Hannah
Torchio
Mr.
Schwager
AP English
405
10
March 2014
CWP: Quarter 3 - It’s Love
Perplexed, Emma looked up from what
had brought her so much joy, so much laughter, and so much comfort in the past
two weeks. Her cheeks became wet with tears, and she shook her head, and put
her cell phone down. She discovered what she was holding onto wasn’t only her
mode of communication but it was also the relationship she held so dear. Cell
phones, she learned, could really connect two people, especially when the two people
have unlimited text plans, like she and Ben did. A relationship that starts
with the touching of the screen, could surely end with the absence of these
touches. And it did. This is what made Emma cry, while feeling betrayed and
quite bewildered. They had such a strong connection, she thought. They both had
3G. But when she puts the joking aside, she really did wonder what could have
gone wrong. They texted each other almost every minute, and he would always say
sorry if he didn’t text back within a ten minute time span.
“He’s just so cute. The other day, I
asked him if he could be anywhere in the entire universe, where it would be,
and he said with me. How crazy is that? If he could be anywhere! I couldn’t
believe it. I couldn’t stop going back to look at that text. He always knows
how to make me smile.” Emma giggled as she told Allison, her best friend.
“Wow. What a guy.” Allison casually
looked out the window as Emma talked to hear ear.
“ He is so intelligent, too! How can
somebody so cute be so smart at the same time? It’s like, impossible, isn’t it?
Well, I thought so, too, before I met Ben. He told me the other day that he got
an A on his Physics test. He also sometimes helps me with my homework, like,
one time he texted me the answers to a human anatomy diagram. I can’t believe
that Marissa and Jared actually have to talk on the phone to discuss their
homework. Maybe they need to learn from us, ya know? I just can’t believe how
amazing Ben is. I really can’t. On Valentines day, he sent me an emoji of a
heart with an arrow through it. I texted him a row of hearts after that,
because, how much more thoughtful could he have been, right? I do feel bad,
though, because sometimes I fall asleep on him.” She exhaled, as she picked up
her phone to text Ben back.
Emma never wanted to make Allison
jealous of their relationship, but at times, it seemed as if Allison was getting
a bit jealous of their obvious chemistry and lasting relationship.
“ Emma, if he says he’d be with you
over anywhere in the world, why doesn’t he ever hang out with you? You guys
just text all the time. You don’t even talk at school. Don’t you think that’s a
little strange?” There Allison goes again, Emma thought, she is so jealous.
“Do you even hear yourself right
now? We’re in love, Allison. Can you just be a good friend and tell me how
wonderful he is? Oh my gosh.. when he first told me he loved me -”
“ Since when have you loved him? Was
this before or after your first date?” Allison was no longer looking idly out
the window.
“ Oh, you know we haven’t been on a
date yet! But, I know him so well. We each ask each other questions, and so
basically, I know everything I could know about him. So naturally, I love him.
What’s not to love? When he said he loved me, he put two hearts next to it. Two
hearts! Two is always better than one, don’t you think? And three is probably
over doing it. Oh, it was just so sweet. I can’t believe he would
love me!”
In the morning, Emma woke up and
instantly went to her messages on her cell phone. She was going to wait for him
to text her first, but just couldn’t wait any longer. Usually he texts her at
6:56 but it was already 6:58 so she sent him a text that read “Good morning,
can’t believe you overslept!” A text from him always gets her day started in
the best way she can imagine. As Emma arrives at school, she sees him with his
friends. As she gets closer, her head starts racing. What can she say? There
must be something to say.
“ Hi Ben!” She smiles and waves.
He
smiles back.
“Hey Emma.”
“Well,”
she thinks to herself, “that was nice. I guess I’ll keep walking. Maybe he will
text me at break.”
At break, she looks over at him, and
sees him looking at his phone, but why isn’t he texting her? She can see him,
standing there, and he isn’t texting her. He was just across the cafe, almost
close enough to see the screen of his phone, but he wasn’t texting her. She begins
to worry. If he loves her so much, she thinks, why isn’t he going to text her?
This, Emma feels, is the most absurd situation.
“How do you know he isn’t texting
other girls at the same time?” Allison asked Emma one day in the middle of
psychology class.
“ Are you serious? Because he loves
me. He put two hearts next to it, I thought I told you that already. Two
hearts, Allison. Two. Geeze.” Emma rolled her eyes and turned her attention
back to the board.
But now, Emma is sitting there, back
in reality, having put her phone down, she tries to think about something else.
Two weeks ago, Ben wasn’t a part of her life. What was life like back then?
Before the long conversations about what they were doing at the moment, or the
back and forth questioning about their favorite colors; she couldn’t remember.
She just knew it was disappearing before her very eyes. One hundred and
thirteen minutes had gone by. She put her face in her hands, and began to weep.
*Ding*
Her
face lit up as she went to respond to her text. In his apology, there were
three hearts. Three. Emma knew he must have really meant it.
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