I arrived half an hour early for my driving class
And while waiting for my driving instructor, I found myself looking at him
He was looking at me, too
Obviously, he was kind of shy because when I caught him looking at me, he hung his head and started to wring his arms
… then there was blood all over his shirt
I rushed to him and held his head up
"Oh, honey, what's wrong? Where's your Mommy?"
"Driving," he said in that cute, nasal, and uber-ly sweet voice
"Are you ok? See, your nose is bleeding but it's going to be alright," trying to sound grown up while wiping blood from his nose
In truth, I was kind of scared that he was going to start crying… which will make me start crying too because, well, I'm weird and stupid like that
So, I was saying all these 'comforting' stuff like, 'see you're a strong boy… very brave! … you're doing fine… Mommy's going to be here soon…'
When I realized he was staring up at me
"What?" I asked.
"You're funny," he said.
Then I laughed.
And he laughed.
"You like Red Power Ranger?" he asked.
Then I noticed the little action figures in his hands – Spider-Man, two Red Power Rangers and one undecipherable (old, grayish) thing
Clearly, he favored Red Power Ranger
"No, I kind of like Blue Power Ranger," I answered, being impish
His eyes grew big and said, "But Red Power Ranger is The Leader!"
"Even so, he doesn't have the big motorcycle like Blue Power Ranger," I said, not knowing what I was talking about
"Blue Power Ranger has a big bike?" he asked, unbelieving
"Well, I'm not sure – but in the movie it was there. Plus I like Yellow Power Ranger more because she's a girl," I said, trying to veer away from the Blue Power Ranger topic
Then his eyes narrowed and he said… "Hmmm, how do you know so many things about Power Rangers?"
… then he tore and ate a part of the tissue that we used to wipe the blood from his nose
I was shocked to say the least
But before he could repeat what he just did, I grabbed the tissue and threw it away!
"What are you doing?" I asked, hysterical.
"Nothing."
"Are you hungry? I have biscuits here."
"No, I'm thirsty."
I got a cup of water from the dispenser and hurried back to where he was sitting, worried to find him eating tissue again
Thankfully, he was playing with Spider-Man
"Who do you think will win between Spider-Man and Red Power Ranger?" he asked.
"Spider-Man of course! If Spider-Man sees Red Power Ranger, he will kill him and he will die… and Spider-Man will look for the other Power Rangers and he will kill them all…" I said while making Spider-Man action figure kick Red Power Ranger's behind
He paused for a moment, thinking of a clever comeback.
And he bowled me over.
"No, I think when they see each other, they will become friends. Super heroes don't kill each other. They help each other."
Ah, so this is how it feels when a kid earns your respect.
"How old are you?" I asked.
"Six."
… then he started tearing the paper cup and taking small bites.
And 'respect' was thrown at my face.
"You're a weird kid," I said, not even trying to stop him.
"I like paper," he chuckled.
"So I see."
Just then his Mom showed up and called out, "Anthony, I'm here."
"I'll see you here again, right?"
"Yes, I hope so…"
Then he smiled.
And I waved goodbye.
