Joanne

"Joanne? Jo Ann?"

I turned around oblivious, hair flying across my face, eyes searching for the source of the sound. Cheeks swelling with red, eyes golden brown, lips like fading petal, I was only a girl. Only a girl who lived a separate world in her head. Only a girl who couldn't hold a proper conversation with real human beings.

A sip of coffee was enough to raise my heartbeat, shake my heads, and pinch my mind. But here he was, perhaps he was a whole liter of coffee. I thought my heart was going to burst. I hid my hands behind my back to hide its nervous jitters, and my mind was clear as crystal or penetrating beyond the physical him and imagining things beyond the current to confuse myself. I had no control over myself.

What did I expect to find? Slow breeze in the late afternoon, a picnic by the river. Sun-soaked skin softly leaning against each other, eyes met gently speaking of love. That's what I saw through my eyes. 

With the turn of the wind, I saw him in the real light. Just another boy who wanted to hold my hands or something beyond. Investing a nick of his time and money to get something in return; to receive my favor in return. Not at all interested in the book in my bag, the notes scribbled all over my pages, or the freckles on my cheeks. 

So I flashed him a smile, one that he won't be able to forget long after today. I waved my hands at him and walked away light as a fairy over a field blooming with carnations.