AN/ Please read the AN/ at the bottom :)
"My life has always been interesting. From the moment I was born to the moment I was in now. Some might say there were no such things as angels but mine fell down from heaven and landed right on my doorstep. Unfortunately angels always had to go back and now my angel was returning. But there is no story without a beginning and this is where it all starts. 5th Grade.
I stared at what I presumed was the new girl as she cautiously stepped onto the school bus. She wasn't dressed like all the other girls instead she wore casual cargo pants with a plain murky green t-shirt. The Star of David hung proudly at her neck as she showed the world her religion and that she wasn't ashamed but proud to be Jewish.
The new girl sat timidly at the edge of the seat she had chosen and she slowly lent her head slightly against the window as she plugged in her headphones. In my visual assessment of her I noticed that her foot made the tiniest of movements as it travelled up and down in what I assumed was the beat of the music.
I noticed that her long brown hair fell elegantly down her back with curls that bounced up and down along with her foot as the movement shifted her body ever so slightly. I heard a loud shout from the back of the bus which caused the new girl to turn her head around as she wondered what the commotion was all about. Myself, I was familiar with the loud calls that were shouted down the bus and echoed off the windows but she obviously wasn't as she looked confused at the scene before her.
My emerald green eyes gazed into the chocolate brown orbs that occupied her eyes as she stared in my direction. A large jolt shot me forward in my seat and my head nearly collided with the seat in front as my eyes were torn from hers. When I finally brought my head up hoping for the contact of our eyes, I was disappointed to see that her head was already turned and she had resumed her previous action of listening to her music. The usual loud chatter filled my ears as my eyes stared at the back of the new girl as she shifted slightly in her seat, her long hair slithering across her back.
I thoughtlessly made the journey to the bus doors as they opened; allowing pupils free roam of the school playground. Students poured out of the bus as they all separated into their own individual friendship groups.
Back then I was cocky I think we know that so me being me, I made my way over to her, put on what I thought was my dazzling smile and my smile turned upside down as she blew me right off. For days I chased her, willing for her to just go out with me. Anywhere. Shopping if need be, I just knew that I wanted her.
I must have been annoying as she finally agreed to go out with me. Although she did make me suffer. I remember she took me paintballing, as quiet as she was I never made the mistake of taunting her again after she shot three times in the chest with a paint bullet only two minutes into the first round.
It must have been her birthday the next time she smiled so much, God, I miss her smile. Most people wouldn't have noticed but she always had a different smile for every emotion. When she was happy it would always be wide and big and when she was sad and trying to hide it she would only turn the corners of her mouth up ever so slightly. Anyway her birthday. I wasn't invited basically. She said the party was a 'girl thing' and that boys weren't allowed bearing in mind we were dating at this point. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.
6th Grade well that was amusing. I remember the time when she was practicing her gymnastics and she was doing these weird turning things that made me dizzy and she stretched out her and kicked the vase in her living room and full speed and it smashed straight onto the floor and the china went everywhere. Her parents had a fit, I don't think I've ever seen them so angry but then they laughed and she laughed and we all laughed.
Ah, how could I forget when we went swimming? It was so funny, damn right hilarious in fact. It was me and her just splashing around and there were slides. Huge water slides and we climbed to the very top of the highest slide and there were two so we said to each other 'I'll race you' so we got in slides and we counted down and we slide down the slide and she thought it would be funny to go down slowly. So there is me at the end waiting for her so I stepped into her lane and waited at the exit and out of know where she comes shooting down the slide and I'm knocked straight off my balance and now we're in a huddle in the middle of this slide lane just laughing.
7th Grade, well what can I say about that? There were a lot of memories there. The most famous one has to be homecoming. I mean, her dress was stunning. I mean like I was lost for words she pulled out all the stops and managed to top it the next year, crazy huh? And we danced, well we tried, I tried. She was a natural, gliding round the dance floor avoiding every single wrong foot I made.
The helium, the helium balloons just made my day. We got hold of some of the balloons at the dance and breathed in the helium and snap we were like mice, our voices were so high it was unimaginable. Of course nobody found out until I went and told everybody that we were mice. Somehow helium makes me loopy.
8th Grade the glorious 8th Grade. Same as all the other grades but filled with more memories to cherish and more feelings to be felt and more muscles aching after she decided that it would be funny to get me more trained as she put it ready for my football tryouts. Little did I know that her version of trained involved: running, cycling, weights, rowing and swimming all in one day, never again. You may laugh but one day you will feel the same.
Oh and there was the moment I was accepted into the football team. She had never gone so crazy in her life. She literally sprinted to the sports coach and burst into this cheerleading routine for her and she ended up being on the squad ridiculous.
9th Grade, she made me so proud. It was the first match of the season and the first time I ever saw her in her cheerleading outfit and she looked hot and who knew that she could be so loud? She screamed and she shouted and she cheered for the football team like she depended on it. She gave it her all and I am so proud of her.
The jersey. She went everywhere, wherever I went, she went and I love her it. She would where my jersey like a ritual and she would walk through the corridors showing it off. Her hair slightly covering my name and number but it was still there for everybody to see.
10th Grade was awesome, firstly there were birthday celebrations and I was finally invited to go and we had such a good time although it wasn't so great when the birthday cake sort of accidently on purpose ended up in her face and all over her dress that was bright white and ended up with a chocolate cake stain all down the front of it.
How could I forget the fish? Her goldfish that she named 'Latvia' after the country. I don't know why she just did, and then I got the phone call with the tears and the sobs and I just made out her voice telling me that her fish got stuck in the pump and it was dead and she was in hysterics. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
11th Grade was definitely my favourite. I did my exams and so did she and being the clever person she is, she passed with flying colours and she amazes me every day.
Then Graduation came and Senior Prom and ah she looked gorgeous and she left me lost for words again. But then everything started to go wrong and she started to feel off and there were more and more hospital visits and more and more tests and more and more positive diagnoses and they weren't good ones and everything just started to fall apart.
That's when the leukaemia came and she was hospitalised and then she faded quickly and there was no stopping it and everything just stopped. The world stopped turning and the land stopped living and the fire and passion in her soul just went. So when I lay the trophy, she inspired me win as she cheered from the sidelines as I made that crucial touchdown, down on her coffin I hope she always remembers the time I say the infamous words.
I Tony Dinozzo, will love you Ziva David forever and always."
AN/ This is a true story based on a friend of mine's life in high school. He met a girl in 5th Grade and they dated all the way through 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade. She wore his football jersey every week and went to every game and they held hands at graduation. They were in love. It was 2 weeks after graduation and senior prom when she began to feel run down and tired and she was diagnosed with 3rd stage leukaemia.
Michelle died aged 18 on November 12th 2012.