The Beginning

April 25th, 2009

I was at a track meet in Smithfield when it all began. I remember joking about a surfer guy I'd fall in love with during my exchange year. I'd seen too many romantic comedies about high school and America, I have to admit. However I hadn't found any guy that fit the bill and I had already given up hope. Until I saw him. I wasn't sure whether the love on a first sight existed before, but after that day, I knew it was real.

He was about my height with sandy blond hair and blue eyes, and a smile that made the world spin around. He was pole vaulting like me and he offered to watch my steps for me. He introduced himself and asked me about where I was from and how long I had been vaulting. But then it was his turn to jump and we didn't talk for a while, I just watched the boys' competition waiting for mine to start. Mostly just dreaming about the guy I had just met.

I got really bad with names during my exchange year because some people just had impossible names to remember. Then it came to the point I had to call his name out loud to ask him to watch my steps again. I was in trouble. He had just introduced himself so I had to remember his name, calling him "guy" or something would've just been lame. And then I did, I dug his name from my memory. I'll call him K here. Why am I telling you this? Because I thought it was significant that I had actually remembered his name.

He had to work at the meet because it was hosted by his school but he came to watch my jumps and talk to me from time to time. But then my competition was over and I couldn't find him from anywhere. It was like the ground had swallowed him.

It was a really pretty and warm day as it almost always is in North Carolina that time of the year. I was wearing my big sunglasses and walking to go see something when I saw him coming from the other way. We met in the middle and we were both smiling. I just couldn't not to smile when I was around him. We talked for a while but then he had to go again. I still remember what he said: "We will probably ever see each other again but can I have your number so we can at least talk?" Needless to say that I gave him my number and I was walking a feet from the ground after that. He promised to call me that night after work.

The track meet finished and we were already going back to our activity bus when one of our team mates came to tell us we'd still have to wait for the results from 200-meter-run. We waited for a long time and my mates were making fun of me because I was looking around the whole time. By that time everyone knew I had met K. Finally the results arrived - and among them was him. He had been working with the results and came to show them. We talked one last time and he hugged me hard for good bye and then we had to leave to go on our seperate ways.

I didn't know if I ever heard from him again but I knew I wouldn't ever forget him. I think I was in love with him after the first moment our eyes met...

Love, May