A little lost along the way~ (Open)

[erick kye charles]

Erick stared out across the lake. He knew he was severely directionally challenged but this, this was really rather pathetic. He had meant to go find that ice cream place whats his face had told him about. How he had managed to wind up here was beyond him.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and stared at it contemplatively. He could call his mom he supposed, she'd be able to come pick him up. But it would probably be a hassle, and he really didn't want to be any more of a problem for his mom then he already was. Besides, it had taken a lot of effort to convince her that he was feeling ok enough to go out by himself... if he called her now she would just worry.

He was tired of people worrying about him.

Sighing he slipped the cell phone back into the pocket of his pants. He could find his way back to the main part of town, he could, maybe. And if not he might as well enjoy the lake while he was here.

There didn't seem to be anyone around, which was probably good because he tended to not do the best in social situations.

"Well hello mr. lake. How are you today?" He said quietly as he crouched down where the water met the shore and searched around to see if he could find any fishes.

[natalia annalise garcia]

Dog walking. On the list of the world's most awful part-time jobs for teens, dog walking had to come near the top. Talia had just spent the majority of her morning walking various elderly couples' dogs. And, quite frankly, it hadn't been a pleasant experience. Loving animals, she thought that the job would be fun, but it was hard to enjoy the job when there were six or seven dogs pulling in all different directions and you had to hold them still while trying to clean up any poo. The tiny bit of money that she was earning from the job was hardly worth it.But, it was a job. Her first job, and she hoped it would show her mother that she was responsible enough for her own dog. Doubtful, but she could try.

Now that she had officially returned all the dogs to their homes and had been paid, she was happy to say that she could leave her morning of dog walking behind. She wasn't quite ready to return home; with nerves as frazzled as hers, she just wasn't up for her mother's questions on how it had went. So, surely there had to be something she could do around town? She had left her bike at one of the elderly couple's homes, so she had it with her. This meant that she had a few more options as to where she could go in the allotted time. Really only one place came to mind, though.

The lake. Talia always found comfort in the lake, and there was never anyone around this time of day. This allowed the perfect opportunity for her to sit, think, and relax before the twenty questions began at home with her mother. It was a rather quick ride from her current location to the lake, too. So Talia was quick to arrive.

Once at the lake, Talia jumped off her bike and pushed it down toward the shore. It was a beautiful day, and already she felt a little more relaxed. As she walked, however, she spotted sight of a boy standing by the shoreline. He didn't look familiar, and Talia was really surprised that anyone was here period.

"Hello!" She chirped, setting her bike down on its side in the sand gently. She kicked off her tennis shoes, and then her socks, leaving them both by the bike, too. Then, she proceeded to dip her toes into the water. Her eyes skimmed over the boy with curiosity. "I didn't really expect to find anyone here. It's usually pretty empty this time of day." Starting conversations had never been her strength, but she felt the need to try. She wasn't just going to flat out ask if he was new. that would be a little strange.

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[erick kye charles]

Erick was surprised when he heard someone say hello to him. He really hadn't expected to run into anyone here, though he didn't really have anything to base these expectations on. He stood quickly to look at the person who had greeted him, and blushed slightly when he realized it was a girl who looked to be about his age. He was terrible at talking to people his own age, and people in general... but more so when it came to people of his age group.

He almost thought about just not saying anything and fleeing as quickly as possible because clearly he was not prepared for this, but he didn't. Instead he remembered that he had resolved to live his life so that he would have no regrets when the time came that he would have any more chances. Drawing up what courage he had he managed a mumbled "um hello" in response.

When the girl continued talking he listened and was able to discern that she must have been living here for a while, or well at least longer than him. "Oh, um well my mum and I just moved here. I actually wasn't really intending to come to this lake... meant to go to ice cream... but I ummm... I got a little lost and..." He replied, blushing further and trailing off at the end. He knew he must seem like quite the clueless idiot to her, and resolved to do his best to improve his social skills as soon as possible because he wasn't exactly sure what the appropriate way to act in a situation such as this was, but he was certain the response he had just given was not it.

[natalia annalise garcia]

Talia watched the water ripple out from her toes as she dipped them in. Compared to the rather harsh and cold winter that they had, it was a nice feeling to have the warm water and sand on her toes. Stepping a little further in, she glanced back over her shoulder at her company and grinned. He looked to be about her age, maybe a little younger, which made her feel a little out of her element. She spent most of her time associating with upperclassmen - namely, her brother's peers. She just felt more comfortable around them, less insecure. It was strange.

The boy seemed even less certain than she, however, so Talia plodded on. She held what she hoped was a friendly, cheerful smile on her face as she listened to him speak. She couldn't help but to laugh lightly at his words. It reminded her of herself. She had moved to Lipton when she was ten and it had been hard to adjust. It wasn't a huge town, but things were spread out. It was easy to get lost. Which, did sound strange or stupid to many, but Talia understood. Most people grew up here, so it was second nature to them.

"You mean that little parlor in downtown?" She questioned, "They have the best ice cream! You're not too far from there... so you're doing better than I did when I first moved here." Talia laughed at herself now, shaking her head at the stories that she really was not about to tell. Her lack of direction was pretty evident after she had gotten lost many times over the years. Shortly after moving here, she had ventured out to the supermarket by herself. Only, she had somehow -much like Erick- ended up here at the lake. She hadn't told her mother she was leaving, and couldn't figure out how to make it back. So she had been stuck here at the lake until her mother and brother came looking for her after dark. It had not been one of her better moments.

The thought still made her embarrassed. Talia brushed it off, though, trying to focus on the boy in front of her. Fully spinning to look at him now, she extended a hand. "That's another story, though. Welcome to Lipton! I'm Talia Garcia."

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[erick kye charles]

Erick smiled when the girl didn't seem too put off by his awkwardness. She was still here, talking to him which had honestly been a better result than he had anticipated. His smile grew into a full grin when she mentioned that she too had been new around here once. It was nice to feel like he had something in common with someone here.

He knew his mum would be upset with him for it when he got home, as his immune system was currently not in the best state, but he had resolved to try things. So he kicked off his shoes and followed the girls example and stepped forward a few feet into the shallow water by the edge of the lake. He wiggled his toes in the sand under the water. He had never been to a lake before, there hadn't been any near where he had lived before, and his family had never really been big on traveling. They preferred to stay in their own house, in the comfort of the knowledge that the doctors they had already done background checks on were only a short ways away. There had been a river passing through the north side of town though, and he had been there a few times. He supposed a lake wasn't that much different... just a lot bigger and roundish.

He smiled again when she welcomed him and introduced herself. "Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you miss Talia. I'm Erick Charles." He said, and held her hand out to her to shake her hand. He wasn't really sure if that's how teenagers were supposed to greet each other, but the nurses and doctors had always seemed to appreciate that sort of thing.

[natalia annalise garcia]

Talia was surprised by the boy's manners. Most kids her age were just rude, or really didn't do well with first impressions. She took an extra second just to study him, grinning rather widely. She felt like an idiot, but the boy seemed nice. Sweet, even. Just someone that she could relate to on some measure. Shaking his hand, Talia laughed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Erick!" Introductions were never something that she fancied, but it was something that she was very accustomed to. After moving around for so many years before settling down in Lipton, introductions were about as common as breakfast to the Garcia's.

Talia released her new company's hand and her eyes shifted back down to the lake. She took a few more slow steps in, enjoying the feeling of the cool water rising up her leg as she did so. Once she had gained a few more inches of water, she glanced over her should again to Erick. The worst part of introductions was the fact that, after that, you had to find common grounds to speak about. Even if it were small talk, someone had to come up with something to say. That was the hard part for Talia. Finding the words to communicate.

"So... what brings you to Lipton? It's not quite a tourist trap or a well-known area." Well, it was a starter. A rather lame one, however, that Talia was certain the boy had heard many, many times already. She knew when she first came here, it was the only thing anyone asked her, aside from her name. It got annoying to answer it after a while... but, she was in hopes that it would lead to a better, less lame, common ground to speak on. Doubtful, but she could try.

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