The Girl Who Knows Nothing

T

TigerQueen

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A new girl whom no one had seen before wandered down the streets of the town. She looked all around curiously, everything was new to her. The buildings looked nice and she was able to see a couple other people also walking down the street with her. She would smile at them and sometimes waved but they only looked back at her like she was insane with the exception of a few children who would wave back but their parents would pull them away quickly. She didn't know why everyone looked at her so strangely when they were the weird ones with their weird clothes and strange colored hair.

She just shrugged it off and continued walking. She wanted to know what else was out here. She was never out of the house let alone her room before so she wanted to know what was out here before they took her back. She knew they will, they would never just leave her out here.

There was a small smile on her face as she wandered into a park. "This place looks fun." She said to no one in particular. She wasn't quite sure what to do for everything but she was able to figure it out based on what the children were doing around her. She became tired after just a short while so she yawned and waved to the kids she was playing with before walking farther into the park then found a bench in a kind of enclosed part, laid down and she fell asleep peacefully.
 
Lark gave the coffee shop employee a bright smile, pouring his three pennies of change into the tip jar, before picking up his espresso and heading out the door. In his experience, it had always paid to be nice to sales clerks, waitresses, and the like; not only did it eventually lead to preferential treatment, but he sometimes got an employment offer out of it too, and he couldn't afford to pass up a part-time job these days. For some reason, though he hated to admit that his parents had been right, employment as a concert pianist or artist wasn't exactly forthcoming.

Cupping his hands around the cup against the slight chill of the outside air, he headed towards the park, his steps lengthening slightly. He'd found that there was nothing quite like some fresh air and wholesome children's play to get the inspirational juices flowing, not to mention an abundance of subjects for quick drawings.

As he reached his usual bench, he was surprised to find a girl with striking red hair asleep on it already. Gingerly, he set his coffee down, then, with a slight trepidation that he shouldn't be sketching a stranger sleeping, began to outline the girl's form on his notepad. Absorbed in his work, he failed to notice his coffee cup tilting, and as he penciled in a particularly long stroke, his hand knocked the cup over, spilling hot coffee onto his leg. He gave a startled shout, righting the cup and then doing his best to remove the coffee from the corner of his sketchpad, with limited success. He looked up, certain that he had woken the girl, and apologized, <b>"Sorry about that; I hope you don't mind that I sketched you?"</b>
 
The girl jumped awake, startled by the sudden shout. Her eyes were wide and she sat straight up, looking around for the source until she noticed the boy who was sitting in front of her. She cocked her head to the side curiously, "Sketched me? What does that mean?" She hadn't heard those words before so she didn't know what it implied. She heard lots of words before but not those. He was also wiping something off of his book. It looked like coffee but that was something that only They were allowed to drink, whenever she asked they wouldn't let her. She was now basically staring at his coffee with interest. 'I wonder what that tastes like….' she thought curiously.
 
Lark quirked one eyebrow. <b>"Sketching? Uh, it means drawing quickly with a pencil. Like this."</b> With a smile, he finished drying the sketchbook and tilted it so that she could see the partially-finished drawing, detailed from the waist up but notably lacking detail from the waist down and in the background. <b>"I guess you could say I'm an artist,"</b> he added with an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. <b>"Ah, and I should introduce myself. I'm Lark West; nice to meet you."</b>

He followed her gaze to his coffee. <b>"Oh, are you thirsty? Do you want some coffee? Though some of it spilled, I haven't drunk any yet; it is an espresso, though, so it might be a little bitter if you don't usually drink coffee."</b> He shrugged, a little at a loss for words after his rambling.
 
She smiled and turned back to look at him once he started talking again. "Oh, that's pretty." She told him about his drawing. When he asked if she wanted some of the 'espresso' she shook her head, "Oh, I'm not allowed to drink coffee. But…" She bit her lip and looked around, there can't be any harm in a little bit, right? And They weren't there to catch her. "Could I?" She asked hopefully. She didn't mind his rambling, it was nice to listen to someone so new talk about this world outside of her room.
 
Lark smiled at her compliment. <b>"Thanks!"</b> he said brightly. It was still nice to be complimented, even after all of the practice he'd done over the years.

<b>"Not allowed?"</b> he said with a slight frown. That sounded unpleasant; his parents had been likewise constricting until he escaped to college, insisting that he become a doctor or some other profession where he could make money. <b>"Of course you can,"</b> he said with a smile, handing her the cup. <b>"Be careful, though; it's still hot. And with coffee, some people like it and some don't."</b> He shrugged.

Something occurred to him then. <b>"Have you really never seen a sketchbook or drunk coffee before?"</b> he asked curiously, then stopped, laughing sheepishly. <b>"Ah, I guess I'm being a little rude. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."</b>
 
A large smile came onto her face when he handed the cup to her, "Thank you!" She grabbed the coffee and took a large gulp of it before his warnings registered in her mind. The burning liquid entered her mouth and flowed down her throat before she could stop it. Her face became scrunched up at the taste and she quickly spot out whatever of it remained in her mouth. "Ow!" She shouted at the burning she felt. She kept her mouth opened and was fanning her tongue in pain. In her rush she had accidentally dropped the cup on the ground in front of her without her notice yet.

She looked over to him, still fanning her mouth. "No, I haven't. They never used a 'sketchbook' before and I was never allowed to drink coffee, it's not good for people even though she always drinks it..." She said thoughtfully then tentitavely touched her tongue. "That is hot, and it doesn't taste very good."
 
Lark stretched out a hand hesitantly, expression worried. <b>"Sorry, I should have warned you more carefully. It is something of an acquired taste. I'm the only one in my family who likes it; everyone else drinks tea."</b> He shrugged slightly. Some people immediately liked it, others grew to tolerate it, and some always hated it.

Something occurred to him, and he turned back towards her. <b>"You've really never..."</b> He shook his head, whistling softly. <b>"And who are "they"? It's sort of an impersonal way to talk about your family."</b> He paused. <b>"Ah, I guess some people don't live with their families though. I seem to be making a horrible muddle out of all of this."</b>

He smiled. <b>"It's kind of weird to talk to a stranger like this, though, isn't it?"</b> He laughed, then teased, <b>"No way this is your first time talking to a stranger- or is it?"</b>
 
She shook her head, "No, I should have listened better... I'm sorry." She told him sadly and looking down. It wasn't his fault she didn't like the coffee. She then looked back up at him with newfound curiosity "What's tea like? Does it taste like coffee?" She added with her face scrunched up. No one had drank tea that she knew of, there were so many new things she was learning about by this new person. He was kind and looked nice too.

"Oh and They are the ones who take care of me, my family. I do live with them still but... They were gone today and the door was unlocked so... I kind of just left." She stated with a sheepishly but then giggled at his choice of words, "A muddle? I like that word. ...Muddle." She said to herself childishly. There were also new words that she was learning too. This was fun.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and pay attention to him again. "Well, of course this is the first time I'm talking to someone new. Why? Do you get to talk to strangers a lot?" She really wanted to talk to new people too. If he has been out here this whole time then maybe this guy, Lark, could teach her! "Could you teach me about this place?" She asked with a lot of energy.
 
Lark laughed. "Tea tastes a little bit like coffee, I guess. It's usually sweeter and milder, so maybe you'd like it a little better." Though to him, it had always been a little tasteless. Perhaps his taste buds had all been destroyed by years of drinking strong, scalding coffee; it wouldn't surprise him in the least.

He frowned slightly at her next words. She just left? "Do you know how to get back, or do they know where you are?" he asked, concerned. "Whenever I went wandering, my parents freaked out and I got a very stern talking-to." That was a bit of an understatement, even. One of his friends had been rich, with overprotective parents; whenever he broke curfew, he was grounded for a month or more. Judging on how sheltered this girl was, she could very well be the same way.

He laughed brightly. "I talk to strangers every day. When I interview for a job, I have to-- but I guess I'll have to get better at that, too." He shrugged. "Teach you? What do you mean?" he asked, getting drawn in despite himself. "Like, about how to talk to people, or about popular culture? Anything in particular?"
 
She nodded at this, "​That does sound better than coffee." She always had preferred sweeter foods and drinks so she wondered why she was never allowed to have any tea. She shook her head, embarrassedly, "Um… no... I kind of just wandered around until I came here. I don't even know what the house looks like… And no one was there when I left so the house either. Where are we anyway?" She ended curiously. She had forgotten, she wasn't sure where they were. She knew this place looked fun but that was just about it.

"Wait, you've gotten to go wandering a lot before?" She asked, amazed by this. Did everyone else get to just walk around when they wanted to? That's what it seemed like, considering the fact that this place was filled with other kids and people of all ages. "That's so cool. You even have a job too?" This Lark guy was getting more and more interesting the more she talked to him. "Oh, and I want to know everything about this place. All I know of out here is that it's big, dangerous and so far really fun! And nice." She smiled at him sweetly. "And if everyone is as nice as you then I probably can talk to them well enough. Except, so far whenever I've tried to talk and be nice to everyone else, they just looked at me like I'm weird." This confused her, she was just being nice to them but they didn't act the same way back. Everyone except Lark.
 
Lark's eyes widened in surprise. <i>She doesn't know how to get back? It's good that I ran into her, then; she could have gotten into some trouble.</i> <b>"We're in the park,"</b> he said with a smile. <b>"I guess you haven't been here before, huh? It's the place where a lot of kids and students hang out; some older folks walk here too. It's a nice place to relax. And talk to strangers,"</b> he added, winking.

<b>"I guess so? I was kind of a rebellious kid,"</b> he explained. <b>"And I have a few part-time jobs, but nothing steady. It's hard to find work as an artist. People like doctors and engineers get jobs, but artists aren't really a societal necessity, so we have a hard time of it."</b> He smiled. <b>"You really haven't gotten out much, have you?"</b> She seemed very nice, but also very naive. <b>"Talking to people is actually really hard,"</b> he confessed. <b>"If you act too nice, people will think you're being weird and childish, and ignore you. But if you're mean, they'll be afraid. It's hard to find the right balance; it takes a lot of practice. People like me are just outside of the norm."</b> After some thought, he added, <b>"I'd better stick with you while you're out here. Your family was right-- it can be dangerous, especially if you're alone."</b>

Though he hesitated for a moment, his stomach complained, and he continued. <b>"Actually, I was just getting hungry. Have you been to any restaurants before?"</b>
 
She giggled and bit her lip when he winked, it was strange for her, no one had acted like that to her before and neither has she felt like this before. She then glanced around, 'so, this is a park.' She thought then voiced her thoughts, "I like parks then." She faced him again. "Well, I really like your drawings, they're good." She told him with a smile. When he mentioned that if someone is too nice then they're viewed as weird, the way everyone had been looking at her made sense. "​Oh, so that's why everyone looked at me strangely…." She said thoughtfully. He smile grew when he said he'd stay with her, "You will? Thank you!" With that she gave him a big hug, only pulling away a bit, but still had her arms around him, when he mentioned food. "Um, no. I've never left the house before. What are restaurants like?" She told him, shaking her head slightly.
 
Lark flushed slightly, embarrassed. "Ah, they're not that good. I've just practiced a lot..." He scratched the back of his neck. Usually people didn't compliment others so freely; it was interesting to talk to someone different.

He yelped, surprised, as she hugged him. "Um, restaurants are places where you can order different kinds of food. There are fast-food restaurants, but the food there isn't usually so good. And there are more high-end places, but they cost more money." He grinned. "But since you've never been to one before, let's go to a good one." He stood up, thinking. "I guess you've never had Italian food before, right? It's one of my favorite types. And I know a good place. Not too pricey either!"
 
She was smiling as he explained the concept of restaurants to her. She wasn't quite sure what money was but she figured that that would be a question for later, she'd already asked a lot and she didn't want to annoy him after he just met her. She liked Lark and didn't want him to get annoyed at her or leave. She shrugged at his question, "Well, I might have had it before, but not at a restaurant."

She then hopped to her feet after him and turned around in a circle, trying to look if she could see the restaurant from where they were in the park, not thinking about the fact that they were surrounded by trees and she had no idea what a restaurant even looked like. "Is it nearby? What does it look like? Is it really good? Is there a park near it too?" She spouted all these questions so quickly it was hard to even distinguish her words and, realizing this, she stopped and turned back to him, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, um, sorry. I'm just really excited to be here and be able to spend time with you." She told him with a grin. She was being completely honest too, she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could until someone came to take her back but with the fact that no one was even at the house nor did they know where she was, she was fairly confident she would be able to be with Lark for a while
 
Lark laughed upon hearing the flood of questions. "Whoa, hey, slow down," he protested. "The place is a few blocks down. It's a building that's decorated with Italian-type stuff-- makes sense, right-- and has a garden next to it. Uh, sort of like this park, I guess. And the food is absolutely heavenly, in my opinion. I love Italian."

He smiled. "Well, it's natural if you haven't been out much before." He shrugged, then added, "But I'm not sure that I'm doing an exceptional job. Just tell me if there's anything you want to see or know, okay?" Given that she apparently couldn't leave the house most of the time, he thought it was only fair.

Grinning, he began to walk towards the restaurant, checking mentally. I should have enough money; I just got my paycheck from the library yesterday, and that's one of the larger ones. Provided they haven't raised the prices, I'll be fine. As they emerged from the tree line of the park, he pointed towards a sign about two blocks down that read "Roma" in green neon script. "See? It's not too far," he said with a slight smile.
 
She grinned and was basically skipping alongside of him as they made there way down the sidewalk. "That sounds so cool!" She exclaimed at his description of the restaurant. She then looked curiously at the sign he had pointed out. Along with that fact that she hadn't been able to leave the house and she didn't learn about anything of the outside world, she also hadn't been taught how to read so all she had seen was scribbles on a sign. "Oh..." She nodded, unsure.

She was squinting at the sign, trying to figure out what it was when a car suddenly passed by right next to them. She couldn't help but let out a small shriek and grabbed onto him with a jump. She hadn't seen anything like that before that day and none that close before. She had no idea what a car was bust that it was loud, big and kind of scary especially up close. "W-w-what was that?" She asked, still hugging his arm.
 
Lark laughed. <b>"Well, the food is good,"</b> he said. <b>"I guess you have to experience it to understand. But we'll be there soon."</b> He couldn't imagine never having been to a restaurant; without cultural context, he'd be totally lost. Maybe this girl was actually some kind of prodigy, and had been shut up in her house for most of her life? That would explain it.

His eyes widened as she grabbed onto him. The car? He tentatively reached out to wrap one arm around her shoulders comfortingly. <b>"That's a car,"</b> he explained. <b>"It's... it's a sort of metal room that people ride in, I guess you could say? It's propelled by an engine that burns gas."</b> He scratched his head. <b>"It's kind of scary when you think about it. Riding in something like that can be dangerous, but if the driver is experienced, it's usually safe."</b> He smiled. <b>"Anyway, most of the time it isn't dangerous. Just loud and a little surprising."</b>
 
"Oh." She said, looking after the car as a blush emerged onto her face. She shyly released his arm which she had been practically strangling earlier in fear. These 'cars' are normal occurances then... She glanced around at the other people who were also walking alongside the road and none of them seemed at all affected by the car passing by. The more she learned and saw about this place, the more she realized how odd her life has been. Everyone else acted like they've been out here their whole lives. Except for her.

She sighed sadly, wondering why she was so different. It was at that moment that she was snapped out of her thoughts by a couple of children who were playing with a ball next to the path they were walking on. She smiled and waved at one of the two little boys who glanced over to find out why someone has screamed. He saw it was just her and waved back with a toothy smile. The other boy noticed his friend's lack of attention to their game and threw the ball at him. The ball hit the boy's head then bounced off of him into the street. "​That wasn't very nice..." She murmured to Lark.

She was momentarily shocked about the mean action the boy would do to his friend as the two then began to yell at each other, not paying attention to their ball that had rolled into the street. She shook her head at them but then walked over to pick up their ball to give it back to them, despite the fact that it was in the street. She figured that if Lark said they were safe then she would be fine. She bent down to grab the toy right as another car turned the corner and was heading in her direction.

The car went unnoticed by her until it honked to get her attention so she could get out of the way. The driver was stepping on the brakes to slow down which caused a loud screeching sound. Her eyes widened and she snapped back up, holding the ball but she was frozen in fear. Unlike the other car that first passed them by, this was a larger and louder truck
 
Lark frowned as he saw the children. <i>Kids will be kids, I guess, but she's right, they should be nicer.</i> At that moment, he realized with a start that he hadn't even asked her name. He'd just opened his mouth to ask the question when he noticed that she had walked into the street.

His eyes widened, and he started forwards. <b>"Hey!"</b> he called, tensing as he saw another car appear. She didn't seem to hear him, though he shouted again. <b><i>"Hey! There's a--"</b></i> He shook his head, seeing that she wasn't moving. <b>"Damn!"</b> Though he'd heard the idiom, he'd never expected to actually see a deer-in-the-headlights expression. He cursed-- what kind of stupid thought was that-- and rushed forwards. Plainly, she couldn't get out of the way on her own, and he'd already said that he'd take care of her.

He got to her as the truck was only a few meters away, the squeal of the brakes deafening, and shoved as hard as he could, dropping his notebook and pen. After one frantic look to the side, they were out of the way of the truck; he barely caught himself, regaining his balance. Lark sighed heavily, looking backwards to make sure that there weren't more cars coming. <b>"Are you okay?"</b> he asked, looking at the girl. <b>"Ah,"</b> he laughed slightly, the relief finally catching up to him, <b>"And I just remembered I never asked your name."</b>
 
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