I met him in the fifth grade; he told me that my flower headband was pretty. I blushed, showed my appreciation of such a compliment, and ran away nervously. The next year, he transferred schools. I sometimes found myself wondering what ever happened to Justin, that boy who complimented my flower headband during recess that one Thursday. Four years went by: I was now a high school freshman. My first day, he was in my first class of the day. I hadn’t seen nor talked to him since fifth grade. “....Lila?” he said with wide eyes, staring in disbelief. “Justin, is that you? It’s been forever.” I pulled him in for a hug. We conversed for almost the entire class period. I was actually shocked he remembered me after so many years of not seeing each other. Two months later, Justin and I began to date. Him and I were inseparable; I loved spending time with him and knowing that he was all mine. But now, here I am, here I am, sitting on the floor of my room, crying. Why though? The guy I knew since fifth grade, ran away nervously, with his new girl.

I will never forget the way he looked at her when I saw them eating dinner earlier that night; it was the same way he looked at me. Love and patience in his eyes, like nothing in this world was as important as his girl. He held her close, just like he used to hold me when we would watch scary movies. The most heartbreaking part? He kissed her forehead, the exact same way he kissed mine. I’ll never forget how he didn’t even acknowledge my existence when he finally looked up at that restaurant. He seemed shocked and embarrassed. I saw him whisper into the girl’s ear and grab her hand. Then, they left together in a hurry, right past me. Two hours later, I heard my phone ring. It was him. I was too busy wailing in disbelief to answer the phone. My phone chirped again, alerting me I had a new voicemail. I listened; “hey Li, it’s me. I know what you saw, and I know what I did. Look, I just think that it’s time we call it quits. I really enjoyed your company, but I lost interest. Sorry. Bye.”

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Lila, Lila, Lila. I knew her when I was young; she knew my strengths and weaknesses at a young age. I’ll never forget that day: September 14th. I saw her with her friends in the schoolyard, playing on the jungle gym. I built up the courage, after a whole month of planning, to finally talk to her. I walked anxiously over to her, tapped her shoulder, and said “I think your flower headband is pretty Lila.” I could feel my palms sweating and my knees shaking. I thought I was the nervous one, until Lila’s cheeks became the color of her favorite fruit:
strawberries. She mumbled a “thank you” before running away into the building. I stood there, confused, about what had just happened. I did not attempt to speak to Lila anymore that year, in fear that she would run away again. The next year, I transferred to a different school. I always wondered what happened to Lila, and if she became any more beautiful. I definitely can’t forget when I saw Lila on the first day of freshman year. I stared closely before I whispered, “...Lila?” Her head whipped around so fast and she shrieked, “Justin, is that you? It’s been forever.” She pulled me in for a quick hug. Man, did I wish that lasted longer. To my surprise, she wasn’t the nervous fifth grader that I remember so clearly; she talked to me the entire class, catching me up in terms of her life. Lila and I dated two months to the date of that conversation. We had the best times together and we grew individually as well. I never told Lila that I began to lose interest in her, I couldn’t build up the courage to tell her. So, I began to talk to other girls. I met one; her name was Heather. She was in my Biology class, and I always found her very attractive. We just clicked; It felt wrong that it just felt right. We went on our first date, a dinner actually, where it was just us. Heather and I sat on the same side, so I could hold her close and kiss her forehead. I looked into her bright blue eyes deeply; it was like looking into a beautiful ocean. I brushed a stray hair out of her face, and looked up. There I saw Lila. She was waiting to be seated in the restaurant and the look on her face said it all. Her eyes were welled up with tears and I could see that her hands were shaking. I knew the damage was already done. I only did what I thought was best; I took Heather’s hand, left the tip for the waiter, and ran nervously out of the restaurant. I waited two hours to call Lila. I wanted to make sure I had prepared what I was going to tell her. I called; no answer. I resorted to leaving a message. I breathed heavily after hearing the beep.“Hey Li, it’s me. I know what you saw, and I know what I did. Look, I just think that it’s time we call it quits. I really enjoyed your company, but I lost interest. Sorry. Bye.”