The girl with the blond ponytail (D1)

Scene 1

The flow of people going down the sidewalk in the evening sun is something special. He could just sit on this bench forever and watch the crowd. But there is so much input. He wouldn’t be able to keep up and maybe that’s what he likes about the idea. Well who knows, he certainly doesn’t but that isn’t why he’s here today.

Karen is walking down the street. Her day at work was pretty stressful and the only thing she wants to do now is going home and take a relaxing bath with a good book to read. But for a while now she has this feeling that she is somehow followed. Normally, she would have already taken two shortcuts to get home faster, but both involve some dark alleys which aren’t as crowded as the street she is walking on presently. Every now and then she looks over her shoulder, sometimes she even thinks to recognize a familiar face.

“Yeah it’s certainly him,” she thinks, not knowing what to do about it. At some point, she has to leave the crowd which at least is giving her some feeling of security. But after what she knows about that psycho, it probably wouldn’t stop him from confronting her.

Someone touches her left shoulder. Her entire body freezes for a second and a cold tingle is running down her spine. Quickly she turns around to face the threat head-on but to her surprise, it’s not him. The man or, to better put it, the boy she is facing now looks surprised about her reaction. “I’m sorry I’ve scared you but I thought I recognized you from somewhere … Are you alright?”

Still, a bit confused Karren answers, “Yeah I’m fine but I’ve never seen you in my life.” He makes an inviting gesture to go to the side of the sidewalk so they won’t stand in the way of the flow. “Yeah sorry, you couldn’t know me. I just looked into some of your publications about the human brain and found that your theories are quite interesting. I wanted to talk to you about them sometime.” He makes a subtle gesture pointing over his left shoulder. Now, looking into that direction, she can see the face of that psycho. He is standing there in a small distance, just waiting as if he’s got nothing to do with anything. “You’re sure you’re alright miss. I could walk you home or, if you don’t mind, we could grab something to eat and discuss your work.”

Is he serious? This boy can’t be more than 19 years old and he wants to talk about my papers I’ve written on the human brain? There is no way he read them and understood anything. Also, on top of his white shirt and his short brown hair, he has this look on his face like he’s without a care in the world. But what should she think about his determination to help her out of this situation with her ex? Something about him doesn’t fit but she can’t really see what it is.

“Oh … I’m just coming from work and haven’t eaten since lunch. Also, I would really appreciate some company.” Karren responds. She is a bit surprised about the words coming out of her mouth. It’s not like she knows the boy. He could be just as bad or even worse than her psycho ex. On the other hand, he is just a boy so she would probably be able to talk her way out of any situation that might arise.

Daniel gives her a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t bite if you don’t”. She can’t hold back a little laugh and for just a second the atmosphere lightened up a bit. It only lasts one moment because then she once again looks over his shoulder and sees her Ex still standing there watching the two of them. Daniel now dead serious “Lead the way. I’m new to town so it’s probably for the best if you choose the location”

Scene 2

“I knew you’d agree to go somewhere for dinner,” He says with a triumphant smile before shoving his teeth into the burger. “You probably don’t believe me because you weren’t even sure yourself, but you’re a scientist and you couldn’t wrap your head around my interest in your work. Therefore, you do the only thing a scientist can do in this situation, you try to go to the bottom of it.”

Pretty accurate. “Impressive, but you’ve already shown me that you can read a situation,” she responds maybe a bit harsher than she intended to. It annoys her that he knows so much about her and she doesn’t know the first thing about him.

He looks up from his plate and says, “You know, you could just ask the questions that come to your mind. My name is Daniel, I’m 19 years old and I’m still going to school. But don’t make the mistake and think that I don’t understand the research you do, as I said I want to talk to you about some theories of yours. I tried to get into contact the official way, but the receptionist blocked me out.”

So, he is the boy I was told about who wanted to speak with me so badly. How did Susie describe him? Handsome little fellow … well, she certainly isn’t wrong about the handsome part but little? Average, maybe … at least for a man. “I’m sorry, but normally I don’t waste my time explaining neurochemistry to teenagers.”

Shit, there is definitely disappointment in his eyes. “Look,” she adds trying to explain herself, “I really appreciate you getting me out of this situation with my psycho ex, but tell me … am I wasting my time talking to you?”

*sigh* “You know, your problem is that you think you’ve got the world all figured out. Your work has very little to do with the neurochemistry of the brain. You’re looking into traces of thoughts, interferences in electromagnetic waves. And yes, I’m well aware that the scientist in you thinks it will probably come down to chemical reactions but you’re far from describing anything.” These few sentences came out pretty dark but then Daniel adds jokingly, “tell me, am I wasting my time talking to you, mam?”

Karren is surprised about his bluntness and can’t help herself but laugh.

Daniel takes out his wallet and says, “You know what? Give me a call when you’re interested in talking. Dinner is on me.” He leaves a piece of paper and some money on the table. Then he stands up, takes his half-eaten burger with him and walks towards the entrance.

“Daniel!” Karren shouted after him remembering why she is eating in a fast-food restaurant and not back home. “What about that psycho?”

He just gives her a warm smile and says, “I could walk you home if you insist, but I thought I just scare him off for you.” He waits for her to respond but she doesn’t. So, he just walks out the door, ready to confront the man.

Through the glass front of the fast-food restaurant, Karren watches Daniel sitting down next to a man who’s waiting on a bench. She didn’t notice him earlier but from the back of his head, it could definitely be him. A few moments later, both men stand up and while her psycho ex just walks away, Daniel turns around to her, gives her a wink and walks away in the opposite direction.

Scene 3

“You’re the new student, what’s your name again?” The cafeteria is only half full and Daniel is sitting alone at a big table far away from the main crowd. It’s his first day at the new school and yesterday he didn’t sleep very well. Now this girl is standing right in front of him, trying to get into a conversation. Maybe if he just ignores her, she will leave him be? He doesn’t have the nerve to make a nice first impression right now.

“Do you mind?” She says while taking a seat right across from him.

Friendly, happy, welcoming. Ok, let’s do this but make it quick. “Daniel …”

Finally, he focuses his attention on this girl. A good-looking blonde, her hair tied into a ponytail, but something is missing. He just can’t quite get what it is. “Don’t you wanna ask me who I am in return?” she jokes teasingly, being amused about the whole situation “or do you just want to stare at me like I got something on my face?”

“No, sorry I was only surprised that such a beautiful girl would want to talk to me,” Daniel responds, trying to throw her off a bit. After all, such conversations can be enjoyed on both ends.

“Smooth, I take the compliment, thank you. In math, you said you’d only moved here by the end of last week?” The girl seems confident, even genuinely interested in what he has to say.

FUCK … That’s it, Daniel doesn’t know for sure whether it is, in fact, a genuine interest. It could be anything really. He can’t get a read on her. For the first time in his life, he hasn’t got a clue about what the person on the other side of the table is really thinking.

“What’s wrong with you?” He just can’t stop himself from uttering these words. Unsurprisingly, the girl didn’t take that very well. She probably also didn’t care to look into his face, after what she thinks was a clear signal to fuck off! She would have found everything. Surprise, fear, relief, excitement and confusion, all written across his face …

Instead, she just leaves him be.

Scene 4

Again, Daniel is sitting in the cafeteria but this time it’s packed. Steve, the guy who he’s having lunch with, said that today is an exception because there was a change in the timetable for the lower grades. Normally, they would eat an hour earlier. Steve was the guy that tried to put Daniel under his wing, at least for the first few days but soon realized how silly and not necessary that was. Still, there is something about the new guy with his short brown hair that makes him so easy to get along with.

And while Steve talks about his love for computer games, Daniel notices a group of girls leaving the cafeteria.