i&#x27;m just a question

Tiny Table Utopia

deceitful-princess

You noticed the change in tone of his voice and saw him close up little by little.

Oh, no. Oooh, no no no no.

Your stiff expression melted to a much gentler one of worry and regret. You didn’t mean to make him feel bad with that, you could’ve said something much worse if you were actually looking to hurt him, but you could see the glint of waning confidence in his eyes and you could immediately tell he didn’t mean harm if he was bruised so easily by something so small.

“No, wait-that’s not what I- um…” Words, Joel, words! “I’m sorry.” You say softly, visibly guilty for thinking he was someone like them. “A lot of people try to-” The words stop in your throat. Saying it out loud was like admitting that people think you’re a freak and you’re not ready to do that. “W-We can be friends. I didn’t mean to be so rude, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you weren’t being rude,” Spoole said shaking his head because he understood. Not everyone wanted to be friends with him and that was alright; he knew he was a bit much for some people. However, regardless of whether she wanted to be his friend or not he couldn’t help but ask.

“What do a lot of people do?” The second the words left his mouth he knew it was probably a mistake. Of course above all it was none of his business, but in the end Spoole never had the greatest of filters and he generally let his curiosity call the shots which has a tendency to end negatively.

madlen93

#animals

Tiny Table Utopia

deceitful-princess

You’re struck by his very genuine expression and answer. Was he for real? You honestly couldn’t tell if he was playing some sort of game with you or not. He has to be, right? You won’t fall for it so quickly.

“Are you saying you want to be my friend?” You asked cautiously. You were tempted to look behind you to see if he had any jeering friends watching, but that would make you look insecure. You learned early on to never look behind you in the lunch room.

Spoole couldn’t help but frown a bit at her question. It took him a moment to think of how he wanted to respond, not that he didn’t know what he wanted to say, on the contrary there were quite a few different thoughts running through his head on the topic.

“Well, yeah, why wouldn’t I?” His response was slow and at this point he had sat up a bit straighter not entirely sure what direction this conversation was about to take. By no means had Spoole meant to cause a problem or anything of the sort, he mostly just knew if he hadn’t thrown himself into a conversation with her now there would be no telling when he would have another chance.

“I mean if you don’t want to I understand, obviously I’m not going to like force you or something,” Spoole tacked on, the confidence slowly seeping away.

Tiny Table Utopia

deceitful-princess

Oh, he’s another one of those huh? It’s surprising he actually came to you here of all places. People who are curious enough to try and talk to “the ice queen bitch” usually do it privately where no one can make fun of them for talking to you. Maybe he’s in on a bet. In any case you suppose you’ll play along for now. Honestly what’s the worse he could do?

“You must introduce yourself to everyone huh?” You joked, trying to keep the mocking tone out of your voice. You weren’t some beast for them to poke sticks at.

His head tilted a bit to the side as she spoke. Of course she was making a joke, at least Spoole assumed it probably was, except it was pretty much the truth. He liked knowing people, spending a lot of time on his own or only surrounded by family growing up left Spoole almost in need of having people he could reach out to.

“I do, how else are you supposed to make friends?” He countered, sure it might not be the best plan, but it was the only one he had.

Tiny Table Utopia

deceitful-princess

You stared at him with furrowed brows. What in the world is going on? You knew there were some weird characters at this school, but really?

You contemplated telling him to go buzz off, but you aren’t sure you know what he’s going to do and the last thing you need is more people staring at you.

“Um. I’m Joel.” You start cautiously. How’s it going? You have no clue. “It’s going…fine, I guess?” No really, what’s going on? Is this a prank?

To be honest Spoole had half expected to get told to piss off, but he wasn’t about to question anything.

“Good to meet you,” he responded glancing at the people in the room behind her before looking back to Joel. Of course he probably should have first started by explaining why he was there and not just sitting down and not basically not saying shit.

“I’ve seen you around the school and figured I could introduce myself,” Spoole finally stated with a bit of a shrug.

Tiny Table Utopia

deceitful-princess

It was an understatement to say that he startled you. As often as you got curious glances and teasing whispers from passing students, no one had even been bold enough to actually sit at your table uninvited. So of course you jumped a bit in shock when some random boy plopped himself at your table.

“I-…Hello?” Did he know you? You don’t recognize this kid at all and just why was he putting his stuff down like he’s your friend?

“I’m Sean, but you can call me Spoole,” he introduced with a grin not recognizing that he actually startled her. Spoole really wasn’t an overly confident person, in fact he would become incredibly shy in large crowds, but in a one on one situation like this it wasn’t as bad. He could handle looking like a fool in front of one person.

“How’s it going?” Spoole asked after a moments pause sinking a bit in the chair as he got comfortable.

Tiny Table Utopia

Lunch may be the hardest to get through. You would think after doing it for so many years you’d be used to it, but something about such a stark display of isolation still makes it uncomfortable.

Between you and the rest of the cafeteria is nothing but an empty space that separates your empty table in the corner of the room from the rest of the students. Long tables run down the room for all the students to sit in but you choose to sit in the smallest table, only four or five seats available, that’s pressed up against the corner of the room as if it had been forgotten. Your back faced the swaths of students as you ate and while for most people it would be lonely, you at the very least were able to lose yourself in a book after you finished eating.

Curious eyes and sharp glances burned into your neck, but that was fine. It’s not as if you care what these children think. You couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks honestly. So despite the discomfort it gave you, you continued on in your quiet solitude, eating at your own pace and reading without interruption.

Receiving strange looks from fellow students wasn’t a new thing to Spoole, but he didn’t mind. In fact half of the time he didn’t even notice, far too caught up in his own world to pay attention to others. Of course the looks had died down quite a bit since the beginning, people at this point were used to seeing him in one of his hats and covered in dirt.

As per usual when Spoole entered the cafeteria he was covered with smudges of dirt and his unsurprisingly his clothing was in no better condition. Instead of grabbing a plate of his own food Spoole opted to bounce around the room collecting bits and pieces from the people he knew would let him. It didn’t take him long to make his way to the table in the back.

“Heeey,” Spoole greeted plopping down in the seat across from her and leaning his broom on the empty seat next to him. He had seen her around the campus, but couldn’t recall a time they had properly met and there was no time like the present, right?