The Beginning
Glancing down at
her paper, Emily realized that it was covered with her mindless drawings. As her professor droned on, she sighed with
boredom. What was he talking about
anyway? Scratching her pencil across her paper, she let her eyes roam around
the room. Good, she thought, he’s
here today. Last week he’d been missing. He is just too ridiculously
good looking it shouldn’t be humanly possible. She had noticed him the
first day of school.
As
was her habit, she had arrived early to pick out a seat where she would feel
comfortable. After she had gotten settled she watched as the other people in
the class wandered in. He had been one of the last ones to come, narrowly
missing the bell. That first day she’d had to look twice, not quite believing
what she saw the first time. Her eyes had started to dull over after watching
all the people walking in; and then he was there. Compared to the others, who
were dull and gray, the magnificence of him almost made it seem as if he glowed
while he stood there filling the doorway. She couldn’t stop staring as he sat
down at one of the few remaining desks situated in the front of the classroom.
He
had to be at least 6 feet 2 inches in height, with lovely wide shoulders,
though not too wide. He had straight shiny black hair, and pleasantly shaped
and sloped eyebrows, his violet blue eyes sparkled beneath them. Yes,
she thought, they actually sparkle. I’ve never known someone whose eyes
sparked before. He was slim, but
muscular. Very
nicely developed muscles. Just right. In
fact most of him was just right. His nose was straight, and nicely
proportioned, underneath which resided a perfectly matched pair of lips, though
perhaps a little on the thin side. His hands were smooth with long slim
fingers. He had nice light brown skin. There was only one thing which might
even be called an imperfection in him, his ears were on the large side and the
one on the left had a large chunk missing from the upper portion as a result of
an accident when he was little. That was the only fault that she could find on
his entire person.
She
loved to stare at him when things got too boring. In fact, sometimes it felt as
if she couldn’t help herself. She would just sit there and soak in the beauty
of him. She had always craved beauty, in any form; she felt she had so little
in herself. If asked, she would have denied vehemently that she even liked him, she knew that it would have been fruitless to, and so
she didn’t waste her time.
There
she was at 26, a super senior in college, and never once had she had a
boyfriend. But, then, no one would have been surprised to know that. She stood
at 5 feet 6 inches tall. If you were being polite, you would describe her as a
bit chubby. She had long dirty brown hair that only found merit in the fact
that it was so thick. Her eyes were a dull blue gray, where if you had a poetic
frame of mind, you might compare to the sea on a stormy day. They often varied in color slightly by the
clothes she was wearing. Her complexion had given her grief since the time she
had become a teenager; not exactly covered in acne, but never completely clear.
Her lips were too thin, and her nose was small enough, but it sloped down at
the tip, which, when viewed from the side, gave it a droopy appearance.
So
you see, she knew that only in her wildest dreams
could she ever even hope to have a boyfriend, much less one that simply
radiated beauty from his personage. She didn’t mind, she wasn’t bitter. She’d
had so long to accustom herself to the idea that it no longer bothered her, and
she realized, there were other things in life to think
about. Besides, once again her practical
nature came into play, she simply decided, if you can’t change it, it’s not
worth worrying about. Suddenly the bell rang, shaking her out of her reverie,
and releasing her from the temporary prison that was this wretched class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emmett
knew she’d been watching him again. He
could feel her eyes when she looked at him. It was an odd warm sensation,
non-threatening, almost as if her eyes took so much pleasure in looking that
they overflowed and spilled some of that joy back into the object of their
inspection. At any rate he always knew when she was looking at him. He didn’t
really mind, but sometimes he wondered what it was that fascinated her so much.
It wasn’t that she was interested in him romantically,
he could always tell when a girl liked him in that way.
Slowly
he walked back to his apartment. He’d
had a long day, and he still had work tonight, not to mention all his class
work. Oh I’m so tired! he thought to himself.
Sometimes I wish I could just crawl in bed and sleep for a week. Someday, I’ll
be done with all this, and I won’t have to worry about passing anymore classes,
and... with these happy thoughts on his mind he
made his way up the stairs and into his apartment to get ready for work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
doodles were halfway down the page when the shock came. Had he really said it
or had she just imagined it? At the beginning of the lecture, her professor had
told them that they were going to do a project in pairs, and though it was a
bit unusual, he had taken the liberty of pairing them up himself. He wanted to
see, or so he said, how certain people would be able to work with other certain
people. He was curious what kind of results he could elicit. The project was
just as much a part of teamwork as it was of the assigned subject. Ever since
then he had been listing off the pairs...and then it happened. He did the
impossible, the unthinkable, the absolutely unimaginable...”Emily and Emmett,
you will be working together to come up with your review of Jane Eyre.”
She
thought that her heart would burst from it’s wild
fluttering. She couldn’t work with him! I am utterly humiliated! She
gloomily thought to herself. As if of their own volition her eyes made their
way to where he sat, only to find him turned around and smiling at her. She
wished with all her heart that a hole would open up in the ground and suck her
in; it would be such a comfortable place to hide she thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He
was almost amused that they had been put together. Then she looked at him, and
he nearly fell out of his chair from the impact of the feeling pouring out of
her eyes. She looks terrified he thought. How in the world can a pair
of eyes convey such strong emotion? He knew that she was a quiet shy girl,
so perhaps that was why she was so scared. He was waiting for her in the
hallway after class. She quickly glanced up at him and managed to mutter a,
“Hello.”.
“Hey,“ he said boisterously, “So you can just call me Emmett. Anyway,
we should probably exchange phone numbers. Here’s
mine,” handing her the slip of paper with his number scratched across it, “I
have to work tonight until 10, but I’ll call you after that if it’s not too
late, and we can set up a time to get together. How does that sound?”
“Fine,”
she squeaked out as she quickly scribbled down her number and handed it to him.
“You’re
sure it won’t be too late? If it is I can call some other time.”
“No,
really it’s fine.”
“Okay,
then I’ll talk to you later. See ya’!”
“Bye!”
As
he walked away, he wondered how the project was going to go. She’d only looked
at him once and sighing with something that was suspiciously close to
disappointment he continued on his way home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She
was disgusted with herself. Sure she was shy, but how could she betray herself
so easily. He must think she was really stupid. He must be regretting that she
was his partner. He was probably as appalled with her as she was with herself. Well
I won’t let it happen again. Tonight when he calls me, I’ll be ready. I know
that’s not the way I usually act, and I’ll let him know it as well. I’ll go
make a study plan. And so saying, she rushed home to ‘prepare’ herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She’d
told all her roommates to please be sure to be off the phone at 10, as she was
expecting a phone call. Now at 2 minutes till she found
herself waiting anxiously in her room with the telephone clutched in her
fingers. Never thought I’d be waiting at the phone for a guy to call she
thought wryly to herself. She had kept her promise to
herself; beside her lay the study plan that she had mapped out. Now all she had
to do was find the courage to discuss it. She glanced nervously at the clock it
was
10:05,
she’d give him another 10 minutes and then she’d relinquish the phone back to
her roommates, and go to bed. She felt totally drained after the day‘s
emotional roller coaster. Picking up her Study Schedule she began to look over
it one more time. Rrrring! The phone
broke through her concentration. She could feel her stomach beginning to do
flip-flops. Breathing in deeply she picked up the phone and hesitantly pushed
the ‘talk‘ button...”Hello?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he hung up the
phone, he smiled slightly and heaved a sight of relief. That had gone a lot
better than he thought it would. For starters she had actually said a sentence
longer than 4 words. She had been organized and decisive, and it was all
settled. They would get together tomorrow, and start on their project. Picking
up his copy of Jane Eyre he decided to read until he fell asleep and
refresh his memory. The first time he had read the book he had thought it dull
and sentimental, but this class was required for his major, and so he would
suffer through it.
As
he read, he found his thoughts wandering off. Somehow Emily’s eyes kept
creeping into his thoughts, until he found he’d gone an entire page without
reading a thing. Now why should she be popping into my mind? She’s a shy,
quiet, plain, short, woman. And yet, her eyes kept wandering into his
imagination and, deciding they liked it there chose to stay. He fell asleep
dreaming of stormy gray eyes, that could warm his
entire person merely with a glance or be filled with such panic it hurt to look
at them. He wondered how they would look tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She
was waiting at the entrance of the library for him the next day. She could feel
her heart beat just a little faster as she saw him walk in and knew that he was
coming to meet her. But she had determined that today she would be normal. She
felt comfortable with the material. Jane Eyre was her absolutely
favorite book, and she knew it backwards and forwards. She was more than ready
to get started on writing a review about it.
Joining
her they started walking toward a table together. She could feel the eyes of
other girls’ look up and follow him with admiration. Somehow, it made her feel
special just to be with him. He, however didn’t even seem to notice. Gazing up at him through her lashes as they
walked, she couldn’t detect any awareness that his simply being there was
causing a stir. “Will this one do?” he asked.
“What?
Oh, yes. This is great,” she was hastily startled her out of her musing.
They
sat down on opposite sides of the table. Pulling out her books and paper, she
wasn’t aware of him watching her. As she was placing her notebook on the table
he abruptly blurted out, “To tell you the truth, I didn’t like the book. I
found it dull, sentimental and overly melodramatic. Jane was, I think, slightly
crazy. I mean she would have to be to be able to tolerate, much less fall in
love with that cretin Mr. Rochester.”
She
was staggered, taken aback, and disappointed. This harsh, rather uncalled for,
criticism of her favorite novel was unbearable. Glancing at her he found her
eyes smoldering, until suddenly they burst into flame, “Jane Eyre may be
one of the finest pieces of literature ever written! Mr. Rochester is the most
romantic character to be put on paper. As for Jane, she may be plain, and
quiet, but that doesn’t mean she’s unfeeling or...or...Crazy! She has a
devotion to her convictions, even when it goes contrary to her wants, that is
rare to come by, and shows a deep strength of character!” Realizing what she
had just done she blushed a fiery red and muttered a rather quiet, “Sorry.”
Emmett
was gazing at her in wide-eyed amazement. So she does have a personality
after all. One corner of his mouth crept up into a lop-sided smile, and his
eyebrows arched in amusement. “Really? Well, you’ve
convinced me. Could you please explain it to me, I
would really like to understand.”
Totally
absorbed in her topic, she forgot to be shy and completely opened up. As she
talked on, explaining certain points and indicating others he was astonished.
She was an entirely different person than the one he had encountered yesterday.
When she spoke like this, her entire face became lit up and animated. He
discovered he liked the change. He found himself goading her with subjects he
knew would raise her ire, just so he could watch her eyes flash. He was
fascinated, he was interested, he was intrigued. She
was smart, and insightful. He wanted to know more. It was remarkable to him
that this drab of a girl had caught his attention so completely; and all with a
few passionately spoken words and speaking eyes. But, he had to admit, I
am caught.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Their
second meeting wasn’t quite as eventful as the first, but just as insightful
for both. Back in the library they faced each other across a well-polished
wooden table. Today she was wearing a light powder blue cardigan, which made
her eyes appear softer and more approachable.
“So,” Emmett began, ”what brought you and Jane
Eyre together? You sound as if you know it inside and out, and I know we
haven’t learned that in class.”
He was so polite. Always
considering her feelings, and opinions, and view points,
and he managed to never make her feel stupid or boring. “Actually, I was bored. I come from a family
of readers. Well one day I was really desperate for something to read, and I
found an old copy of my moms. I’ve loved it ever since.”
She
was amazing. She wasn’t at all what she seemed on the outside. Once you got her
to open up, you could see all the remarkable qualities she kept hidden away
inside. She was extremely intelligent, had a quiet, sharp wit, amazingly
observant, missing nothing, and she was extraordinarily kind. “You know, I
don’t think I’ve ever liked anything that much. I went back through it the
other day, trying to read it from a different viewpoint, and it worked! I
started to understand what you were talking about last time. I guess I’d just
gotten stuck on my first impressions. I never stopped to think that there might
be more to it than what a 15 year old boy who was forced to read it in his 10th
grade English class could perceive.”
Giggling
Emily responded, “I don’t know about that. 15 year-old boys who are required to
read a, hmm...let’s see how you might put it,
boring-girly-sissy-book-written-way-before-I-was-born-so-why-should-I-even-care
are pretty intuitive. Maybe we should go with your original analysis.”
Emmett
shook his head with mock resolution “Oh, no you don’t! I’m much smarter now.
And while it may still be a
girly-sissy-book-written-way-before-I-was-even-born, it’s no longer boring.
Hey! That’s a great opening line for our report, what do you think?”
Laughing
Emily took up the banter. “Oh, yes. And we could go on to say that we really
love the part where Mr. Rochester dresses up as a fortune-telling-gypsy. That’s
the climax of the book you know.”
He
had a quick understanding, and a wonderful sense of humor. She found that once
she stopped being shy with him they worked very well together. He was easy
going, open and friendly. And oddly enough in one so attractive, he was humble,
never conceited. She had never met any one so pleasant and accepting. She
thoroughly enjoyed his company. She
enjoyed working with him, and she enjoyed talking with him. He made her feel
special, just by being kind. I’m downright attracted to him! She thought
to herself with some surprise.
They
continued on like that for a while before buckling down to start on their
actual report. At the end of their study session they were much better friends
and Emmett decided to walk her home. They walked along joking with each and
talking about class and how much they both hated going to their class every
week. How, it seemed as if the professor just went on and on and on whether
anyone paid attention or answered his questions or not. “I wonder if no one was
even there if he would still hold class and just present his lecture to an
empty room,” Emmett speculated.
Emily
let out a wholly un-lady like guffaw of laughter. “I can absolutely see him
doing that! He’s not a bad person, I s’pose, I mean,
at least he’s not a yelly professor who thinks that
all the best teachers have to scare their class into attention. But he’s so boooring,” she said emphatically stretching out the
word to emphasize her point. Then with a little giggle under her breath she
said to herself,” Lecture to an empty classroom. I love it,” and she chuckled
again.
Emmett
just gazed down at her grinning in sympathy and admiration. Her smile was
beautiful and radiant, lighting up her entire countenance when it appeared. And
then there were her stunning eyes. He couldn’t get over those eyes. Sometimes,
they were gray, other times they seemed green and even blue. When she was happy
they shone, when she laughed they twinkled with humor, when she was angry they
flashed with fire, when she was deep in concentration they would gloss over as
if she were looking inside instead of out. He had never seen eyes like hers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The weeks flew by
and Emmett always found himself anxiously awaiting their next study session. He
couldn’t get enough of her. She was in his thoughts constantly. Sometimes, he
would call her on the pretext of having a question about their project,
gradually working the conversation onto other topics, trying his hardest just
to keep her on the phone, until he found they had been talking for hours.
Emmett knew most of his friends’ thought that he had gone crazy. What, they
wondered, could he possibly find so attractive in her? He couldn’t
explain it; she made him feel so good when he was around her that he wanted to
be around her all the time. As far as he could tell she didn’t even like him
back. But, he couldn’t help himself; he kept chasing her anyway.
Before,
he knew it their project was nearly done and the semester was coming to a
close. They were both graduating this year...and then what? Would they go their
separate ways, never to see each other again? The mere idea sent chills racing
up and down his spine, turning him cold with despair and sadness. He suddenly
realized how strongly he was attached to her. He wouldn’t let them be separated
so completely, he couldn‘t. The next time he saw her he would tell her how he
felt and ensure that she didn’t leave him! Somehow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She
knew she liked him. She liked him a lot. She just didn’t know what to do about
it. Oh that blasted man! Why does he have to be so wonderful, as well as so
good looking?! It was a combination virtually impossible for a woman to
resist. He was coming over tonight for their last study session.
Suddenly she realized just what that meant. Their Last study
session. She would probably never see him again once their project was
completed, and the thought made her want to cry. Never see him again? It seemed
impossible, it seemed horrible, it seemed inevitable.
Mentally she gave herself a shake, that kind of thinking will get you
nowhere, she reminded herself. Looking down at the paper, she attempted to
finish her homework. Instead she saw his face smiling at her, and heard his
laughter go ringing through her heart. Unconsciously, a smile played about her
lips.
Just
then her roommate walked past. She was doing it again. Whoever he is,
she thought, he’s done wonders for her. Her hair had become shining and
lustrous, her eyes were bright and gleaming, in fact
she seemed to have an inner glow that shone forth so brightly you could nearly
say she glowed. She was happier than ever before, and often walked around
smiling for no good reason. Her laughter held such joy that you couldn’t help
laughing back when you heard it. She had lost weight and looked healthy. You
could almost call her pretty. She’s definitely in love. With that last
parting thought, her roommate walked out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emmett
and Emily were sitting together on the couch. They had just finished putting
the final touches onto their project. All that was left now was presenting it
to the class and their professor. Alone in the apartment they sat together in
the residual quiet. “Wow, I can’t believe we’re actually done. When we started
it seemed as if we’d never finish,” she knew she was nervously babbling, she
just couldn‘t manage to stop herself.
“And
in a few weeks we’ll be graduating,” Emmett couldn’t believe, he’d been able to
get the words out. The entire night he’d been trying desperately to think of
some way to tell her how he felt and to ask her not to leave him. At least not yet, not like this, so cold and ultimate.
“Graduation. I really never thought that would
happen,” what was she talking about, none of this even mattered.
“We
should get together sometime.”
“Oh, yeah. That would be nice,” she felt disappointed. She
knew after graduation that they would never see each other. Oh, why couldn’t he
just leave so she could cry all alone, in the dark, unloved, and in peace!
“Emily,
I...”
She
glanced quickly up at him. There was something strange in his voice, and his
eyes held an emotion she found disturbing. Coughing slightly she cleared her
throat and started rather huskily, “So what are...”
Before
she knew it he had leaned over and was kissing her. Was she in heaven? Was this
really happening, or was she dreaming again as she had so many times before?
Oh, this couldn’t be true. Realization shot through her like a dart and settled
in the pit of her stomach like a lead weight. Her heart seemed to shrivel up
and die. The plain fact was this couldn’t be happening. Who in their right mind
would be kissing her? She had known for a long time that no one had ever been
or ever would be so inclined. Both hands pressed against his chest she shoved
with all her strength.
Two
fists barreled into his chest like cannon balls, knocking him back onto the
couch. He had been enjoying what he was doing so much it took him a minute to
realize, just what had happened. And then she started speaking very intently
and very quietly, almost a whisper, “How could you?”
He
looked over at her and saw the tears in her eyes. That pierced him straight to
the heart. If he had thought it would make her cry, he never would have kissed
her. Reaching for her hand he took it lightly, “Emily, I never...”
Standing
she yanked her hand away viciously. “Who put you up to it? How much did they
have to pay to get you to kiss ‘the ugly girl’? I’m sure it’s all a marvelous
joke, but don’t expect me to join in!”
“Emily!
It’s not like that. I would never...”
“Spare
me. Just get out. I’ll see you in class.”
“But,
Emily, I’ve got to explain! If you’ll just listen to me.”
“Get
Out!” she screamed at him.
Obviously,
this was not the time for explanations. Slowly, he collected all his books and
walked toward the door. She was standing there holding it open for him, with
tears streaming down her face. He wanted nothing more in the world than to
gather her up in his arms and kiss them away. This hadn’t gone at all the way
it was supposed to. Turning he tried one last time, “Emily, if you’ll just
listen.”
The
door slammed shut in his face for an answer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She
cried herself to sleep that night and every night for a week. It was just too
cruel. How could he have done it? Oh, why did he do it? Catching herself up on a sob, she punched the
pillow. It was really her own fault for ever opening herself up to him. Once
she‘d done that it was inevitable for hurt to follow. But how could she help
it, he was nearly perfect. Until tonight. Oh, how
could he do it! Throwing herself face down on her pillow she let the tears
overtake her and the sobs rock her body to sleep.
Her
roommates noticed the change in her immediately and wondered what could have
happened. Suddenly she wouldn’t take
Emmett’s calls. When he came over she went in her room and locked the door. The
sparkle had gone out of her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What
was he going to do? She wouldn’t talk to him. Everything he tried was thrown
back in his face. He was devastated but
determined. His roommates just laughed at him and told him to get over it. She
was just a girl after all. What was he thinking trying to get with her
anyway? He could do way better than that. “Don’t sell yourself short buddy,“ one of them laughingly said, “You’re a handsome guy! Lots
of way better-looking women would stand in line to go out with you if they
thought they had a chance.“
No
wonder she doubted him if this is how she’d always been treated. But, he
couldn’t stop trying. He had to at least make her understand that he hadn’t
done it to hurt her, even if she decided that she didn’t want him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As
always she arrived early. The only difference was that this time he was there
waiting for her. Almost she turned around and walked out of the building as
fast as she possibly could. Gulping in a
sharp breath of air she gathered her courage and continued walking forward. She
stopped in front of him and without raising her eyes to look at him asked,
“Well, are you ready?”
He
could see that her eyes were pink and swollen. Anguish sliced through his body
with the knowledge that he had been the cause of her grief. Nearly he kept it
casual as he answered, “I’m ready. How about you? Are you nervous? I know you
don‘t like speaking in front of crowds.”
Nervous? She was terrified!
But she wasn’t about to let him know that. She watched as people filed
past them into the classroom. “I’m fine,” she answered curtly.
The
trembling of her body belied her words. Suddenly he couldn’t take it anymore.
Reaching out he lightly but firmly grasped her wrist. “Listen Emily, I know you
don’t want to hear it, but I’ve got to explain.”
“Stop
it, do you want to cause a scene right here in the
hallway?” She tried to discreetly pull her hand away, as more people passed by
them entering the classroom, but he wouldn’t let go. “I know why you did it;
you don’t have to explain. I just thought better of you. Let me go!”
“Not
until you listen to me. Emily, I would never kiss a girl because, I’d been
dared to. Especially you Emily. I kissed you
because, I like you. I like you so much I think I might love you. I’ve
never felt this way before. I would like to kiss you again right now, and then
again and never quit.”
“Oh,
stop it! The jokes over. Can’t you just stop?” Emily
cried, a single tear escaping the confines of her eye, and gliding slowly down
her pale cheek.
“No,
I can’t stop, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. There was never any joke
Emily. I’m sorry to have caused you pain, I never thought you would take it
that way. It just hurt me so much to think of never seeing you again after
graduation that I was determined to do something about it. Obviously, it was the wrong thing. I can’t
force myself on you, Em, but I won’t let you leave
until you realize I never meant to hurt you.”
Just
then their professor peeped out and looking at them curiously said, “We’re
ready whenever you are,” and disappeared back into the confines of the
classroom.
Desperately
she tried once again to extract her wrist from his imprisoning fingers. Her
heart, which she had thought dead, began to nervously jump around in her chest.
It couldn’t be true, could it? Did he really care that much for her? No, it
wasn’t possible. “We have to go in. They’re waiting for us.”
“They’ll
just have to wait; we’re not going in until I’m sure you understand. Emily,
look at me.”
As
always he was staggered by the emotion spilling out of her eyes. He could plainly see the hurt and disbelief,
and yet way in the back he thought he saw a glimmer of what appeared to be hope
struggling to stay alive. “Emily, do you understand? Can you forgive me?”
This
was unfeasible. Her heart was doing little somersaults of joy by now. Her
emotions were practically screaming Oh, believe! But, as always her
sense of self-preservation intruded with, Beware!
Both of his hands were holding her one now. She could see the intentness in
his face and read the desperation in his eyes. “Emmett, are you serious? Do you
really mean what you’re saying?”
“More than anything.”
Suddenly
her emotions triumphed, trampling ‘Common Sense‘ beneath
their galloping feet. Letting go of all her hurt feelings she felt them shrivel
and die. A smile sprang forth upon her lips, warming his heart. “Oh, Emmett,
I’m so sorry. I believe you!”
He
clasped her hand a little tighter as his heart leapt with anticipation and his
chest constricted with emotion. Hardly daring to hope, he asked the foremost
question in his mind, “And, could you, do you think, like me a little?”
Scrunching her nose in mock concentration, she pretended to give it
great consideration, “Well, I’m just not sure. I mean you are only one
of the kindest, smartest, most caring people I have ever met. Not to mention
how incredibly handsome you are.”
“Emily,
you are killing me here. Does that mean yes? Tell me it means yes!”
“Oh,
it means yes and yes and yes...and then some,” she laughingly said to his
anxious face.
Emmett’s
heart seemed to rupture with all the joy and love it was filled with. Clasping
her to him he kissed her heartily. He felt as if he should positively die from
all the happiness he was feeling. He was sure it couldn’t be right for people
to feel so blissful while they were still living.
“A-hem!”
They
broke apart startled. “I’m sure I’m glad that you two have found each other,”
their professor said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “but, we are
waiting for your presentation,” and so saying ducked back into the classroom.
“Are
you ready Em?”
“Oh,
Emmett, I’m so scared.”
Taking
her hand into his and twining their fingers together, he leaned over and
whispered encouragement, “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you.” Together they walked
into the classroom.
By: Rachael Dick