Kelli

A short romance.

Kelli

I sat starring down at the carpet of the small country church wondering what words of wisdom the preacher was going to preach to me today. I was sure it would be something useful, something uplifting, something to set my pants on fire with passion, something that would urge me to go out there into the world and shout to the people words of God's wisdom, and then,

"Excuse me, but do you mind, could I sit over there?

She pointed to a spot just to my left side?"

I never looked up, only grumbled, "Sure, be my guest."

Scooting across, she stepped on my right foot.

"Sorry," she said.

I looked up to see who was invading my meditation time.

"Do you like my hair?" she asked as she sat down beside me.

I turned to look,

"What?" I asked.

"My hair," she repeated, "do you like it?"

Who was this person, and what would she do if I said no?  Would she get all mad and stuff?

What if I said "It's Okay," then what?

How was I supposed to answer this question?

The answer was, I didn't know. So I ignored her, but she was persistent.

She tugged on my sleeve and pleaded,

"Hey mister, didn't you hear me? What about my hair, don't you like it?"

I could see I was trapped into giving an answer.

I turned and looked at her and almost laughed.

She had fixed it in short pigtails that flared out in all directions, and with no apparent goal in mind.

 Parts were tinted green, others blue, and still others orange or red. I wasn't sure.

 She looked like a little pixie with dark brown bangs irregularly swooping across her forehead. Her little nose was covered in freckles, and her dark brown eyes glimmered under the lighted chandeliers.

She smiled and my heart melted. She was cute, really, really cute.

"Well mister, you still haven't answered my question. Do you like it? I worked on it all morning. My Mom says it looks absolutely hideous, but I disagree. I like it whether she does or not."

I held my hand over my mouth trying not to let her see my expression.

"Well," I said, "it's alright I guess."

"Alright," she muttered, "JUST alright? That's the same as saying it looks stupid. Oh I just knew it. You think I'm stupid, don't you. You know, I try to look like all the other girls, but they're all beautiful and fashionable, and... oh, I don't know what. They always make fun of me. They say I'm an oddball. What does that mean, anyway?"

I turned and faced her. I could tell she was about to start crying.

"I like your hair."

"No you don't. You're just saying that to be nice."

"Well, yeah, that's true, but it...well, it grows on you."

"What do you mean?"

"It mean you're different, not like the other girls."

The truth was, her hair really was kinda growing on me. It actually was kinda' cute in an oddball sort of way. She was different alright. No one else could have pulled off this little stunt look but her. I found myself admiring her.

"You really like my hair?"

"I do, I mean...to tell the truth, at first I didn't, but...well, it takes some getting used to, don't you think?  Actually, it's really cool, honestly."

She popped her hand on my shoulder and asked,

"Do you want to have lunch with me and my mom. There's this great seafood buffet in town with all you can eat lobster, crab legs, shrimp, and other fish too.

My mom won't mind, we have lots of money.

By the way, I'm Kelli. That's K E L L I. It has two Ls and an i at the end. It's kinda weird, but that's how my mom wanted it.

You're new in town aren't you? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"Nah," I replied, "I'm staying out at the State Park in my little trailer camper. I don't live around here."

I held out my hand, "I'm Sam."

"Sam," she said, "like Samuel."

"That's right."

"I like it."

"Me too," I replied.

I sat in my pew for a few moments contemplating,

 "Who is this girl?" 

Author's Note

Have you ever met some one and instantly bonded with them?

Reviews

[roarke]

Wow, quite a pace set here. Kelli is a force of nature onto her own, great character development. This little snippet just screams for more, like realizing mid-way down that you just dived head first off the high dive into the deep end and .... you can't remember if you ever learned to swim kinda meeting someone.... Cool write Terry.

[Samuel Dickens]

That quirky, cute little gal would've appealed to me, too. (Mainstream has never been my thing) Hey, and she likes my name! A cute story, and well told.

[emmajoy]

'She looked like a little pixie with dark brown bangs irregularly swooping across her forehead. Her little nose was covered in freckles, and her dark brown eyes glimmered.'

What a wonderfully written story! First off, it grabbed me up and took me there as a fly.on.the.wall and i was fascinated - truly, no kidding - I just had to read on and see how it finished!

The actual execution of the story is first.class, the dialogue is realm unforced, natural and, in spite of that quirky little character's presumption. As the adult melted, his persona really shone! Clever plot, academic writing. Thank you so much for sharing. Tis charming.