Freak". He was saying things that none of
her friends, who were supposed to be so understanding, had even said to
her. He was listening to her like...no, nothing like Thom. Thom wasn't
caring. He was just there. Just like the other popular people. They
were only dating because that was the way it went. The way of the
popular people. But maybe he was right. Maybe popular wasn't all that
great...

"...I used to watch the stars. At night, you know. But I stopped. It
was your blasted boyfriend-"

"Ex-boyfriend." she piped up.

"Yeah, him, whatever. Anyway, it was him what stopped me from watching
them. He couldn't help but notice that I go outside every night. He
found my other hideaway, so I had to move the location."

They were sitting inside of Jim's secret trestle, talking about their
pasts, and munching on the sweets that were hidden there.

"What made you stop, Mr. Cauldwell? What do you need a hiding place for
anyway?"

"I've told you, call me James, ok? Well, he saw me watching that one
night. Saw me come in my old hideaway and came in and saw me watching
the stars and he knocked the place down and left. Then he told everyone
that I talk to myself, and that I sleep in a kiddy tent. That's how
everyone belives that I am a freak."

"You're not...I watch the stars all the time, Mr. Cauldwell. There's
nothing wrong with watching the stars."

"I told you, my name is James. Just call me James, ok? And I have my
hideout just for someplace to get away. Someplace where people like
Thom Greensfiedl can't bother me."

"You should never be ashamed of what you do. I think its wonderful that
you like to watch the stars. There's nothing wrong with that. I think
you're unique is all and I don't care what anyone thinks, there isn't
anything really wrong with you."

What was he hearing? A popular girl in his hideaway, talking with him
like they were old friends. And she believed him. She didn't think he
was weird because he watched the stars. She thought he was unique, and
was telling him that he should never be ashamed of what he believed in.
Had he made a true friend perhaps? Or was she just trying to make him
feel bad? She did seem sort of thick to keep calling him Mr. Cauldwell.
How many times would he have to tell her to call him James? That his
name was just James?

"There goes the bell." said Julia. "Its time for us to go to our dorms.
Aren't you coming?"

"No, I'm going to sleep in here tonight." he replied.

"Well, alright. I'm going in. Nice talking to you."

She was leaving. He had to ask her. It was now or never.

"Julia?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, Mr. Cauldwell, what is it?"

"Can I kiss you good night?"

"Oh, well, I don't know...."

"I've never kissed anyone before, I don't know what it's like."

"Honest?"

"Honest, cross my heart."

Well what should I do, thought Julia. He was asking her if he could
kiss her. Asking. That was something Thom would never do. He'd just
kiss her, even when she didn't want him to. But he was different that
this boy. She was over and done with Thom. Now to focus on James.

"Yes, alright." she finally said.

"Thanks." he said, and smiled.

And he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Julia."

And she leanied in and kissed him on the cheek.
"Goodnight......James."

And she turned and left.

TO BE CONTINUTED......