“What are you shooting there?”


Molly looked up from her rifle as she was laying there on her stomach. She was wearing yellow protective goggles and had short hair that was dyed dark purple.


“What am I shooting or what kind of gun am I using to shoot it with?”


The boy smiled. His name was Jason and he had a clean-shaven face and long black hair.


“I already saw what you’re shooting. What—“


“It’s a Mossberg. 12 gauge.” She interrupted.


The boy’s smile grew wider. “I see. Looks nice, where’d you find it?”


“I’m not telling you.” The girl replied. She returned to her attention to the shotgun.


“Aw, why not?”


“Because I don’t like you.”


“And why don’t you like me?”


The girl sighed impatiently and looked back towards Jason. “Because you’re annoying.”


“Why am I annoying?” The boy’s smile diminished slightly.

“You don’t understand what privacy is.”

“What? Of course I do. Would you like me to leave you alone?”

“That’s what I mean. You shouldn’t have to ask, you should have realized my demeanor by now and figured out I didn’t want you asking me questions while I’m shooting a gun.”

“But—“

“Yeah, I know. You’re just trying to be friendly. But I don’t care about that so please don’t take it personally and go talk to someone else if you feel like you have to be social right now.”

Jason stood there for a moment, the happiness on his face dissipating and being replaced by a look of disappointment.

Molly sighed again and sat her gun down beside her. She stood up and faced Jason. “I knew you would take that the wrong way. Look, I just don’t really like talking to people at certain times. It’s annoying to me. And I know you have this idea that everyone should be open and talkative at a moment’s notice because you think it’s normal to be extroverted and social all the time… But I just don’t feel the same way and in these kinds of situations it’s hard not to hurt someone’s feelings because the simple truth can be uncomfortable in certain circumstances. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”

Jason sighed lightheartedly and stared at the ground. The look of disappointment had diminished and he began to smile slightly. “Yeah, I guess. I’ll go find someone else to annoy then.”

Molly smiled slightly as well. “Thanks. Have a nice day.”

Jason waved at her. “Yeah, see ya!”

Jason began to leave and Molly watched him for a moment. She couldn’t stop smiling but she didn’t know why. Then she got back in position and returned her attention to shooting things.