I was in my first year of high school when I met the boy of my dreams.
He was tall with thick black hair. His face was like something out of a fairy tale and when he smiled he glowed.
I'd never fallen in love with anyone before, I hadn't been interested in anything like that in high school. But when I saw him for the first time I felt my heart flutter inside, my hands shook and I felt my cheeks blush.
That's when I said to myself: "This is the one and only for me."
I had already made up my mind, so I summoned up all my courage to go and introduce myself to him.
So I approached him with all the confidence I could manage at that moment. I was generally not known for my confidence, I was quite shy and timid as a child. But anyway I went to him.
He was sitting with a group of boys, all of them were my classmates from middle school and a couple from elementary school.
When the boys saw me approaching they stopped talking so I took the liberty of saying, "Hi, I'm Jina. Are you new in town? I haven't seen you at school before" Or so I hoped to say.
Because instead I said "Hi" with my voice barely coming out of my mouth.
He looked at me in wonder and asked me if I wanted to say something. I was blushing red in embarrassment.
Why didn't he listen to me? Now what should I do? Should I repeat what I said?
Things got worse when a boy in the group started saying out loud: " Jina, we can't hear you. Speak up. Have you forgotten how to talk?"
Τime was passing and I gave him no answer.
As soon as I realized that the whole group was looking at me and giggling, I immediately ran to my seat with my cheeks turning bright red and my heart not wanting to stop.
My introverted self couldn't accept the fact that I went and did this in front of the whole class. And my embarrassment would have been less if I had at least managed to speak up loud enough for him to hear me. I was completely embarrassed.
I stole a glance at the group who continued to laugh at me. I looked over to his side to see what he was doing.
That's when our eyes met for the first time. He was looking at me and laughing while I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. At least that way no one would see me. Whereas now I had become the laughing stock of the class and worse, in front of the boy I liked.
That day when I came home I started to cry.
I lost my appetite and didn't want to leave the house. "I don't deserve to go out in society, I'm a fool" I thought to myself.
I told my mum I wasn't going to school because I was sick but she didn't believe me. I may not have had a fever or a headache or a tummy ache but mentally I was a wreck. But all I could do was get my mom to drag me to school.
When I walked into the classroom, I went straight to my desk without looking around. The first hour went by painfully, then it was break, during which I went and sat in the school library, and then second period.
This time we had gym class, so I could no longer avoid my classmates. Hannah and Pam, who were looking for me during the whole break, came to me.
"Where were you? We were looking for you everywhere. And not only us." Pam whispered to me for fear that the trainer would see us and make a remark.
"Oh yeah. The new guy came and found us and asked us about you" added Hannah.
"He was asking about me? Really?"
"Yes, I didn't quite understand what he wanted, but he said he wanted to talk to you."
What the girls said made me forget everything. A bright smile appeared on my face. I felt great. I was ready to fly into the clouds.
All this until I realized something.
Τhat smile was quickly erased when I realized that the boy I like, the love of my life, the boy of my dreams wanted to talk to me.
Why? What could he want to tell me? And how would I talk in front of him? Last time I made a fool of myself in front of him. How will I look at him?
These thoughts were running through my head.
"Girls, if he comes looking for me again tell him I'm not at school" I told them in secret.
"But why? Didn't you say you liked him?"
"Yeah, what made you change your mind?"
I looked them in the eyes, tried to convince them to do so without asking too many questions.
"Okay, okay" Hannah said "we'll tell him you didn't come today but you don't sit here either, he'll see you"
"Where am I supposed to go then?"
"Why don't you tell the gym teacher that your stomach hurts?" Pam suggested after some thought.
"Yes, that way he'll let you go to the doctor's office. You can hide there."
"You're right. That's what I'll do."
I was very happy about our plan. It was perfect, nothing could go wrong.
Except that it all went wrong because next to the gym teacher was him.
"How unlucky am I these days?" I thought to myself and turned to leave.
But I didn't have a chance to leave.
"Jina " came the voice of the gym teacher.
I stopped walking.
The gym teacher asked me to go to him. But I didn't move from my seat. I thought about it a lot.
There was no turning back. Now I had to put my acting talent to work. It was the only way to get out of this uncomfortable situation.
The time had come. The teacher was slowly approaching me. Immediately, and before the teacher could get to me, I started screaming while holding my stomach.
I tried to show that I was really suffering.
For the highlight of my performance I fell down on the ground.
So as I rolled on the ground and screamed, the gym teacher and my classmates were in a panic.
I felt a tremendous sense of satisfaction, the plan had worked very well.
Soon the teacher was going to lift me off the ground and take me to the school infirmary.
I was very happy when I felt two hands lifting me up. I felt myself moving in someone's arms but I couldn't open my eyes.
When I realized that we were now inside the doctor's office and that I was lying on the medical bed I decided to open my eyes when I heard the school doctor and another voice talking.
"What happened exactly?" asked the school doctor.
"When she approached us she started grabbing her stomach and screaming that it hurt and suddenly she fell down." the other voice replied.
"I see. Go back to your classroom now."
Go back to your classroom? So the person who brought me here was a classmate of mine? But who?
Whoever it was was gone, and now the doctor had come over to me.
"Are you better now?" He asked me as he smiled.
"Ah... yes... I'm better, thank you" I replied, trying to hide my lie.
The school doctor laughed.
"You wanted to avoid class, didn't you? "
"Ah...yes..."
I lowered my head. I felt ashamed to be caught so easily. But at least it's only the school doctor.
If it was different and I got caught by the whole class the shame would be much worse.
"You can sit here until class is over." The school doctor said and left.
I got up to sit on the doctor's bed and grabbed a magazine from the desk.
The school doctor often put out magazines for the students so they wouldn't be bored when they went there to rest and recuperate.
These magazines were usually educational, about the environment, about the sights of the country, etc. and there were two or three magazines that talked about career guidance.
I chose to read the one with book reviews because that was the only one I was interested in.
When I was still in high school I loved to read books and even more to read reviews of books I have already read.
As I was sitting there enjoying the magazine, I suddenly heard the door open. I was startled, so I hid.
But who is the person who comes in?