Words: Peculiarity, Restraint, Favouritism, Emotive, Disruption, Garb, Integration, Intercalation, Gallant, Laconic
"Sorry", she mumbled as she moved her foot from his, quickly moving her eyes away as she continued to walk in the other direction.
Long ago, Alfred had made it a habit to walk to work, and he still stuck to it. Consequently, incidents like this one happened a lot to him. Yet, it was somehow different this time. Call it favouritism, but he actually liked it this time, even though there was nothing special about the girl. She had a plain face with soft brown eyes, her garb was traditional work attire of pleated skirt and a white blouse. The only peculiarity was her red hairband that probably indicated a youthful nature. It was the integration of these common sights, however, that had caught Alfred's attention. He longed to go after her, but when he glanced at his watch, he realized that he was already getting late for work; the biggest restraint that has kept him from pursuing his dreams.
At that moment, however, he felt different. He could sense something (was it gallantry?) slowly creeping up inside him, intercalating itself between his confidence and his dreams, ousting his indifference and love for monotony.
Someone bumped into him, jostling him from his reverie. Looking around, he realized that he was standing idle in front of the ticket machine, disrupting the flow of commuters who were anxious to reach their workplaces, and consequently, were giving him angry stares. A few muttered obscenities as he hastily moved out of their way.
He had to find her, now. He had to see how she had changed him with a casual glance. He had to know her. So he skimmed the crowd till his eyes caught a glimpse of her red hairband, and to his amazement, his feet started moving towards her as if they knew how urgent it was to reach her. Gradually, he quickened his pace till he was practically running, and caught up with her just as she turned onto another street. He was breathless, panting due to lack of air in his lungs, and his legs screamed at their sudden overuse. Despite his disheveled state, he reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around, quickly but gracefully, and abruptly, Alfred found himself face to face with her. She smiled with recognition, but as her eyes took in his state, her face became quite emotive: concern, pity, wonder and mirth written all over it. Suddenly, she understood it all had been for HER, and her eyes lit up with joy and longing. And Alfred, who had always been scared of rejection due to his laconic personality, felt his jaw relax as his face mirrored her smile, and at that moment, he had no doubt about how he was feeling: he was in love.
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