A Book Dedicated to Our Youth - Tong Hua

First Awakening Of Love

The different experiences you face during puberty, what was the most awkward or embarrassing situation you've encountered?

Puberty is definitely an awkward and sometimes uncomfortable period for many but we often forget that the good parts of puberty such as having crushes for the first time.

4. First Awakening Of Love

First love, is, a flower bursting into bloom instantly, not a step earlier, not a step later, he is exactly there. FIrst love, is, the most pure and white flower on earth, it only opens once in a lifetime, fragrant when in bloom, bitter when withered, never with a result.

When the new semester started, we entered Year 5. We changed seating plan and I was on the same desk as the child genius, Chen Jin.

As our bodies developed, our feelings towards the opposite gender also quietly changed. All of a sudden, there were some extra mysteriousness between the boys and girls in the class.

Only after going to university and conversing with my dorm sisters did I find out that although we were from different parts of China, our awakenings of love in primary were surprisingly similar. Basically, in a class, all the boys would like the two or three girls who were pretty, could sing and dance and were liked by the teacher while the girls in the class would all like the two or three boys who were outstanding in their studies and well liked by the teacher. In primary, likes and crushes were amazingly consistent.

In our class, the boys could choose between two or three girls to like while the girls pretty much all liked Chen Jin. It couldn't be helped, that person's limelight was too strong. He had a good family background, his father was a high official in the Department of Education and his mother was the vice director of our city's television station; he was smart, the teacher would say the first sentence in the front and he would continue the next; he was talented, he could play the violin and every year at the arts festival, his violin playing would definitely get our class an award. Unfortunately, his personality was very cocky. Teacher Zhang pretty much wants to treat him as her son but he was very cold towards her. As other primary students all worshiped the teacher, this was too rare.

At the time, although I had read a bunch of different books, even finishing Dream of the Red Chamber, strangely, I still didn't really understand the relationship between male and females. Every time I saw a girl find an excuse to come and ask him questions and then sit in my seat refusing to budge, I didn't find it odd at all, I only thought that the girls in our class were all pretty hardworking.

Chen Jin was very clever and he had also matured early. He saw through the girls' little tricks but though he enjoyed all the girls' admiration, inside, he was impatient with them. Once, when he was tied up with a girl for a long time, he gracefully answered her questions right up until bell rang when she had no choice but to leave.

He waited until I came back to my seat before angrily saying "don't randomly let others sit on your seat, otherwise my effort in arranging for you to sit next to my side will all be wasted. Looking at how you copy my homework everyday, next time you have to help me block them off."

I spent a small half of the period pondering over his words before it finally dawned on me. No wonder! I had found it odd, how come I was able to occupy this prime spot? I see! He was the first in the class and he was also the class president, He was an excellent student and class leader, if he didn't help the students with their questions, then it definitely wouldn't keep up with his glorious image. But if he answered the questions, it wouldn't suit his selfish heart.

Our school's tradition was always seating a girl and a guy together. I was a girl so it met the criteria of sitting next to him; my grades were the worst so I was someone who didn't study at all, so I definitely wouldn't ask him questions. Someone who wouldn't bother him or ruin his image, thus being the best table partner was found.