𝕄𝕪 𝔸 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕎𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕤

✨ ℕ𝕖𝕨 𝕐𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝔾𝕚𝕣𝕝 - 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕪 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕤 ✨

I watched the girl call for my cab, arm outstretched and leaning herself over the sidewalk. I mean, with a cold night like this in New York City, I couldn't see why anyone would want to walk home either. Fresh snow had just set in after a huge blizzard, to the point where I couldn't even see the Christmas lights up in Times Square - and that wasn't an easy feat as it was always glowing during the early hours of the morning.

I pulled over, and hit the unlock button on my car door. She slipped inside quickly, shaking stray snowflakes off her umbrella.
"637 Palisade Apartments, please." She said, her quiet voice asked me. She'd been the most polite customer I'd had all day. Clearly the people who say New Yorkers were rude hadn't met this girl.
I waited patiently for her to settle in my back seat before I began to drive, not wanting her to be thrown around on the sharp turn I was going to have to take to get out of the turn-in I was parked in.

We made small talk on the journey, and we immediately learned that we both attended Riverbrook High School. She told me her name was 'Liza' - and almost instantly I felt as if I remembered her, but with ten years passing, we both knew we'd changed a lot.
She explained how her studying hard had paid off, and she now had her own company that managed finances of huge businesses. I, on the other hand, had taken high school for granted, and was now doing everything I could to afford rent in such an overpriced city.
"New York rent is famous for being virtually impossible to pay." I said jokingly, glancing at her in my front view mirror.
She laughed gently, and explained her apartment block was beautiful but dangerous to live in, as one unpaid rent meant immediate eviction. But she said that she didn't mind that in exchange for the life she had.

I felt almost disappointed as I pulled into the parking lot of the luxury apartment complex, knowing I was going to have to let her go on her own way. She was truly gorgeous, inside and out, and I wanted just a few more minutes with her at the very least.
"Here we are, ma'am. I made sure I got my car close to your door. I would hate to watch you walk through the snow."
She smiled, and despite the cold draft from the open door, she made my whole soul warm again, "That's too kind of you, I appreciate that."
She slipped me a twenty dollar bill, sent me a wink before stepping out into the darkness of the winter night. The door slammed shut, and once again I was left in silence alongside my own company. This time, however, I felt disappointed. I wanted to see her again, despite only a few seconds going by since she'd left.
I glanced down at my hands, slowly curling the dollar bill around my index finger.
Then, I saw them: in pristine handwriting, a series of numbers written out in black marker. It immediately brought a smile to my face, as one conversation got me closer to the girl of my dreams. I pulled my phone from the stick-on phone holder on the dashboard, and with slightly shaky hands, typed her number into a 'new contact' screen.

However, when I pressed the 'add contact' button - something unbelievable happened.
A notification, dark grey in the centre of my screen, informing me that the number already existed.
It hit me in an instant. All of my memories of her came back. Liza Lewis, the most intelligent girl in my high school. Back then, I had made it my mission to beat her academically - except I could never even get close to her level. Instead, I harvested an intense hate and jealousy for her, and no matter what she did to be nice to me, I always thought it was a targeted comment to be mean or snarky.
But I clearly didn't realise her beauty, her power, her brains or her personality. I didn't give her a chance.
She's perfect, and if I don't mess this up, she can be my perfect girl.