It Took So Long, But We're Finally Here

Part I
Marie Amadeus sighed, flipping through a tired old copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, and tried to arrange her overly long hair so the wind wouldn\'t whip it into her mouth and eyes. Shutting the book, she moaned at the flood of memories that arose. \"What the hell was I thinking?\" She thought, wincing at her earlier actions. She stood up, stretched, and looked at her watch. Not an hour had passed since English class, but she still felt her words\' effect.

...She was sitting docilely, smiling at a friend telling a rather pathetic joke, when another friend, her name being Mika, asked something peculiar- \"Who do you have a crush on, Marie?\" She didn\'t think, but blurted out, \"Geoffrey!\" right when there was a silent moment in the classroom chaos. \"Marie, you\'re in ninth grade, not kindergarten. You don\'t have to be so loud,\" said Mika, shaking her head and grinning at Marie\'s embarrassment. \"Mika,\" Marie said calmly. \"What?\" \"Shut up.\"...

Geoffrey, whom Marie had known since third grade, had a crush on since fourth grade, and loved since seventh grade, was in her English class. He\'d heard the whole thing. She motioned to hit her head with her straightened hand, but was stopped by something soft and warm, obviously a hand. Marie shut her eyes and said, \"Please, Mika, if you\'re only going to torment me, wait until the weekend. Oh I know, such a long time, one day! But think of my sanity, Mika! I\'m still highly traumatized!\" Smiling slightly, she opened her eyes, and the smile promptly faded to a dazed look of confusion. \"Ge... Geoffrey,\" Marie sighed, looking away and blushing.

She looked up at him, remembering what it was that she so adored about him. He was a bronze god, in every facet of the phrase. Tall and slightly muscular, his skin was many shades darker than her own book-worm white. He was smiling slightly, his hands now at his sides, with his eyes slightly crinkled at the edges. \"Oh, those eyes,\" she thought, sighing unhappily. They were pools of dark water, kind and wild like that of a deer. And his smile! Warm, loving, just barely showing his teeth. He was perfection to Marie, and no other boy could compare.

\"Marie,\" he said, snapping the girl out of her worshipful reverie. \"Y-yes, Geoff?\" she said, using his nickname and gaping at herself as she did so. \"Marie, I- I heard what you said in English today and...\" He trailed off, and Marie looked down, swinging her legs back and forth beneath the bench. He noticed her discomfort, and took a seat next to her. They sat in silence for what felt like an hour.

\"Uh, what I\'m trying to say is...\" He got up swiftly, maneuvered himself in front of her, and, holding her head up, he murmured, \"I have really liked you for a while, and... Oh, hell!\" Geoff leaned down and swiftly kissed her, leaving the girl utterly speechless. It was her first kiss, and she could feel unreasonable tears pricking at her eyes. It felt so good, but for some reason she started sobbing. \"What\'s wrong? Do you not feel the same?\" He asked, wiping the girl\'s tears away with his velvet fingertips. She shook her head. This is what she\'d wanted all along. But so many years had gone by that this was a rather traumatizing experience. He whispered softly, \"I do like you, Marie, and I\'ll prove it to you somehow.\" Geoffrey slipped a folded piece of paper in her hand, kissed her cheek gently, and fled into the sunset.

Part II

She flopped down on her bed, clutching the unread slip of paper tightly, and moaned quietly into a pillow. Marie knew it was something important, but she couldn\'t bring herself to look at it at the moment. \"Why had he chosen now to bring this up?\" She thought, \"Is it some kind of joke, like the other boys pull? Oh God, that kiss...\" She blushed feverishly and dropped herself off of her tall bed, stumbling out the door and into the kitchen. She waved at her dad, who grunted, and grabbed a soda. She really needed time to think this over, but she didn\'t have it; it was going on ten o\'clock. Opening the can, the girl wandered toward her desk, setting the paper in front of her and sitting in an uncomfortable chair. Taking a deep breath, she took the plunge.

--Marie,

It\'s hard to say this to you in person. I hope that my actions, if I took any, didn\'t alarm you. I apologize if they did. --

She smiled at this. \"Always the gentleman,\" she thought.

--Anyhow, I\'ll get to the point. I remember when we were best friends in fourth grade, and I never wanted that to end. You are the kindest person I\'ve ever met, did you know that? You\'re always so concerned about other people. I guess that\'s what I love about you, Marie.--

Staring at the word \"love,\" she grabbed the soda and downed it in one gulp. \"Damn... I\'m getting worked up over nothing.\"

--I hope, after all these years, you feel the same way about me as I do about you. If you do, meet me at the theater tomorrow at 8 o\'clock. Here\'s my phone number in case you want to talk...--

Finishing the letter, she slumped down in her chair and sighed. It was too late to call now, and she was tired, besides. Leaning forward, she grabbed a picture and said, \"\'Night, Mom.\" The fifteen-year-old stood up, stretched, and reached for the light switch, pulling it and darting off toward her bed. She couldn\'t possibly pleasure herself that night, especially thinking of him. Marie blushed in the darkness, imagining Geoffrey\'s warm lips against hers. How could she possibly face him tomorrow?