The Greatest Gift

We helped each other onto the rock. We stood by the edge and stared down. We held our hands tighter. I looked at him, shook my head, showing my reluctance. He raised his hand to his chest. He looked deep into my eyes. Using them, he said ‘I’ll go first’. I shook my head and took a step back, pulling his hand. He gently broke my grip and looked the last time, giving me the confidence. Then, he jumped. Nooo!!! 

***

If you met me before, I’m exactly the type that’ll make you think twice whether you wanted to be my friend. Dressed in knitted clothing (even when it’s 100 degrees!) and nose constantly hidden deep in books, I was the ‘geekest’ geek ever roamed the planet! I was quiet, hadn’t the confidence even to speak out in class even if I knew the right answer. I had self-esteem problems. I had every other defect. To forget the ordeal of being teased and bullied, I hid behind my books. Like a tortoise in the face of danger, I hid from ever having a life.

Everything changed after I met Louis in High School. We were lab partners in Chemistry. Judging by my looks and his popularity, he was reluctant even to sit next to me. He avoided me like I had rabies or something so infectious that he might die getting it. So I ended up doing most of the projects most of the times. He was the worst of the lot that bullied me. I hated him to the very last bit. Or so I thought.

Our Chemistry teacher finally caught up with our act and gave us an extra research project for the summer! It hit Louis hard- he wanted to spend it with his gang at some villa somewhere in the middle of nowhere. And I hated the thought of spending even a moment together doing the project. One thing though, if we don’t complete it together, we’d both failed regardless my efforts on former projects! We had to work.

We spent most our time at the library going through every single book on our project, compiling vital information as we moved on. Surprisingly, he was more open. The first ever sentence he uttered to me: “How about this?” I guessed it meant that he was less protective of his so-called image when he realised that his guys weren’t there to see him interact with a person a class lower.

I hadn’t realised it. I never even thought of it until we had supper at the café. We spent hours toiling and typing all the information we collected, piecing everything into a perfect presentation. So there we were, having our lunch and dinner at once. It was then, he made me laugh. He made me laugh! I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t sleep that night. I just stared up to the ceiling, contemplating every thought and rush.

We finished the project before mid-summer break. It was like lifting a burden, I felt at ease once again. So with nothing to do, he invited me for a day to the funfair. I was so glad, my heart skipped a beat. 

There was always something in his gaze. It was always telling me something and always knew what they were saying.

I didn’t feel like the old me anymore. I let my hair fly with the wind. I let my spirits soar and never regretted anything. A blanket of relief was upon me. Everywhere he goes, I would follow. Every step he makes, I’d take. If he jumped, I would too…

I stared down and there he was. I took a deep breath and with a smile, I jumped.

The air was sweet…

A second later, I hit the cold hard surface of water. Water filled my ears and rushed all around my body. I pushed to the surface and gasped for air. Louis smiled. I smiled and let out a laugh. 

I overcame my lack of confidence. It felt good. Who am I kidding? I feel like a million bucks! The greatest gift I received was Louis.