Short Story For English (Feel free to Critique or Praise)
Brian Kennedy Kennedy 1
English 101
9/12/04
First Love Lost
“Hey dear, what’s up?” I asked as I picked up my phone on a breezy Friday night. The sun had set an hour ago, and the brisk wind penetrated my thin jacket, sending a shiver up my spine.
“I don’t know how to say this . . . ”, I cringed as she spoke, not wanting to hear what was about to come. “I didn’t get into the pharmacy program at UK, so I need to transfer to Purdue.” Those words felt like a hot dagger through my heart. I knew why she was bringing this up. Just a month earlier Christine and I had discussed what we would do should she have to transfer to a school farther away to pursue her pharmacy career. We both came to a heart wrenching conclusion. It wouldn’t be feasible to continue our relationship with her 4 hours away. As much as this hurt both of us, we knew that it would feel like all of creation was between us. She was only 30 minutes away now at UK, and already that seemed like a lifetime.
“I do get to see you again, right?” I struggled to fight off the tears I felt welling up under my eyes. “I mean, it wouldn’t make sense to end it like this, not after all we have been through.”
“Of course, I am still gonna come see you tomorrow like we had planned. We’ll pretend as though this isn’t happening.” The trembling in her voice let me know that she wasn’t going to be fooling herself. She knew what was happening, and was just as heartbroken about it as I was.
“...Yeah, that works ... sure... nothing is happening.” I stammered as I tried to retain my composure.
“Good night baby, I love you.” she said in her most convincing voice and hung up the phone before I could reply.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette. With trembling hands, I carefully lit it and watched the smoke curl into the sky, dancing on unseen air currents and slowly dissipating from view. The stars were especially bright tonight, and I found myself wondering if she was looking up at the same stars as I was. It didn’t make sense to me. How could the one person I have grown to know and love be leaving so suddenly. Thoughts of our past filled my head as I took another draw from my cigarette. I went back to when it all began. I sat in my high school anatomy class, and waited for her to come in and sit down. We had been acquaintances since we entered high school, but the teacher assigned us seats next to each other, and our friendship grew rapidly. There was obvious flirting going on, and we often joked about being the love of each other’s life. She would run up to me in the hallway, give me a hug, press her warm cheeks against mine, and then run off, leaving me with a wonderful feeling in my chest, and the lingering scent of her perfume in my nose. I began to anticipate going to school, showing up earlier every day just to spend a few extra minutes with her in the hallway. It was picture perfect, like something out of a movie.
But she didn’t show up for class today. I asked a couple of her friends where she was, and soon found out that she was having surgery on her mouth. After further scrutiny, I discovered that she had been born with not enough bone in her gum to hold the teeth immediately to the left and right of her front two teeth in place. She was having bone implanted in her mouth, and then two fake teeth permanently attached. I also found out that she was wary of me finding out that she was missing teeth. “Wary of what?” I asked myself. That I wouldn’t like her? She could have been missing all of her teeth and I still would have had the same feelings. She was beautiful just the way she was. I decided tonight would be the night she found out my true feelings.
I trudged back to the locker room, exhausted from football practice and the day at school. Tired as I was, I contemplated how I would approach this. A card? Some flowers? Maybe some ice-cream. I finally decided on all of them. Leaving the locker room, I felt a pleasant nervousness build up in my stomach. The sun was setting behind the trees, the clouds were an assortment of different colors, and a slight breeze made it a beautiful autumn evening. I couldn’t help but wonder what she would say. I didn’t know if she would just take it as a friendly gesture, or if she would realize the underlying meaning of it all. Either way, I moved on with my plan and purchased a bouquet of flowers, a gallon of chocolate, and a gallon of vanilla ice-cream, and a card that I hoped would cheer her up. I left the Kroger parking lot not realizing how far this would go.
“I figured since you are the love of my life, it would make sense to try to cheer you up.” I stammered as she opened the door. Her cheeks were puffy, eyes red from the pain, and hair a mess, but she managed a smile, and her already adorable dimples were more profound against the backdrop of swollen cheeks. She looked like a “Who” from the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, and I told her that and she smiled meekly despite the pain.
“Thish ish sho shweet.” she struggled to say. “I wash jusht telling Victoria I wissh I had a boy to come make me feel better.”
“Well here I am.” I replied, surprised by how I was holding it together. I had never been very good when it came to talking to girls. I was too shy, and always found myself envying the guys who could talk to girls they had just met with ease. This girl was different though. She made me feel comfortable and I didn’t have a problem making conversation. She invited me inside for a little while, and I gladly agreed. After helping her put her goodies away, I scooped a bowl of ice cream for her and we went to her basement to watch some TV. I don’t think either one of us could have told you what was on TV that night. For over three hours our eyes didn’t leave each other’s gaze, and there was not a silent moment. We talked about sports, school, what we wanted to do with our life, how many kids we wanted, everything that you could possibly converse about we did, and when it was time for me to leave, I didn’t want to go. I was having so much fun just sitting here with this girl, I couldn’t believe it. The time came when she said that I should probably be heading home. I reluctantly agreed and she walked me to her front door.
“I want to kissh you sho badly.” she admitted, and the butterflies of excitement that had been in my stomach all night suddenly picked up their pace. Thoughts raced through my head as to what I should say or do. Not wanting to say anything dumb, I simply leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. As I pulled away, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. My arms slid around her back, and I could feel her heart beating against my chest. Or was it my heart? I couldn’t tell. For that moment we were as one. Slowly we released our grasps, and I exited her house. As I entered my car, I stole a glance back at her house, and smiled as I saw her still at the window, looking out at me like it was the last time she would ever see me.
I took one last draw from my cigarette and flicked it into the parking lot. The reality of the situation wouldn’t settle in for a long time. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason, but I couldn’t find a reason for this to be happening. I kept reliving every second of our relationship; the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, and everything in between. I remember the mistakes I made, and how she was understanding about them. I remember seeing her in stands at my football games, cheering us on, and keeping the fans rallied, even if we were losing by forty points. But the thing I remember most is seeing her face when I would come visit her at school. She ran across the parking lot at full speed, smiling all the way, brown hair dancing behind her as she leapt into my arms for a long awaited embrace. I would miss that.
Brian Kennedy Kennedy 1
English 101
9/12/04
First Love Lost
“Hey dear, what’s up?” I asked as I picked up my phone on a breezy Friday night. The sun had set an hour ago, and the brisk wind penetrated my thin jacket, sending a shiver up my spine.
“I don’t know how to say this . . . ”, I cringed as she spoke, not wanting to hear what was about to come. “I didn’t get into the pharmacy program at UK, so I need to transfer to Purdue.” Those words felt like a hot dagger through my heart. I knew why she was bringing this up. Just a month earlier Christine and I had discussed what we would do should she have to transfer to a school farther away to pursue her pharmacy career. We both came to a heart wrenching conclusion. It wouldn’t be feasible to continue our relationship with her 4 hours away. As much as this hurt both of us, we knew that it would feel like all of creation was between us. She was only 30 minutes away now at UK, and already that seemed like a lifetime.
“I do get to see you again, right?” I struggled to fight off the tears I felt welling up under my eyes. “I mean, it wouldn’t make sense to end it like this, not after all we have been through.”
“Of course, I am still gonna come see you tomorrow like we had planned. We’ll pretend as though this isn’t happening.” The trembling in her voice let me know that she wasn’t going to be fooling herself. She knew what was happening, and was just as heartbroken about it as I was.
“...Yeah, that works ... sure... nothing is happening.” I stammered as I tried to retain my composure.
“Good night baby, I love you.” she said in her most convincing voice and hung up the phone before I could reply.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette. With trembling hands, I carefully lit it and watched the smoke curl into the sky, dancing on unseen air currents and slowly dissipating from view. The stars were especially bright tonight, and I found myself wondering if she was looking up at the same stars as I was. It didn’t make sense to me. How could the one person I have grown to know and love be leaving so suddenly. Thoughts of our past filled my head as I took another draw from my cigarette. I went back to when it all began. I sat in my high school anatomy class, and waited for her to come in and sit down. We had been acquaintances since we entered high school, but the teacher assigned us seats next to each other, and our friendship grew rapidly. There was obvious flirting going on, and we often joked about being the love of each other’s life. She would run up to me in the hallway, give me a hug, press her warm cheeks against mine, and then run off, leaving me with a wonderful feeling in my chest, and the lingering scent of her perfume in my nose. I began to anticipate going to school, showing up earlier every day just to spend a few extra minutes with her in the hallway. It was picture perfect, like something out of a movie.
But she didn’t show up for class today. I asked a couple of her friends where she was, and soon found out that she was having surgery on her mouth. After further scrutiny, I discovered that she had been born with not enough bone in her gum to hold the teeth immediately to the left and right of her front two teeth in place. She was having bone implanted in her mouth, and then two fake teeth permanently attached. I also found out that she was wary of me finding out that she was missing teeth. “Wary of what?” I asked myself. That I wouldn’t like her? She could have been missing all of her teeth and I still would have had the same feelings. She was beautiful just the way she was. I decided tonight would be the night she found out my true feelings.
I trudged back to the locker room, exhausted from football practice and the day at school. Tired as I was, I contemplated how I would approach this. A card? Some flowers? Maybe some ice-cream. I finally decided on all of them. Leaving the locker room, I felt a pleasant nervousness build up in my stomach. The sun was setting behind the trees, the clouds were an assortment of different colors, and a slight breeze made it a beautiful autumn evening. I couldn’t help but wonder what she would say. I didn’t know if she would just take it as a friendly gesture, or if she would realize the underlying meaning of it all. Either way, I moved on with my plan and purchased a bouquet of flowers, a gallon of chocolate, and a gallon of vanilla ice-cream, and a card that I hoped would cheer her up. I left the Kroger parking lot not realizing how far this would go.
“I figured since you are the love of my life, it would make sense to try to cheer you up.” I stammered as she opened the door. Her cheeks were puffy, eyes red from the pain, and hair a mess, but she managed a smile, and her already adorable dimples were more profound against the backdrop of swollen cheeks. She looked like a “Who” from the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, and I told her that and she smiled meekly despite the pain.
“Thish ish sho shweet.” she struggled to say. “I wash jusht telling Victoria I wissh I had a boy to come make me feel better.”
“Well here I am.” I replied, surprised by how I was holding it together. I had never been very good when it came to talking to girls. I was too shy, and always found myself envying the guys who could talk to girls they had just met with ease. This girl was different though. She made me feel comfortable and I didn’t have a problem making conversation. She invited me inside for a little while, and I gladly agreed. After helping her put her goodies away, I scooped a bowl of ice cream for her and we went to her basement to watch some TV. I don’t think either one of us could have told you what was on TV that night. For over three hours our eyes didn’t leave each other’s gaze, and there was not a silent moment. We talked about sports, school, what we wanted to do with our life, how many kids we wanted, everything that you could possibly converse about we did, and when it was time for me to leave, I didn’t want to go. I was having so much fun just sitting here with this girl, I couldn’t believe it. The time came when she said that I should probably be heading home. I reluctantly agreed and she walked me to her front door.
“I want to kissh you sho badly.” she admitted, and the butterflies of excitement that had been in my stomach all night suddenly picked up their pace. Thoughts raced through my head as to what I should say or do. Not wanting to say anything dumb, I simply leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. As I pulled away, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close. My arms slid around her back, and I could feel her heart beating against my chest. Or was it my heart? I couldn’t tell. For that moment we were as one. Slowly we released our grasps, and I exited her house. As I entered my car, I stole a glance back at her house, and smiled as I saw her still at the window, looking out at me like it was the last time she would ever see me.
I took one last draw from my cigarette and flicked it into the parking lot. The reality of the situation wouldn’t settle in for a long time. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason, but I couldn’t find a reason for this to be happening. I kept reliving every second of our relationship; the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, and everything in between. I remember the mistakes I made, and how she was understanding about them. I remember seeing her in stands at my football games, cheering us on, and keeping the fans rallied, even if we were losing by forty points. But the thing I remember most is seeing her face when I would come visit her at school. She ran across the parking lot at full speed, smiling all the way, brown hair dancing behind her as she leapt into my arms for a long awaited embrace. I would miss that.
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