Emotions

Mayleen felt like she was ready to fall apart. The weight of all that had happened hung heavy on her heart, and the fact that she had silently bared it alone did not help. Frequently as of late, people had asked her what was wrong, if there was anything they could do to help, but they did not understand. They couldn't. So rather than helping, their questions had only served to make her more uncomfortable, more alone.

She sat on the bench after school, waiting for her bus to arrive. She had received word that her normal bus had broken down, and so there would be a delay of unknown length before a replacement would be able to arrive, and her parents were not able to pick her up as they were both at work. And so she sat, alone with her thoughts, as all of her fellow students had been able to arrange rides home.

She tried to stop herself from crying, to hold back her feelings at least until she could get home, and be away from the pressures of the world around her, but she was finding it difficult. She wiped angrily at her face as she felt the tears try to crawl their way out of her eyes. As she was rubbing her face, she heard the sound of a body sitting beside her. She felt a chill run through her spine. She didn't want to be seen like this.

As she slowly pulled her hands away from her face, her eyes darted to the side to see who was seated next to her. It was a boy she saw on occasion around school. He didn't talk much, and he didn't seem to have many friends. He was just... there. Mayleen realized that she didn't even know his name. She wasn't sure if that made his being there any better or worse.

They sat in silence for a long moment, Mayleen awkwardly shifting in her spot, unsure of what to do or what this boy wanted with her. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. "What do you want from me?" she vehemently spit out. The boy blinked and turned his head to face her, a confused look on his face. "Don't give me that," she continued spitefully. "No one will leave me alone. Everyone looks at me and thinks they need to pity and help me. No one is even here now, and the bus isn't coming for god only knows how long, so there's no reason for you to be sitting here except for me! So what is it?"

The boy looked at Mayleen, as if he were deep in thought about what it was she was saying. His silence dragged on, frustrating her endlessly. She felt her face begin to boil with the frustration, which only served to make her eyes water more. She hated feeling this way, but she hated being seen in this state even more.

"If there is something you want to say," the boy said, suddenly brining Mayleen back to reality, "then say it." His voice was quiet and soft. "I will listen. But I think words are not what you are in need of at the moment."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Mayleen spat back. But he didn't say anything after that. She turned away from him, still hot, confused on what he was saying. But perhaps he was right. Words were what people kept giving her that made her angrier.

Sitting there, however, with a strange boy beside her, no one around, and her thoughts pumping through her head, she was beginning to become unable to contain her emotions. She could feel herself curling up, trying to hold it in, as tears silently streamed down her cheeks.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her back. Her head whipped around to see that the boy had moved closer to her. "It's ok to cry," he said softly.

There was something about those words that hit her. Or perhaps the way he said them. But suddenly her body shook, wracked with sadness, and sobs escaped her lips. She cried hard and heavy, and the boy didn't move or say another word. He just stayed beside her, one hand resting on her back.

When she finally calmed down, she slumped against the bench. She felt very tired. But somehow, she also felt at least a little relieved to have let some of the pain out. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime," the boy replied.