Annemarie

Stella

Annemarie was the most beautiful human being to ever walk the planet: the most beautiful in the universe, as I had never seen a living person on any other planet besides myself.

Annemarie was the most graceful person to ever cross my vision; she walked like a ballerina, which she was. Her eyes were small and curved prettily towards the side of her face. Her nose was straight and thin. Annemarie was small. She stood at five feet and had a slim body and limbs, though there was enough muscle and tissue that she wasn't unnaturally thin.

Annemarie wore a similar outfit every day, depending on season. For late spring and summer, she wore thin, summer dresses, most of them going barely past the knee. For winter and fall, she wore either leggings or jeans. The occasional sweater dress adorned her wardrobe, but she usually wore an oversized sweater or a long-sleeve underneath a band t-shirt that looked like it belonged on the emo kids from 2010's movies. Annemarie always tucked her hair into a beanie during the colder months, allowing her raven-like hair to flow from under the yarn-knitted fabric and over her shoulders until reaching her waist.

Annemarie was the most beautiful human being to ever walk the planet, and there she stood, just a few meters away.

Class had already started, so the hall was practically empty. It was just Annemarie and I: her leaning against a locker and staring at the ceiling, and me, standing just a little ways away, staring at her.

I took a deep breath. I stepped forward. I leaned into the locker next to her and spoke.

"So, what's your namesake?"

She looked at me. She blinked and gave me a beautiful smile.

I died.

She answered.

"Grace and elegance. You?"

"Stars."

And that's how Annemarie met me.

Then, we took a walk. We skipped the rest of the class we would have already been tardy to.

Her namesake made sense. She was unrealistically charming and admirable. Most people had more complicated or powerful namesakes: namesakes like flying or super speed. Annemarie's namesake did not have physical power, but she would easily be able to manipulate any human due to it.

Annemarie told me how frustrating it was to be endlessly idolized. She told me it felt she could never really talk to someone, that they never truly understood.

I kind of got that, though my situation was opposite on some occasions:

"It must be lonely floating around in space like that."

"Can you breathe out there?"

"That is the strangest namesake I've ever heard of."

"Holy shit! You can see the Earth from light years away?"

"Forget about that! She can travel light years away in just a few minutes!"

I told Annemarie this.

They didn't understand my namesake just as they didn't understand Annemarie. They didn't understand that seeing the planets up close and hovering just outside of their atmospheres was the most fascinating thing ever, and the floating all alone, that was almost the best part. It was peaceful in space. No sound, no people, and no gravity. Just me and what I can see, which is practically everything.

"Wow," her voice was smooth, "that sounds amazing."

I could tell by the look in Annemarie's eyes; she was happy for me. She wasn't amazed by my namesake, but by me, and that made me feel like my blood had been pumped with coke.