FRIDA' S LIST

Chapter 17 LIFE IS SO GOOD

The next morning, it was strange. It seemed impossible to me to believe that it was true. Did we make out, last night? Were we dating now? My mind probably had made it up.

I went to high school in a very good mood. Outside, everything was awesome. Something magical was going on. There was dog poop everywhere. There was no sun in the sky, just the clouds. And I didn't care. I didn't care because Anthony Morini was in my life.

At high school, Lucas was back with Rosalyn and a rumor was going around. It was about Maya. She was gonna be married by force by her family. I didn't pay attention to this one, cause it sounded backwards to me. And I had the feeling that it couldn't be true. Unfortunately, everybody was not on the same page as me. In English, our teacher gave us back our papers: What if I... She summed up the topics chosen by my classmates: What If I wanna kiss you tomorrow –Thank you Meghan Trainor– What if I was rich, What if I was popular, What if I was ugly, and finally, she began to read one of them:

"What if I was a boy, I wouldn't have to be a piece of meat. I would have been someone. I would have been myself, growing slowly or not. I would have been free, free to do whatever I wanted to with my body, without feeling guilty or ashamed. I wouldn't fear the consequences..."

I stiffened in my chair as she was reading, because it was MY paper. Everybody listened to her quietly, and when she was done, everybody applauded. They all looked at Maya, some raising a clenched fist to show her their support. I applauded too, looking at her, because I didn't wanna be busted. Poor Maya. She had a strange look which seemed to say "what the hell?" After that, we talked about sexism and sexual harassment.

It was the most interesting class of the year. Maeva and Celestin had missed something today. They were at the hospital for Celestin. He had some extra tests, to check if everything was normal after his surgery. It was usual, so I wasn't worried.

After lunch, I went to the hospital to catch up with them. I told them everything about my night.

"No way! You mean you kissed him by surprise like a... mouth rapist!" Maeva said slowly, looking for her words.

"I don't like labels, you know. And mouth rapists don't exist."

"Well, you're living proof that they do! Celestin watch out. Mouth rapist around," she said.

"Hey girls, can you please keep your voice down? I'm trying to watch the Ellen Show," Celestin mumbled, staring at the TV screen.

"Yeah, yeah. And after that, what did he do?" she said impatiently.

"I wanted to run away, but he stopped me, and kissed me back. And he said something like "Are you sure you want this?" I said, trying to imitate his voice.

Maeva and Celestin looked at me, both frowning.

"And, what did you say?" she asked.

"I said no!"

"No way!" she said, punching me in the shoulder.

"Ouch. Sure, no way! I was desperately expecting it. I said yes!"

"And then? What happened?" she squealed, clapping her hands like a sea lion.

"Then, he kissed me again," I said.

"Hallelujah! It's a fucking romantic kiss," she said, clapping her hands harder.

"Jeez, get me out of this," Celestin mumbled.

"I'd like to have been there," Maeva whimpered.

"Everything doesn't have to be shared, you know," I said.