Unintentional Heart's Desire

Intentional love.

As she turned around to leave, she felt a wave of unfamiliarity crash into her.

Her skin's hair rose to attention like a snake to its prey and demanded acknowledgment. The moment created a life of its own.

She descended from the podium's staircase and then carefully made her way out of the dim room to a place that allowed her the ability to breathe.

People were rarely ever kind to her, let alone went out of their way to do anything at all for her. For years she'd been used to being disregarded, pushed to the side as if her life mattered not.

Her family was no different even though she knew they didn't do it on purpose.
But it didn't change the fact that she'd felt insignificant her whole life.

Amy only had a few extraordinary moments in her life.

Like that time Zack Michaels from 5th grade told her that she looked pretty ok with her hair straightened. Or the time Lucas helped pick up the books she'd dropped in the hallway. Sure he'd later made fun of her for it, but she'd appreciated the help anyway.

Because of this, her standards were extremely low when it came to receiving virtue, so low they were almost nonexistent.

When things don't happen to you often, you get used to it. It was the rule of adjustment, nobody could choose what they could get accustomed to.

So Amy couldn't help the funny feeling in her tummy from what had just transpired.

Was the feeling owed to the fact that someone was willing to go out of their way for her? Or was it that he was willing to go out of his way for her? She couldn't tell you.

All she knew was that she didn't hate it.

"How did it go? Are you ok?"
The concern in the boy's voice was unmissable.

She hadn't seen him approaching her when she'd heard him ask.

She flashed him a smile that hopefully answered his question before joining him in the day's activities.

Kyle had been very supportive since they'd called her name with the people that needed to be reviewed that week. He didn't understand why she was being singled out when the two of them had been chatting together.

The girl was one of the best engineer interns they'd had in the company so he knew it had nothing to do with her work.

It didn't take him long to have his conclusion.

The company pretty much hated women, it was a known fact. To be a woman of color on top of all that was a double target.

He'd hated the fact that there was nothing he could do about it, nothing that would make it better or take away what she was most probably feeling.

He felt so much responsibility for her because he could tell that not a lot of people believed in her. She was magnificent and he could see that she didn't seem to think that.

It was wild to him.

How could one be a literal perfection like she was but not know it? To shine so brightly yet keep herself confined to the darkest of shadows. Did she not know she shined even brighter there?
Silly, silly girl.