Graduation

The Cliché but True Fairytale

                   

                   

My eyes wander around taking in the organized chaos of my fellow classmates until they settle upon a girl sitting a few rows in front of me. Unlike most of the girls sitting around me, the rain hasn't melted away her beauty at all, instead it had enhanced it. Droplets of water sit on her cheeks, defining her cheekbones. She sits, legs crossed, waiting for the principal to start speaking. Her eyes are grey, cloudy, yet bright at the same time. Many boys have fallen in love with those eyes. Her hair is straight, long and frames her face in just the right way. It would cause other girls to blend in, but for her it compliments her beauty. Finally, on her head sits a cap with the words "Fair Oaks High School Football." It is a crown, and she wears it with dignity.

Everyone has heard the stories of the football jock who falls in love with the quiet, yet beautiful, girl. When I look at her, I want to scoff, because that is exactly what happened her junior year. Yet something stops me from laughing. It may be a cliché story, but it is their story, and its value shouldn't be diminished just because it feels like it has been told before.

Her face transports me back to the beginning of my junior year.

"Hey, have we met?"  the boy sitting in front of me in chemistry class asked the girl next to him.

I watched from the seat behind them as she turned around and met his gaze. Their eyes pierced into one another's, taking in the person who had been beside them but they had never truly noticed. For a moment they took the time to look beyond the superficiality and search for what lay deeper. It was the first time that they truly saw the existence of the other.

He had that slightly boyish face with tints of maturity. His ginger hair, though slightly unkept, settled in a way that flattered his face. And as for her- she was pretty, there was no denying that. Yet it was in an understated way in which she wasn't trying to be noticed, rather, she was just going about her business. But perhaps that is when physical beauty in its rawest and purest form, during the moments when it is believed that no one is watching.

She blushed before answering. The lightest shade of rosy pink made its way across her delicate face. "No, I don't think so." She ended her sentence with a small smile.

"Well my name's Adam." He said with a grin and held out his hand. I could tell that the rest of the world outside of them had faded into a soft murmur of background noise. It created the perfect conditions for eavesdropping on information that would be crucial to my friends. I kept my ears open.

There was another blush before she shook his hand. "I'm Carrie."

"So tell me Carrie, why have I never seen you before? Are you new to this school?"

To this, she gave a slight shake of the head. "No, I've been here since freshman year. We probably haven't had any classes together. I'm in the symphony orchestra so usually my schedule is very different from everyone else's."

"So by orchestra, you mean the band? I think I would've have seen you at one of the football games because I'm on the football team." He searched her countenance, attempting to see if he had just forgotten her face.

In my mind, I face palmed, feeling an embarrassment for his ignorance of the music groups at the school.

She gave a slight laugh, soft and light. "Actually band and the symphony orchestra are two very different musical groups."

She gained a little respect in my eyes by setting him straight.

"Well look at me, learning new things everyday." He leaned back in his chair, resting his hands behind his head. "I bet I can guess what instrument you play."