Ageless Beauty

The eighth of November is a day that I remember very well.

I had worn a pink, sort of vintage-looking dress with a gray, button-up sweater over top. With that, I had worn tights and a pair of little, brown boots that went only part-way up my calves. My bangs were held back with a thin, white headband, and I was only wearing little make-up. It sort of reminded me of how I used to dress when I was a little girl, but he still, somehow, noticed me.

I always thought that the scantily-dressed, older and much more developed girls beside me would be the first to get noticed by a boy, but he didn't so much as blink and eye in their direction. They were calling him over, and batting their eyelashes in the flirtiest ways, but he didn't even acknowledge them. He just continued down the hall, with his old and worn black sneakers tapping against the cheap, linoleum tiles beneath him. And, just like he did on lucky days, he glanced in my direction as he walked by. I had been leaned against my locker, watching the hall as I waited patiently for my little sister to come along, so we could go off to lunch. I hadn't expected much more than a glance or a small smile, but he didn't do either of those things. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, and made his way toward me. I could feel my palms become damp with sweat, and I hoped to God that he couldn't hear the pitter-patter of my violently-beating heart. I know I could.

"I remember you." He had said once he was near, tilting his head to the side.

"You do?" I furrowed my brow, subtly wiping the sweat onto the sides of my dress.

"Yeah, I do." He nodded his head up and down. "Our Mothers were really great friends. I used to come over to your house after school. I'm not sure if you would remember. You were pretty, uhm, young at the time."

"No, I remember." I was surprised at the slight confidence in my voice. I didn't sound as timid and shy as I was feeling. "We used to watch Aladdin."

"Well, yeah." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That's all I wanted to say."

I nodded, smiling lightly at him. "Alright."

"Well, I guess I'll see you around." He said, walking backwards away from me. "Bye, Devon."

My pulse slowly regulated as I watched him walk away from me, and I could feel the heat leaving my cheeks. I almost felt accomplished, in a way. I had been waiting for the day when I could at least speak to him, and I finally had. I didn't even stutter when I spoke to him, like I had expected myself to. I kept my composure, I was calm and I didn't sound like a complete idiot when I spoke. I was proud of myself.

When I had looked to my left, after Christian was at the end of the hall, the junior girls were all staring at me. They looked shocked, and I guess I would have been too. If I was pretty and a junior, like those girls, I would be surprised that Christian De Luca was talking to the lesser fortunate sophomore girl. I mean, despite the fact that I had gone through that transformation in the summer, I still dressed rather juvenile. A lot of the dresses i wore sort of reminded me of something I would have worn as a child, but I couldn't help the fact that I liked those things. I still wanted to be me when I changed myself, so I wasn't about to dress like those other girls. With their short skirts, their tight jeans and their low-cut tops--That wasn't me at all. And when they wore those things, at least they had something to flaunt.

I definitely did not.

I was kind of short, standing at five foot five in height, and I barely wore a b-cup bra. My legs weren't anything especially attractive, like the other girls in my school. Their legs were long, and golden-tanned. Mine were pale as a ghost, and you can see the blue and purple veins beneath my skin. The only thing that was really womanly about me was my hips. They weren't too large, but they were definitely there. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing to have hips like mine, so I usually kept them covered up by flowy dresses and skirts. I didn't want anyone to see them.

"Did I just see what I think I saw?"

I turned away from the group of girls, to Sarah, who was standing beside me. She was still wearing her glasses, and her math text book was hugged close to her chest. I furrowed my brow, looking up at her curiously.

"Well, what did you see?" I asked.

"I saw you and Christian De Luca." She grinned, grabbing onto my shoulder with her free hand. "And you were talking."

"Well, uhm, yeah." I shrugged. "He said that he remembered me."

"That's so awesome, Dev." She squealed. "I'm so happy for you."

I raised a single eyebrow at her. "Sarah, he just said he remembered me. It's not a big deal."

"It's a huge deal." She insisted, turning to her lock and spinning in the combination. "What else did he say? Anything?"

"Not really." I bit my lip. "We just sort of mentioned that we used to watch Aladdin when he used to come over after school, and then he told me he'd see me around."

"Maybe he'll ask you out." She grinned, clapping her hands together.

"Maybe not." I laughed, shaking my head.

It would be cool if he did, though.