Someone Like You | Teen Ink

Someone Like You

June 1, 2010
By LaughingGirl GOLD, Ocala, Florida
LaughingGirl GOLD, Ocala, Florida
13 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
Play the music not the instrument. -Author Unknown


I’m on my way to second period on a cloudless day in June. There is only five more days left of school, and I couldn’t be happier. I wanted no more than to exit the school for good. I wanted to hang out with my friend Harper and my boyfriend, Richard. Richard was the perfect boyfriend; the surfer type. Blond hair, tall, brown eyes, and totally cute. His personality was monotonous and his only talent was surfing in the Pacific, but how could you pass up a guy like Richard?
I was thrilled to get to second period. Today, we were dissecting a frog in life science. To most, this sounded completely gross, but this would enhance my medical skills, and help out in my dream career of pediatrics. Today, I was in a great mood.
“Hey,” Harper Pendleton, my best friend since third grade, came up from behind me.
“Did you finish the algebra homework?” I asked.
“Yeah. Did you?”
“Yup. It was hard, though,”
As we approached Mrs. Kennedy’s life science classroom, I spotted Richard among his usual troupe of friends. They were talking, but I went up to Richard anyways and gave him a hug. It wasn’t until later I realized he didn’t hug me back.
“Hey,” I said. He returned the greeting with less enthusiasm. He seemed to serious.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothin’,” he said. He wasn’t looking me in the face. “Did you get caught for skipping class?”
“No. But we need to talk,” he walked away from his friends, who had all become silent. I followed him away from the other guys into a corner of the hall.
“I think we need to break up. It’s not you, it’s me. I’m sorry,” he said. He walked away. It took me a few moments to realize what had just happened, since he had been talking so fast. Then it hit me.
Oh my God.
I could try to explain what I had been feeling, but it wouldn’t be worth it. Because words just could not translate properly. I felt empty. I walked around school, feeling like a victim. It wasn’t really losing Richard that hurt the most. But what pained me was being now labeled the victim, the one the pity was aimed for. I didn’t want pity. I wanted to be with Richard. I wasn’t lowly with him. He was highly respected, and now I was pitied. Tomorrow, I would be forgotten. I would be forced to sit elsewhere than Richard’s table at lunch. With who? The outcasts? The nerds? I cringed.
School passed so slow it was painful. I told Harper all the details. She was clearly angry. She evenly cussed him out but she also sympathized me, which was exactly what I didn’t want. But when we reached fourth period, she had seemed to forget all about it.
Some friend.
I can’t recall anything from all six periods, except the bus ride home (which was the highlight of my day because Richard wasn’t a part of it). I usually sat with Harper, but she was too talkative, and I wasn’t in the mood for talking. The embarrassing stares had really gotten to me, so I plopped down in what I had thought an empty seat. I was blind to everything except the pitying stares until I heard a “Hey!”
I turned around and saw I had thrown my backpack off and it had landed in the lap of an eleventh grader. He was a year older than me, and I knew this because he was recognizable. He was James Di Angelo, the tall and thin guy who never forgot his straight A award at the awards ceremonies. He played clarinet in the school’s marching band, and I heard he was an amazing pianist. I wasn’t surprised to see him listening to his iPod, which played “The Essential Billy Joel”.
“I’m sorry,” I wiped away tears from my face, which I had been doing all day. He didn’t say anything about it at first like everyone else had.
“It’s okay. You can sit here, I really don’t care,” he smiled. For the first time since this morning, I returned the friendly gesture. The bus moved on, passing homes and businesses. The tears fell silently, but after a few minutes, James said something.
“Do you want to talk about it?” and I spilled.
I guess that’s all I really wanted. Just somebody to talk to, all along, even before Richard and all the other boyfriends who were just like Richard. I only wanted someone like James, somebody who didn’t mind when I talked to them. I wanted someone to hold my hand through those tough times, give me a hug when I needed it. Someone who balanced me out. Someone like James. After those few words, we were inseparable. He turned out to be my last boyfriend, and the first guy I had ever loved.


The author's comments:
The guy you fall head-over-heels for doesn't have to be hot and popular. He just has to be the guy who doesn't leave you alone. He should be the guy who is always there for you. Like James.

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This article has 2 comments.


on Jun. 23 2010 at 2:08 pm
Savvy_ PLATINUM, Houston, Texas
21 articles 11 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
Call up the locksmith,
Tell him we need him quick,
We've got a million keys,
None of them seem to fit.

This was cute :)

on Jun. 15 2010 at 3:58 pm
ashbadash BRONZE, Ocala, Florida
4 articles 1 photo 45 comments

Favorite Quote:
Friends are like glue, they always stick by your side.

OMG I absolutely loved your article soooooooo much. You are an awesome author and I also do enjoy your other pieces of work too. Keep working at it and never give up. Great story. ILY!!!!!!!!<3