Lost & Found

The tale of a mindful girl

Emma moved to Long Island, New York with her family when she was ten-years-old. The first time she met Aiden Hawthorne, they were at a birthday party at a bowling alley for one of Emma's new friend's birthday. Isla was her name. She moved away the next year, so their friendship only flourished for one school year before quickly fizzling out. But Emma would always remember how that party brought Aiden into her life.

The first moment she noticed him, he let out a loud, excited "ohhhhh", thrusting his arms up in the air in triumph after he successfully bowled a strike on his first try. Emma couldn't help but smile as she sat at the next lane over with four other girls she didn't know. From that moment on, Emma continued sneaking glances at Aiden as he bowled with three other boys. At ten-years-old, it was the first time she remembered being attracted to anyone in a 'he's cute' sort of way.

By some twist of fate, Emma and Aiden ended up sitting next to each other later on when they were eating pizza and cake with the group. They didn't say anything to each other, but when Emma's napkin drifted off the table and onto the floor, Aiden quickly picked it up and smiled at her as he set it back on the table. That was the first time she'd ever felt butterflies over a boy.

She didn't think much about him again until they were put in the same class the next year. Aiden was always the class clown, always entertaining. His humor and wit never ceased. And he always made Emma laugh, even if it was inadvertently. It wasn't until after winter break that their teacher redid the class seating chart, and Aiden and Emma were put together at the same two person table.

"Emma, right?" Were the first words he ever spoke to her.

"Yeah," she said, feeling her cheeks heating up immediately.

"I'm Aiden," he said with a genuine smile and it instantly made her smile.

Of course she knew who he was. Though they'd never said a word to each other, she had often thought back fondly on their meet-cute when he picked up her napkin off the floor that day at the bowling alley.

For the remaining five months of the school year, Aiden and Emma actually became friends and even started hanging out outside of school - even though it was always in a group setting and there was never really anything too intimate that happened between them.

That summer her mom and dad allowed her to have a birthday party where she could invite both girls and boys. Aiden got her perfume and she wore it everyday after until she'd completely drained the bottle with use - which happened sometime during the middle of the next school year, in which Aiden was in her class once again.

He was in a few of her classes in 7th grade as well. But as 8th grade rolled around, the only class they had together was math. But even so, her crush on him reached new soaring heights that year. Even though their paths didn't cross very much in school that year, Emma made it a point to spend time with him outside of school. And that year was the first time they'd actually hung out just the two of them. And they continued to do so throughout the school year.

By the beginning of summer, her crush on him had reached astronomical proportions and she couldn't stop thinking about him... ever. The night he knocked on her window to invite her to the party at the beach was transcendent. It was like it was some sort of turning point in their friendship where the lines started to blur between them and she started to question his intentions with her more and more.

A couple of weeks later, right after her fifteenth birthday, Aiden asked her out and kissed her for the first time. It was the best day of her life, up until that point. She'd gotten everything she'd always wanted. And she made sure to appreciate it. She enjoyed every moment she spent with her new boyfriend. Even on their worst days, it was still good.