"Paul!" I shreak. He's dangling me over his shoulder, and heading towards the pool of fresh water. He's panting, and I know it's from our nice little run over here, not my weight. (Even if we hadn't been running, he wouldn't be panting, I'm light from almost starving every week or so.)
Both of our faces are flushed, and we're winded. We ran all the way from my house in the Bottom Feeders to the pond on the the other side of the harbor.
The pond is somewhat hidden from onlookers. You would have to know it was here to reach it, because it is covered by a thin veil of trees. Once the treeline stops, the sandy beach sets in. You only have about 15 feet of beachland, when you hit water. The pond is small, but deep. The bottom of the pool, has got to be at least 10ft. deep in the middle of the pond, the deepest section.
Paul's father has showed it to us one day, when we were seven. Ever since, we had made the pool ours. We went swimming every day and night during the summer. We swam whenever the weather allowed it.
I feel myself fall and hit the water. The droplets that splashed up, fall I a flurry above my head. I am conscious to another splash, somewhere close to my left. Paul has joined me.
I barely have time to re-surface, when a hand grabs my leg, pulling me back in. I suck in a bunch of air, and let the hand drag me down. Not for once, do I struggle Paul, as he gets me to dive to the bottom of the pond. The weeds under the pond, are so different from the seaweed in the saltwater sea. The fish are less colorful, and the water is freshening. I loved the pool more than the ocean.
Paul and I swim for what seems like a lifetime. We turn somersaults, and backflips, things we probably couldn't do on land. We finally swim into the shallows, and try to catch our breaths. We are trapped in silence for a few minutes, while we relax our muscles. Finally Paul starts talking.
"Pearlynn, do you think we have the slightest chance of being reaped? I mean both you and I, have 29 slips with our names in the bowl (we'll both be sixteen, with tessarae for 6 people). I know that it's out of thousands, but 29 slips isn't good," he says, tracing the number 29 into the sand with his index finger.
I shrug, but I know it does nothing to cover up the fear in my eyes. "It's not good, but it could be worse. I mean we'll be fine," I say. My voice cracks slightly at the end, making it unconvincing.
"What if we're not?" he whispers. I don't respond. I can't imagine the horrors. The agony. The pain in the arena. I make an attempt to change the subject.
"My birthday is coming up," I say. "It's tomorrow." He chuckles.
"How old are you going to be? Nine?" he says trying to intimidate me.
"Definitely not," I say in a childish voice. "I'm going to be sixteen." Paul smiles. His birthday was back in November. He had just turned 16. Now it would be my turn.
"And how are we planning to celebrate?" he asks. I shrug again.
"Swimming I guess." I know that this was our plan anyway. He grins.
"Ok, so what would you like as a present?" he asks. I shrug for the millionth time.
"I dunno. What do you think?" I ask him. He grins again. Then he chuckles to himself, like he knows something I don't.
"I was thinking…" he starts. Now I want to know. He always does this, gets me worked up for something. I give him a pleading look with my eyes, so that he will tell me.
"I was thinking, that…" he begins again. Before I can tell him to go on, he leans forward. Our lips touch, and my eyes are wide open. In a matter of seconds I close them, and enjoy this 'present'.
I never knew that this would be what it feels like. My first kiss, and I am lost. Thankfully, Paul is shaking too, so he won't hold anything against me. The kiss is soft, and bitterly sweet, and I love every second of it. For once, I see a light in the dark of the confusing thing we call romance. I'm that much closer to figuring everything out.
As the kiss coninues, I am taken back to a different place, at a different time. I no longer feel the coldness of the water, but the heat of the fire. I am sitting on my bed, next to the hearth in our old house. Paul is next to me, having problems on the same question as I am on our homework. I look up, and see him staring at me, with the big sea-green eyes that match mine. His light brown hair is messy, and glistening.
"What?" I ask him, thinking that something is wrong with me. "Is there something wrong?" He shakes his head.
"No, your just really pretty," he replies. I can feel the heat on my face. "You know what?" he asks, but continues before I reply. "I like you."
When I open my eyes again, Paul's eyes are opened too. I wonder if he was thinking of that moment too. We pull apart, and both of us blush.
"How was that?," he asks. "Is that a good present?" I nod, embarrassed. But what can you do? Deny your heart? He smiles, and so do I. "Come on," he says, bringing me back into the depths.
Paul tells me that he wants to walk me home, so I make him wait behind the trees, while I bathe. I scrub down, my whole body, making sure I'm clean. I don't think I can stand being sweaty, and dirty one more second.
After I'm done, I tell Paul to go to the entrance of the trees. He agrees so I may get dressed. When I'm finished, I fishtail braid my hair, and call him back. He meets me at the end of the sand. Then he wastes no time in grabbing my hand.
We start walking home. The lights are dim, and I don't know how late it is. We didn't leave that late, so we must have been swimming for hours. Nana will probably be wondering where I am. My parents will wonder, but will be asleep. The twins are probably out already. After I think of them, I think about Paul's family. Will they be worrying about their son?
Regardless, we walk slowly. We don't talk, but I think we already know what the other is thinking. We are best friends, but we are also more than that. So all those days, that I would hang out with him, instead of the other girls at school wasn't just because we're friends. It was because I cared about him more than I cared about anyone else.
When we finally reach my street, he stops me. He plays with the ends of my dark hair, and whispers one of the most important questions ever to me, "What now?" He sees how I have a smile plastered on my face, and he grins too.
"Well," I answer. "You just make sure, that my present tomorrow is awesome, and we'll take it from there." He laughs, causing me to join in.
"Got it." He starts walking again, but I stop him. He raises his eyebrows.
"Just promise, we'll stay best friends," I say. I really can't bear the thought of losing him.
"Forever."
"Forever," I agree. We continue walking all the way to my house. When we finally reach it, he turns me around and gives me a huge hug. Then he kisses my forehead.
"You know what?" he says repeating his line. "I like you." I laugh softly, and so does he, remembering the moment.
I walk to my house, and am about go in, but I turn around and wave one last time. He returns it, and runs off.
When I get inside Nana is awake. She smiles, and goes back to crocheting ; that old lady thinks that she'll get away with it. I hop into bed, and fall asleep once my head hits the pillow. My dreams are jumbled, but I am aware, that in them, I am still in the second grade.