Till' Death Do Us Part

I breathed slowly as I could, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. It was beating too fast and just kept getting faster. I stared at her as she walked into the room. She introduced herself in front of the whole class.

“Um, hi” she said, “my name is Marilyn, um, I’m from L.A California.” She twisted her fingers from her left hand in her right and she looked straight down as if talking to her feet. She had long brown hair, beautiful light brown skin. She stared at space with her beautiful brown eyes through the glasses she wore, cute.

“Okay, thank you Miss Holguin, you may sit down right over there next to Vincent, Vincent raise your hand” I did, “yeah, right over there sweetie” the teacher told her.

The girl, Jenny, nodded and walked slowly towards where I was seating, for some reason at this moment I couldn’t breathe. The way she walked hypnotized me, I just couldn’t look away and she noticed this.

“Uh, hi?” she said.

“H-hi” I muttered, “ble-ah ehh, uh” I was choking now, why now?

“You okay?” she asked.

“Uh, he-he, of course” I extended my arm and shook her hand, “Vicente Venezuela, nice to meet you.”

“Hi Vicente” she said with some difficulty.

“You could call me Vincent, if it’s easier for you”

“Okay then, Vincent, what are we supposed to be doing now?”

“Wha?”

“Yeah, what are we supposed to be doing? Hurry because I don’t want to get the teacher mad on my first day.”

Ahh, this girl Marilyn was a goddess, the weeks went on and I got to be pretty friendly with her. We hung out a lot, we would hang before school, during lunch, and even after school and weekends. The more time I spent with her the harder I found it to resist her, her beauty, her charm, and smile. Never in my whole life have I ever felt something like this before. Now, I’m sixteen, I’m a pervert. I would always hang out with my friends and check out girls that would pass by and whistle, or shout comments. But now, for some reason, that all just seemed stupid, as I watched my friends doing it, it just seemed so immature. In a couple of short weeks this girl had changed my life, I believed I was actually in love.

“Stupid man, just stupid” my friend Alex said as I told him these things, “dude, you got a crush, that’s all. We don’t know anything about love and I don’t plan to.”

Alex, he has been one of my best friends for about three years now. He was funny, popular, and a chick magnet. He was captain of the basketball team, he was about 6” tall, and he could run seven miles without breaking a sweat, only thing is that he wasn’t very smart. While I was a 5”6 kid with glasses, messy hair, a deep voice that just didn’t fit me. There was nothing attractive about me, nothing at all, and I have a record of being single for sixteen years to prove it. Maybe that’s why Alex hung out with, so he could look better in comparison. Instead of sports I played video games, and instead of going out to get girls I would sit in the library to read a good book.

“But, you don’t understand!” I yelled, “This girl’s amazing, and I’m just, well me!”
“Well, maybe that’s all you have to be” he said.

“Maybe, but I’ve got to figure out how she feels about me first, somehow” I said more to myself than to Alex as I headed to my third period class.

The next day I went over to talk to Jessica, Marilyn’s now best friend and long-time friend of mine. She was seating alone in the lunch table waiting for Marilyn and the other girls when I saw her. Perfect!, I thought. I only had a few minutes left before the other girls got there. I rushed towards the table and sat next to Jessica.

“Jessica I need your help” I said in a hushed voice.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Uh, I need you to… kinda, investigate for me.”

“Investigate what?”

“I want to know if Marilyn likes or not” I whispered even lower.

“Oh, of course I can, don’t worry.”

“Thanks” I said and I left and sat in a table a couple feet down.

I watched as Marilyn and the other girls sat down to join Jessica in gossip. I watched as Jessica leaned towards Marilyn and pointed at me.

Damn it Jessica! I thought as Marilyn looked over at me and made her way over here. As she got nearer, I tried to make myself shrink as small as possible. She finally reached the table and I couldn’t help blushing as she sat down.

“So, is it true?” she said.

“What’s true?” I asked trying to seem clueless.

“You-you like me?”

“Pfft, uh, well you know, you’re my friend and all, and well” I stuttered, not sure what to say, finally I said, “yes, yea I do, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really?” I said, hopes rising.

“Yeah, it is” she answered.

“Oh, th-that’s great, you don’t know how glad I am.”

“Glad? I didn’t say I was going to go out with you.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, I really am, but you’re not my type” and she left.

You’re not my type. You’re not my type. You’re not my type. The words echoed in head over and over, my heart breaking with each echo. I got out of my seat and walked to an empty hall in the school and sat there for the rest of the lunch period. Then Alex showed up.

“Yo man, I heard what happened” he walked over and sat next to me, “dude, don’t overdo it, she’s just a girl. There are many of those out there.”

“I don’t know man.”

“Okay, I see you really like her” he stood up and extended his arm, I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up, “just don’t give up, that’s all I’m telling you.”

“Thanks man.”

Months passed, and I kept hanging out with Marilyn. I opened doors for her, I carried her books, and other stuff like that all in hope that one day she will like me like I like her. My efforts seem fruitless, for she never showed any sign of liking me at all, not even close. Even through all this I still never gave up.

One day I walked her home and as we were on the way she said that she wanted to talk to me privately and she pulled me into an alley.

“Okay, listen here” she said, “ I don’t want to hurt you, but just stay away from me from now on, okay?”

“Why?” I asked.

“You’re becoming too attached, it would be just better if you would stay away from me, okay?” as she said that she turned around and left the alley.

What did I do wrong? I wondered. I stayed in that alley for hours thinking, just sitting there and thinking.

The next day I went to school really depressed, I hadn’t gotten home until seven o’ clock last night, and I avoided Marilyn as best as I could but I still had class with her. During that class period I still had to sit next to her and I couldn’t help but keep looking at her. The minutes passed and I was still looking at her when a voice rang through the intercom.

“CODE BLUE, THIS IS A CODE BLUE! LOCK DOWN!”

The teacher rushed towards the lights and turned them off, the students all scattered up to the walls and sat on the floor, I sat next to Marilyn. The teacher went to lock the door, and as she reached for the handle the door opened.

A man about 6 feet tall entered the room, he was wearing a bandana over his face so you couldn’t see his face properly, he wore all black and carried a gun, which he pointed around the room. I was shaking, and as far as I could see so was everyone else. The teacher screamed and backed up against the wall.

“Okay, everyone you will follow all my instructions or suffer the consequences” the man said, then he pointed at me, “you” he said, “close and lock the door, don’t try anything funny.”

I walked across the room all the way to the door and closed it and as soon as I locked the door someone banged on the door.

“Everyone all right?” the voice belonged to one of the security guards of the school, “I saw someone come in, who was that?”

Panicking, the man yelled back at the guard, “Don’t do anything you might regret, I have hostages!”

He turned around and grabbed Marilyn’s wrist and pulled her up. She was shaking and now she started to cry. He moved her to the center of the room and pointed the gun at her, now I was mad.

The man signaled me to sit down, and I did, next to the teacher. Minutes crept by and the man was still pointing the gun a Marilyn, then a voice came from a speakerphone from outside.

“This is the police!” it said, “Give yourself up, you’re surrounded!”

“Shit!” the man said, he went up to the window and opened it a little bit and saw all the cops outside. He staggered back a bit and then he pointed the gun at Marilyn, “I’m gonna kill her!” he yelled, “I’m really going to do it.”

He cocked the gun and pointed the barrel at her teary face.

“Please, d-don’t do it” she cried, “I didn’t do any-anything.”

“I’m sorry, I really am, but I gotta do what I have to, to survive. I’m sorry”

At this moment it seemed like time had suddenly stopped, and then my legs moved on their own. I ran across the room, grabbed a pencil that was lying on a desk and put myself in between the barrel of the gun and Marilyn.

“Vince, don’t” Marilyn said.

“Now I’m the one that’s sorry” I said, “I guess I’ll never get to go out with you, huh.”

“Move kid” the man said, “I guess I’ll have to kill you instead.”

I just smiled.

“What are you smiling about?” the man said starting panic once more.

Then, as fast as a lightning bolt, I shoved the pencil into the man’s hand. He screamed in pain as he dropped the gun. I kicked it to the other side of the room and the man pulled the pencil from his hand.

“Oh, I’m so gonna kill you now, kid.”

He charged himself at me and tackled me to the floor, everyone screamed, and I hit the wall with my head. I felt a bit dizzy and I saw flashing lights, then I felt the hand pick me up by the collar of my shirt. My feet were off the ground and I was face to face with the man, his eyes full of hatred, I just smiled. Then suddenly his fist made contact with my jaw, then again, and again, and again. I could feel the warmth of the blood rush from my mouth and nose, and then he threw at a table.

This is it, I thought, I guess this is the end, what a world, I’ll miss you Marilyn. I grabbed another discarded pencil that fell as I made contact with the desk, and when the man pulled me up once more I shoved the pencil at the side of his neck.

“Aaaaarghh!” he yelled in agony, “I’m gonna destroy you, no not you, you’re little girlfriend.”

The man walked towards the discarded gun and picked it up. He cocked it and pointed it at Marilyn, with the last strength I had I picked myself up, the man didn’t notice.

“Good-bye” he said and pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gunshot rang in my ears as I ran towards Marilyn, and pushed her out of the way, success. Then as I fell I felt something in my chest. At first I felt nothing, then searing pain, as if something was burning my insides, finally a cooling feeling as I felt my blood rushing out of my chest and mouth.

“No! Vincent!” Marilyn’s voice rang through my brain as it started to lose consciousness, “No, Vincent! Why?! You’re such an idiot!”

“Ma-Marilyn, shhh, please. Don’t cry” I said with heavy breathing, man, it was hard just talking, but then I raised my arms and pulled down Marilyn in an embrace. I now started to cry with her, then another gunshot, everyone screamed and forced my head to look to the side and I saw the head of the man land on the floor, his cold eyes staring at me with blood running down his head.

“Ugh! Th-thank god” I said turning back to Marilyn, “you weren’t hurt, I’m glad.”

Marilyn said something but my hearing was gone, and my eyesight started to get hazy, but I could still fell Marilyn’s tears touching my face. I gasped for a breath and said, “Marilyn, I-I jus’ wan-wanted to say that- that, I love you.”

Suddenly my eyesight was gone, I can never see her face again, was my last thought. All the pain was gone, along with all the feeling in my limbs. I felt a breeze on my face, then I was lifted by the wind itself. I flew across the sky, and then I opened my eyes and saw the sky, the sun, the clouds, and somewhere there, Marilyn’s face smiling at me. I smiled back.

“When the police heard a gunshot inside, the police ordered their sniper team to shoot. The man was arrested, twenty year old Gerald Hanks, managed to kill one student, a Vincent Venezuela. According to witnesses he died trying to save a Ms. Marilyn Holguin, we will now have a moment of silence for this young hero.”

Marilyn went and turned off the T.V as she headed outside. She was dressed all in black, she was crying, and as she walked out she felt the rain.

So, even the skies cry, she thought. She walked towards her parents car and got in. The car drove for about ten minutes and then it finally stopped. She got out, not caring of getting wet, and walked towards a large group of people wearing black. They were all crying, as much as, or maybe even more than her. She walked up toward Vincent’s best friend, Alex, and sat next to him. He wasn’t crying much but his eyes were red as if he had cried before he came.

A priest walked up towards the coffin poured holy water on it, said a speech, and people started to put flowers on the coffin. Marilyn was the last one to put the flower on it, and then they lowered the coffin on the ground and started covering it in dirt. Marilyn cried harder, and then the last bit of the coffin was covered and people started to leave.

“Mary, honey, we should go.”

“Not, yet mom, I’ll walk home, I wanna stay here a bit longer.”

When her mom left she left a tiny little book on top of the grave, and she blew a kiss towards the grave, then about two hours later her mom came for her and made her leave. The wind blew in the cemetery, then the wind blew the little book open. It said:

To fall in love is a fickle thing
Don’t walk into the fire of love so blindly
For, they say that the fires of love burn the unwanted
Even more than the fires of hell on the sinful
I do love him, and he loves me, now I burn forever more
Marilyn Holguin, May 26 2009