"A rose by any other name is still just as sweet..." Laeli murmured aloud, remembering her favorite phrase in the book.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing."
The steely silence between them hung like the heavy air before a storm. Fidgeting with the TV remote, and sometimes casting a supposedly secret glance over at Laeli, Matt looked eager to have a conversation.
Finally, tired of his restlessness, Laeli sighed. She'd talk to him, if that was what he so desperately wanted.
“Why are you in the hospital? You look fine.”
“For now...”
“...What?”
“Oh, sorry. I’ve got some sort of virus. It... how can I put it...” He fidgeted, looking visibly uncomfortable. “Um...”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” There. She had done her part. Now Matt could stop feeling as if she was deliberately ignoring him. She returned to her book. Juliet was now calling for her beloved from her balcony.
“Ah! You’re reading Romeo and Juliet!”
“...Yes...?”
“It...we read it in class too.”
“That's nice.”
Silence.
“...do you like Shakespeare?”
“A fair amount.”
A bit more silence.
"You don't like talking much, do you?"
"What gave that away?"
"Wow... harsh too."
"It's part of my nature. I apologize."
"Well, talking to other people is part of my nature, so I suppose I should apologize too. But..." He grinned, "I won't! I bet you're a really interesting person! We should get to know each other better."
"I'm not interesting."
"What kind of normal person reads Shakespeare?"
"I--" Laeli sighed, putting the book down. "Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Nothing much, just your numbers..." He grinned coyly.
"My numbers?"
"The way I see it, you look like a 34-22-3-- Woah!" He was interrupted by a flying book aimed towards his face. "So you can get angry t--"
"You... you oaf!" Laeli's face blossomed with red color, and she was panting slightly by the effort exerted to hurl the book at the insulting boy. "What kind of introduction is that?"
"At least you responded!"
"Are all boys your age so immature?"
"Hehe, I don't know~ Well, was I close?"
"How would I know? I don't pay attention to stuff like that."
"You poor girl! Haven't you ever gone shopping?"
"Of course n--" She paused. Of course not. She had never gone shopping, her mother bought all her tailored and ironed dresses and blouses for her. Laeli had never been able to find the stiff cotton clothing comfortable, and had been berated once for trying to wear a t-shirt out of the house.
So unladylike. So unlike your brothers, useless child.
Laeli could almost see her mother's carefully penciled eyebrows raise in a condescending glare.
"Ah... that was a bit insensitive of me. I'm sorry."
"No... it's fine. I... I'm just not good at talking to other people."
"Well then, let's work to change that, shall we?"
The time passed quickly, and Laeli grew to like her new 'roommate.' He was funny, and turned out to be quite nice, despite his original first impression.
"So it seems you've made a new friend." The nurse smiled, finishing up Laeli's nightly checkup.
"Maybe." She replied, turning her head to look at the sleeping figure on the bed next to hers. The presence of another person in the room made her heart flutter a bit. Not from the electrical pulses from her pacemaker--it felt different.
Wishing the nurse good night in tired tones, Laeli closed her eyes. For once, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to wake up tomorrow.
So ended day 18.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing."
The steely silence between them hung like the heavy air before a storm. Fidgeting with the TV remote, and sometimes casting a supposedly secret glance over at Laeli, Matt looked eager to have a conversation.
Finally, tired of his restlessness, Laeli sighed. She'd talk to him, if that was what he so desperately wanted.
“Why are you in the hospital? You look fine.”
“For now...”
“...What?”
“Oh, sorry. I’ve got some sort of virus. It... how can I put it...” He fidgeted, looking visibly uncomfortable. “Um...”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” There. She had done her part. Now Matt could stop feeling as if she was deliberately ignoring him. She returned to her book. Juliet was now calling for her beloved from her balcony.
“Ah! You’re reading Romeo and Juliet!”
“...Yes...?”
“It...we read it in class too.”
“That's nice.”
Silence.
“...do you like Shakespeare?”
“A fair amount.”
A bit more silence.
"You don't like talking much, do you?"
"What gave that away?"
"Wow... harsh too."
"It's part of my nature. I apologize."
"Well, talking to other people is part of my nature, so I suppose I should apologize too. But..." He grinned, "I won't! I bet you're a really interesting person! We should get to know each other better."
"I'm not interesting."
"What kind of normal person reads Shakespeare?"
"I--" Laeli sighed, putting the book down. "Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Nothing much, just your numbers..." He grinned coyly.
"My numbers?"
"The way I see it, you look like a 34-22-3-- Woah!" He was interrupted by a flying book aimed towards his face. "So you can get angry t--"
"You... you oaf!" Laeli's face blossomed with red color, and she was panting slightly by the effort exerted to hurl the book at the insulting boy. "What kind of introduction is that?"
"At least you responded!"
"Are all boys your age so immature?"
"Hehe, I don't know~ Well, was I close?"
"How would I know? I don't pay attention to stuff like that."
"You poor girl! Haven't you ever gone shopping?"
"Of course n--" She paused. Of course not. She had never gone shopping, her mother bought all her tailored and ironed dresses and blouses for her. Laeli had never been able to find the stiff cotton clothing comfortable, and had been berated once for trying to wear a t-shirt out of the house.
So unladylike. So unlike your brothers, useless child.
Laeli could almost see her mother's carefully penciled eyebrows raise in a condescending glare.
"Ah... that was a bit insensitive of me. I'm sorry."
"No... it's fine. I... I'm just not good at talking to other people."
"Well then, let's work to change that, shall we?"
The time passed quickly, and Laeli grew to like her new 'roommate.' He was funny, and turned out to be quite nice, despite his original first impression.
"So it seems you've made a new friend." The nurse smiled, finishing up Laeli's nightly checkup.
"Maybe." She replied, turning her head to look at the sleeping figure on the bed next to hers. The presence of another person in the room made her heart flutter a bit. Not from the electrical pulses from her pacemaker--it felt different.
Wishing the nurse good night in tired tones, Laeli closed her eyes. For once, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to wake up tomorrow.
So ended day 18.
Last edited by Sophie on August 15th 2011, 12:27 am; edited 2 times in total
)