euphoria

i.

    saturday is typically everyone's favorite day of the week. some love it because it's a break from all of the stress they experienced during the week. some love it because they get to spend a day pondering whatever they want to. in my opinion, saturday's are overrated. the best day of the week is wednesday. i know, sounds boring, but wednesday's hold a sentimental value to me. i met my best friend, no, my soulmate on a cool wednesday evening.

    it was the summer of 2008, i was four. we lived in italy until mom decided she wanted to come back to america because she thought it'd be much better for us in the long run. i remember being angry for a while. i didn't want to leave the sunny beaches and the heat of italy for the cold climate and snow in maine. i had bunches of friends in italy, and in maine, i'd have none.

    my entire family was ready to move. they were ready for a "new beginning." i didn't need a new beginning, i needed my life in italy. ma was in hurry to get to america. she somehow managed to have enough to get me, my three sisters, two brothers, my dad, and herself plane tickets and a new house.

    as soon as we got to the house, i was shoved out of the way by all of my older siblings to find a good room. i had to help ma get my one year old sister, bowdy, out, while my little brother, asher patiently waited for me. i was always stuck caring for the two younger kids even though i was only four. asher often tried to help, but he was not only younger, also immature. then again, i wasn't even supposed to be mature at age four.

    lucia and florence, my two older sisters, agreed to share a room. they took a small upstairs room, but big enough to fit all of their toys and books. conner, sebastian, and luca took a bigger room than the girls, because apparently they needed a bunch of extra space. asher chose a downstairs room. bowdy was too young to pick her own room, so she stayed in the room next to my parents. i got last pick, but i wasn't taking a downstairs bedroom, even though asher and bowdy were my favorite siblings.

    i walked upstairs to see the last room, and, god, it was perfect. it had a balcony, a ladder leading to what looked like a secret hideout, a huge bookshelf, and it's own bathroom. i couldn't believe that anyone could walk past this room and brush it off. the walls were a soft brown, a color that reminded me of a mocha latte. i had a loft bed, so this entire set up was a dream.

    i immediately went to check out the balcony, which i was still too short to see over. i did, however, meet eyes with one of the most beautiful boys i'd ever seen. he was a bit taller than me, and he had dark ink-like hair that fell into perfect curls. he had medium brown eyes, they reminded me of chocolate. he had a dark complexion, and a surprisingly not very round face. he smiled at me, it was an incredibly warm smile. he had freckles, which surprised me, seeing how dark he was. they only added to his perfection. i waved, and he smiled again.

    "hi," i said quietly. the boy's smile shifted, like he was nervous. "hello," he replied. i heard an older woman's voice and he waved goodbye. i smiled and waved back to him. i felt something at that moment, like he felt familiar in some way or another. i tried not to think much of it and began putting my decorations up in my room. soon enough, the only thing left was my bed. i couldn't put it up myself, so i was gonna wait 'till after dinner. i walked downstairs where i heard ma laughing while embracing a gorgeous blonde woman and her darker haired husband.

to my surprise, there he was. the boy from the balcony. we met eyes and he smiled excitedly. i ran over to him, basically bouncing with excitement. "hi," he giggled. "hi," i giggled back. we giggled in sync, not breaking eye contact. "i like your hair, it's really bright," he replied. i continued to giggle. i used to hate my hair when i was little, none of my friends were blonde. "thanks, yours looks fluffy," i added. "i'm alejandro," he told me nervously. "gemma," i shook his hand excitedly. "wow, even your name is pretty," he fidgeted, staring at me with amazement.

alejandro fernandez was the first boy to ever tell me i was pretty. i think that's why i clicked with him from that moment. that was the day we decided that wednesday's were our days, and we'd forever remember the day wednesday, july 18th, 2008.