TO THE WONDERFUL BOY

"Sam, what are you doing?" 

I rush up to him, the placard still in his hands as he shouts, "Let her find you!"

"Sam, stop!" My hands grope wildly to grab the placard from him, but he dodges. I lunge again, but he's too fast. He sidesteps me, and I nearly tumble down the AS steps. I bite back a curse, and he screams louder. "Let her find you!"

Around us, students begin staring. Ironically the vehicles that pass in front of the Palma Hall seem to drive by casually. It was as if the world was made of an inner and outer circles. As I tried to snatch the signboard from Sam's hands, the inner circle stops, yet the outer continues to carry on without paying attention to this moment. The universe doesn't seem to care about us at all. 

"Let... Me... Get... That!" My fingers grab nothing but thin air, and he descends the steps, holding the signboard even higher. 

"She's been waiting for you all this time! She read your works in your portfolio in Mcdonalds! She's been waiting and wanting to meet you ever since!"

For a moment, I thought you might be here. I thought you might hear him, and you might just walk up to me and introduce yourself. But I don't want you to. I want to stop fate from making that happen. 

"Sam!" My fingers clamp his shoulder, and he spins around, dumbfounded. "I said 'stop'." My voice dies down, and he lowers the signboard. "I don't want to look for him anymore." 

"But why?" He asks me, his black-brown eyes filled with worry.

I shake my head, looking down at our shoes, his khaki loafers across my black flats. "I can't keep looking for someone who doesn't want to be found." I look up and meet his eyes. Still, they were the most beautiful pair I've seen. "It's not meant to be, and I know it. So, I'm not going to push it." I chew on my lip, my hands shaking nervously as I take the placard from him. "Besides, I think I found the real wonderful boy." 

"You can't give up on him." 

I sigh. "Maybe it's time that I do." I smile and tuck the signboard beneath my left arm. Slowly, I walk down the AS steps, my cheeks flushed and my heart pounding wilder than before. A car passes by and honks in front of the white and red building that has become our meeting place, our special haven. 

I crane my head, and our gazes lock. He smiles and I melt. Breathless, I watch him wave goodbye.