I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

tells me chocolate isn’t a discovery and that I’m dumb. I ignore him,
and we share candy bars while watching movies.
A few months later, while I sit barnacled to a bench on the third floor,
reading through Lord of the Flies, a familiar fire crackles.
“Where’s Sam?”
I look up, red hair and a backpack colored with markers standing at a
decentralized unit.
The nurse working at said station, not in charge of Sony or me,
cocks her head to the side. “I’m sorry?”
“The person yay high, sort of weird-looking,” Sony says, motioning
with her hands. “C’mon, you can’t miss ’em. I mean, the kid’s never
seen chocolate before.”
“Sony?” I call.
She turns around.
“Sammy!” A cheery giggle shakes through her chest at the sight of
me.
“Hah. That’s a nice smile you’ve got.”
“You look good,” I say. Her face is void of cuts–freckles dance across
her nose, not a dull mark to taint her color.
A wink couples her whisper. “Bus just missed me.”
Swinging her backpack off one shoulder, Sony rummages through
trinkets, clothes, and whatever else crammed in there, pulling out a
chocolate bar. “I got you this just in case you were here.” She pats
my head like a puppy’s.
“Sony.” A woman appears behind her, matching freckles and older
brilliance coloring her skin. “We need to go see the doctor now,