This is a regular column featuring original poetry and fiction by and for teens, provided by Figment, the online community writing site for young readers and writers.
By Ansley Nicole
Dear Jason,
There’s really nothing I can say to you now, not after this summer. Not after all that’s happened, but that’s not the point. The point is, Jason, this summer is all it took to break me, to break me up and tear me down, and it all happened because of you.
Did you really think that you could change me? I bet you did, but news flash: you were wrong. Nothing can change me, I am me and will not change for anybody, not even you. My summer boy. Ha. It sounds stupid now. During the summer those words sounded like an enchantment. My sweet, sweet summer boy. Little did I know you weren’t all mine.
We’re not going to start there though. We’re going to start at the beginning. I remember, Jason, the first day I saw you. You were in Starbucks drinking a frappe when you looked up and caught me staring. You smiled. Why did you think I was staring? Was it because every girl stares at you? Or was it that I thought you were weird, sitting in Starbucks alone? Nobody sits in Starbucks alone, not in this town anyway, but you just sat there staring at the bottom of your coffee cup stirring it with a straw.
I was staring. I admit it. But, why was I staring? It wasn’t because of anything you thought. It was because of the way you were staring at your coffee cup. You were so focused; it was like there was a whole other world at the bottom of that cup. I know that I had just seen you for the first time but, I got this undeniable urge: I got the urge that I wanted to be the one you looked at like that, not a useless, recyclable paper cup.
Your looks were astonishing. Your hair framed your face perfectly. It was the prettiest brown I had ever seen, almost as pretty as your eyes. No, Jason, not pretty, beautiful. Everything about you was beautiful. Of course, you had flaws but that just added onto everything. I was mesmerized. You were on the skinny side, but have enough baby fat to be considered normal. And those arms? I wanted to be held in those arms. I wanted to be held for hours on end. I wanted to be held for forever just by you. But now, Jason? Your arms sicken me almost as much as the person I found in them.
There are other things, Jason, other things I have to clarify. You were everything I wanted, everything I needed, everything I hoped to find that summer. So I walked over to you.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” you said and smiled. That smile up close could drive someone crazy.
“I bet you’re wondering why I was staring,” I said.
“Nah, not really,” you said and laughed.
“Oh,” and I laughed too.
“Do you wanna sit?” you asked.
“Sure.” So, I smiled and I sat, not knowing what I was getting myself into.
Every day after that I kept going to Starbucks to see if you would ever come back. You didn't. One day though, I almost decided to give up when you came waltzing in. You looked right at me and smiled like you knew I'd been waiting on you to come back. Like, you knew. You were always like that. You always knew everything about what went on with me. I wasn't the same way, though. I barely knew anything about your life outside of me. Which is why I didn't know about the other girl.
There's more to this story. Much, much more. But, I'm going to tie this up right now because my hand hurts. You made me fall in love with you, broke my heart and cheated on me, all in one summer. How does that make you feel, Jason, knowing that it's your fault I detest you so much? It truly is. It truly is your fault. You're the bad guy.
Eventually, you'll miss me,
Samantha
P.S. I'm never going back to Starbucks.