The Zipper

It was the first day of my senior year, and I saw him from across the hall. I would be lying if I said I was not intrigued by him. He was adorable in a boyish way. He dressed like he was tough but he was alone. I watched him walk down the hall with his head down, not stopping to talk to anyone. I am not sure why but I felt drawn to him. The bell rings and it is time to get to class. Imagine my surprise when I saw him sitting next to the only empty seat. I took my seat next to him and noticed he had a scar? It was an odd shaped scar and me being as frank as I was I came out and asked him what happened?

He said, "Oh you saw my zipper?"

"Zipper?", I said feeling very dumb. "What is a zipper?"

"It is another name for my scar," he stated matter of factly. "I consider my scars to be zippers. I choose to not have my scars remind me of bad things. Zippers hold tough things together. They remind me of how tough I am to hold myself together without falling apart."
"I am so sorry....Um, I now just realized I do not even know your name?" staring down at the table.

"My name is Christian. And no worries, strange girl that asks random questions..." he replies with a smile.

"Hi Christian, my name is Serena. Please don't be angry with me that I asked, I didn't mean any harm, just was curious."

"No worries Serena, I have nothing to hide, I only stay to myself because no one has ever spoken to me, everyone judges me, everyone except you. So I should say thank you."

I smiled, he smiled, it turned out to be a great first day of school and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.