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What a Valentine's Day

What a Jolly Holiday with Emily

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I moved from America to this dinky little country squished between Germany and Poland called Venicia. It was given its own nationhood when Germany was forced to give up the claim on Poland in 1945. It was a fairly poor country; dirt roads and lots of trees. Venicia was made up of about four large county-like things. Inside those county things were smaller towns. In a small town called Mavern, my grandfather had a small two bedroom apartment building near his work. He was the headmaster at Mavern High until his retirement at age 87; he died a few years later at the age of 92. My grandfather had seen the building go up and attended the school and he aspired to be a math teacher there. After he became a teacher, he just moved up to being headmaster. He was headmaster for almost fifty years before he died.

Mavern High School was a school everyone wanted to get into and my grandfather had made it that way. It was as prestigious and studious as a college but as cheap as a public school. Well, technically, it was a private school but my grandfather never found it pertinent to charge people money for learning. Mavern High School was made up of a large campus that stretched like rolling hills across the small city in which it was located and a large—very large—white building that looked like a palace. It was home to every student in the southern county and everyone was happy to travel to Mavern High. The building was perfect in almost every way and it seemed like a Wonder of the World. The flat lands on which the building was located gave way to hills which almost immediately turned into walls of trees. It was hard to find where the school grounds ended and where the rest of the town began. The houses near the school were very expensive, and since the land was government property and no one really liked living all alone on a big patch of field, Mavern High’s attendants lived in a small village known as Valentine.

The town had the basic necessities; a grocery store that was right across from the school (It was the only store in the whole town), roads that were not paved, an appliance store that was located maybe fifteen feet away from the grocery store, a library (a large library at that), a bank, a town hall, a small market, a bakers shop (along with other artisan buildings), a small police station, and a large pond for swimming and ice skating. I had visited the village a lot. My mother wanted me to do something that required me to leave the apartment, so she suggested I run. You know, like those people who run around your town in the middle of winter? Yeah. She wanted me to be like that. I wasn’t like that, so I ran like a normal person; when it was nice and when it was convenient.

Since the grocery store was on one end of the town and the village on another, the parents sent their kids to the store on their way to school or from school. I was lucky enough to just live across the street from it. It was a long hike, though, to the front steps of school. Most kids were dropped off by their parents, who usually had to carpool with someone else. The country didn’t really believe in the idea of cars. They didn’t think they were evil or anything, they just didn’t have enough money for cars. They kept people moving with carriages. It was very…nostalgic. I had never been in a carriage, though. I was fortunate enough to have to walk to school. I actually jogged all the way to the front doors and got changed. It was surprising to see such a simple building on such a large lot of land. Not that I minded though. The school was very big on sports, especially ones that were physical and did a lot of running. We had the best track team in all the country. I had moved to Mavern during the end of my junior year. I had a whole summer to get friends, or so my mom said. Too bad she picked the one place where no one lived. Yeah, thanks Mom… Anyway, the runs through the village got me used to most of the people.

A lot of the people who saw me were older people. I mean, what else did they have to do other than to spy on the weird new guy in town who ran in black shorts, a white, sweaty tank-top and listening to a music player? I obviously looked like a sweaty alien coming to kill them with my stench since they sent their most strapping young men to come and talk to me. They sent a banker’s son, the baker’s son, and the police man’s son to “talk” to me. Basically, they wanted them to spy on me and find out what my mother and I were doing. The three of them really couldn’t stand each other and when they met me, they were ready to hate me too. However, I have this annoyingly amazing ability to get people—all people—to love me. They found themselves infatuated with me (not really) and we quickly became good friends. Before the end of July, I had made friends with more guys--mostly guys who liked other guys. I never minded that they were gay. They were funny and they were my friends. They came over my house and had a good time with me. They knew a lot of girls, who were eager to meet me, and I gained more friends as the summer went on.

By the time I walked into school that first day, I knew at least twenty people. That was barely one class but it was a good start. The classrooms were full of maybe thirty kids; an even distribution of girls and boys. They had basic subjects (English, Math, History, and Science) as well as an hour-and-a-half gym class, and a few electives that helped kids find their skills and then helped them perfect them. The time spent in school was a lot longer than I had previously experienced in America, but it was nice. I got to meet new people. A lot of the people were simple and nice, others were a bit mean but not bullies. They were just, I think, a little cooped up. They didn’t know what to do now that they were a big fish in a little pond.

There was something very special about this town. Every year, the town got a certain amount of snow. The snow fell in December and in January like it did in every other country. However, on the fourteenth of February and the days leading up to it, the ground would be bare. No hint of snow or winter would be left on the ground. The people of the world know February 14th as a very specific holiday but in Valentine, they didn’t even know about the holiday.

“The day is the one day out of the year where people who are in love get together on the 14th of February and sit on the green in front of the school and watch the sunrise.” The way the language sounded made the words roll together, blend together and sound like a mix between French and German, which were not close in the least. It had the hard syllables of the German language but the casual, almost snooty sound of the ending syllables. It had a lot of “ah” endings and a lot of strange nasally sounds. It was a difficult language to get a hold of, which is probably why I confused a lot of people. My mother taught me when we were living in America but I still had a hard time. You understand what I mean, right? When you know a language and then you talk to a person who has known that language all their life, you realize you don’t know the language as much as you thought you did.

“You mean Valentine’s Day?” I asked. The girls all looked at me strangely, apparently never hearing of the Holiday. That or not sure of the word I said. Dang my rusty linguistic skills! There were five of us; four girls and me. I was a ladies’ man (xD), what can I say? We were on the front grass where many of the kids at our school gathered. It was big enough that we could be alone but not feel completely separated. The afternoon was warm and casual even if the sun was setting behind our large academic monument. The grass was cold in between my fingers and I tugged at the green strands mindlessly. My eyes were focused on the ladies. They were beautiful in their own way; one was a little pudgy and had dark brown hair but she and I agreed we’d call her cuddly and she’d give me great hugs. She had a sort of innocence that I thought was relieving; one was thing and tall with red-hair and a thin nose. She had a heart of gold and didn’t bother to think twice about helping a person; two were black-haired, voluptuous and twins. They were funnier than any person I had met in America and they knew it. They made me smile and I couldn’t help but laugh at every one of them.

“What about our town?” The red-headed girl asked.

“I think he’s trying to make a name for the day…” said the brunette.

“That’s a really uncreative name, Gordon.” Said one of the twins.

“Never mind, girls. It’s just a similar holiday where I come from, that’s all.” They gave me a shrug and continued to explain to me what this day was.

“Almost every person in the school gets a girl or a guy and brings them to the grass. It doesn’t matter who you bring, just as long as you bring someone. Someone you feel for. It’s generally a day for couples but if you wanna bring someone to propose, that’s fine too. You don’t bring friends to this though. It’s only the girl or guy you like; never someone who is just your friend. It just doesn’t work like that.” Said the other twin without hesitation.

“So who are you going to invite?” asked my red-haired girl.

“There’s no one I have met yet that is good enough.” I said, tugging at the grass where we sat again. They all giggled. Apparently, I was funny too. Well, I was pretty funny.

“Aw but Gordon,” said my twins. “Those boys really love you.”I wasn’t gay. Apparently, the people around the school thought I was. I didn’t mind. Apparently, my long brown hair, my large jaw and handsome blue eyes made me the perfect candidate for the gay-dar. They began to giggle as I told them I wasn’t gay. They didn’t seem to believe me.

“Hey guys!” I looked up at the source of voice and smiled. She was pretty. She stood five foot seven, maybe, and had curly, but not fully curly, brunette hair. She had a beautiful, curvaceous figure that I’m sure most guys loved to look at. She had big brown eyes that seemed to be too attractive for any girl to have. She smiled at me. Her smile was wide and inviting. I felt an odd sense of familiarity in that smile. Like, you know that feeling you get when you see a friend you haven’t seen in so long and all the memories of the good times you shared with them come flooding back? That’s how I felt. “Hey, is this the new guy?” she asked as she pointed to me.

“Yes,” said the girls together. “His name is Gordon.” They had a strange, similar look in their eyes that made me worried.

“Nice to meet you,” I said as I stood and shook her hand. She looked me up and down and nodded a little, as if inspecting me to see if I was worthy of her time. I wasn’t that much taller than her and I think she seemed to like that because I saw a small grin tug at her lips when her eyes met mine. They were beautiful. I didn’t know if she was that kind of person but that’s just what she looked like and how she made me feel. When people say first impressions are everything, they just want to make you nervous. I’ve never gone somewhere and acted like someone totally different just because it was a first impression. I never held anything back, gave it my all, and hoped for the best. This girl seemed to be the same. She seemed fearless and bold.

“Right, you’re across the street from our store. I see you running in the morning. You look good.” I nodded and smiled a little sheepishly.

“Thanks….” I said awkwardly. As much as I love having girls watch me when I go running and drench myself in smelly sweat, I wasn’t sure I wanted this attractive girl—or any other girls for that matter—knowing I run like a freak in the morning before school. “I live with my mom in the apartment next to the school.”

“You’re the grandson of the headmaster too, right?” asked the girl in front of me.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “How’d you know?” She shrugged a little and stuck her hands in her pockets.

“I’m Emily, by the way. Emily Thompson. I moved here last year so I’m probably the happiest person here. With you here, I’m no longer the new girl.” She said instead. I glanced at the girls. They smiled a little and stood up, asking if I’d like to go somewhere to hang out.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you,” I told the girls. “I have a date with the beautiful woman who gave birth to me.” They all laughed and called me cute and I smiled at Emily. “It was nice to meet you, Emily.” She smiled and nodded before I left her to join my mother for dinner. I jogged away and thought to myself who I would ask, if I would ask anyone really.

It was surprising, really, to think that someone didn’t know about Valentine’s Day. I mean, especially since their town was called Valentine, I would think you would at least know the holiday. Valentine’s Day was never really my favorite holiday. I knew many people who had girlfriends and boyfriends and bought adorable things for each other. I guess you can say I was jealous. I’ve never had a girlfriend in the seventeen years of my life. I’ve liked girls and I have given gifts before but I was never one to get them back. It did disappoint me but I never bothered to really get angry or bitter. I knew a lot of girls—well one girl—who did whatever she could to ruin Valentine’s Day. She was a close friend of mine and she said that Valentine’s Day was pointless. She said no one gives something really important. “They buy expensive things to somehow make up for their either their lack of love or their supposed immense love. No one should think buying a diamond necklace could tell a woman you love her. Something simple, something personal would make sense. I would love something like that.”

Before I left, I gave her best friend a Valentine to give to her. It was personal, simple and adorable. I’m just that good a guy. But Valentine’s Day was once a year. It was a small holiday to celebrate the love a person had in their life. It didn’t matter if the love was a romantic love or if it was a family love. It was a celebration of the love—the adoration—someone had for another person. I guess one didn’t need an official holiday to spread love. I slowed to a stop and my leg muscles twitched. They apparently thought the same thing I did; Emily.

It wasn’t even that she was more beautiful than other girls (though she was extraordinarily pretty) it was just that she gave me that sense of happiness. You know when you’re just happy for no reason? She made me feel like that. I looked back at the girls and decided I wanted to ask her something. I turned around and headed back to them. When I neared, I slowed and gave a lopsided grin when I heard the girls giggle.

“Back so soon?” asked Emily, her arms crossed.

“I couldn’t stay away,” I replied as I moved the light brown hair out of my pale blue eyes. I cracked my fingers a little and smiled. The girls all smiled back. I was wearing my favorite pair of dark, running shorts and a simple white t-shirt. I figured I looked like a bum and I wanted to wait but I didn’t want to lose my chance. “Did you want to come over for dinner?” I asked Emily. She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at the girls.

“Seriously?” I nodded and offered her a wide smile. I knew my smile was adorable and I hoped she would think so too and fall for it. “We’ll see,” she said as she fought a smile. I nodded and offered her my arm like a real gentleman.

“May I walk you home?” I asked in English. I had forgotten how to say it so I hoped she knew English.

“Why would I go home with you?” she asked playfully.

“I…” I swallowed hard and shrugged. “You’re the first person I found that speaks English and lives near me so I guess I got excited to have a friend. At least with you, I don’t have to talk to my mom so much.” She laughed, a loud sound that seeped through her, and shook her head.

“I’m heading to the library. The librarian has a new shipment today.”

“Emily, don’t scare him,” said the black haired twins.

“Books won’t scare him away,” she said as she crossed her arms. “You don’t mind a little literature, do you?”

“Of course not,” I replied. “A lot of my friends back home read. I like books too.”

“You have to be gay,” said one of the girls.

“Why?” I asked, smiling brightly at them. The charming smile always got them smiling and I loved when girls smiled.

“Most guys are busy with sports or cars or girls.”

“Well I like all those things but they usually include more than one person. I, sadly, was on my own with my mother for months so I had to do something, right? My mother and I read a lot together. She likes to read so I was forced to read too.” Emily smiled at me and I smiled back.

“I’ll see if I can come over,” she said as she started to turn away. “I have to go, though,” she said.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” I replied as I offered her a wink. The four girls began to laugh and rolled their eyes at me.

“You are adorable,” they said as they swarmed me. Emily left with a smirk and I watched her leave.

~♥~♥~♥~ ~♥~♥~♥~

Emily did come over, along with her parents. Her father and mother were excited to meet my mother and it was easier said than done to ask Emily to the celebration. I couldn’t just pop it on her, I mean, I don’t want to be rude. I was new and she might have had someone else. Instead, I just enjoyed her company. She was funny. Really funny. She had a really addicting smile that I wanted to see constantly. She had a very strange way of acting but it was alright. I was alone for so long I didn’t mind the eccentricness that was Emily. She liked books a lot, as well as music. Her favorite band is Avenged Sevenfold. She liked purple and she thought she was socially awkward which I found very adorable. She and her family left our house and it took a few days to really get to her alone again.

I didn't bother with the asking about the Valentine's Day thing. It didn't matter to me. I was busy making more friends so I didn't bother to bring it up. Emily definitely hung out with me more and I could use English more often. It was nice. My brain was getting tired. I had said happy Valentine's Day to all the girls that knew me, as well as the boys who knew me, and gave them chocolates. They all thought it was cute and gave me special heart cards or sweet candies. I enjoyed it. The girls and the boys all gave each other things and the whole school was decorated red and pink with hearts. The kids were going to classes, giggling, spending time together and sharing their "love".

Valentine's Day was full of adorable girls being adorable and guys being...well sorta adorable. I don't want to make you think I'm for that team, but they were acting just like girls. Anyway, I went home, shared my candy with my mom, and sat down on my bed and began to read a book Emily let me borrow. She had a lot of books and she really liked it here in Valentine since she could buy books. She said she apparently had a hard time buying books back in Aruba. The night came and I rubbed my eyes before glancing at the clock on my wall. 12:30 a.m. I sighed again and closed the book before turning over and diving into my pillow.

It didn't take me long to hear my name being called. I rose and walked to the window. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and when I looked down, I saw Emily standing on my lawn. She waved down to me.

"Let's go," she said. "We're going to be late."

"Late for what?" I asked as I walked away from the window and headed down the stairs and out the door. She walked up to me, took my arm in her hand and led me along. She and I didn't talk for a while but her grip loosened and her hand softly lay in my hand. I was still half asleep and by the time we got to the back of the school, I was leaning on her. She helped me sit down on the soft green grass. "I wanna go back to bed," I whined. She gave a small laugh and laid me down.

"Come on, Gordon," said Emily. "I think you should be awake for your first ever Valentine's Day in Valentine." I sighed and put an arm around her shoulder. She was quiet but laid her head on my chest. I smiled to myself and as I opened my eyes, the sun was rising. I glanced around and saw the other couples that laid on the grass. I looked at Emily.

"Happy Valentine's Day," I said. She looked up at me and nodded. I offered her a wide smile, which she returned, one that was small, cute and sluggish.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she replied. As I leaned down to kiss her lips, the sun broke the clouds and the world was alive with a burst of color. The bright orange color of the sky made the dull green seem vibrant and alive while it illuminated the color of the trees and the pale red and pink sky. I never knew that Valentine's Day could be so romantic; especially when I had a Valentine as beautiful as Emily in a place as beautiful as Valentine. I have to say, this was quite a Valentine's Day.