7/30/12

Carly
By Mike Berger


She came riding by on her battered bike every day after school. We lived half a block away, so I saw her almost every day. She had long brown hair that fluttered as she rode by. Her big brown eyes were huge and out of place in her skinny face. She was kinda cute in an odd kind of way.

In grade school, we had different home rooms and different lunch periods so our paths rarely crossed. That changed when we went to junior high, we had an English class together. She was now more than cute; she was quite pretty. I sat next to her and we often talked and exchanged notes. She had grown into her big brown eyes, and with her hair cut in a pixie, her eyes looked enormous. Better yet, she was developing lumps where she hadn't had them before.

With hormones coursing through my veins, I wanted to reach out and touch her but was afraid. I would often glance at her, and catch her glancing back. I wondered if she felt the same way I did. The following year, we had separate schedules and I would see her occasionally in the halls. I did have one encounter, once a month, the school held an afternoon dance. I asked her to dance; I wanted to put my cheek on hers but it was against the school rules. I felt a sharp sting when some other guy cut in, but felt great when she wrinkled her nose at me.

I lost track of her in high school as sports took up most of my time. I played football and tried out for track. Being a jock, I didn't want for female attention. I got calls several times a week, but for the most part, I wasn't interested. I earned a place on the track team as a sophomore running the low hurdles. I became
quite obsessed with myself after I won several meets.

My hurdle running earned me a scholarship to the local university. I worked out every day and with a knowledgeable coach, my time soon proved dramatically. As a freshman, I was one of the best in the conference. Carly was the last thing on my mind.

During the summer, I came home. I made special arrangements with the high school to use their track and hurdles. I found a sales job in a sports store in the mall. They
didn't start until 10 o'clock, so getting up early, I could practice for four hours before I went to work. While eating lunch at one of the outdoor tables, I felt a tug on my shoulder. Looking up I stared into her face. That look stole my breath; she was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. She said that she had seen me as she was walking by and wanted to stop to say hi. She explained that she was late for work and had to hurry off. I sat gawking unable to speak. She whirled around and disappeared into the crowd.

Asking the guys about her, they laughed and said take a number and wait in line. At home, I beat up on myself; I acted like a doof. She had come my way and all I could do was stare. The thrashing I gave myself was brutal. While I was verbally whacking
myself in the head, the telephone rang. My heart nearly jumped out of my body, it
was her. She apologized for being so abrupt, but she explained that she had a job in the bookstore and she was running late. Her boss was a jerk. She told me that she had been following my successes in the local newspaper. She wasn't doing anything special and wondered if I would be interested in getting together to catch up. I couldn't believe my ears; this must be a dream. We set a time and place where we would meet the following day there was a little lilt in her voice when she said
goodbye.

Sitting in my beanbag chair, I replayed our conversation in my mind. I took several
deep breaths and called my friend Alex. I asked him if he would bring a scoop shovel
and come to my house and scrape me off the ceiling.


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