Reya was head over heels in love with Cliff. They did everything together, even took almost all the same classes. Everything was wonderful until the new girl arrived.
Clarissa, tall, blonde, and bubbly left every boy in the junior class drooling in her wake. Cliff included. He dumped Reya like he had never sworn she was the only girl for him and pursued Clarissa relentlessly.
Reya shut down for weeks, too depressed to care about anything. Well, almost anything. She tried her best to hate Clarissa. But the newcomer really was as nice as she seemed. And also, seemingly immune to the interest of the swarming boys.
Clarissa sat down next to Reya at lunch one day. “So, what’s with you and Cliff?” she asked. “You look at him like he hurt you really badly.”
Reya moved the spaghetti around on her plate, trying to decide what to say. Finally, she looked up and said, “He dumped me when he met you.”
Clarissa laughed, then said, “I’m sorry. I like girls, not boys. They’re all idiots.”
“Really?”
“Really. In fact, I like you. I don’t know if you’re open to try something new, and you’re just coming off being hurt. But could we try being friends and see if something comes from it? If not, I’m cool just being friends.”
Reya smiled for the first time in weeks. “Yeah, I’d like that. Let’s be friends.”
This story (a little long for a Friday, sorry) was written in response to a prompt from Justin Deming (Micro 2 Go). Thanks, Justin! The prompt required picking up a book, choosing a random page, and basing a maximum 250 word story on the fifteenth line.
Here are my details:
Book: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown
Random page: 45
Line: Was it really about letting yourself be open to connection and getting hurt?
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Fun! I wasn't expecting that twist at all. And thanks for mentioning Micro 2 Go!