Unforeseen Destiny: Theresa and Maheem's Uncertain Quest for Love

*There is no such thing as a free lunch. It’s just an adage that our parents taught us to make sure we don’t expect too much out of this world.*

I remember the day I met her like it was yesterday. She was standing in the middle of the hallway with a note pad, looking at that paper like it held the secrets to all the galaxies in our universe. A beautiful girl who seemed really shy and demure, but at the same time, had this presence about her that told you she was different from others. Maybe it was her hair. Maybe it was her nose piercing or maybe she was just a moody teenager that got into fights over nothing.

Whatever it was, I wanted to know more about her and be her friend, but I didn’t have the courage to do so, at least not then. So, I just stood there and watched her until she walked away from me in that very hallway.

*The next day, I went to school early to talk to her before first period began.*

Ms. Mitchell was passing by and called on me for the answer of a question from yesterday’s Science class when I asked: “Excuse me Ms. Mitchell, but could you point me towards Theresa?” I pointed towards Theresa who was sitting in the corner alone with what seemed like a piece of paper and a pen in hand while others were chatting around her. Ms. Mitchell gave a confused look and said:

“What do you want with Theresa?” “Is something wrong?”

I felt embarrassed for asking such as simple request when Ms. Mitchell gave me this puzzled look as if I asked for more than what she thought I wanted from Theresa. But I mustered up my courage and replied: “No ma’am! It is not anything bad! It’s just that she seems lost and wants someone to talk to since she doesn’t have any friends here yet!” There were some giggles among some of my classmates listening to our conversation when Ms. Mitchell said:

“Well, why didn’t you say so? In fact, why did you ask for Theresa instead of talking directly to her?” Before I could respond Ms. Mitchell walked back towards Theresa and told her: “Theresa! This kid wants to talk to you since he says you are lonely without any friends here! So why don’t you go ahead and talk to him?! He said he wants to be your friend! Go ahead kids! Make friends with each other!” As she left us alone together Ms. Mitchell was saying: “I think you should follow his lead Theresa! That way neither of you would feel lonely anymore!! Good luck kids!! *Hahaha* You will need it!! *LOL* *LOL* *LOL* *LOL*!!!” Then she laughed as if we had some contagious disease that can only be cured by loud laughter every time your face turned red from embarrassment. *That old lady is weird.*

I walked up towards Theresa who stayed seated on that chair with what seemed like a blank stare on her face looking at nothing but air in front of her while writing something down on that piece of paper on her lap.*Why is she writing down things like this? It must be something important since she is so focused on whatever she is doing.* I thought as I stood next to her desk waiting for her response until she looked up at me said:

“Hi! What do you want? Can we please get this over with? This isn't my idea of fun right now so if you want to talk then let's get this over with before the bell rings because otherwise we will both be late for class today!! That would be horrible because we both don't want everyone else besides us thinking we are dumb enough to get caught playing hooky in class not even 10 minutes after school has started!! Do we!? So let's get going already!! We don't have all day!! Let's go!! Let's go!! Let's GO!!! Wait... Where are you going? Are you leaving already?? Wait!!!! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE HERE!!! PLEASE!!! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE ALONE FOR THE NEXT HOUR THAT WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR CLASS TO START!!! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE WITH THESE OLD BABES WHO ARE CHATTING LIKE THEY ARE AT A TEA PARTY SESSION AND NOT IN SCHOOL!!! PLEASE!!! STAY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU SAID YOU WERE MY FRIEND SO WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME ALONE HERE??? IT ISN'T FAIR!!! YOU SAID YOU WOULD BE MY FRIEND BUT NOW YOU ARE LEAVING ME ALL ALONE IN THIS ROOM WITH THESE PEOPLE WHOSE ONLY THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT MONEY AND HOW TO MAKE MORE OF IT BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY EVEN IF IT MEANS GETTING OTHER PEOPLE KILLED OR MAKING ANOTHER PERSON SUFFER IN THIS WORLD OR DYING FROM A BAD HEART ATTACK BECAUSE WE ARE ALL JUST FLESH AND BLOOD AND NOTHING MORE THAN ANIMALS WITHOUT CONSCIENCE TALKING NON STOP ABOUT THEIR WHINY LIVES WHEN SOMETIMES PEOPLE LIKE ME WOULD RATHER DIE ALREADY AND END OUR LIVES BY OUR OWN HANDS SO WE CAN FIND PEACE IN THE NEXT WORLD WHERE THERE IS NO SUFFERING TOO!!! WHY ARE YOU LEAVING ME ALONE AFTER SAYING THAT YOU WANTED TO BE MY FRIEND??? WHY?? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?? WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT EVEN MY FAULT?? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS??? WHY??? WHY???????????????"