The Reunion--Pooja

 I sat with jitters that overwhelmed my stomach. The same jitters I got on our first date. Every date, I got more anxious and it became obvious as I fiddled with my fingers and tapped my roller skates on the musty carpet. This was going to be our fifth date but to me it still felt like the first. 

As I tapped my skates in a rhythmic pattern, I heard my name get called, “Hey Laura!”. 

I looked up and saw the same boy that gave me those jitters. His luscious black hair and chocolate brown eyes. I don’t think I could ever forget those eyes. Those eyes were what caught my attention on the first day of freshman orientation. 

He stood me up and I fumbled around, trying my best to keep balance. I definitely did not want to embarrass myself in front of him or the twenty people skating around. The 80’s music was playing and disco lights began to slowly shine on the people skating. 

He grabbed my hand and told me, “Don’t worry, I got you.”

This boy definitely knew how to make my heart jump. 

We began skating and the light, from time to time, would shine on us. In that moment, it felt like we were perfect and nothing mattered around us. His smile would warm my heart and I would get blinded by his chocolate brown eyes. He would make me laugh and make me forget all my problems. He made that night unforgettable and I thought he was the one. 

But now, he was becoming a faint memory. 

I got up from my blue rocking chair and put my baby in the crib as it slept. I looked at my phone to take a break and opened up Facebook. Many of my highschool classmates disappeared or disconnected, thankfully, my best friend still stayed in contact and helped with my child. As I scrolled through the posts, I stumbled onto my old highschool page. It’s a miracle that it still existed. I saw our class picture, football videos, and anything yearbook got a shot of. It was funny seeing the trends from low waisted jeans to sky high ponytails. I laughed for a good minute until I saw a notification go off about a reunion. I clicked on the post for more information and it turned out that the class of ‘04 was having a reunion. I became excited as I reminisced through the old posts and missed my old friends. I wanted to catch up with them and have fun like old times. 

I clicked on the given link to RSVP for next Sunday. However, my excitement died down when my baby started crying. I went to go make her a bottle while I thought about the reunion. The week was tough to get through as I was super excited for Sunday. But as a single working mom, the week was super busy and hectic which kept me distracted. 

I chose a semi-length black dress with flower accents on the shoulder and wore black wedges to give my motherly feet some rest. I tied my hair into a ponytail to show off my collarbone and diamond necklace. I dropped my baby off at my mother’s house and I was ready to have fun tonight. As a mother, I deserved some alone time and the reunion was the only thing keeping me alive throughout the past week. 

The reunion was held in a ballroom in downtown Los Angeles. The theme colors were black, white, and gold, the colors of our highschool. 

I opened the gold doors to a huge ballroom filled with about three hundred people. But before I could look at everyone with a closer eye, I was grasped into a tight hug. It was my best friend, also my baby’s godmother. We found a table to sit at and I began looking at everyone on the other tables. Everyone changed so much, from hair color to facial features. I spotted the popular girl from a table over and she had completely changed. She used to have blonde hair and blue eyes but now, she has brunette hair with green contacts. Nonetheless, she was very pretty. She was also the woman engaged to the boy who I thought was the one, according to my best friend. It wasn’t surprising though, she was pretty and successful and he was, well, perfect. 

I looked behind her and there he was, standing with one hand in his pocket and the other around his fiancee. They looked like an amazing, untouchable couple and it made sense why we didn’t work out. We definitely did not look like that when we were together. 

As I stupidly stared into his brown eyes, we made eye contact and he began walking over to my table. I began panicking but realized that we ended our relationship as friends and there was no need to freak out. I took a deep breath and stood up from my seat to meet his eye level. He came up to me and gave me a tight hug. It took me by surprise but I missed him. He let go and we catched up, from my new baby to his upcoming marriage. The more we talked, the more I was reminded of why I liked him so much. However, he was engaged and I had to be happy for him. 

After our long talk, we hugged once more and he returned to his fiancee. The night went by fast, from me taking glimpses at the perfect couple to watching my best friend flirt with the single former football players. 

It was close to midnight and everyone started their goodbyes. I told all my goodbyes and gave all my hugs. I headed for my car when suddenly, I was stopped by the shoulder. It was the boy that once gave me the jitters. He gave me a piece of paper with his number and left with a sly smile. 

 It was at that moment, when I realized that he wasn’t the perfect one.