Galaxy Stalking

short fiction

He wasn’t a guy you noticed. It was like he made a point of blending into the background, dressing in dark, muted colors that labeled him ‘teen’ but not much else. But there was something about the way he carried himself. Like he was afraid of where he’d come from and even more afraid of where he was headed. He kept his eyes down to avoid connection, but his hands were always fidgeting like he was desperate for someone to steady them. To hold them.

He was new. But not new enough to have made zero friends since he started going to school with us. He had to be making a real effort to remain a loner, because he was far too interesting to stay off everyone’s radar.

I couldn’t keep him off mine.

I liked the way he cracked his knuckles before he opened his locker. He did it one handed which was cool. His right fingers cracked louder than his left and I wondered if he played an instrument. Like the piano or the harp. Who plays the harp? He might. For all anyone knew he could have been a harp pr…