I never did find out why Sean Mori wasn’t wearing a shirt that day.

The runway show was only six weeks away and there was work to do. So far, I was the only model who had signed up to show for Elliot. She needed at least six more. There was nothing anywhere in the job description that made recruiting other models a requirement, but all the same, I wanted to help Elliot out. You can’t have a fashion show without models.

So everyday, I worked the food court and the lobby, approaching people who looked to be my age and handing out flyers. Over time, my fear of running into people from my old school started to shrink. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely recognized some kids here and there, but it wasn’t as nearly big of a deal as I made it out to be. Everyone had their own friends and was concerned with their own interpersonal drama. They could care less about some blast from the past who happened to have blue-green hair.

To be honest, that part left me kind of sad. Elliot was a workaholic even during her lunch breaks, so she could never meet up with me for a quick bite to eat. Part of me would have taken another shot at talking to that weird Sean kid, but I never saw him in or around the food court. Elliot told me that Sean worked on the second floor in an arcade called The Final Dungeon. 

As much as I was curious about Sean, I would have to be really desperate to show up at his place of business and just strike up a conversation. I mean, what would I even say to him? No, it would be better if we could simply run into each other by accident again. With his shirt on this time.

Hell, maybe I was desperate enough to go see him.

At the moment, I was preoccupied by how insanely hungry I was. I gripped the ten dollar bill that my mom gave me that morning like my life depended on it. As I approached the counter of a burger joint called the Grape Grill, a distantly familiar voice called my attention.

“Aqua?”

I tore my gaze away from the glowing neon menu and looked at the cashier. The uniforms they wore made them all look the same at first glance. But underneath the purple cap was a face that I did in fact recognize.

The worker suddenly broke out into a grin and said, “You don’t remember me, do you?” Before I could reply, he said, “Hang on. Don’t want to hold up the line. Can I take your order really fast first?”

I told him that I just wanted the burger meal from the kid’s menu (because for some reason I never grew out of enjoying those), paid him and stepped off to the side so my order could process and other people behind me could go.

I took a guess that this was the cashier’s lunch break because he wrapped up pretty fast at the counter and took off his hat. Just as he was rounding the counter to meet up with me, something in my brain clicked.

Reyes.

Roberto Reyes.

“I do remember you, Bobby,” I said once he came close enough.

Bobby’s eyes widened. Then he broke out into another boyish smile. “Do you want to catch up? Over at that table maybe?”

I let Bobby lead the way, trying to figure out how he got so mature. Because the Bobby that I knew was a total class clown.

As soon as I took my seat, I opened my kids meal.

“Bobby Reyes,” I said, shaking my head with a slight chuckle.

Bobby tipped his chin and mimicked my tone. 

“Aqua Marine.”

On instinct, I flicked a french fry at him. “You know that’s not my name.”

Bobby rubbed the spot where the fry hit him as if it actually hurt. Then he scooped it off the table and popped it into his mouth. “You know I couldn’t resist. That one always used to get you back in eighth grade too.”

I rolled my eyes, but smiled eventually.

Underneath his work cap, Bobby’s hair was pretty short. Enough that it didn’t give away what I remember to be a tight curl pattern. But even this short, the texture was still thick and glossy. 

One of the features that helped to jog my memory of Bobby was the faint clusters of beauty marks scattered about his jaw and trailing past his collar. His hairline was defined and angular with a sharp widow’s peak that I never noticed before. He kept his face shaven, but he could easily have a whole beard if he ever grew it out. 

“Do I look any different?” Bobby asked, helping himself to another one of my fries. Apparently he felt just as relaxed around me now as he had back then.

You’re cuter, I thought, but I wasn’t saying that.

“Mostly the same. The short hair threw me off. Your eyes seem bigger. You got taller.”

Bobby gave me the Yeah-I-wish-that-was-the-case face. 

“Barely.” He snorted, looking away briefly. Then his tone brightened as he changed the subject. “I thought I was having deja vu when I saw you. Almost thought, nah, she’d never go so literal with her hair like that.”

Knowing that he would eventually bring this up, I shrugged and waved around a floppy french fry. “You’re looking at the extent of my sense of humor.”

Bobby’s laugh was the most genuine sound I’d heard in a long time.

From there, the conversation flowed naturally as we reminisced. We talked about the crazy homeroom teacher we shared in middle school and gave each other the breakdown on how increasingly annoying our siblings and parents had gotten over the years.

Then Bobby threw me for a loop when he apologized for begging me to tutor him in pre-algebra.

“Where is all of this coming from?” I asked, not sure how to react to him when he was being serious. “And don’t apologize. I didn’t mind tutoring you back then. I just feel bad because I could barely keep up with the subject myself.”

Bobby shot me a shy smile. “Well it’s not like my mom could afford an actual tutor. Plus you sat right next to me and the problems didn’t seem so hard after you explained them.”

I felt my face heat up after hearing what Bobby had to say. For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond other than cross and uncross my legs. A jolt went through me when my ankle bumped into something warm and solid.

Bobby and I blurted our apologies at the same time. Then our legs brushed again as we tried to adjust in our seats. It was a mess.

Several nervous laughs and more fidgeting later, we were onto a different subject.