佚名/Anonymous
I look at spiders and butterflies. I watch caterpillars and moths. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who notices these things. But if it hadn't been for a crowded cafeteria, I wouldn't have ever noticed Valeri. After all, I wasn't looking for new friends.
Valeri was a new student. She walked to class with her books huddled against her chest and her head down. She talked only when the teacher asked her a question. After a month at our school, she hadn't made any friends. At recess, she sat on a bench and read. If you asked who she was, you'd get a response like this,“She's in my PE class. I can't remember her name.”
One day at lunch, I had nowhere to sit. Most tables were full, my friends scattered among them. But Valeri sat alone, book in hand. I walked over to her.
“May I sit here?”I asked.
“Sure,”she said.
The cafeteria was noisy, but silence hung between us. Valeri didn't seem to mind, but it drove me crazy. I searched my mind for things to say.
“So,”I said,“is that a good book?”Valeri gave a small nod and went back to reading.“What's it about?”I asked, after several more agonizing seconds of silence. She looked at me, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, it's called Eragon, and it's about a dragon! This boy, Eragon, finds this dragon egg when he goes hunting one day. He thinks it's a rock! The egg hatches and Eragon hides the dragon from his cousin and uncle until it gets too big.”
“That sounds cool,”I said. I was about to ask another question, but the bell rang.
As I rushed out of the cafeteria, I called to Valeft,“See you later.”
“Yeah,”she said,“see you later.”She sounded doubtful.
A couple days later, I spotted Valeri looking for a place to sit at lunch.
“Valeri, over here.”I pointed to an empty chair.
She sat down and pulled out her book. Everyone was talking about next week's talent show.“So, what are you doing for the show?”My friend Erin asked my friend Kelly.