Mermaid Pirate Dispatch

Being the only guy in class can be a good thing. Being one of only a few guys in high school can be terrifying. Arthur clutched the small stack of library books closer to his chest and pressed his nose into the warmth of their soft pages, feeling how they ruffled against his flesh, filling his nostrils with comfort and familiarity. He watched the ground past the books as his feet quickly shuffled onward, pressing through the noisy energy that surrounded him.

All around him girls were squealing and cheering, giggling and laughing as they discussed their summer plans, jeered at each other, and fawned over Shawn, the only attractive boy at Preston High School. Arthur allowed himself a couple of curious glances around. Shawn must be close, given the sudden hushed voices. But for Arthur this didn’t mean it was quiet. In fact, the wave of silence brought an explosion of other things to hear.

“Oh here he comes! I hope I smell OK.”

“Why couldn’t you just cooperate this one time, you stupid head of hair?!”

“It’s Shawn! He’s so handsome!”

Of course, these were things the girls would never say out loud, but Arthur heard them nonetheless. He took a deep breath and charged forward, lowering his head and eyes, making a beeline for the door. The sooner he could escape this manically charged herd of girls the better.

“There he is,” he heard from a familiar source. He looked up just in time to catch Penny’s eyes scrambling to appear disinterested and he fought off the knowing grin that tried to explode onto his face.

“Oh hi,” Penny said aloud.

“Hey there,” he replied as nonchalantly as possible.

She glanced at his bundle of library books and he watched her lips purse. He heard, “Shoot! I forgot to return my library books again!” She sucked in a tiny gasp and opened her mouth to speak but he interjected.

“I was thinking of heading back to the library one last time before heading home. Wanna come?” He smiled as her eyes bulged ever so slightly.

She rolled her eyes. “OK, how do you do that?” she said.

“Do what?”

She took a quick breath and held it, then let out a forceful sigh and shook her head. “Nothing,” she said, smiling weakly. “Sure, let’s go by the library.”

Silently, he heard her lament, “how does he do that?”

Cutting back into the crowd wasn’t pleasant. Several brows furrowed at him although, much to his relief, the vast majority of the girls had absolutely no thoughts about him at all. He had realized early on that it was better for someone not to think of him at all than to have thoughts he didn’t want to hear. Most of the girls in his school had no idea he existed, and this was a point of pride for Arthur. His invisibility was his most prized possession.

“Ugh, it’s Amy,” he heard Penny think. He glanced over at his friend as her eyes bored through the back of Amy’s head. Arthur’s heart skipped a beat just at the sight of her perfect, golden hair. It seemed to shimmer in the late afternoon light that spilled in through the high windows lining the main hallway. He wished just once to hear Amy think something nice about him, but alas he was just as invisible to her as he was to nearly everyone else in the school.

Penny silently increased her pace, rushing to get through the doors into the library’s peaceful, quiet sanctuary. They both paused and took deep breaths just inside the blessed space.

Arthur heard the librarian’s innermost whispers declare, “Oh, it’s just those two. I swear they are the only kids left on the planet who actually read books anymore. And that boy was just in here a minute ago. I wonder if he and that sweet girl will end up married.” He groaned internally and approached the desk with Penny who fished a couple of books out of her bag while the old woman smiled at them.

“Hey Mrs. Jones,” Arthur sighed, hoping she wouldn’t call him out for coming back so soon.

“Hello again Arthur,” she said in her usual staunch but bright manner. He saw the knowing twinkle in her eye and raised his eyebrows, hoping she’d understand.

Penny grunted and heaved her books onto the counter. “Just returning these,” she said.

Internally, Arthur heard her lament, “I wish I could have finished them.”

“Mrs. Jones,” Arthur spat out quickly, “is there any way I could borrow those over the summer?”

Penny flashed a confused look at him and he tried to hide his sly grin.

“Um,” the woman contemplated.

Internally she deliberated, “he’s always been so good about returning things, I suppose it can’t hurt…”

“You know what?” she said. “Sure, you can take them over the summer.”

Back out in the hall, which was slowly thinning out as students dissipated into their summer adventures, Penny exploded. “OK Arthur, what is going on?!”

He smiled and handed her the books. “I thought you might want a little more time with them,” he said innocently. “They’re long books and…”

“But HOW did you know?” she exclaimed. “There’s no way you could have known I didn’t finish them!”

He grinned with pleasure and took a deep breath. “I like playing this game with you,” he said.

She slugged him on the arm and laughed. Deep in the private places of her heart he heard her chuckling internally, “ugh he’s so annoying when he does that! But… I also kind of love it.” There was a long pause and he felt the warmth of her gaze as she watched him, hoping their eyes might meet. “In fact,” she told herself. “I think I kind of love him.”

And he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.