(Thud)
“What the-” woah
“I am so sorry I didn’t see you there,” said the prettiest girl I had ever seen, picking up the apple that she had thrown at me. Wait, she had dropped an apple on my face. What was she even doing on the tree?
(snap)
“Hello, are you even listening?”
“Yeah, are you going to apologize or what?”
“I did just say sorry, but again I am sorry, Newton, are you going to make a theorem on this?”
Lame.
“Uhm, because an apple fell on your head, forget it.” She tried explaining it, “My name is Lea. What is your name?”
“Theo.”
“See you around, Theo.”
I saw her figure disappear into the bright sunlight. She is short and cute, and she makes me want to put her in my pocket.
“Earth to Theo,” Liam said, “What are you thinking about? You have been lost since morning.”
“Is there anyone in our class named Lea?”
“Yeah, in English class, and she is in our science class too. Why do you wanna know?”
“No reason”
I don’t know why I had to arrive thirty minutes early. I could’ve seen her even if I arrived a little later. Ugh! I guess I will just sleep a little---
“Early bird huh?”
A sweet voice came from behind. I quickly turned around like a happy puppy.
“Hey, Tara.” Right like she would just appear right when I want-
“Hey guys, what’s up?”
Wait, really. She walked towards me and stood right in front of me.
“I said Hey.”
“Hi,” I said in the most giddiest voice ever. Ugh! I hate this.
“I didn’t know you came early to school.”
“Just today”
“Let me treat you to ice cream, as a way of apologizing for” she said, pointing at the bruise on my head.
“You really don’t have to. Its fine”
“I want to. Come on.”
I hope I don’t say anything stupid.
“What do you want?”
“Anything would do?”
“Two chocolate ice creams, please.”
We sat on a nearby bench with our ice creams.
“You know, you don’t really speak a lot. I didn’t even know you were in the same class as me.” She said while eating.
A little bit of ice cream got on her nose. “You uh,” I said, pointing to her nose.
“What?”
I don’t know what took over me, but my hand went up to her nose, and I wiped off the ice cream with my finger. Her face flushed into the brightest shade of pink, and she quickly looked away from me. “Uh, we should uh go, we are going to be late,” she said, avoiding my gaze as she stood up and rushed back to class.
(chuckle) She’s so cute.
Wait what. No, no, no, what am I thinking?
After that day, I saw her a lot, at school, in the cafeteria, in the bookstore near the school, and in the park. It's like my eyes look for hers all the time. It's like I can spot her in every crowd, every room, and everywhere. I like it when she tries to find me and waves at me with the biggest and prettiest smile ever. I like her smell, her hair, her voice, I like everything about her.
“Theo,” my mother called me, “come on, let’s go.” I went with my mom, but my mind was still with her.
I keep thinking about ways to make her smile, ways to talk to her, any excuse to look at her.
“Look, it's Theo,” Davin said, snickering, “little Theo, you look even shorter than yesterday” (laugh echoes)
“Hey Davin, why don’t you worry about that stupid laugh of yours instead?” (imitating Davin’s laugh)
For the first time, someone stood up for me. It was HER. Without caring about what others would think, she stood up for me. Why?
Davin walked away furiously. I worry that he is going to bully her because of me. After lunch, I walked to the playground to look for her. I have to be next to her at all times to save her from-
(thud)
“Just because you have a girlfriend now, you think you can do whatever you want, huh?” Davin said, hovering over me with his fist about to hit my face, “You need to be taught a lesson-
(punch)
Out of nowhere, Lea came and punched him. His nose started bleeding, and he started crying.
This is bad.
(chatter in the teacher’s room)
“The boy’s parents are really angry; they want her to be expelled.” Ms. Walters said to Lea’s parents.
“But he started it first, he pushed- ’’
“Lea, I don’t want to hear another word. You will apologize to that boy, and you are grounded for a whole month.”
“but”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
The next week, Lea didn’t talk to anyone; her mother came to drop her off and pick her up. I tried talking to her, but she didn’t listen to me at all. She didn’t even come to the bookstore. I waited for her till the evening, until my mother came and dragged me home.
Then came Saturday, and I was dying to talk to her. I asked Ms. Walters for her address to drop off some study material. I went to her house and waited until her mother left for work, and then I knocked on her window.
“Lea”
“Theo, what are you doing here? If my mom sees you, you will be in trouble.”
“I wanted to see you, but you wouldn’t even talk to me, and you didn’t even come to the bookstore. I am sorry, it was all my fault.”
She hugged me, and it felt like there was a tsunami in my stomach.
“I miss the bookstore, but I am grounded.”
“Just come with me. We will get back before your mom comes back.”
“I don’t know”
“Please”
We sneaked out of her house and headed outside.
“You head to the bookstore, and I will get us some snacks.”
“Okay, be quick.”
Today I will tell her that I like her and ask her to
(hit)
(thud)
(commotion of people)
“Oh my god”
“Somebody call 911.”
I turned around and saw her body lying unconscious in the middle of the road. She wasn’t moving. A lot of emotions are running through my mind. In the blink of an eye, everything ended.
“Teacher, what happened then? Is she okay?” the little girl next to me asked.
“Yeah, she is in a better place now.”
“Caroline, come on, honey, let’s go.”
“My mom is here. Teacher, can I meet her someday?”
“Of course”
I sat in my car and drove off to a cemetery. Walking past all the tombstones of people who have left this world, leaving their loved ones behind to dwell on them. I reached the one that was of my person.
[Engrave: Lea Thompson, 2000 – 2014]
My trembling hands touched the engraved text as if trying to touch her soul through it. I put a bouquet of white roses and an apple on her tombstone and sat next to it, putting my head against it.
“Hey Lea, I met a little girl today, she was just like you, smart, witty, and very mischievous. She was about to fall from the tree when I caught her, and just like you, she also liked eating apples from the tree, and dropping them on people’s heads.” I said, “I also got a job at our school, the one where we met, or where you injured me with an apple.”
(chuckle)
“I miss you, Lea.”I said as tears appeared in my eyes and dripped from my cheek, “Please come back to me. Please.” My trembling voice echoed through the empty place.
Now and then I think what if I never sat under that tree, what if I never went to look for her in the garden, what if she never saw Davin push me, what if I didn’t sneak her out to the bookstore, what if I told her to come with me to get snacks, what if I told her how I felt at her bedroom window. I have no one to blame but myself. I will never see her smile, breathe her scent, or find her in another crowd.
I miss HER.