Countdown
Insecurity
"So, guess who met her soul mate this weekend?"
"Shut up! I don't want to talk about it!"
Amy looked so flustered, but I knew it was because she had been extremely disappointed in her soul mate. Once her counter hit zero, her eyes met a short boy, barely thirteen, who was carrying a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. I was sure she wouldn't have been so angry about it if he was attractive, but he definitely wasn't.
"Did'ya kiss him? Make out with him?" one girl in our large group teased, to which the rest laughed.
"Ugh, I would never! He was so...gross! All sweaty and nerdy looking! I can't believe he's supposed to be my soul mate!" Amy collapsed in her chair and banged her head off her desk so hard that the sound rang through the classroom. Hardly anybody looked, though; they all knew Amy had a dramatic flair. Loud noises from her were nothing new.
The shortest of us all, short-haired Brittany, quickly piped up, "Why not give him a chance? He'd probably surprise you."
Amy groaned into the table as one girl rubbed her back. I didn't even know who she was, but Amy had tons of girls around her I never recognized but absolutely idolized her, simply because she modeled outside of school. I scoffed as one girl jumped over me to console Amy about her hardships. 'I was her friend first,' I thought, rolling my eyes at how devoted these girls were to her. I'd been friends with Amy since we were in Junior Kindergarten together and we painted the same picture without realizing it. We would always have more devotion to each other than anyone else would have to her. Except, of course, her thirteen-year-old soul mate.
"I think it didn't help that he was still in the eighth grade. She always idolized how her soul mate was going to be--"
"Older by two years, taller by five inches, have curly brown hair, interested in photography, and have abs." Amy muttered sadly, knowing she would never have her perfect man. I sighed and patted her blond head with my countdown hand, which Brittany noticed rather quickly.
"Oh yeah, wasn't your countdown coming to an end too, Ellie?" she asked, the entire group of girls jerking their heads in my direction. With all their eyes on me it became difficult to talk, and in response I made a barely audible squeak. Their eyes judged me so harshly and without a single word I was defeated. I held my countdown wrist in my other hand and glanced at the bright red numbers declining at a rapid speed: 0000:002:10:37:29. Two days, ten hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-nine seconds. That was how long it would be until I would be meeting my soul mate. I had no idea where I would be, what I would be doing, but he would be there. Despite not wanting to feel like Amy, a part of me still wished he would be perfect.
Amy picked her head up from the table and looked at me with big, tear-filled green eyes and a pout that would have made the entire U.S. army cave. "You'd better have much better luck than I did, Ellie baby. He'd better be the most attractive man in the entire universe." I smiled as Amy grinned through her tears for me; no matter how vapid or bitchy people made Amy out to be, I would always know better. She would always be my best friend, and the best in the world.
***********
One day, nine hours, three minutes, and ten seconds left. I could barely focus long enough to eat my sub, too concentrated on the countdown. I was so close to meeting him and the wait was killing me slowly. My head was filled with thoughts of him, and I still hadn't even met him yet. I wondered if it would feel worse once I had actually met him, and it worried me. He was all that occupied my mind; thoughts about what he could look like, smell like, sound like...
"Oi! Ellie!" A sudden finger snap in front of my face made the mysterious man disappear from my mind, if only for a moment. I looked up and there was Cale, one of the few male friends I had left. His counter had hit zero a long time ago, and he'd been the happiest person ever since. Lucky bastard.
He suddenly reached out and I thought he was going to grab me so I jumped, but he stopped, and pulling back his hand he had a cucumber in between his fingers, dripping in sub sauce. He threw it in his mouth and grinned cockily at me, pulling up a chair to sit next to me. "You're so out of it you're losing veggies out of your sub, dear girl! Think of those poor veggies you've lost!"
I looked down at the wrapper on the table and there were quite a few veggies I'd lost while in my own thoughts. "Ah, shit," I muttered, scooping up an onion and popping it into my mouth.
"What's on your mind, El? You're never this lost unless we're in math class." I showed him my counter and he instantly gasped, grabbing my wrist and shoving it closer to his face. I nearly fell into his lap in the process. "Whoa...your counter is almost up. You're meeting your soul mate tomorrow."
I pulled my arm back and nodded, picking at my sub. "I keep wondering what he's going to be like. It's been killing me."
Cale nodded a little and sat back in his chair. "You're nervous, huh? Worried you're going to end up like Amy?"
I violently shook my head, glaring at him. "It's not like that! I'll be fine with him, since he is my soul mate." To think Cale thought I had the same mind process as Amy...I was offended. While she was my best friend, I had no problem admitting she was vain.
"So then, you're worried you won't be good enough for him?" Hearing it come out of Cale's mouth was like a straight bullet to the heart, and how easily Cale could guess my insecurities was embarrassing. My face went red and I couldn't look him in the eye, and I began scratching my hand under the table as my nervous habit persisted. He quickly noticed and reached under and put his hand on top and squeezed lightly, smiling my way, but in a very serious manner.
"Ellie Samuel! Don't think like that!" he snapped, squeezing my hand tighter. I managed to look up, afraid of what I'd see, but once I saw his concerned expression I was comforted. "You're beautiful in every way possible. From your brown curls to your pink toes, and everything in between. If your soul mate doesn't think so then he's daft and you should be disappointed, like Amy, that he isn't perfect. You of all people deserve the perfect soul mate."
Cale had this way with words, ever since we were kids, like he had The Force but with the English language; he could make me feel so much that I never thought I could feel in my lifetime just by speaking. He had that effect on everyone, which was why he wrote stories. He was far too good at making people feel things. I was forced to smile, even though I was still insecure about the whole ordeal.
"Here's to hoping he will be."
"Shut up! I don't want to talk about it!"
Amy looked so flustered, but I knew it was because she had been extremely disappointed in her soul mate. Once her counter hit zero, her eyes met a short boy, barely thirteen, who was carrying a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. I was sure she wouldn't have been so angry about it if he was attractive, but he definitely wasn't.
"Did'ya kiss him? Make out with him?" one girl in our large group teased, to which the rest laughed.
"Ugh, I would never! He was so...gross! All sweaty and nerdy looking! I can't believe he's supposed to be my soul mate!" Amy collapsed in her chair and banged her head off her desk so hard that the sound rang through the classroom. Hardly anybody looked, though; they all knew Amy had a dramatic flair. Loud noises from her were nothing new.
The shortest of us all, short-haired Brittany, quickly piped up, "Why not give him a chance? He'd probably surprise you."
Amy groaned into the table as one girl rubbed her back. I didn't even know who she was, but Amy had tons of girls around her I never recognized but absolutely idolized her, simply because she modeled outside of school. I scoffed as one girl jumped over me to console Amy about her hardships. 'I was her friend first,' I thought, rolling my eyes at how devoted these girls were to her. I'd been friends with Amy since we were in Junior Kindergarten together and we painted the same picture without realizing it. We would always have more devotion to each other than anyone else would have to her. Except, of course, her thirteen-year-old soul mate.
"I think it didn't help that he was still in the eighth grade. She always idolized how her soul mate was going to be--"
"Older by two years, taller by five inches, have curly brown hair, interested in photography, and have abs." Amy muttered sadly, knowing she would never have her perfect man. I sighed and patted her blond head with my countdown hand, which Brittany noticed rather quickly.
"Oh yeah, wasn't your countdown coming to an end too, Ellie?" she asked, the entire group of girls jerking their heads in my direction. With all their eyes on me it became difficult to talk, and in response I made a barely audible squeak. Their eyes judged me so harshly and without a single word I was defeated. I held my countdown wrist in my other hand and glanced at the bright red numbers declining at a rapid speed: 0000:002:10:37:29. Two days, ten hours, thirty-seven minutes, and twenty-nine seconds. That was how long it would be until I would be meeting my soul mate. I had no idea where I would be, what I would be doing, but he would be there. Despite not wanting to feel like Amy, a part of me still wished he would be perfect.
Amy picked her head up from the table and looked at me with big, tear-filled green eyes and a pout that would have made the entire U.S. army cave. "You'd better have much better luck than I did, Ellie baby. He'd better be the most attractive man in the entire universe." I smiled as Amy grinned through her tears for me; no matter how vapid or bitchy people made Amy out to be, I would always know better. She would always be my best friend, and the best in the world.
***********
One day, nine hours, three minutes, and ten seconds left. I could barely focus long enough to eat my sub, too concentrated on the countdown. I was so close to meeting him and the wait was killing me slowly. My head was filled with thoughts of him, and I still hadn't even met him yet. I wondered if it would feel worse once I had actually met him, and it worried me. He was all that occupied my mind; thoughts about what he could look like, smell like, sound like...
"Oi! Ellie!" A sudden finger snap in front of my face made the mysterious man disappear from my mind, if only for a moment. I looked up and there was Cale, one of the few male friends I had left. His counter had hit zero a long time ago, and he'd been the happiest person ever since. Lucky bastard.
He suddenly reached out and I thought he was going to grab me so I jumped, but he stopped, and pulling back his hand he had a cucumber in between his fingers, dripping in sub sauce. He threw it in his mouth and grinned cockily at me, pulling up a chair to sit next to me. "You're so out of it you're losing veggies out of your sub, dear girl! Think of those poor veggies you've lost!"
I looked down at the wrapper on the table and there were quite a few veggies I'd lost while in my own thoughts. "Ah, shit," I muttered, scooping up an onion and popping it into my mouth.
"What's on your mind, El? You're never this lost unless we're in math class." I showed him my counter and he instantly gasped, grabbing my wrist and shoving it closer to his face. I nearly fell into his lap in the process. "Whoa...your counter is almost up. You're meeting your soul mate tomorrow."
I pulled my arm back and nodded, picking at my sub. "I keep wondering what he's going to be like. It's been killing me."
Cale nodded a little and sat back in his chair. "You're nervous, huh? Worried you're going to end up like Amy?"
I violently shook my head, glaring at him. "It's not like that! I'll be fine with him, since he is my soul mate." To think Cale thought I had the same mind process as Amy...I was offended. While she was my best friend, I had no problem admitting she was vain.
"So then, you're worried you won't be good enough for him?" Hearing it come out of Cale's mouth was like a straight bullet to the heart, and how easily Cale could guess my insecurities was embarrassing. My face went red and I couldn't look him in the eye, and I began scratching my hand under the table as my nervous habit persisted. He quickly noticed and reached under and put his hand on top and squeezed lightly, smiling my way, but in a very serious manner.
"Ellie Samuel! Don't think like that!" he snapped, squeezing my hand tighter. I managed to look up, afraid of what I'd see, but once I saw his concerned expression I was comforted. "You're beautiful in every way possible. From your brown curls to your pink toes, and everything in between. If your soul mate doesn't think so then he's daft and you should be disappointed, like Amy, that he isn't perfect. You of all people deserve the perfect soul mate."
Cale had this way with words, ever since we were kids, like he had The Force but with the English language; he could make me feel so much that I never thought I could feel in my lifetime just by speaking. He had that effect on everyone, which was why he wrote stories. He was far too good at making people feel things. I was forced to smile, even though I was still insecure about the whole ordeal.
"Here's to hoping he will be."