All My Firsts

Chapter 1: When I Met Him

When I met him, I didn’t think about what we could be in the future or how I would feel about him in eight years. I was only ten. Girls as young as me shouldn’t be looking for boyfriends, and I wasn’t. I was just looking for a friend, but hadn’t gotten very far.

“Janessa Delarisa” my teacher had called on the first day of school. It had been an entire week since then now and no one had bothered to talk to me. I had boys teasing me every day about how I was a loser and how I had no friends. I felt like I should have corrected them: I had tons of friends back home!

But then I’d have to remember, that’s not home anymore. We moved, and all because of my dad’s job. He worked in a travelling company, where he sold electronics, things like phones and computers. Because of that, we were always moving. “But this time,” he said as we were bringing boxes into our next house from the moving van, yet again, “We’re staying!”

They had finally found the place where they needed him to stay. But it was far away from all my friends and I didn’t know how to use social media or things like that and no one used email anymore. I was alone. With no one to play with, no one to say “Hey that boy likes me, what should I do?” It was always going to be just like this. Me, sitting by myself, with no one to stand up for me when things got bad.

Until he came along.

But he started out as just another boy who mocked me. I had had just about enough of everyone teasing me that I had no friends. I knew that! I didn’t need people reminding me every day! So when Daniel Acosta from the sixth grade class came up to me and reminded me yet again that I had no friends, I lost it. He started to tell me off like everyone else, “Hey! Why are you sitting there all alone? Is it because you don’t have anyone to play with? Because –

“Shut up Daniel! I don’t want to deal with you right now!”

“Wow. Temper! Does it really feel that bad not having someone to play with? Maybe you’d like to take out your anger on someone. Maybe me? But I’ll bet you can’t even punch! Hahaha!”

So I did what he wouldn’t expect me to do. I stood up, and that got him silent. I walked over to him, and that made him really anxious about what I was going to do next.

Then I punched him. I heard the bone snap under my fist and knew I had broken something. Later in the principal’s office, with Daniel’s head tilted back and a bandage on his nose, and my stepdad looking less than pleased with the way he thought I was dealing with the move, I was told to apologize to the creep.

I was about to say No way am I going to apologize to him!!! But Daniel interrupted my answer with, “No, that’s okay. She doesn’t have to.”

Wait, what?!?!?!

“She proved me wrong. I told her she couldn’t punch and to prove her point, she punched me. I actually didn’t know a girl could ever be strong enough to break my nose, but you did. That’s really impressive.”

He was praising me for my strength?! What did this idiot think I was? A member of the fight club? That was not how I worked. After we finally got out of the office – I had been let off the hook only because he was okay with the fact that I had punched him – and we were walking back to our class, he grabbed my hand to stop me. I almost punched him again, but I knew that wouldn’t help my situation. “I meant what I said, I was really impressed, though I didn’t think you would really punch me. Before you yelled at me I was hoping to be rational with you. If you wouldn’t mind, I was hoping to be your friend. I don’t have anyone at this school either, and I’ve been here for two years already. So what do you say? Friends?”

I was surprised, I had just punched him and he still wanted to be friends with me? I couldn’t pass up this chance though. “Sure, whatever, friends.” I took the hand he was holding mine in and shook it – the first friendly gesture I’d given to anybody since I had gotten to this godforsaken school – and we left to go back to class. The next day he came to school with his nose bandaged up more professionally, but he still sat with me at lunch and played with me at recess. I didn’t think he would, but he was the most perfect friend I could have ever hoped for.

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