Contest #72 shortlist ⭐️

76 comments

African American Romance High School

Can you love the sun?

Is it possible to love something even though it could burn you?

Her name was Akilah Williams. She was the sun of my universe. She was, without a doubt, the smartest girl in school. We’d known each other since elementary school though we didn’t talk much. I guess you could say we didn’t really meet until our freshmen year of high school.

I remember it was the day of football tryouts. I was sitting on the bleachers and felt as if someone had stuck their hand in my chest and squeezed. I thought to myself. Is this it? Is this how I die?

“Hey, Josh. Are you okay?” A voice to my left said. I turned in their direction and found Akilah Williams looking back at me. She was still in the school uniform, a white button up, and forest green pleated skirt. Her natural kinky coily hair was out of the regulation bun and fanned out from her face, framing it beautifully.

“I’m dying.” I somehow had the strength to say. Even as I felt like I was dying, I was struck by how pretty she looked with her hair down.

She shifted on her feet. “I think you’re having a panic attack.” She sat next to me. “I need you to take a deep breath for me.”

“But… I can’t breathe.” I said between gasps.

She half smiled, the left corner of her lip pulled upward. “If you’re talking, you can breathe. Now, come on. Deep breath for me. In through your nose.”

I did as she said. Breathed in as deep as I could, filling my lungs with air. She did the same.

“And out,” she said. She pursed her lips, letting the air out slowly. I followed her lead.

She breathed in. I breathed in. She breathed out. I breathed out. She kept it up for a few minutes, reminding me how to breathe again. Finally, and thankfully, my heart stopped trying to pound its way out of my chest and I could take solid breaths that didn’t feel like I was breathing through a straw.

“Thank you,” I said, wishing there was more that I could say since thank you didn’t seem like enough.

“It’s okay,” she said. She put her hand on my cheek and looked into each of my eyes. “You should take it easy. Go to the nurse or something.”

I looked away from her. I didn’t want to deal with this right now. I needed to get on the field and earn my spot on the junior varsity football team. It was all I ever wanted.

“I can’t,” I told her simply. “I’ll be fine.”

She eased my face back to hers. “You’ll be fine, but for how long?” I couldn’t afford to ask those types of questions. I wasn’t about to let anything stand in the way between me and my dream.

“Thanks for everything,” I told her.

She nodded. “Take care of yourself.” She brushed her skirt and stood to leave.

As I watched her go, I felt cold without her near me. Empty. As if I was watching the sun fall out of the sky. Only seconds had passed, and yet I missed her already. What was happening to me?

***

I do not claim to be a genius. Not in school nor in football nor even in life. So it is to no one’s surprise that it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize my feelings for Akilah. And when I did figure it out, it was too late.

I was in the cafeteria and I saw Akilah walking with this guy named Thomas Fox who was on the Quiz bowl team with Akilah’s best friend, Kaisie. Akilah was laughing at something he had said. I found myself getting annoyed because I didn’t remember making her laugh that much and then I was wondering what I had to be annoyed about. It’s not like Akilah and I were together.

Nicole, who was sitting beside me, followed my line of sight. “You want to know what I heard?” I didn’t, but that didn’t stop her from telling me. “Akilah and Thomas are going out.”

My bottom jaw dropped. I looked at Thomas with his lean frame, low top fade and chiseled features. He was as tall as I was, maybe taller. He looked athletic, though I couldn’t tell for sure. And he was smart, too which made him perfect for Akilah.

I folded my arms and frowned. He was perfect for her. There was an unfamiliar emotion bubbling up inside me and I realized suddenly that it was jealousy. I was jealous of him. Jealous that he was able to be by her side and make her laugh. It was jealousy that made me say, “I guess geeks can find love, too.”

The entire table turned my way and started laughing. Everyone started cracking jokes about their geek love. I laughed along even though it wasn’t funny. Even though I was hurting inside.

It was in that moment I learned what it had taken me much too long to figure out. I liked Akilah.

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do with that information. She was with someone. I had missed my chance.

Years passed and I rose up to Varsity, starting lineup. I was the quarterback. The guy every guy wanted to be like and every girl wanted. Well, almost every girl. Akilah remained out of my reach even after she and Tom broke up at the end of sophomore year. I revolved around her, kept up with what she was working on, but never got too close. Just like the sun.

As fate would have it, our paths crossed again senior year in a creative writing class. I would never admit it, but Mr. Lewis’s creative writing class was my favorite part of the day. His classroom was is in the computer lab on the second floor overlooking the parking lot. That room was one of the few classes that still sported a chalkboard. Akilah sat in the far right corner of the first row while I sat in the far left corner of the last row. We were the closest we’d been to each other since freshman year, and yet still so far.

He would assign writing prompts to stretch our minds and challenge us to see things from a new perspective. We would spend most of the class working on our drafts and talking through ideas. Once a week, we would have a mystery writer critique. Mr. Lewis would choose a draft at random and read it out loud. He’d ask us all for feedback, what we liked and what we didn’t and what we thought the writer could do better. He would never say the writer’s name, no matter how much we asked, hence the mystery part.

Mr. Lewis said, “I don’t want how you feel about each other to affect the feedback you give. The writer knows and can grow from the feedback. That’s all that matters.”

I always got excited when Mr. Lewis chose something I had written. More excited than I had ever been in a football game and even more nervous. It felt like I was laying my soul on the chopping block to be butchered and critiqued and yet, I knew as much as the criticism hurt, my story would become that much stronger because of it.

As we approached the end of the semester, I had more than a couple of strong short stories under my belt. I was in the middle of writing a difficult scene between my two main characters when I saw Mr. Lewis approach the front of the room.

“Alright class, can I have your attention please?” Mr. Lewis said. Heads popped up above and to the side of monitors to see what he had to say. “With the time we have left for today’s class period, I’m going to assign partners for the final project.”

Groans echoed throughout the room in response. I groaned right along with them, but inside, I was jumping for joy. All of our writing so far had been solo projects. I was curious to find out what writing with someone else would be like.

As I listened to the partner assignments, it was clear that he was partnering by alphabetical order. Knowing there was a long way to go before he would reach my name, I turned back to work on my scene, keeping one ear focused on what he was saying.

“And finally, we have Joshua Washington and Akilah Williams.”

No, that can’t be right. There must be some type of mistake. Everyone was murmuring about their partner assignment, but even more people were questioning me being partnered with Akilah.

“Joshua and Akilah?” Kaisie said. “That is so totally unfair. He’s just going to mooch off her, do none of the work and get the best grade in the class.” Did I really seem like the type of person who wouldn’t do their fair share?

“Akilah’s going to be pissed. He’s going to bring down her precious GPA,” Taylor said, from the seat next to me. This got a couple of laughs. He was on the football team with me, so I knew he was just kidding around. That didn’t make me feel any better though.

Hey, I wanted to say in my defense. I’m just as surprised as you are. But all I did was laugh. Like I was in on the joke that was at my expense. Because they can’t laugh at you, if you’re laughing with them.

“You all do realize he’s the strongest writer in this class. It’s more likely I would bring down his grade than he would bring down mine.” It was Akilah. She didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. When she talked, you listened.

A hush fell on the classroom. What could anyone say to that? Akilah had spoken. In my defense, no less.

“Let’s not focus on grades,” Mr. Lewis said, taking back control of the classroom. “I’m more concerned with how you handle a collaborative writing process. Understand?”

There were nods and yessirs. And that was the end of it.

The bell rang soon after and class was dismissed for the day. I took my time packing up my things since I knew Akilah would be one of the last ones out of the room. I needed to say something to her, right? She defended me after all.

When most of the class was empty, I walked up to her. She looked up at me with a dazzling smile. “Hello Joshua, and what do I owe this pleasure?”

I was dumbfounded and all she did was say my name. I really should have come up with a game plan before coming over here. “You didn’t have to do that, you know,” I said, finding my words. “They were just joking. You didn’t need to take it so seriously.”

She raised her eyebrow, not believing me, but instead of saying what I knew she was thinking, she nodded slowly and said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But…um,” I scratched the back of my neck, in the universal gesture of I am out of my depth and I don’t know what to say. “Did you mean it?”

She stood up and pushed her chair in. “Did I mean what?” She waved goodbye to Mr. Lewis and exited the room with me following behind her.

“You know,” I said. “When you said…After everybody had said…” Why were words so hard?

“Oh, about your writing? Of course, I meant it. Even Mr. Lewis says you do great work.”

“How could you know it was my writing?”

She shrugs. “I’d know your writing anywhere. And besides you do this precious little smile anytime Mr. Lewis reads from your work. I’m surprised no one else has noticed.” We had made it to her locker. She spun the combination lock and once she opened it, she faced me. “And if you ask me, Nothing up my Sleeve is the greatest thing ever written. And there’s that one line in it. How does it go? “He loved her as one loved the sun, from afar.” Gosh, gives me chills every time. How did you come up with it?”

Nothing up my Sleeve was a story I had written earlier in the semester. It was about this street magician named Orion who finds out that he’s descended from Pharaohs and he has to keep Anubis from raising an army of the dead. It was a favorite of mine as well. The line she was referring to was about Orion who had fallen in love with his childhood friend Kyla. Sound familiar? “Oh you know,” I said, vaguely, “the words just come to me.”

Obviously, that story is about me and Akilah. There’s even an earlier draft of the story on my online dropbox that still has her name in it. If I’m being honest, any story I’ve written that has a love interest probably has an early draft with Akilah’s name somewhere. Having her name helped me get into the right mindset of how it would feel to love someone. And even though I couldn’t be with the real Akilah, this was good enough.

***

I do not claim to be a genius. That goes without saying, but bears repeating. I had invited Akilah to my online dropbox so we had a place where we could work on our draft together. It was the dropbox where I keep all of my drafts, so I knew it would be easy for us to access. I had not realized the error of my ways even when she approached me after Mr. Lewis’s class and asked, “Hey Joshua, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” I said, still completely unaware. “It’s a nice day. Want to meet on the bleachers in say, 15?”

She nodded and went to go get her things.

When I got to the bleachers 15 minutes later, she was waiting for me with her laptop open on her lap.

I sat next to her and she passed me her laptop without a word. I looked at the screen and it was open to a document. I instantly recognized it as an early draft of one of my short stories for class. Too late, I realized that this was a draft that had Akilah’s name in it. Too late, I realized that I had given Akilah access to my entire drop box. That she could see all of the drafts therein. Oh dear god, why have you forsaken me?

I ventured a look in her direction and she had her head tilted, amused, waiting to see how I was going to talk my way out of this one.

“Akilah. It’s not what you think,” I stammered. “It’s not… it doesn’t mean I have feelings for you or anything.”

“You just use my name as the love interest in everything you’ve written.”

“Yeah.” I shook my head. “I mean, let’s start over.”

She smiled. “Please do.”

“I may have used your name in a couple of my stories.”

She scoffed. “A couple?”

“Okay, a lot of them. And I may have had a little crush on you when we were freshmen, but now… “ I paused. How did I feel about her now?

She scooched closer to me. “And now? How do you feel about me now?” Her eyebrow was raised in question.

“N-now?” I stuttered. She was too close and it made it hard to think clearly.

“It’s a really simple question, Josh. How do you feel? Either you like me or you don’t. Which is it?”

“I…um,” I scooched away, putting distance between us. “I don’t know.” 

She looked out on the open field. “He loved her as he loved the sun, from afar. I wonder if he noticed how lonely that made her feel. No one can feel love that’s too far away to reach.”

It was strange hearing my words said back to me. I never saw how sad they were. “Akilah…”

She looked at me. “What are you afraid of, Joshua?”

“Everything,” I admitted.

Akilah seemed to appreciate the honesty. “I get it. There’s safety in loving from afar. You don’t have to be vulnerable. You won’t get hurt. You won’t get burned. But up close,” and she closed the distance between us and this time I didn’t pull away. “That’s where the magic is. That’s where the living is. It may not work out, but isn’t it worth the risk?”

I took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out just like she taught me all of those years before. We were face to face now with just our breaths between us. My eyes flicked down to her lips. They were so close. Isn’t it worth the risk? I could hear her say.

I didn’t know for sure, but I was about to find out. We kissed and in that kiss was everything I never knew I was missing. Warmth and passion and love. Loving her was like loving the sun. I might get burned if I get too close, but man, it was worth it. 

December 19, 2020 02:51

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

76 comments

Jaden Branch
22:40 Feb 08, 2021

I honestly enjoyed this and I don't even like reading

Reply

Maya Ad Astra
22:58 Feb 08, 2021

That's awesome to hear! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Reply

Show 0 replies
07:37 Aug 30, 2021

Same

Reply

Alexander Pack
13:36 Jan 27, 2022

i love the story.

Reply

Jamari Geddie
14:26 Jan 28, 2022

L

Reply

Camera Man
14:29 Feb 03, 2022

shut the #### up

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
Kara O
20:09 Jan 02, 2021

Your story made me smile. Absolutely, loved it! And the part about having Akilah's name as every love interest really makes sense. Whether it's subconscious or conscious, if you have something to say, your story will be all the more stronger for it. Your internal emotion, whether it's fueled by love, curiosity, or any other human quality gives that extra magic to the words on the page.

Reply

Show 0 replies
The Manticore
04:07 Feb 17, 2021

Myiesha! The Manticore loved this story! We liked the names that you chose for your characters and the metaphor you kept throughout the whole story was impressive, a fresh take on the long told story of someone loving another person from afar. We can't wait to read your other stories. This one deserved every bit of the shortlisting! We bet you'll have a winning story soon. <3

Reply

Show 0 replies
Alejandra Ponce
02:58 Feb 10, 2021

You are amazing at this!! I loved this story. You described perfectly how the main character felt and sketched so perfectly the setting and reaction of the other characters!!! I am looking forward to reading more of your stories!!!

Reply

Maya Ad Astra
19:24 Feb 10, 2021

You are too kind! :-D Thank you so much!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Lucy Burgess
20:51 Dec 23, 2020

love it!

Reply

Maya Ad Astra
22:06 Dec 26, 2020

Thank you! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Mae Osbourn
08:38 Jul 21, 2021

This was so beautiful and exceptionally well written, I love the theme of loving from afar, but realizing the only way to feel the suns warmth is to get close enough you might get burnt, and then drawing on how loving from afar affected the other person was amazing- loved it!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Andrea Magee
14:06 Jul 02, 2021

Excellant!! A very enjoyable read...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Iris Orona
13:13 May 18, 2021

EVERY CHILDHOOD LOVE STORY SHOULD BE LIKE THIS. LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS STORY.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Jaquelin N
18:36 May 03, 2021

I love the phrase, "He loved her as he loved the sun, from afar." This story is truly wonderful and it brought me joy as I read it. The way you described love and compared it to the sun was very creative. Describing heartbreak as, " I might get burned if I get too close," truly paints a vivid picture of a heart break. I love the charter development. In the beginning Joshua was described as a freshman whose only goal in life was to make the junior varsity football team. Over the course of the story we find out he has a soft spot for literatur...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Zae Johnson
15:41 Apr 09, 2021

O.M.G! I started reading this and I was just wondering about the end. Saying to myself "There is no way this story could get any better". It got better!!!! I am in shock about how much I loved this story. I have passed it a couple times when looking for an interesting story, and I finally decided to read it. That is the best decision's I've ever made. Wonderful job!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Sexy Dork
22:35 Dec 15, 2021

Hey Maya, I really liked this story. I am a Voice Actor and I wanted to know if it was okay if I recorded about a minute or 2 of your story for my instagram page? I would of course, let everyone know your name and where they can come to read your story.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Asmaa !
10:35 Nov 19, 2021

I honestly loved every lil bit of this story !!!!! The few interactions between Josh & Akilah .. were soo adorable and cute .. I seriously loved how you compared sun to Love .. and break-up to being burnt Would love to see more of your work :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Zoey Payne
06:38 Jul 21, 2021

This is so cute! I love it!! Really well written!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Bruce Jones
03:42 Jun 29, 2021

Great Story!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Paula Gansky
22:42 May 24, 2021

What a sweet romantic story!! The writing is beautiful. I wonder if I can use it tomorrow. I'm subbing mostly African American 7th & 8th graders, and I'm looking for short stories that they might relate to.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Gisselle Soria
16:09 May 17, 2021

This was a very well-written story. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, I liked the way you stated little details that were said at the start of the story to close it off. I would’ve loved to see one or two of the stories where Joshua wrote more about Akilah. However, it was a really good story!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Sabrina Jenkins
21:09 May 11, 2021

Loved, loved, loved it!!!!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Jay Howard
01:00 May 08, 2021

This had me grinning so much. Such a sweet and lovely story! I really enjoy this style of storytelling and how it all comes together is perfect.

Reply

Show 0 replies
Kaila White
16:13 May 03, 2021

Awesome!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Oscar Rodriguez
16:13 Apr 30, 2021

Great story. Introduced the characters very well so the reader has a good idea of who they are. Like Joshua is dedicated and Akilah is very caring. Very well-written metaphors as well. Like the sun metaphor that starts from the start to the end.

Reply

Show 0 replies
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.