Can you fix it? (Solo)

RIVEN FOWLEY

The days were starting to get so cold, I didn't like going out for walks as much as I used to. I especially didn't like going for walks in the dark. And unfortunately, both these things came together at about 5:30 every day now. It almost drove me crazy. I stayed in the house more often then not, but on this particular day, I had to get outside. Living with four brothers is great and all, but sometimes they get annoying. And loud. And they smell bad. So yeah, sometimes it's not always that great.

I hadn't bothered bringing a sketch book this time, since I knew I wouldn't want to sit still long enough to draw something. I had to keep moving in order to keep myself warm. I didn't have a pair of mitts, just an overly large sweater, a hat my Grandma knitted for me, and a pair of brown boots that were a little too big for me. I usually avoid wearing Hendrick's shoes. He's out at work most of the time, and his feet are actually a little bigger than mine. Most of the time, Kennedy's shoes fit a lot better. But on this particular day, Kennedy was out in the market with Wiley, and Hendrick was home, so I took his shoes. They were still warm and kind of smelly from walking around the butcher's all day.

I was on my way home when I saw it. Well, I think I heard it first. Some sort of dissonance of metal scraping against metal.

Dissonance. Noun. A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements.

That was a good word. It sounded nice in my head, and I wondered if it would sound as nice to say it out loud.

My thought was cut off, as I heard the sound a second time. A weird banging that I couldn't quite distinguish. I hurried my pace along the road, and a few moments later, spotted a girl sitting on the steps of the farm I was passing by. My steps slowed. I didn't pay much attention to what she looked like, except that she was probably tall when she stood up, and she was about my age. Then again, everyone was tall compared to me.

What really caught my attention was the object in her hands. It was a big metal box that just fit on her lap. She had the cover taken off and on the ground, which was probably the clanging sound I'd heard earlier. It looked like one of the heaters we used in our barn to keep the horses warm at night and in the winter.

I realized I had stopped walking. Oh, great. She'd probably noticed. Either I could keep walking and look like a gawking idiot, or I could stop and fraternize.

Gawk. Verb. Stare openly and stupidly.

Fraternize. Verb. Associate or form a friendship with someone, especially when one is not supposed to.

Both good words for the situation, except for the fact that I wasn't not supposed to talk to her. I'd just be extremely bad at it if I tried.

Unfortunately, I'd already been standing there a fair amount of time, and I probably looked more like a gawker than a fraternizer. (Okay, not the greatest words, but my brain was rushing at this point.)

Finally I took a deep breath and stepped over to the fence that cut off her property from the road. "Do you need some help?" I asked, nodding to the machine in her hands. "I mean, I um, I'm sure you're capable of doing it yourself, but it's getting cold and you probably want to go inside, and maybe you'd fix it faster if I helped...?" Oh, great. I had dug myself into a hole.