Odd Ones Out: Part 5
Lysander looked away at her response. Of course she knew him. It seemed foolish to think that there were many people around who didn’t. He couldn’t quite place her judgement of him yet. He suddenly felt self-conscious.
“Yeah, I guess.” he mumbled, then looked up at her.
“I…I didn’t think you were.” he added.
It has happened before, where several (seemingly) kind students have tried to reach out to Valeria, only to get shut down. Prior to these attempted friendships, Valeria has had her fair deal of witches and wizards who ‘befriended’ her, only to end up betraying her trust in them. Often, it is to render connections with the rest of the Géroux family. Of course, her family - even her parents - had no care for whether or not these students remained friends with Valeria, as long as it resulted in an increase of power. And this was the very thing that gave birth to Valeria’s trust issues.
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Oh no, I’ve done it again. Why do I always mess things up? Scrunching her face, Valeria hits herself on the head with her palm. Lysander had been so kind to her - more kindness and positive attention that anybody has shown her as of yet - and hearing him mumble and stumble over his words makes her realize that she should have been more careful with what she said.
Trying to compensate for lost words, Valeria makes an attempt to reason with the boy.
“I meant it, though, about the judging.” Nonchalantly, the young witch props herself up onto a nearby ledge, and looks out at the azure sky. With a lengthy sigh, she welcomes Lysander into part of her life. Just a bit, she thinks.
“My whole life, I’ve been judged by others. And I most definitely do not want to partake in that act as well, especially when I understand how it feels to be misunderstood.” Looking over at the boy with sincerity in her eyes, she questions him.
“You get what I mean?”
