When We Meet Again

I never liked going to school. Don't get me wrong- I LOOVEEE the concept of school... the learning process itself because I love learning new things.. but I detest the actual part of waking up and getting dressed to walk into a massive building filled with students who seem to have a purpose in life of making my life miserable. It's an art, I tell you that much! But right after Christmas break, I was dreading the day I would be forced to put on my fake smile and walk into those scary halls and repeat the process everyday until I graduated in June.. I was counting the minutes until I could leave Southland High and never look back.... which I must have been counting the days in my head and not paying attention to where I was going because I ran right smack dab into a tree.

Not a literal tree, as I glanced up and my eyes traveled up to a face that stood atop of a 6"4 frame of blond hair and blue eyes.

"Holy smokes! I meann... Sorry I didnt see you there!" I stuttered

"No worries there. My name is John David. I do need some help though. Can you show me where the South hall is? Or point me in the right direction lol?" his southern silky voice said in a low baritone voice.

"Umm... it's.. it's.. that way" I couldn't believe I completely blanked in front of someone I barely knew on something I should have known like the back of my hand.

His laugh made my knees buckle. "Okay, thanks... whats your name?"

"Err.." I blanked.

"Okay, Err. Thanks! See you around!" He ran off in the direction of the building before first bell ranged. I stared as he ran away, thinking I am a giant idiot. I never get flustered. And on top of everything, he thinks my name is Err! How embarrasing is that? As if I needed any other thing to go wrong. I cannot wait until graduation. I shrugged it off and ran into the building before I was late for class.

When it was time for lunch, I walked into the cafeteria with my head down and made a beeline to the table in the farthest corner to avoid everyone and anyone who would make my life miserable. To add insult to injury, I glanced up in time to see the new guy sitting with the devil incarnate herself. Nancy was the meanest person to ever walk Planet Earth. She made the devil himself look like a saint. I avoided her as much as possible... which was very hard to do as we lived next door to each other. I just knew this was goign to be a stellar semester already. I shook my head and continued to dart to my table.

"Err hi. Over here, Err!" I stopped dead in my tracks. Oh, here it comes. Out of nowhere you could hear Nancy laughing out of a cafeteria filled with over 100 people.

" OMG you cannot be serious! Why are you calling Mya Err?" She was still laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world to her.

"Um, she said her name was Err. But nevertheless, Mya, come over here."

"Um excuse me! Losers sit over there. This is MY table." She screeched at the new guy. He looked at her with a face that had me laughing so hard inside I stifled a snort out oud. I had to turn my face and hide it.

"I don't want to sit with you anyways. I like my IQ" I couldn't resist. I turned and sat at the far table. Little did I know he would sit with me..

"Hey, Mya. Can I sit here?"

"It's a free country, isn't it? I mumbled.

"Depends on who you ask," he said. I could not help but laugh. Somehow a popular good-looking boy actually wanted to talk to me and had something intelligent to say. It was rare in this town. I kept my head down as I was still embarrassed to talk to him but he broke the silence.

"Oh, so I made it to class on time, thanks to you. I never like being the new kid in school but so far, it has been a smooth transition. I mumbled under my breath " Yeah, I bet."

He was taken aback by my attitude but I couldn't help it. It was my defense mechanism from being stuck in this podunk town with all the people who could care less if I vanished. He just stared at me and smiled. "I like your hair" he said. I wanted to say what hair as I was three inches away from being called a boy. "Um.. thanks?" I didn't know what to say to that.

"I like your personality. I have never met anyone like you before." It was my turn to stare. Is he serious? I couldn't tell if Nancy put him up to this or if he was genuinely a nice guy. Only time would tell, right?

As the lunch bell sounded for all of us to pile out and go back to class, I turned around and saw him staring at me from across the room. A hair on the back of my neck stood up, but I just shooked my head and left. I would not be able to think about anything during class but his stare. He was outside the building waiting for me when school ended.

"Can I help you?" I snapped at him before I knew it. I really need to work on my temper. "Sorry." I mumbled. He came up to me and stood very close to my ear and said "I heard you're the smartest in the school. Can you help me get caught up in my classes? I am super confused with everything. I just knew this had to be a prank. "Did Nancy put you up to this?" I turned and asked him.

"Huh? No no, I am legit confused. Can you help me.. please?"

Call me crazy, but something inside of me made me mumbled "yeah, sure. whatever" before I knew it. He smiled at me again and it took all I had not to fall on my face. We set up a meeting time and from there, it was history. We became inseperable, much to the dismay of Nancy. Her face was so red when she saw us together, you would think her head would explode. I couldn't believe I had the meanest but most popular girl at school jealous of me! And I actually looked forward to going to school each day! It's a bloody miracle, I know lol. ME... of all people, right? I was so mesmerized by him and could not believe my luck.

I wish I had kept my thoughts out of my head because 3 months into our budding relationship, he came to my house with some horrible news that would rock me to my core. His dad had gotten deployed..again.. and he had to move away. My heart sunk. I can't catch a break. I finally open my heart up for it to get shattered into a million pieces. It took everything I could muster to watch him drive away, thinking I would never see him again. The following days were all a blur as I walked around in a cloud of disbelief. It was no picnic either seeing the smug look of Nancy, who was reveling in my heartbreak. She made it her life's mission to rub his departure in my face, telling the whole school I was such a loser I ran John out of town. I didn't even have the heart to meet her with a witty sarcastic comeback. I just sat there day in and day out in a funk until graduation. I would never see John again, but at least I could leave this town and the devil's twin in my rearview mirror.

I picked a college that was so far away, no one would know me and I would never see anyone from my crappy town.... or so I thought.

"Well.. well. well.. if it isn't the biggest loser of all?" I about died right then and there. It can't be! How in the world did she of all people get into the same school as me? Her grades were abysmal at best. Her parents had to have bought her way into school to get her as far away from them as possible! Just my luck it's the one I picked! Lucky for me, her major was Media Communications so we did not have the same classes. I stayed far away from football games and sororities so I didn't run into the devil herself.. and it worked for almost all 4 years of college. Almost.

I was sitting in the school's library.. somewhere I know Nancy never stepped foot in... studying for midterms when I heard this low familiar voice. My heart stopped on a dime. It cannot be true. Is it really? I followed the sound all the way to the front of the library and saw him standing there talking to the librarian. It was him! I was so shocked to hear his voice agian after 3 years. He still looked the same and his laugh still knock me off my feet. As I began to step towards him, I jeard the most hideous laugh I never ever want to hear. It was Nancy giggling with her friends.. in the library... like they were the only ones in there. She saw me staring out the corner of her eye. "Hey, babe. Ready to go?" I heard her say. Um.. babe? What is happening right now?

They left together and my heart, which took me 3 years to piece back together, was breaking again. My first true love.. with my tormenter? What a cruel world I am in! It feels like I am in the twilight zone. I grabbed my things and left. As I walked down the hall to my room, I collided straight into someone's arms. Unbeknownst to me.. it was John David. What twisted fate is this? I slapped his arms away and tried to leave. He grabbed me by the arms and spun me around until we were face to face.

" I missed you, Mya. How have you been?" I wanted to believe him but instead I yelled "Don;t you know already? You dating the town's gossip"

"What?" I just looked at him. Was he seriously denying it to my face? "NANCY??"I screamed. He laughed "I don't know what you are talking about but I just ran into her outside the library. I needed a book and she just so happen to walk by. I was asking her about you."

"Yeah,... right." I just stood there shaking my head from side to side.

"Do you ever not say something normally without sarcasm or anger," he smirked as he grabbed me and pulled me in for a hug. We hugged for what seemed like forever. We sat down and talked forever, catching up on lost time. He told me he transferred to this school to find me because he couldn't live without me anymore. Which was a relief to me because I never stopped thinking about him either. We fell back into each other's lives like we never stopped loving one another. We graduated and moved in together and started our lives together.

Only time would tell if it was happily ever after.