A Bottle Unopened

A bottle Unopened


I could never forget that day, no matter how hard I would try, though I would not wish to. That day is forever embedded in the memories of my mind and of my heart. It was the best day of my life, and yet not for my preconceived ideas.
I had it all figured out. My will was printed nicely and left on the table by my bed. The pills laid in the bottom drawer of my dresser, and called me to them. I was ready to end what I considered a wretched and cursed life – I was done, finished.

I walked to school that day, my head hung low. My eyes were hidden by my long dark auburn hair. I did not look at anyone, only at the ground and my feet as I dragged them across the hard cement. I walked through the large red door for what I thought was the last time, and breathed in the strong smell it contained within. There were numerous kids standing just in front of me. They just sneered in my general direction and went on with their mindless conversations. I passed by many kids, many I used to call friends, some I never wished to call friends, and many more I only longed I could call friends. I slowly walked the few steps to my locker from the large marble staircase and robotically moved the dial along the cracks of my lock. This is pointless, I thought, every bit of it. I glanced at my watch and saw that I only had five minutes to get to my first class – English. And it just happened to be all the way at the other end of the enormous school. I then turned to head quickly to class, (it being my last, I figured I should maybe be on time, just this once) and as I did, I saw him. He stood at a good six feet tall, four inches taller than me. His hair flipped over his ears, and fell just over his large eyes, which appeared to be blue... or was it green? He looked at me, and he didn’t just look past me, he smiled. He must be new, I thought, he wouldn’t be smiling if he knew who I was. I figured I would just quickly walk by and avoid any weird conversation. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He kept looking at me, I couldn’t figure out why.
“Can I help you?” I barked.
“Actually yes,” Wow, I thought, he has a gorgeous voice. “Do you know where room 124 is? I’ve looked all down this hallway, and can’t find it anywhere. I have English with –” he glanced at a piece of paper in his hand, which I assumed to be his schedule. “Mrs. Carter. Oh, I’m Jake by the way.” He had a shy, yet confident sense about him. But soon enough he’ll find out I’m not the girl he should be talking to, soon enough. 0
“Actually yeah, that’s my class; I can take you there if you want. I’m Maggie.” I figured I should at least be nice to him, I mean it was his first day. His first, and my last – odd, I thought.
“Thank you so much,” he said, so sincerely. And he looked at me when he said it too.
We began to walk down the halls toward class. The halls were full of kids scurrying to their classes, and then those that would probably just stay in the halls, pretending they had a spare.
Say, something, I told myself, don’t let him think you’re a bore. Before I could react to my thoughts, he spoke.
“So, do you like it here at Kimball High?”
“It’s alright.”
“The people seem pretty nice.”
“They seem that way.”
“So, is this English teacher any good?”
“She’s alright, just like any normal one.”
“Oh, well, okay.”

I could tell I was making him slightly uncomfortable with my short contemptuous answers, so I changed the focus to him.
“So, where did you come from?” I asked with fake curiosity.
“Don’t you think you should be asking your parents that?”
I gave a slight chuckle. At least he has a sense of humor, I thought.
“I moved here from New York.”
“Oh, big city boy. How’d you like it there?” I was actually genuinely interested this time.
“I liked it quite a bit actually. We’ve only been here a week and a half, I miss it a lot.” His voice lowered in pitch as he spoke those words, and he got a distant look in his eyes. Poor kid, I thought, must be tough moving like that.
We reached the class and I led him through the door to the back of the class where I usually sat, secluded from those around me. I was surprised when he still sat with me, even when the prettiest girl in class invited him to sit with her.
“I’m fine here, thanks,” was all he said. No one’s ever turned down a chance to sit with Brie Peterson before, I thought.
It turned out Jake and I had every class together. I had a great day. After Math, we went back to our lockers.
“Thank you so much for showing me around. I really enjoyed your company.”
“Oh, it was no problem.”
Then he did the most unexpected thing, he hugged me and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. I just stood there, motionless, not sure what to think.
“Something wrong?” he asked, giving me a quizzical look.
“No, no. I’m fine.”
“Okay, well, I should probably head home. We have to unpack the last of the boxes tonight, or my mom will have a fit.”
“Bye,” I said, still slightly overwhelmed.
We then headed our separate ways. This is incredible, I thought, unbelievably sensational. No one had ever hugged me like that before.
I walked home that day with new confidence, a new sense of belonging, a new outlook on life. When I got home, I ripped up the will, and tossed the pills down the drain.
It was the best day of my life, and certainly not my last, as I had previously hoped it would be. I don’t believe Jake can ever comprehend all that he did for me that day, and has done since then. He saved my spirit, my mind, my heart – he saved my life.