Love teaches

It hurts to watch her leave but to cause himself less grief, he just sat there frozen. Jason Morris, a senior at Midvale high had just finished one of his finals and rushed to find his amazing girlfriend Maria Campbell. Maria was also a senior at Midvale High and shared a connection with Jason that could never be broken. Or so Jason thought. He raced to the cafeteria to find Maria, a breath taking young lady with beautiful hazel brown eyes, short dark hair, a posture that fit a queen and a smile like no other. Jason was love struck from the first time they met. It was late September and Jason was helping his soccer friends get ready for a game when Maria walked by with her friend Ryana. Both Jason and Maria were new to the school but had no trouble making friends to help them out. As Maria walked by, Jason went into a trance. For a brief moment, Jason had felt as if it were only the two of them existed. His heart raced and his mind felt like goo, not knowing what to say nor do. Jason completely froze. His friends shook him, trying to get his attention. Called his name to no avail. Jason was paralyzed, mesmerized by Maria's beauty. Days had gone by and Jason still hadn't uttered a word to Maria, but both had made mutual friends that saw how he looked and behaved whenever she was around. Three of those friends were Carly, Ciara and Ryana. Carly was a loveable dark skin girl with a very charismatic attitude and she loved making people laugh. Ciara was basically Carly's twin, only Ciara had a knack for playing netball while Carly preferred to help manage the team. Last but not least there was Ryana. She was the closet to Jason as they both could relate to problems and help each other out. Ryana was more of a down to earth girl who always spoke her mind no matter what might happened. These three friends decided that they would help Jason get to know Maria better before their year together was over. Jason was a lover at heart. He loved games, sports, movies, literature. He even wrote poems and after seeing Maria, he started writing poems for her. One of which was entitled "ONLY YOU" and it read

"Wondering why I'm lost in your eyes, beautiful hazel brown and it makes my pulse rise.

Your smile is like the sunrise, elegant and always so bright, which makes me believe in love at first sight. You fill the room as you walk in, with the stunning brown complexion of your skin. Your personality tops it off and it cannot be beat, which is why this is for you because no one else can compete."

Written for Maria, Jason kept it to himself, until Ciara and Ryana found out delivered it themselves. After receiving the poem, Maria smiled. She liked the poem but had different feelings towards the poet. She wanted to address him herself but she remembered she's very blunt and she never wanted to hurt his feelings. So she asked Ryana to set up a way for them to meet so they could talk. Not knowing the full details Ryana went and told Carly and Ciara about the meeting Maria wanted with Jason. Thoughts filled their heads as they arranged the perfect setup for the two of them to meet. It was a star lit night and the moon shone brightly, music played softly to set the tone for the night, a seating for two, just Jason and Maria. A perfect dinner setting was the idea. So it was said, so it was done. The three girls prepared a night full of fun.

After making the arrangements they went and told Jason the big news. He was overwhelmed with joy. He waited on that night, dying for it to arrive because Jason already knew that Maria would be the one. The night finally came and to Jason's surprise, Maria looked even more stunning as she stood before his eyes. Captivated by her beauty in her outstanding pink dress, Jason felt as if time had stood still, not knowing what to do next. The two started talking and what they realized is that they had more in common than they both realized. Jason made Maria laugh and Maria made Jason smile. Something that Jason hadn't done in a while. The poem came up and Jason was shocked. He was so embarrassed that she had read it and learnt how he felt towards her but Maria smiled. Showing him that it was okay, but then she started to speak and this is what she said "Look you're really nice and I like that about you but I'm a girl that will eventually break you. I don't do well with nice guys and I don't want to hurt you but we could be friends if it's all the same to you." Jason was heartbroken but somehow he understood. He smiled and said "That's okay once I still get to talk to you."

The following Monday they went back to school and they were closer than ever. Jason had felt like something had sparked between them, so he never took those heart breaking words to heart. They both started texting a lot and grew even closer, but it wasn't until early November that Maria's feelings for Jason started to change. Just simple text messages turned into late night calls. Simple "heys" at school turned into an entire hour of talking to each other. Ryana, Carly and Ciara were all happy to see that their efforts had paid off, but no one was as happy as Jason. He had finally gotten through to the girl of his dreams, the girl he knew he would marry after leaving high school and the best part was that she loved him the same. As the days went by the five friends grew even closer and started doing everything together, but Jason and Maria hit it off like guns on a firing range. The day came when Maria decided that they should make it official. So on November 8th Maria said to Jason that she wanted to be his one and only, she wanted to be Jason's girlfriend. Jason was overwhelmed and he shouted out "YES!!! Yeah I mean yeah, I would like that" without giving it a second thought. Immediately Jason went and wrote a poem entitled "YOU" which read

"The way you smile makes me blush; the look in your eyes gives me such a rush, the moment I see you, my head starts to spin and it's because of your beauty from within. The reason why this is so true is because you're not afraid to be you."

Jason was truly a lover at heart, but Maria brought out a side of him that was sheltered in the dark. Ryana and her friends all heard what happened and were excited to see what the future held for those two. Christmas break came around which meant they'd be separated from each other but that never stopped Jason from writing his love poems for Maria. Before the break she asked him for one favor. Write and store all of his poems for her and give it to her in the new year. Jason kept his promise and stored all his letters for Maria so he could give it to her when they saw each other in the New Year. New Years Eve came around and Jason wanted nothing else but to share that night with his favorite person and watch the fireworks together. Although he was of age, Jason didn't have a driver's license so he had to call a cab to take them. While waiting on the cab, Jason started looking for the poems so he could deliver them to Maria as promised, but he could not find them. He searched and searched but still no poems. It turned out that Jason's grandfather had burned all the poems alongside other pieces of parchment Jason kept in his room. He was known for his "disorganization" in his room so his grandfather mistook those important documents as another piece of his trash just lying around. Jason was enraged but couldn't do a thing about it. He stormed outside on that cold New Years Eve night in a fit of rage not uttering a single word to anyone. "How am I going to explain this to Maria?" he wondered. Jason became a total mess and to top it all off, the cab driver was late.

It was 11:30 and they still hadn't picked up Maria from her home. This made Jason even angrier as he had no poems to give to Maria and the cab driver arrived late, he thought the night was practically ruined. What he never realized was that Maria didn't care about what he arrived with or what time he had arrived. She just wanted to know he arrived and he arrived safe. Jason smiled when Maria told him this and instantly, Jason's fit of rage went away. He was so happy he could spend the rest of the night with her. "You really are something else" he said to himself. Never before had the thoughts of marriage came across his mind but in that moment, from that moment, he was sure that Maria was definitely the girl he wanted to be with. Midnight came and the couple indulged themselves with that special kiss to start the New Year right. Maria made a resolution that night. It was to try and be less blunt to people so that she could save their feelings from getting hurt. "Wishful thinking princess" Jason said while they both laughed. Jason had also made a resolution but he never said it aloud. His was to be the very best boyfriend for Maria, and just like the holidays were over and school reopened the second semester had started.

The casual meet and greets after the holidays took place where everyone talked about how they spent their holidays and what they did, and then it was back to reality. It was mandatory for all senior students to complete a speaking exercise as a part of their final grade and that exercise would be done in March of that year. Everyone was stressing about correcting and memorizing their speeches, but not Jason. Maria's birthday was coming up and he was more concerned about what he'd get her than what he'd say for the speech. The days flew by and Maria's birthday was steadily approaching. Jason realized that Maria always looked at this beautiful rectangular box that was covered in pink circles on their walks home from school, but she tried not to make it obvious that she wanted it, but Jason realized after watching her every day. So did her younger sister. Her name was Ariel, she went to the same school as Jason and Maria but she was a freshman so they hardly saw each other. When they did, it was non-stop fun. Ariel was like a miniature Maria and she knew the things that Maria liked. So when Jason asked her if she thought that she would like the box she said yes. Maria's birthday present was no longer an issue. As expected Maria loved it and was speechless upon receiving the gift. Her birthday was a success and the biggest praise Jason could get, was to see Maria smile. February came and went and then March had arrived. The day of the speech was drawing very near and Jason was yet to start his own speech. Helping Maria and others with their speeches, he completely forgot that his own was far from complete. Jason started to panic and doubt that he'd finish in time but like the angel she was, Maria open her wings and swooped down to help Jason get ready.

Night after night Maria stayed up with Jason ensuring that he would complete his speech in time. Jason's speech was complete and it was better than he could have ever done it and it was all thanks to Maria. She might not have known it, but she was the entire reason he pushed himself to finish the work. Just to make her happy, just to see her smile. Speech day arrived and again, Jason was a nervous wreck. He put on a strong persona to ensure that everyone else would do their best but Maria saw right through his little sham. She confronted him and did nothing else but draw him close to her bosom squeeze him tightly and say "you'll do great don't worry, I love you okay." And with those words accompanied by a warm smile, all the butterflies disappeared and Jason was ready for anything. It went well and Jason smiled all the way through saying in the back of his head "Maria's counting on you." Speech day was over and finals were almost here. "To think that the year was almost over and I would have never made it if it wasn't for Maria" said Jason. He had a free period for his second period of the day while Maria had her free period the first thing in the morning, so while switching classes they would occasionally see each other which Jason looked forward to everyday. What he didn't account for was seeing another guy's arm around Maria. Seeing that, Jason got angry but didn't say anything until later that day. He pretended not to see, just to observe what Maria would do next. To Jason's surprise, she did nothing but lay back down as if nothing was happening. Jason tried to convince himself that he was seeing things but the truth was the truth. Jason wasn't innocent either, he had multiple female friends which made Maria jealous. She had confronted Jason before about all the females he had kept and the actions he would indulge them in. Jason understood and limited the physical contact and communication he had with his female counterparts but apparently it wasn't enough.

Jason was now convinced that she was trying to get at him but Maria reassured him that it was all just a misunderstanding and he was just being friendly. Being the type of person that he was, Jason was still jealous but forgave her without a second judgment and he thought things were back to normal. He was wrong. After that day there was constant disbelief between the two but somehow, the loved never died between them. It lead to a point where Maria just needed time for herself. She told Jason that she needed a break from the relationship. With those few words tears filled Jason eyes. Jason was speechless as he tried to hold back his tears. They came to a comprise and agreed to break the relationship until the last day of the finals. Jason was not onboard but it seemed like that's what Maria wanted so he agreed just to make her happy, but he had a condition.

He proposed that even though there would be no contact between them till then, he didn't want anything to change between them. Maria agreed. The two weeks went and Jason was dying to finish his exam so he could see the love of his life. After finishing the exam, Jason rushed to the cafeteria where he found Maria and he just stood there. Amazed by her beauty as if it were the first time he was seeing her. Not having any contact from her for those two weeks felt like an eternity, it left a space in Jason that couldn't be filled by nothing or no one apart from Maria. He approached Maria with hopes of talking to her but Maria had nothing to say to Jason. Jason was confused but just glad he was around her again. He sat beside her in silence waiting for her to rise and say something to him, but when she rose, her reaction made him want to just die. She sat up and said to Jason "I want to break up Jason." In complete destruction, Jason could only utter one word. Why? The environment around Jason went completely silent as he could hear nothing but his own heart beat slowly declining. She then said she was sorry and enjoyed the time they shared but she just needed some alone time. Jason sat completely frozen.

It hurt to watch her leave but to cause himself less grief, he just sat there frozen. Tears started to rush down Jason's face as he watched the love of his life just walk away and left him lonely. From that day Jason got dead inside and no one can bring him back to life except Maria. Jason's grandfather saw him and asked what the matter was; Jason replied "Gramps, if home is where the heart is; well now I have no home. It got up and left me to suffer the cold winters on my own." There's one thing Jason always believed and that was that he had still made the right choice with Maria and he was sure that one day they would get married. She wasn't just his number one girl, she' was his only girl. Who knew Maria would keep her word and eventually break Jason?

"Love is a game that's played by two. The strong will survive while the weak struggle through. Which are you?"-Kevar Planter