Chance of a Life Time

She:

His eyes. Glisten when the sun hits. Beautiful, long eyelashes that frame his big, hazel eyes. His hair. Curly and light brown. Bounces ever so graciously every time he runs in track and field practice. His face. So silky smooth, marked with perfectly rounded freckles. His body. With the touch of it, I would be sent straight to Heaven. He's an angel. A work of art no one is worthy of understanding. A creation, so extraordinary that I can't bear to explore. Then there's me. Always in the background, hiding. Never gets noticed because I'm just plain. Nothing sticks out. Not even my chest. My height is below average. My weight is in between curvy and thin. My hair is short, frizzy, and wild. My eyes plain and brown. I'm just weird. A mixed-breed. African from my mother and Hispanic from my father. I probably stick out to the others that have freshly manicured nails and straightened, shiny blonde hair. Walking around the halls of Plymouth High School Prep like they're walking on a catwalk. They look at me like I'm some lower-class mutt. Little do they all know I live in the same type of big, shiny, modern ranch house that they live in. I'm not a snob. I don't brag about what I have to show. I'm not some other rich, daddy's girl. I can never compare and that's why my mother says I'm special and why my father says any guy would be so lucky to have me as theirs. What he doesn't know is that I already have my eyes on someone. The most gorgeous human alive... Percy McCallen. He would never go out with me. Why would he? He has half the school drooling all over him. They want him as some handsome trophy they can brag to their friends about. Not me. Percy is much more than his looks. Don't get me wrong, he's hot, but he's far more than that. Far more than what the others see him as. He's smart. He studies his butt off for his exams. Scrunches his little nose when he's frustrated and doesn't know the answer to a question. He begs to be taken seriously when the other teammates think of him as the coach's pet. He waits until everyone leaves, after practice, so he can walk home because his father is working late shifts and can't pick him up. He's different. Under his perfection he has to show everyone. He's even on scholarship, but no one would know that. No one would know any of this... except me. I study him. I see his true self. The true Percy McCallen.

He:

Her eyes. Plain, but filled with wonder. Her hair is short and curly. It frizzes up when it's humid out. When running, she ties it up when it gets in her face. Her body's tiny, but still takes some space. Always to herself, but I can tell she has so much to spill out. I can tell she has no friends. All the other girls pass by her with mean stares. As soon as they see me, they wave and smile, with their perfectly made teeth. Even though a bunch of them are mean to her, she secretly tutors them. Not spilling the truth that they actually want to get into, some overpriced, college. She studies in the corner of the Learning Commons, by herself. Focused so hard on making every question right. She sits in the back of the class. Every time the teachers ask a question her hand is raised low. Knowing the answer, but not wanting the others to stare at her when she says it. Her parents always hug and kiss her, after dropping her off in the loop. She's so lucky to be able to have parents who love and support her when I just have a dad that always tells me "Don't fail me, son. Everything's on the line". She runs fast. Faster than the others, but stays in place so no one can see. I want to run beside her. Motivate her and tell her to not care who's watching. I want to cheer her on every time she gets an answer right at the Math Maniac Contests. The smartest, kindest, prettiest girl in our school... Ayana Johnson. She doesn't care about what she wears. She doesn't care if the others think she's some poor girl on scholarship. She's just like us. Actually, she's better than us. She doesn't flaunt how much money she has or how her mother is a lawyer and how her father is a doctor. I study her. I see her true self. Ayana. Meaning "beautiful flower". That's exactly what she is.

Others:

"There he is! The Junior Track and Field Meter Run superstar, Percy McCallen! He's on his last lap with a time of 10:04!" the speaker overhead the bleacher's shout. "Go, Percy! Go!" the crowd screams.

He:

I run as fast as I can. Searching through the runners, from different school districts, for one specific person. This is the last Track and Field Meter Run Championship Race, until next year. Our team is doing very well, especially with me in first, so far. Austin Tuskin is only a few feet away. I try to run, run as fast as my long legs can take me. Our school has never done a big race like this. 3,000 meters is a lot. We've been practicing for so long to get to where we are now. We can't blow this now.

She:

This is it! This is where I'm going to show who I am. To show the school who I am. To show them how fast I can run. To show Percy that I've been following his lead. How I'm going to win in the top 3, for him. I run and run and run. Running, keeping my head down. Passing feet. I run and run and then... Boom!

Us:

Hands under my hands. Sweat under my sweat. Heavy breathing under my heavy breathing. I open my eyes. There he is. There she is. The person I've been dreaming of. That I studied. That I had feelings for all this time. The person I want to tell everything to. Percy. Ayana.

I pull off of him. She pulls off of me. Head racing. People talking in the back. All I can see is Percy. All I can see is Ayana. His eyes staring back at me, for once in his life. Her eyes finally looking up and not hiding her beauty. I want to brush his curly, sweaty hair out of his eyes. I want to take that silly hair tie out of her hair. I want to tell him my name and how the meaning doesn't match who I am. To tell her how my life isn't what it seems. To tell him... To tell her...

"I love you."