It didn't occur to him that phonies might recognize his looks in a less than favorable fashion, not at first. Not entirely subtle, Silver Lining had simply plopped on a park bench out in the open, lunch bag of peanut butter and jelly sandwich and water bottle by his side, and watched. Sometimes phonies didn't notice. Sometimes they stared back something ugly or challenging until he blinked.
Today, he got to watch a small herd of what looked to be friends play a game of flag football, their loud laughter and cursing quickly filling the air as they zoomed about. For a very, very brief moment, Silver considered asking if he could join; there was only so much that observation could do after all. But then, they were strangers -- and sometimes those strangers seemed to know more than he did with a glance. So he sat, and he watched, and he said nothing.
The sound of laughter was especially nice, though. It wasn't something he got to hear very often, much less so enthusiastically.
The Semblance of Unity