Flash Fiction: You Should Be Reading

Obi Wan For Me

There was once a boy and a girl. The boy was a wallflower, a bit nerdy if you must say. The girl was so popular, you couldn't keep track of how many friends she had. Yet, the two of them never talked, never made eye contact, hardly even knew each other existed. They even lived near each other, which was more than odd.

Until one day, the boy saw the girl trip on the sidewalk and watched her things slide across the ground. Her knee was cut up, her eyes watering from the stinging pain. He walked over slowly, picking up her things here and there until he was standing before her.

"A-are you okay?" He stuttered out.

"Huh?" The girl said, surprised by the sound of his voice and looked up. "I'm okay. Just a cut on the knee."

"W-well here are your things," he said and held them out to her after she stood up.

"Thank you. Who are you?" She asked as she took her belongings into her arms.

"I'm . . . ," he paused, wondering it he should tell her his name. "I'm Austin. You are?"

"I'm Julia. Nice to meet you Austin. I'll see you around okay?" She smiled.

"O-okay!" He stuttered, managing a smile, and watched her walk away to her house down the street.

From that day forward, he would wait for her in that very spot each day for school and watch her go into her house after school. He fell in love with her. He even gave her some gifts, including a shell necklace. She wore it every day as a piece of their friendship.

One day, he grew the courage to tell her how he feels about her.

"Hey Julia?" He said while they were walking home after school.

"Yea Austin?" She said and stopped to look at him.

He scratched the back of his neck nervously and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"So, I've been wanting to tell you something for awhile, and I didn't know how to word it, but if I had to say it . . . you're the obi wan for me," he said shyly, wondering if she would understand his Star Wars reference.

For what feels like a long time, she said nothing. Suddenly, she starts laughing. He felt his face begin to redden.

"W-why are you laughing?!" He asked, startled.

"Because . . . you are the . . . weirdest person . . . I've ever met!" She said while laughing, his heart breaking in two.

He went home shortly afterward and things changed. Julia didn't see him waiting for her in the spot anymore, in fact, she hardly ever saw him again.

Years passed and she got older. Julia graduated from her high school and was accepted into Harvard University. She would toy with the shell necklace she wore everyday, remembering Austin. She missed him. It was one day she realized that she loved him. She tried for days on end to find him, but had no luck.

Julia was walking through campus in January when she saw a familiar face across the street.

"Austin?!" She called out in hope.

The man turned and saw her.

"Julia?!" He called out in surprise.

"I can't believe it!" She exclaimed and went to the edge of the sidewalk.

"I know! It's pretty cra-" he began as he was starting to walk across the street.

"Austin! Watch out!" She screamed as a car loss control on the icy street.

White snow on the street turned a deep red, soaked. Julia ran out to the dark heap on the road, the source of the blood.

"Austin?! Austin please. Please answer me. You'll be okay," she sobbed, holding him in her arms on the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Julia . . . it's okay. I got to . . . see your face . . . one last time," he sputtered, smiling through his pain.

"Austin . . . . I . . . You're the obi wan for me," she whispered as hot tears fell down her face.

Austin smiled one last time.