What's in a name PART 1 of 5 (a story of first love meaning behind Kapomonkey)

As I'm looking at my microsoft word document for forthcoming chapter of "The Girl with the Green Ribbon", I can't help but look at my name KapoMonkey and go, "What a horrible name to go by as a writer!" No offense to it, I love it. There's deep history to the name filled with love and.....ahh screw it I'll tell the tale:

So long ago, say 2004.....I met a girl. As always is the beginning of these stories. It was at a party of some sort filled with old family friends from when I lived in Japan as a kid. I was about 13-14 at the time and I didn't know what I was doing there. I felt like a stranger just wandering the rooms of a house I've never been before and there she was.....
(No I didn't fall in love at first sight. That's complete bullshit. If you fall in love at first sight it's more than likely a strong infatuation.) Some girl playing Dead or Alive.

No idea who she was or anyone at the party. I was paying attention to tv screen of two kung fu fighting 3D women with larger than life breasts beat the living shit out of eachother. The fact it was on an XBox got me a tad riled up cuz I was such a playstation fanboy lol. Well as my attention is full on the tv screen, the girl looks at me and hands me her controller, "You wanna play?" I nod and smile, and think to myself "OMFG YES!!! It's my time to play!!" but I remember I'm no good at using an Xbox, I've never played Dead or Alive, and as a growing boy still going through puberty it was distracting playing a game like DOA. And as I'm scrolling through the select screen, out of nowhere the girl tugs on my shirt and says let's go play and leaves. I'm wondering to myself are we playing video games or what? SO I follow her down the stairs and outside and I see that what she meant was football.

At the time I sucked at football. No idea what the rules were or what to do, all I knew was that if you had the ball you run like the wind. So I played (as if I had any choice). And this random girl introduces herself to me, "Kate!" she says. As soon as I reveal my name, she's already going through the other kids' names were playing with. Inviting me into her group. I was weirded out for a while but she brought me into her circle without even knowing who I was and I was happy. She was tough too, she was playing so hard and had such fun doing it. I admired that. Not as much as I admired the view of the clouds in sky that distracted me from time to time during the game though.

She talked to me as we finished up the match and congratulated me on how I played. She was being nice, I didn't do much. I thought it would end there... but she continued on. She wanted to know more about me which puzzled me. So I eagerly answered all her questions and as I did, I grew more comfortable around her and started asking questions of my own. I found out we both love reading and actual shared a few favorites. It was a new feeling I hadn't felt before. I didn't know what it was. Then it was time to cut the cake. "OH! its a birthday party! So that's what this is." So stupid I didn't notice balloons around the house. "I wonder whose it is". And as Kate and I walked towards the cake, she walked over to the otherside of the table in the middle of an uncle and aunt and told me "Mine".

The world seemed to have paused. I was looking at her and couldn't focus on anything else. All I could hear was the chatter of my parents saying, "You two were childhood friends back in Japan. You played together every Sunday at church".

Wait what? Childhood friends? Girl who's super awesome? Me a nerd? Is my life a manga all of a sudden. Is this the girl of my dreams. And then it happened. A spark ignited in me. I didn't know what it was. All I knew was I wanted to spend the rest of the party hanging out with her.

We kept talking nonstop for hours. Just she and I.We had something, at least that's what I felt. I had no idea if she did too. I was falling deeper for her everytime I looked at her. She then became the most beautiful girl in the world... and her friend butted in and said "Do you like him?". I was taken aback and went total shy mode. It looked like Kate was blushing. She then told me to give her moment so I walked out the room and she closed the door. I was curious to know what just happened so I decided to wait a sec and peek through the door. I saw Kate scream into her pillow with excitement and laughter. My heart skipped.
her friend continuing to tease her more as I quietly closed the door. She likes me? I like her? Just a few hours ago we were strangers.

It was soon time to go and leave but I managed to convince my parents to give me a little more time. Kate as well as her friends decided to play a quick game of tag. We both hid together.....in her closet. It was dark, with just the both of us. It was a different atmosphere than before. "I think I love you" came out of my mouth. I don't know what came over me but as I said it, It never felt so true. She was quiet for a moment. I didn't know what to expect. And she answered, "I think so too". I felt like wanting to kiss her. I wanted to make a move. But then it was too late. I had to go.

As our car was leaving the sidewalk of her house I couldn't take my eyes off her. It was an undescribable feeling leaving. I met the girl of my dreams. And now I'm leaving her. I shed a few tears on the way back home but I smile at the thought of meeting her again. And what the future held between us. We lived only 99 miles apart yet it would feel like world's apart. Little did I know that it would be even more so. I slept like a baby that night.