Starting Over: For Dummies, Pt 2

I followed the noise to what looked like the back porch. It was surrounded green lawn, a white picket fence enclosing the remainder of the backyard.  A lone tree stood at the far left corner, looking ancient and abandoned. And there, smack dab in the middle of the lawn, was a boy. I watched as he backed up until he was against the tree, then I turned to see what he was cowering from. For a few seconds, I couldn’t see anything, and then my eyes widened in time with my mouth.

A frog. This dude seemed terrified of a freaking frog. I felt laughter start to bubble out my mouth and bit my lip. I then proceeded to make my way towards him, still trying to stop myself from cackling like a hyena. When I got close enough, I bent down and carefully scooped up the frog in my hands, grimacing at its slimy body.  I held it forward, towards the boy (I wasn’t trying to tease him or anything. I was just seeing if he was in fact scared of the small amphibian. What do you think I am, evil?).

“Get it away from me!” He yelled urgently.

“Okay, okay!” I complied and carried it to the fence where I dropped it unceremoniously over the side. I heard a sigh of relief and turned around to face the boy. He stepped out from the tree’s shadow and stared bashfully at the ground. He was about my age, around six feet tall. Brown hair. Grey eyes framed by a pair of sophisticated-looking black glasses.  In conclusion, he looked nothing like the kind of person you would expect to be scared of a tiny little fun-sized Kermit.   I stared him down, one hand covering my mouth in amusement.

“I assume you’re my neighbor?” I said after a few awkward moments.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. 

“Aha.” Silence. “I assume you don’t like frogs?”

“No, not really.” He looked up, and I decided to leave him alone about the whole frog issue.

“Well, nice to meet you. I’m Jamie.” I thrust out my hand, surprised when he just stared at it.  I looked down and saw that it was all gunky from holding the frog. I snatched it back, settling for a little wave.

“Nice to meet you too.  Listen, are you gonna be going to San Machillo High School?” I blinked at the sudden change in subject, then shrugged and answered,

“Where else?”

“Cool. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about this little…incident.” He shoved his hands deep inside his pockets.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare,” I reassured him. “So… would you mind telling me exactly what you’re doing in my backyard?”

“Oh, uhh, I was just looking for something.”

“What were ya looking for? Maybe I could help you find it.”

“No, I don’t think you could,” he sighed forlornly. “Hey listen, I gotta go. See you around school or somethin’.”

“Bye!” But he had already stepped over the fence.