Forever (Original)

Forever [22: Don't Panic]

Forever: Don't Panic

Dumping the box over onto her bed, she realized that that was what they all were.

Thongs. Lacy, skanky thongs. From checkered, zebra-striped, leopard print, to bright green Monster logos.

Maria pressed her lips together and pushed them to the other side of her bed and picked up Martin and Damon’s. It was rather heavy and when she opened it, she found two books, one titled “the Steampunk Bible” and the other “Colossal Cartooning.”

The final wrapped present that lay on her bed had a small card that told her it was from Nigel.

She hesitated, her fingers hovering over the top of it. Taking a steady breath, she ripped off the paper and stared.

It was a wooden box, with carved designs that were filled in with a glittering gold. The wood itself was painted a creamy, white color. There was a gold latch on the front, and on the back there was a small wind-up piece.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, she turned it several times, and then opened the box.

A soft, tinkling melody filled her ears. It took Maria a few moments to realize that when she had opened the jewelry box, that several folded sheets of paper fell out into her lap.

She picked it up and opened it and her eyes widened in surprise to see that it was addressed to her.

Dear Maria, Nigel had written,

Last night, I was stuck watching the Notebook with the twins, and I though maybe I should write instead of talk, seeing as it would be less painful.

But just don’t expect me to write a letter to you for everyday of the year. No. It’s not that I wouldn’t wait a year for you – in fact, I’d wait a lifetime for you. I just don’t think I’m capable of keeping it up for a year.

Believe it or not, I’ve thought a lot about you these past few months. Trust me, it’s very difficult to get you off my mind.

A lot of this sounds corny, right? That’s what I thought, but when we hung out, you always seemed to like corny.

Even if you don’t like them, it doesn’t change what I’m trying to do. I’m not sure if you’ve figured it out yet, but I’m trying to win you. Not just your heart, but also your soul, your body, and everything. All I want is you.

Before she could read anymore, Maria folded the letter back up and placed it back in the box and snapped the lid shut.

She lay facedown on her bed and screamed into her pillow.

“He makes me fall harder every time,” she growled.

~x~

Maria scanned over the sheet of paper as she sipped her Monster. The cool liquid fizzed down her throat and left a sweet taste on her tongue.

“So we’re officially going on a field trip with Dominic’s and Franklin’s,” said Cadan, looking over his own.

“To New York City,” Mark added as he ate his burrito.

“We’ll have an assigned ‘bus partner,’” said Maria, chortling softly. “Assigned roommates for the hotel. Both of which will most likely be students from Saint Dominic’s or Franklin Alternative’s.”

“We have to come up with fifty dollars by the ends of two weeks, and then our trip will be in three weeks,” said Mark, still reading his slip.

“So are we going to do fund raisers?” Vincent asked. “Like we did when we went to camp?”