situations.

a bit james frey, a bit judd apatow. best and worst of what made us teenagers, sans the trendy soundtrack and lipgloss. title mercilessly yanked from the jack johnson song. from the novella i'm working on. thank you for reading.

Four friends.

 

Three boys and one girl. The girl likes the first boy but he doesn't like her and the other boy is quietly pining for her in the corner, because that's how these things go. They round the corner of the gas station and the hobbling boy comes up from behind, moving three times the speed that he should be. Typical teens. The first boy has dark, well kept hair and a decent body. The girl is short. Spunky, wannabe punk/skater and knows that he's not going to pay attention to her. This is exemplified when a redhead walks around the corner. The other boy, a dirty blonde who's a little skinny and too tall to be appreciated now, watches the girl become resentful. The first boy moves ahead and the girl has causally reversed her tracks trying not to notice. She haphazardly runs into the other boy and he's shocked and happy and does she know what she does to him?

 

Maybe.

 

Behind them is the hobbling boy trying to keep up. Given a choice, he wouldn't be fourth wheel in a love triangle. He's that boy you know works at the movies and dreams of being in another place. Mildly greasy hair, thin face with the half beard and a wallet chain. It's that guy. He's struggling. He's ashamed. But, more than that, he's happy to be wanted around. He walked into the tight maze of teenagedom with a third metal leg. Thrown off balance in many ways. His pain radiates off of him even though he's alright at this particular moment. The other kids walk at a normal pace ahead toward the gas station door. He has slowed moving and now you see the normal pace at which he should be carrying himself. You see the strain he shouldn't be applying while trying to keep up with the other kids. He's tired, needs a break. The first, cuter boy stops trailing the redhead long enough to stand just inside the door and signals to the other boy to hold it open for the hobbling kid. The other boy is trying to talk to the girl who doesn't love him and resents having to stop his pursuit. He is irritated by the interruption, nothing to do with the hobbling kid per se.  He doesn't stop.

 

The first boy's concern is redeeming. He's kind, that's why the girl likes him. She's enamored again, just in time to see the redhead start to speak. The girl forgets about the door, too. The hobbling kid sees these crossing strands of frustration but misunderstands the source. You can see it hurt him. He shakes his head in frustration and hobbles more quickly toward the door. It shuts. He tries to throw it open with his cane and good hand.

Author's Note

In your opinion, why is the hobbling boy sad? What's his impression of the situation? My intention on that and what people have taken from it haven't lined up (granted, the audience up to now has been younger brother and friends, but still...). Just wanted to know how it's landing.

Also, I don't want to 'pity' any of the characters. Is that happening?