All she ever wanted was to get away, to run away from her detestable situation. Even though Ashia was doing better than most teens her age, she hated her lot in life. She had two loving parents waiting for her at home, two older siblings who were always doing something new, in college, or in their profession, a beloved dog, Missy, and her best friend from school, James; yet she still felt lonely.
Walking down the corridor at school, she was always greeted by empty eyes and muted hellos from people who didn’t really care about her in the slightest, but there was one, standing at the end of the hall; who with his hands on his hips and a huge bright smile on his lips, seemed to be a superhero.
“What’s up Ashia, you’re looking a little down today?” James asked her.
“Nothing, I’m fine” Ashia walked past him.
“Hey,” he grabbed her shoulder, “smile…you look beautiful when you smile, alright?”
Ashia smiled largely, “Shut up, idiot.” They both laughed as they walked to class.
School was largely just a waste of time for Ashia, she excelled at everything she did but her parents wouldn’t let her skip a grade, so she was stuck learning all the things she already knew. One class, however, she became particularly interested in and would often add input and participate in any way possible. Art class, where she was able to explore the creativity in her soul and show it to the world.
James often would wander into the art room to find her deep in concentration over a complicated drawing, painting, pottery, or trying to get a very specific photographic angle where the light would work with her. It was only during these times that she smiled from her soul; usually she had a bad case of resting b**** face, as most teenagers do. Unfortunately Ashia’s parents, loving as they are, have been pushing her to pursue a degree in business or communication due to the job opportunities. “Why would you study art? You are good enough already, study business!”, “Communication is the big degree, there is money in it, think of your future!”, or “What will you have to fall back on if art falls through?” were things Ashia heard nearly daily. With college right around the corner, the final quarter of high school caused tensions to rise every day. Her parents seemed not to notice that she was in fact thinking ahead, she was thinking of what she would be happy doing in the future.
After a particularly stressful dinner with her parents, Ashia slipped out of her window onto the balcony of their Italian villa house and called James, who was there within the hour. When she heard the dirty jazz blasting down her driveway, she knew he was there. She jumped into his 67’ Chevy Impala and they went to the ocean, one of the few places where they could both feel calm. Pescadero’s beaches are some of the most beautiful places in the United States.
“Could we just, like, leave?” Ashia suddenly said.
“Like, roadtrip leave? Or like dead leave?” asked James hesitantly, remembering her past issues.
“Haha, no, neither, like… space leave, fly to a distant planet, set up a house, and live away from all this b-------.”
“Oh, I wish, believe me, I do; however, that isn’t really in the cards right now and you know it.” James replied.
“Yeah I know, but a girl can dream, can’t she?” Ashia joked.
“Yes…well, I supposed it depends on what you are dreaming about doesn’t it?” said James.
James laughed and Ashia suddenly pulled out her camera, “Don’t you dare move, if you do I will kill you.”
“What? What are you doing that for? You know I hate having my picture taken.” James asked, Ashia replied, “I know, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, with you and the huge full moon as a backdrop, and the grey sand-”
“Alright, I get it, just let me see…hey, not bad, not bad at all; I mean, I looked like a scared monkey, but everything else looks great.”
Ashia looked away and then rested her head on his shoulder. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, James said something that she couldn’t quite make out. Ashia slipped into the void of a dreamless sleep and woke up in her living room a couple hours later. Ashia thought, “How did I get here? What happened last night?...Oh right, I was with James and fell asleep, he must have brought me home.” As she attempted to get to her room stealthily, her father walked out from the bathroom, luckily she had just made it to the staircase and the wall made sure that she couldn’t be seen as she raced to her room, and got ready to go to school the next day.
James awoke to a text from Ashia saying, “Ty for being there last night, I really needed someone.”
“Np anytime.”
“Cya at school then,”
“Yea, see ya then” Once they got to school, everything was back to normal. Although people had begun looking at them differently, making situations in which they were always together.
James saw this for what it was, but didn’t want to lose his childhood friend in a breakup, so he always remained the same, the same friend he always was. Of course, Ashia didn’t figure it out the entire time. Eventually the other kids grew bored since they obviously were getting nowhere. If they were ever going to get together, they would in their own time.
And they did, the summer after they graduated high school they ended up going to the same college and saw each other at the orientation. James saw her first, she was wearing a little black dress and wedge heels. “Ashia? Is that you?” James asked.
“James? Is it really you? What are you doing at Base University? I thought you were going to Elite Tertiary Schooling?” Ashia exclaimed.
“I was, but they messed with my scholarship and I decided it wasn’t worth it, so I transferred here instead.” James explained, “By the way, you look really nice.”
“Thanks, you don’t look half bad yourself.”
“Haha, same old I guess…hey, you want to…go out sometime? Like only if you want to, or not, I guess--“ Ashia stopped him, “Of course you big idiot!” Then she hugged him and squeezed, “I’ve been waiting for you to do that for 3 years.”
“I didn’t think you liked me like that…”
“How could I not like you, you make me smile from my heart, you brighten my world…” Ashia said.