Sigh. (Open)

Looking out over the empty field before him, Jarod thought back to home. Baseball was his favorite sport to play since he was a little kid and would hit the ball off of the tee at the local park. After he moved from Newton to Wichita during middle school, he played baseball for TRYC and did all the way until the move to Sawyer, North Dakota. He began to sit down on the dirty ground and take out his notebook. He took it everywhere he went now, a habit left over from middle school.

The diamond outlines in the earth with white chalk felt familiar to Jarod, as if it were one of the fields in Wichita. He slowly leaned back until his back was on the soil and his hands resting behind his head as he looked up at the cloudless sky. He let out a sigh, thinking about everything that's been going on. The boy eyed his notebook, which lied on his chest for now, making sure it was safe. Some of his deepest thoughts and drawings were in there, and if someone else got a hold of it he'd be screwed. Er, at least outcasted; he could only wish to be screwed. Haha, he said in his mind as he chuckled softly at how bad the joke was. He closed his eyes and soaked in the field and his memories of playing, wishing he could play again sometime.

The tiny girl in her pristine outfit wondered why she of all people was on a sports field. Well, there's no sports going on, which means it's quiet. Quiet is hard to find here, with so many people...

She also had a notebook, but with it she had a case that was most likely an instrument case. Chloe didn't see the boy, but she unknowingly settled within earshot before taking out a flute that was kept just as clean as her outfit. The pale pink skirt she was wearing was just short enough that it wouldn't get dirty if she sat on her knees, so she did that and began to play a song of her own making.

The first thing he saw was Vijay when he relaxed more and began to think back to home. Jarod began to feel warm all over and his heart beat faster just thinking about the Indian boy from Wichita. His perfect white teeth paired with his darker skin made the boy melt all over. Vijay loved sports and was on the baseball team with Jarod, so the boy often saw his amazing figure in the locker room, which made his melt all over again.

Jarod was beginning to get more comfortable as he thought about one of the times in the locker room when he heard a noise. Embarrassed and startled, his eyes opened and he jumped up, trying to identify where the sound came from. He found a girl dressed neatly in pink playing her flute not far far away from him. That was close, he said in his mind, scolding himself silently for being so awkward and stupid and hung up over Vijay. He sighed as he just stared at the girl and listened to her play, mesmerized by the sound of the woodwind.

She accidentally hit a sour note and stopped before sighing. "I always squeak that one..." she murmured to herself, opening the notebook and writing a note down quickly before starting the song again. Chloe was still oblivious to the boy behind her, but if she had noticed him she would have likely blushed and put her instrument away.

Jarod began to clap his hands and say, "That was great," before realizing the girl didn't know of his presence and that she was playing some more. It was too late, though, and his cheeks turned a bright red as he quietly scolded himself. You fugging idiot! his mind exploded. It's freaking grade school all over again. The boy sighed, playing with his pencil and notebook, waiting for the flute player to respond, expecting her to yell at him in a tone just as sour as the last note that came from the fine instrument.

His clapping obviously startled her, but when she turned she was smiling shyly and blushing. "T-Thank you," Chloe replied in her thick French accent. "Certainly there's others better than me..."

He nodded meekly, his own cheeks turning as pink as the flute player's. "Yes," he admitted. "But you were better than I could ever be." Jarod nervously grinned a bit, unsure of what to say next. The girl's French accent intrigued him, but he was too afraid to say anything or comment on it.

"I suppose that's the highest praise a human can give," she laughed quietly, trying to lighten the mood. They were both embarrassed, that much was obvious.

The boy chuckled too, not wanting to seem rude. "Yeah, I guess..." he said meekly, rubbing the back of his head like the cliché guys in the old movies would do. "So, erm... I-I'm Jarod," he told the girl, scooting closer to her and offering up his hand.

Americans usually seemed startled when she would offer her hand for them to shake, but this one didn't. That was cordial. "I'm Chloe," she smiled, accepting the hand.

Jarod grinned as the girl shook his hand. "That's a pretty name," he said before letting go of her hand and returning it to his lap. "Are you French?" he asked, cringing as he did so at how rude and blunt of a question it seemed for total strangers. "Er, sorry. That was rude," he recognized it aloud. "It's just, your accent, and-" he cut himself off before he could make an other mistake.

She couldn't stop herself from laughing a bit and blushing. "Yes, I am. Sorry for laughing, it's just your personality seems to be so much like mine."

Relieved that he didn't offend her too much, Jarod was able to let out a small chuckle as well. "No, it's fine," he assured Chloe when she apologized. "I kinda deserve it." Thank God, he thought. Didn't screw it up too badly.

"We're only human," she smiled, but couldn't help from nervously looking away. Oops.

He nodded in agreement, trying to ignore Chloe's eyes drifting away. "That we are," he said, his own gaze dropping to his lap and his hands once again fiddling with his pencil. Jarod didn't know what else to say here, but he didn't want the conversation the be over, per se. It was nice to have some human interaction, even if it was such a simple conversation with a girl he barely knew--just met, rather, but whatever.