Skipping A Beat

Back to the Beginning

She had died inside, but there was nothing she could do. Questions raced through Carmen's mind. 'How could HE do this?' 'How could SHE do this?' Question upon question that she knew the answers to, but refused to believe. Her feelings of passion, jealousy, anger, but also love could be different had other paths had been taken.

Ezra and Carmen had been friends since they day they met, in second grade. They talked constantly, whether it be over the phone or in person at school. Their friendship remained steady until Jamie, an acquaintance, let it slip that Carmen liked Ezra at the end of the seventh grade. She had liked Ezra ever since they met, but those other feelings developed as they did. She figured that this phase would fade out before he would get a chance to know, but she was wrong. The whole grade kept teasing them about it. 'Do you like her back?' 'You should ask her out!' Carmen knew that things like this always embarrassed Ezra, so no matter what the answers to these questions were, Ezra would blush. Although not everyone could tell, Ezra was being humiliated under all of this pressure. But because Carmen had known him so well. She could tell, no matter what. Then just before the school year was over, Carmen snapped. She couldn't take it anymore. She finally decided to inform her classmates about this. "Guys, stop this, right now! Ezra and I don't appreciate this. Ezra does not like me like that, it just seems that way because he's a little shy! Okay!?!?!?" That silenced the murmurs, as far as she was concerned. The school year ended semi-peacefully, and Carmen hoped that all would return to normal after that, but she would get another complete surprise.
After school ended, Carmen and Ezra stopped communicating in order to collect themselves and avoid embarrassment. It wasn't normal for their relationship to go on like this. Every once and a while, Carmen would say something like, "Hi," or "Wats up?" It was no use. Jamie had sparked the end of an amazing friendship.

To be continued...