Eveliss Rose watched the unidentifiable bird slice through the air, against the mesmerizing blue backdrop that was the sky. She recalled a time when her second grade teacher had called upon the class, asking them what animal they most wanted to be like. The majority of her classmates had said trivial things, like cats, dogs and horses. Eveliss had wanted to be like a bird, and her explanation was that I wanted to fly. To get away from this life and onto something new and exciting.
Her teacher sent a note home with her that night, suggesting to her parents look into getting some form of help for me. In retrospect, Eveliss saw no reason why she shouldn’t recommend such a thing: she was only eight, after all, and was making bizarre statements that usually only come out of the mouth of a suicidal teenager or someone in their forties that’s going through a midlife crisis.
Eveliss’s mother had insisted that she was completely sane, and that her imagination was simply more advanced than the other kids. That she understood more about life.
Perhaps that was true, but Eveliss never forgot that day, and never ceased to wonder if she was different. Or weird.
Now, as a slender but strong sixteen year old with insightful violet eyes and a hunger for adventure, Eveliss had had more than her fair share of encounters with other kids who thought she was a little odd. She said things that were beyond a sixteen year olds knowledge. Acted more like an adult than a teenager. Sometimes, on the weekends when she’d finished her homework, she would lay outside, on the large patch of grass in her backyard.
Today there was not a cloud in the sky as far as the eye could see. This was Eveliss’s favourite kind of day- a day where the only thing between her and that perfect world somewhere far away was her inability to fly. Seeing that bird soar off into the distance was a heavy reminder that she was only human. Her problems could not possibly disappear, even if she could take off into the sky and never return.
Eveliss had never really had a reason to hate her life. Up until a week ago, she honestly didn’t have any reason to want to escape other than for the purpose of seeing new and exhilarating things. Now though, after the dance, and he sauntered into her life and made everything confusing, she wanted to leave because she couldn’t bear to look back.
The events happened very fast, in Eveliss’s mind, and truly out of the blue. It had started at school on Monday, during fourth period English. She had been listening so intently to the teacher’s lecture that she almost didn’t hear someone whisper her name.
*
“Eveliss.”
Her head shot to her left, where Noah Sturgeon, an obnoxious jock with a talent of making everyone in the same room feel superior to him, was looking straight at her. In place of his usual smirk that Eveliss was accustomed to was a somewhat nervous looking smile.
“Eveliss, do you want to come to Homecoming with me?”
Still staring into his azure eyes, Eveliss became a stone. At first she thought maybe she’d heard him wrong. However there was nothing else he could’ve said that would’ve made sense.
Eveliss took in his entire being- his broad shoulders, his neatly styled blond hair and of course, those infamous blue eyes that melted the hearts of almost every female in the school.
This raised the question: Why was he asking her? Of all the girls at their school, why Eveliss Rose, a girl with no life outside of school, no true friends, and no ranking on the social ladder? A boy had never had never made a point of letting her know they were interested in her, so how come Noah had sprung to such a proposal, and in the chaos of a full English classroom?
She could see it though. In the midst of his extremely play-it-cool stature, she could see something in his eyes that she hadn’t noticed before. Humility? Honesty?
Whatever it was, Eveliss couldn’t put a name to it. So instead of questioning his motives, she simply unfroze herself, cracked a small smile, and whispered “Yes.”
Quickly, Eveliss turned from invisible to the main source of gossip. Girls she didn’t know where being nice to her, making offers to hang out after school or eat with her at lunch. Even guys- purely jock and otherwise- had started giving her the time of day. Eveliss wasn’t used to this kind of attention, or any form of attention for that matter. The following days after Noah had asked her to the Homecoming dance, Eveliss had become a somebody.
She hated it. Every stare, every word whispered about her- good and bad alike- triggered a form of anger inside of her. She didn’t appreciate that nobody had wanted to be her friend from the time she was a child up until this point. She didn’t like the superficiality of her peers, and how just because she had been noticed by Noah Sturgeon, a big time basketball star with a reputation and quite an extensive dating history, she was suddenly a decent person to admire or befriend.
The only upside in all of this was that in English, Noah had stolen her full attention. He was constantly smiling at her or sending cheesy notes to her saying things like I can’t wait for Friday. It saddened her to think his opinion of her had formed in such a short amount of time. Instead of feeling glad, she felt remorse.
On Friday, the day of the dance, Eveliss decided to call the whole thing off. It felt wrong- fake. She wanted to become Cinderella again, and return to her simple life of dullness instead of going to the ball with the prince. So after his basketball practice, Eveliss confronted Noah outside of the boys’ locker room.
“Hey,” Noah had smiled, his gym bag swung over his shoulder and a thin layer of sweat forming on his brow. A flutter ran through Eveliss’s spine. Noah was good looking, and now that she was starting to get to know him, he did seem genuinely sweet.
Maybe she could just go to the dance, and enjoy her night with him before going back to normal- besides, she already had a dress and everything. It would be a waste not to go.
Then a voice in the back of her head told her that it was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And she knew it was true. She couldn’t play make believe.
“I can’t go to the dance with you.” Eveliss said as calmly as she could manage.
Noah looked shocked. “But, why not?” He set his bag down and crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation.
“I-I,” Eveliss tried to remember what she had been going to say, but it took her a moment to focus, simply because Noah’s blue eyes were quite distracting. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. We’re from two completely different worlds, Noah.”
He frowned. “You’re exaggerating, Eveliss. I asked you because I want to get to know you. I-"
Suddenly, something in her burst out of its hiding place and came out into the open. “What? What, Noah? You’ve dated all of these pretty, popular girls all your high school life, so why me? I can’t offer you anything they haven’t already.”
He placed his hands on either of my shoulders. “I like you, Eveliss. Not any of those girls, ok? So please, will you just try to remember that tonight? For my sake? I’ve really been looking forward to going with you.”
Eveliss struggled with her words. “Well, ok. I guess.”
Noah broke into a breathtaking smile. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
She nodded and then turned and walked away from him. The only left to do was prepare for the dance. An event that
Eveliss had been looking forward to and yet dreading all week long.
Her mom helped her curl her long dark hair. When she was done, her hair looked stunning- it was such a dark brown that it almost looked black.
She waited in her bedroom until seven, at which point her doorbell rang and her parents answered the door. She came down the stairs right on cue, and Noah looked up from the doorway. His mouth dropped in awe.
“You look beautiful,” Noah said once they’d exchanged pleasant words with her parents and escaped to his black jeep parked at the end of her driveway.
“Thanks,” Eveliss smiled, staring down at her royal blue dress. She rarely wore dresses- weddings and funerals were the usual occasions. Tonight though, she felt like a princess. And Noah certainly looked like a prince.
The school gym was lit up unlike Eveliss had ever seen. The music was much too loud, but in a good and exciting way, and the entire place was filled up with dancing students. Before she even had time to take it all in, Noah grabbed her hand and spun her around, pulling her in to him and holding her close.
Eveliss had never danced with a boy like this. She’d never dreamed of it, because its unlikelihood was somewhat depressing. She smiled as he chattered on about things to do with school and basketball, and clung onto every moment that he held onto her. His hands were gentle and his voice low enough for only her to hear.
At one point during a slow dance, Eveliss looked away from Noah’s eyes to a crowd standing over by the punch bowl. She recognized the guys to be some of Noah’s friends. They were all laughing, talking amongst themselves. Noah used to remind her of them, because before Noah had proved himself to be a nice guy; he’d been just like them. Obnoxious and arrogant. She wondered if they were all hiding behind the jock masks to hide their sweet side, like Noah had.
“Excuse me,” Noah loosened his grip on her. “I need to use the men’s room.” He smiled at her before disappearing into the crowd. She was left alone in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by couples who paid no attention to her. Finally, she was no longer the source of the school’s gossip. It felt like such a relief.
“Eveliss Rose!” She heard their voices approach her. She spun around, trying to pinpoint who was talking to her, even though she already knew. Emerging from the crowd was Noah’s group of friends. They were wearing those horrible smirks and all holding a drink in their hands- probably spiked with something, because they didn’t look completely stable.
“Hey Eveliss, where’s your date? Did he ditch you yet?”
At first she thought they were only teasing- they teased everybody about something. Before this week, though, they’d hardly bothered her.
“Bet she doesn’t know.” One of them said with a big goofy grin.
“Know what?” She heard herself say.
“Know about the dare.”
Something inside of Eveliss shut down. Dare? Dare? She had been asked out on a dare? She couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t believe it.
“Aw, it’s ok Eveliss- you don’t need to cry!” They all burst into a roar of laughter.
She quickly wiped away any evidence that she’d been crying and turned away from them, walking towards the exit. She’d call her mom to pick her up, or she’d walk home- either way, she couldn’t face Noah now, knowing that this could all be an act. A dare.
“Eveliss!” A voice called her once she was outside. Although she kept walking, Noah caught up to her because she was wearing heels that were considerably awkward to walk fast in. He blocked her path, and looked at her with concern.
“Eveliss, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I-I,” She cleared her throat. “I’m tired. I’m just going to go home. Thanks for everything.”
“Whoa, whoa, at least let me give you a ride home.” He led her towards his car.
The first few minutes were silent. Noah kept looking at Eveliss, trying to decipher her expression and what it all meant, but he was beyond confused. “What happened, Eveliss?” He asked quietly.
She wouldn’t speak. She didn’t trust her voice, afraid she might start to cry.
Finally he turned into her driveway. It wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet. Her parents probably weren’t expecting her this early. She started to open the door, but Noah reached out for her hand. She stared at him, surprised.
“Eveliss, you need to talk to me. I thought you were having a good time.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I was.” She said quietly. “Until your friends showed up.”
His face grew pale. “What did they say to you?”
“That you asked me out on a dare.” Her voice broke, and she looked away.
Noah made a strange noise that almost sounded like a wince. “They’re jerks, Eveliss. You shouldn’t listen to them.”
“Is it true?” Eveliss snapped.
“No, of course not.”
Eveliss didn’t believe him anymore. “Whatever, Noah. I knew this was a big mistake.” She hurried out of the car and towards her house. She heard him not far behind.
“Eveliss, it wasn’t-“
“Leave me alone!” She said before slamming her front door.
She changed out of her dress and climbed into bed, where she cried herself to sleep.
*
Eveliss had almost drifted off when she heard the quiet footsteps in the grass, nearing where she lay. She opened her eyes, and stared up at the sky, where she’d seen the bird a few short moments ago. How she wished she were that bird...
“Eveliss?”
It was Noah. She’s known this as soon as she heard the footsteps, but her heart still gave a jolt when he spoke her name.
She saw him sit next to her from the corner of her eye.
“What are you doing here?” She asked flatly. She thought she’d made it pretty clear that she didn’t want to see him again. Yet, here he was on this autumn morning after the Homecoming dance, sitting next to her in her backyard. Something seemed off about the picture.
“I wanted to talk to you about last night.”
Eveliss tried to block out the memories. But she remembered the look on Noah’s face when he’d seen her in her dress, and how he held her when they danced, and then... the jocks. And then dare.
“There’s nothing to talk about. The fun is over.” Eveliss said, rolling onto her stomach and burying her face in the grass.
“You have to believe me. I asked you out because I really like you.”
Eveliss fought back a hysteric laugh. “I don’t understand why.”
“Because you’re so beautiful, Eveliss. And you’re so clever, you know? In the second grade, you said you wanted to be a bird.”
Eveliss’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”
“You wanted to be a bird.” Noah’s blue eyes burned into hers. “You wanted to fly away and escape from life.”
She had nearly forgotten that Noah had been in her classes throughout grade school. This, however, was shocking. She thought she’d been the only one who’d played that day over in their head. It appeared that she was mistaken.
Noah moved to imitate Eveliss’s position on the grass. He lifted a hand to play with Eveliss’s hair. “I do really like you. There was no dare.”
Then, Noah leaned forward and kissed Eveliss’s lips, and knotted his fingers into her curly hair. At first, Eveliss was frozen, and then she realized that Noah was kissing her. She laughed, and Noah broke away from her. “What’s so funny?”
“I don’t know, exactly.” She said, smiling. She rolled back onto her back and stared up at the sky. The shade matched Noah’s eyes.
“But you know what? I think that if I could fly to somewhere far away, I’d take you with me.”
Noah intertwined their fingers, and they watched as a flock of birds in the shape of a ‘V’ flew off into the distance.
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