JUST ME
Paul Diaz
Chapter 10: Why I Like Him
Kathleen went to school Monday and her eyes were sore from crying. Jonathan was just seating in his usual seat and his eyes were covered with his long curly hair. She just sat beside him and bowed her head. Anne approached the two of them and tried to cheer them up. “Hey Kath, did you finish the assignment?” she asked. Kathleen looks at Anne and remembers they did have an assignment and she forgot all about it. “I forgot to do it” Kathleen whispers. The closed and the professor walked towards the front. Anne rushed back towards her seat seeing the professor in front. “Anne since you are still standing why don’t you collect the assignments for me as I check the attendance, thank you” the professor said.
Anne collected the assignments of everyone, she approached Jonathan to get his assignment, Jonathan looked at Anne and handed over two sheets of paper. Anne looked at the two sheets and saw that he made two assignments, one with his name and the other with Kathleen’s name. As Anne was about to tell Kathleen about it Jonathan quickly held her hand and looked her in the eye. Anne understood at once so she separated the two sheets since they had similar handwriting so the professor wont notice it. Anne submitted the assignments in the professor’s table and went back to her seat and glanced at Jonathan who was mouthing some words. Anne understood and smiled at him as she faced front.
Lunchtime came and Jonathan quickly rushed out of the classroom, Kathleen just sat there lifeless. Anne approached her and said “Kath lets eat lunch together, I need to talk to you” and Kathleen looked at her and nodded.
In the cafeteria Kathleen was just playing with her food, “Kathleen do you really like Jonathan?” she asks. Kathleen looks at Anne and nods her head. “Help me understand why you like him, tell me your story” Anne tells her. Kathleen sat back and bowed her head and bit her lip. “Is it because he looks handsome now?” Anne inquires and Kathleen looks at her and said “NO! I liked him since he was fat!”
“So tell me why then” Anne adds. Kathleen starts playing again with her food and started to talk.
“It was freshmen year we were classmates and I noticed him. He was always being picked at or called names but he did not care. I felt sorry for him and but you know he really impressed me because even though he was not treated well he fought back using his brain. I was jealous really with him getting those medals and awards; I thought myself maybe if I studied hard too I would be able to achieve the same just like him. “
“That was the time I started to study, so when sophomore year came I was beside him on the stage, he was first place and I was second. Junior year came and I was more popular than him even though I was only second, he was first but you know how it is, they never saw him for what he truly was, they only know him because of….”
“Junior year was tough on me, I started to hang out with friends, I slumped in studying, I forgot to do my assignments but there was one time I did really forget and I approached the teacher, I admitted to her that I forgot to do my assignment and she just laughed at me. She showed me her records and I saw that I had complete assignments. I checked with all teachers and they all showed me I did have complete assignments. One teacher even showed me a copy, I did not recognize it at all, it was not my handwriting. I didn’t admit it since I did not want to fail; I just laughed it out with her and said I might have gotten amnesia. I did recognize the handwriting and it was Jonathan’s. “
“So one day I pretended I did not have an assignment and observed him. I saw it clearly he passed two papers. He cared for me that much, I wanted to tell him I did make my assignment but I was too shy at that time already. From that time on I never forget making assignments; I made sure he saw that I made them. But still I noticed he always has one extra assignment made kept in his folder.”
“If he treated me as his competitor he would not have been doing that, but he never saw me as a competitor. I wanted to get to know him better but he never looked me in the eye or spoke to me. “
“There was another time when I was being scolded by the teacher and I was about to cry already, he stood up and shouted ‘I am hungry’ and headed towards the door. Everyone started laughing but the teacher scolded him badly. The teacher forgot about me, all of his anger was focused on Jonathan. “
“He has a kind heart, he helps others study, and he helps them to understand certain lessons even though they are the same people who make fun of him. And one time Jerry Cross squeezed my butt, I was so mad. That same day I heard Jerry had been beaten up by someone. Jerry was ashamed to say who it was but I saw Jonathans fists bruised the next day. I wanted to thank him so badly but I just was too shy to do so.”
Kathleen wiped her tears once again and bowed her head. “So he never changed it seems” Anne said. Kathleen looked at Anne, “What do you mean?” she asked her. “This morning, he submitted two assignments, one had your name, I was going to tell you about it but the look on his faced begging me not to” Anne revealed and Katherine started to sob.
“He still cares for you even though you treat him that way. He may have changed his appearance but still he is the same person as before. Even though you dealt him the final blow during the graduation ball he still likes you, even though you left him to be with Tom he still likes you.” Anne implied.
“Please don’t say that. I told you during that ball I did not mean to reject him. I smiled because I was touched with what he said. It was the first time he even spoke to me so I was really happy. I smiled because I was happy and not because he requested me to do so. I wanted to dance with him but he ran away. I tried to catch him but he was gone” Kathleen stated as more tears fall.
“And what about Tom?” Anne added. “Tom is just a friend. Nothing more. I just wanted to take time off from Jonathan since each day I was with him I was falling deeply in love with him. I just wanted to take things slow because I made a promise with my father that I won’t have a boyfriend until I am 18. I will be 18 soon but the more I spend time with Jonathan… I would have to break the promise I made with my dad before he died. So I just wanted to take time off. But I didn’t know things would happen this way.”
“He is drifting away from you, sooner or later he will be gone. If you do love him make things right.” Anne told Kathleen and left her alone.
