Starry Night

It was morning – much too early for my liking – when my droopy eyelids finally opened. All of the night’s dreams faded away, and the sun glowed steadily through my curtains, drawing patterns on the floor. My eyes traced them before studying the ceiling, never-ending shapes. The early-morning silence was a rarity for me, but it was nice nonetheless.

That was, of course, until my mother yelled at me to get out of bed.

“Stacy Bennett! I swear if you don’t get out of bed in the next minute, I will make you walk to school!”

I sighed. And that was why morning silence was rare. “Coming!” I yelled.

I lazily stumbled out of my soft, warm bed (where I would like to spend the rest of my day) and nearly fell on my face trying to maneuver around my dark, blurry room. Surprisingly, after a few blind minutes, my fingers grasped the long, velvet curtains and I yanked them open. The Florida sun lit up my bedroom and I blinked, adjusting my eyes to it.

The thunderstorm from the day before had cleared up and all that was in the sky was the endless blue ocean of the universe and the sun. The green grass swayed in the wind and almost represented the waves of a sea. My mind began to wander off, until my mom, once again interrupting my reverie, yelled, “That’s it, I’m going to work! Your bike is in the garage if you need it!”

To be honest, I didn’t mind riding my bike to school at all; although my mother thought she was actually punishing me. It would give me even more time to take in the beautiful Florida scenery, even though I have lived here all my life. The palm trees seemed to become even more magnificent from the day before, with the green eye-shaped leaves glistening beautifully in the sun, like emeralds. On the nearby beaches, the white crest waves crashed softly on sparkling, white sand. The mental image itself is breathtaking, but actually being there puts such a feeling inside of you, it's like an explosion of multiple emotions.

Finally pulling myself away from the window and the jaw-dropping landscape, I grabbed some clothes out of my closet, a pink short-sleeved top and denim shorts, and headed down the hallway into the kitchen.

I placed my simple outfit on the marble counter and rummaged through my large refrigerator. Since I didn’t have time for a real breakfast, I tried to find something to snack on during my bike ride. Although my scavenger hunt was unsuccessful, I did, however, find a box of Special K bars in one of the wooden cabinets above the refrigerator. I placed two of them on the counter next to my clothes and then searched for my backpack, which had been missing all weekend. Fortunately, I found it shoved underneath the couch in the living room, although I don’t remember putting it there. Then again, I don’t remember very much these days.

After placing my purple school bag on a tall, metal counter chair, the rest of my morning was routine: getting dressed, brushing my teeth and on and on and on.

Finally, when I was all ready to go to school, I shoved the Special K bars into my pocket, slung my backpack over my right shoulder and headed out into the garage. As my mom had said, my pink road bike was leaning against the wall, as always. However, something seemed different.

My bicycle was fine and everything appeared to be in its place, but something, or someone, was out of place. I turned around and nearly screamed. A pair of bright hazel eyes bore into mine, like the palm tree emeralds.

Brandon’s expression was just as surprised as mine and his arms wrapped around my waist to comfort me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it”, I said with a warm smile.

He chuckled, pulled himself away from me, and walked out of the garage, just where the golden sunlight met the pale white door. “Is this still acting like a stalker,” he asked sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes dramatically so he could see and ran into his strong arms again. Brandon’s tan face was inches from mine and his perfectly chiseled jaw stretched upward, showing his snow-white teeth as he smiled. His dark hazel eyes stared intently into my soft blues. I felt so utterly insignificant as I looked limply back at him, breath escaping my lungs in short, rough gasps. It was impossible for me to keep a straight face while I was with him. The feeling of the beautiful Florida beach was nothing compared to the attraction I felt to Brandon. He wasn’t even the captain of the football team or head jock of Middleton High, but Brandon Matthews was a normal junior who was my boyfriend. Perfect in so many ways I couldn’t even count. I held him tighter and whispered, “I will never lose you.”

His angelic smile made me gasp for air. “Let’s hope not because if I did lose you, how would I be able to give you this?” Brandon opened the palm of his light brown hand and it revealed a golden-chained necklace. As the sun reflected off of it, a spectrum of light jumped around the garage. Then, I noticed a heart-shaped charm that had been gently strung onto the shining, metal cord.

It was as if it was just Brandon and I standing in a place called nowhere, without any of life's other interruptions. I was speechless as the dark hazel charm glistened in the sun, lighting up the room in such a way that the daylight star called the sun couldn’t compare.

"Do you like it," he asked, his voice as smooth as silk.

My mouth opened, but no sound escaped as I held the turquoise stone in my palm.

Brandon chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes?"

I nodded my head ever so slightly, while my mind was still in pieces from astonishment. This necklace had left me unable to do the simplest of things, like actually thank Brandon for the gift. Fortunately, even though my brain wasn't functioning correctly, he took the beautiful piece of jewelry and hung it around my neck.

"There we go," he said, his soft voice breaking the silence.

"It's...so...beautiful," I whispered.

Brandon's extraordinary smile took my breath away again and he laughed at my awestruck face. Then suddenly his musical laughter stopped and he became serious. His abrupt change in mood startled me and I asked what was wrong.

He was as still as stone and as peaceful as a dove while he looked questioningly into my eyes. I waited for some kind explanation, but I never broke the silence. Something inside told me to let it be, so I did. The stillness surrounding us made me feel as if we were in a photograph, two people lost in each other.

We put our foreheads together and closed our eyes, and everything and everyone around us melted away again. It was as if we had become one person. One beating heart that shared a passion for one another and one mind that could connect without words.

As my heart hammered in my chest, Brandon began to study my face again and when a strand of hair fell from behind my ear, his soft fingertips pushed it back. Then, they continued down to my chin and lifted my head up. Was this it!? I thought feverishly, would this be our first kiss? I looked into his glowing hazel eyes while I tried to read what he was thinking. My lips curled into a smile as I thought about it.

Brandon grabbed the nape of my neck in one of his strong, tan hands, and he leaned forward. My heart skipped a beat and once it had started up again, I was pretty sure he could hear it hammering in my chest. Then, I slowly moved in the rest of the way, but as I did, I noticed he was anxious, too. Brandon's breath was fast and his eyes were shining with excitement.

Finally, after these few, restless seconds, our lips met. They moved together as one, like our hearts and minds. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes to meet his height.

During this, the inside of my body was like the Fourth of July. Fireworks exploded throughout me while different emotions ran up and down my spine, sending electric shocks to every nerve ending. This feeling was so amazing and extraordinary that I couldn’t believe what was happening. It felt like something that would happen in my dream world, something unreal.

When we pulled apart, I sighed contently and the fireworks began to fade. Brandon smiled at me, but never said anything that broke the silence. Then, when my voice had returned, I whispered, “What happened before we...you know…kissed.”

He sighed, gave me a sly smirk and began to explain. “When you looked at me, I began to wonder why you like me so much.”

I nodded my head while a smirk began to spread across my lips. "Oh."

“Did you…well you know, like it?" His voice was full of uncertainty, but those turquoise eyes still sparkled bright.

I smiled and giggled nervously, “Yeah, but did you like it?”

Brandon nodded as his hand rubbed the back of his neck, the other shoved in his jean pocket. “It was…I don’t know it’s hard to explain.”

“It was unexplainable.”

Brandon grinned, “Just the right word.”

Suddenly, it occurred to me how much time we had wasted standing in the middle of my empty garage. I quickly checked my cell phone to see what time it was, 7:10.

“Oh, crap! We have five minutes to get to school!”

As I started to get on my bike, Brandon grabbed my arm, and pulled me to his used, silver BMW.

“Looks like you need a ride,” he said, teasing me.

“Apparently,” I muttered.