Country Bumpkin

I had to write a short story for Language Arts. My requirement? It had to revolve around a lie. I wrote this.

Country Bumpkin
By Nelotizapu

         He looked nervously around, still deciding whether or not to talk to her. “He”, was Logan Brewster, a 9th grader at Villa Park High School. “She”, was Aiko Minamoto, another 9th grader at Villa Park High School.

         There are two things you should know before we begin this story. First, Logan has had a crush on Aiko since middle school. Secondly, Aiko doesn’t even know Logan exists. Now, with these two things in mind, let us continue our story.

         Aiko was waiting on a curb in the school parking lot. She’s probably waiting for someone to pick her up, he thought. Logan was actually waiting for his mom to pick him up, but she wouldn’t be around until half past three (their school got out at two). It was probably one of the best chances he would ever get just to talk to her. No one else was around, except maybe a few other kids hanging around the campus.

         Well, he might as well. What was the worst thing that could happen? Aiko could absolutely hate him. For some reason the thought didn’t help soothe his worries. Here goes nothing.

         Logan approached Aiko, and she didn’t seem to notice him. He noticed she was listening to something on a CD player, with a pair of headphones on her head. That would explain why she didn’t notice him then, because she was sitting facing away from him and she apparently could not hear him.

         “Hello,” said Logan, a little louder so she could hear. Aiko jumped slightly, startled by the boy. She turned around. “Hi,” she greeted. Logan blushed. “Sorry for startling you,” he murmured. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just wasn’t paying attention.” She laughed, and his face just reddened further. Aiko was talking to him! And she was laughing too! Logan believed he could die happily now.

         “I’m Logan,” he said “what’s your name?” He didn’t mention the fact he already knew her name. “I’m Aiko.” “It is nice to meet you, Aiko.” That seemed to earn him another smile. “Oh, you’re so polite! Most boys just have no manners nowadays.” “Uh… yeah…” he eyed her CD player “what were you listening to earlier? You seemed pretty into it.” She glanced down at her CD player. “Hank Williams Jr.,” she answered “he’s one of my favourites!”

         Logan had no idea who he was, but he also didn’t want to insult Aiko’s favourite singer, so he lied. “I like his songs, too!” he said with fake enthusiasm. “Really? That’s great!” she slid her headphones off her head, “do you want to listen? Though you’ve probably heard it, it’s a fairly old CD.” “Sure,” he said, nodding. Logan grabbed the headphones from Aiko’s hand and slipped them on. As soon as the sound reached his ears he had to restrain himself from ripping the headphones off. Hank Williams Jr. sounded horrible! He’s even worse than most country singers, Logan thought.

         But he couldn’t tell her that now, or else Aiko would have known that he lied. “Oh, I like this CD of his,” he said. They continued speaking for awhile, Aiko talking about her favourite country singers, and Logan pretending he liked them too. They continued this until Aiko’s mother came to pick her up, and soon after Logan’s father took him home too.

         This is how their little routine began. Every weekday after school ended they met. They listened to country music and talked about their favourites. Aiko loved it, and Logan would pretend to love it. And every day Logan began to feel guiltier, because he hated lying to her.

         One day, Logan got tired of it. He couldn’t take it anymore! While Aiko was going through her backpack, looking for another CD, he spoke.

         “Uh… Aiko? Can I tell you something?” She looked up from her searching and smiled at him. “Well…” he looked down at his hands, and then on a spot behind her, and then on a piece of concrete nearby. He didn’t want to look at her, and he was nervous. Logan was reminded of the fateful day a few weeks ago when they had spoken to each other for the first time, and how his feeling of dread was much like how he was feeling now. The dread he was feeling now was worse, and he felt as if it would consume him.

         “I don’t actually like country music,” he blurted rather quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worse. Aiko’s reaction surprised him, but it was worse than anything he could have thought of.

         “So, you’ve been lying to me all this time?” she said. Her voice was quiet, calm, and cold. Logan slowly opened his eyes to look at Aiko. Her smile was gone from her face, and an ugly frown replaced it. Her eyes were narrowed as she shot a glare at him.

         “Yes,” he answered shakily. “Why did you lie to me?” Her tone was the same as before, and he didn’t like it. “I just wanted you to like me…” he said quietly. “I don’t know why you thought lying would make me like you,” Aiko’s voice raised slightly, “just so you know, we’re not friends anymore, but now I’m not sure if we ever were to begin with.” With that, she stalked way to the other side of the parking lot and sat down on a curb over there. A few minutes later her mom came, and then his dad.

         The next day, Aiko wasn’t there. Logan learned later she started riding the bus. He never got the chance to apologize, though he wasn’t sure if she would forgive him anyway. He finally gave up on her and moved on, because maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

         Every once in awhile they would pass by each other in the hallways, and they never spoke a word. Sometimes Logan would think about what might have happened if he hadn’t lied. Would they have become friends? Or would they have become something more? It was too late to find out now.

-End-

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