We Could Be

The guest speaker stands at the front of the room, words of encouragement spilling from her mouth. Boredom and excitement wash through the students. I’m in a chair, Raina is on the table in front of me. The speaker’s words bob and weave through quiet chatter. Study Abroad. Summer. Spain. Japan. Africa. 

Some kids across the room have rolled up their informative booklets. Smack. Thwack. A teacher makes her way over. 

A guy is spouting philosophical jargon about some topic or other. Raina laughs, who knows what he’s talking about. She’s hyper today. The table bounces under her, her giggles and high-pitched noises bubble up. Her antics arouse chuckles.

We aren’t that close... maybe we could be. I’ve seen her around school and we share some classes. We only recently started talking.

A world map gazes back at me from my booklet. So many possibilities. Mom threatened to send me to China last year. Said it would be fun. Said I should get out more. 

Raina’s laughter rises above the sea of noise. People smile with her. We are being too loud. The teacher makes their way towards us. 

Shhhhh. Giggles slip quieter.

Raina topples from the table, spastic movement taking her over the edge. She squeals. I smile down at her. 

SHHHHHHHHHH tries to pierce our smiles. She’s back on the table. Bouncing less, but not by much.

Possibilities stare up at me from the booklet that has shifted on the table. I flip through them. Spain in bold. A map of the country. Beautiful photos of beautiful places.

“Hey Raina.”

“Yeah?”

“You. Me. Spain?”

Reviews

[roarke]

Raina "on" the table? A casual class?
"The teacher makes their way towards us." Teachers? maybe?
I can relate, I've been one of those teachers. Looks promising, next stop, next chapter...