book excerpt
....A cool air preserved by thick walls hit me at the right time; I was sweating profusely from the last minute run from home. Almost late, I was jumping three stairs at once. Upon climbing onto the 3rd floor where my first class for the day was, I stopped abruptly. There he was, leaned on the wide, square, dull-green pole. He seemed shy, a bit more than someone who would show up among a new group of people for the first time. To the right of him was the washroom. Regardless of the sign indicating it was for men, we students made it ‘for all sexes’, since many of us, male and female, were cramming in it on a regular basis, to smoke. Now the muffled voices could be heard coming from it and a distant scent of a cigarette smoke was in the air. This daily activity made us feel a little bit more grown up.
In that moment though, none of that counted. If someone had asked me later who was around me, I wouldn’t have remembered. The only thing that mattered was him; and his smile. Not just the smile, but the smile that was sent to me. It made me feel like melting on the inside. He had a wavy brown hair, hazel eyes and beautiful, sparkling white teeth. He wore a cool sweater and jeans, nice brown shoes. The thunder bolt just hit me.
Perfect! What a gorgeous guy. Wow, he is smiling at me. Oh my god, he is beautiful. Let’s get to know him.
His name was Allen. He showed up now, in the 11th grade. His last place of living was in Japan where his dad was representing a company he worked for, he told me while we waited for a teacher who was late, as usual.
Few minutes later we were in the classroom and the head teacher introduced him. By this time we already became friends. Yes, my life became beautiful. Within days I kicked out my old class mate from the school bench. I did it smoothly, not to offend him, and then Allen moved in. The best time ever was sitting at the desk with him, our legs “accidentally†touching and leaning at one another. I felt thrilled every time our knees touched each other and stayed in that position for minutes, obviously deliberately not being moved apart. I anticipated even better future. Soon we started to share most of our days together and spent virtually all school and free time together, on the phone or just hanging out.
This is amazing! Finally there is a man who genuinely likes me. Finally someone I can talk to just about everything. And he listens to me and pays attention to me.
“Hey Sinisha, how about coming to my place tomorrow? Let’s finish that geography homework together. I definitely don’t have a clue what that guy wants from us,†Allen asked on the phone.
Wow, this is going to be great. I have a feeling that this visit to his place won’t be about the homework only. I will get my hands on him and hopefully even start the relationship; finally.
I paced fast from room to room, not noticing anything around. I envisioned us being together. I beamed.
Allen lived in suburbs, so it took me a good 45 minute bus ride to come to his little town. The bus was flying left and right over the old, narrow streets that were designed for one lane only, but as with everything in a new-born country of Croatia, improvisation was the norm and rules were there to be bent in an always original way.
After stepping off the bus, I walked another five minutes through the town. “Town†would be actually exaggerating. This was a village, plain and simple. A dog started at me as if on a paid mission to detach my body into parts, only to be violently stopped by the chain that wouldn’t give in. I growled back and moved on towards Allen’s house. The newly opened shop was there. After the fall of communism and Yugoslavia, little shops filled with every possible home product were popping up everywhere. The country was hungry for so many things. So far we were buying them in Italy on a regular basis.
His house, finally. My heart jumped.
“Hey, there you are,†he welcomed me with a broad smile. “C’mon up,†he waived his hand from a second floor veranda.
His house was a typical Mediterranean, with many long balconies on both floors. In front of the house were a garage and a yard. Behind the house there was a big estate, with a vegetable garden, lots or rose bushes and oleander trees scattered everywhere and the long orchard that spread further down the valley. I noticed the abundantly pink oleander flowers.
Maybe the two of us will make love in the orchard.
I entered the apartment. The long brown-walled hallway was broken up with few white doors leading to the kitchen and the living room, the bathroom and the master bedroom. At the far end of the hall was his room, he pointed out. I stepped into the kitchen area. Long curtains hanged from top to bottom of the window and the balcony door. He was alone. He told me his parents went somewhere.
I hope they won’t come back too soon. I crossed my fingers. Outside was cloudy and the living room was cosy.
“You want a drink?â€
“Sure, what have you got?†We are adults, after all.
“Gin, rum, whiskey, beer, you name it,†Allen was scanning the inside of a bar. His dad was rather rich and travelled all over the world and they got a good collection of booze.
“Give me a whiskey,†I said in a high pitched voice. And c’mon, would you finally come over here, man? I was on the edge; I glanced at him....
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