Two Love

Chapter 25

All his life, Marty had thought that falling in love was like discovering a new and better world. That somehow, one person would show you new things that were so much better than the things of this limited world. But now that he was falling in love, he realised it wasn't like that at all. Falling in love was seeing old things through new eyes. It meant a simple text with a smiley face or a park you'd been to a thousand times before suddenly became a nirvana because of one wonderful person. She helped him to see the beauty in the simple things in life, pointing out a cloud that looked vaguely like a turtle and complimenting him on his new shirt that had the Beatles on a zebra crossing.

Falling in love wasn't a whole new world. It was a whole new perspective. And it was turning his life upside down.

Marty strutted into sixth form with a smile on his face, eagerly anticipating the magical moments he'd inevitably have with Parisa. Acknowledging her in the corridor with a cheeky smile that made her blush; meeting up on Tuesday lunchtimes for book club (even though he never completed the books); pulling her in for a kiss behind the Foreman building in spare moments arranged with a last-minute text. She was his joy in these moments, yet she also helped him find more joy in the rest of his life. He started to laugh at Hassan's quiet (and therefore often missed) jokes. He willingly went to the library to do homework with Jade. His grades went up.

"You're with Parisa, huh?" said Jade when he told her. "I'm happy for you. Guess you will date Asian girls when you really like them."

"Correction - I will date girls when I really like them," said Marty. 

"How do you get around the fact that she can't date guys like you?"

Marty raised an eyebrow. "Jealousy rearing its ugly head?"

"Practicality. What if her parents catch you together?"

"They won't, we'll make sure of that!" said Marty firmly, turning his head to find the gorgeous girl he knew would be standing there. Parisa took his hand, and he walked through the corridor with her, giving Jade a goodbye nod with more than his usual tint of defiance.

The school bell rang out loud and clear - Marty's favourite sound - as Parisa and Marty trekked down the corridor and out of the school gates ahead of everyone else. Taking a turn to the right, down a little dirt path, Marty stretched out an arm and a cheeky smile to his girlfriend, who followed his lead along the path. 

"Is this where all the sixth formers go at break time?" Parisa asked.

"Only the ones who know about it," said Marty. "Most of the sixth formers are as curious as sloths."

"Well, I guess I'm lucky to know you, then! But I'm not sure if sloths are completely incurious - maybe they're just too slow to see much."

"That describes lots of the sixth formers too," mused Marty, eliciting a laugh from Parisa.

The content couple made their way to their destination in a matter of minutes - the dilapidated park behind the school. Swing chains were left rusted, and the slide was no longer slippery; the bench's wood was beginning to rot away; the duck rocker was looking rather sad with one eye missing. But judging by Parisa's reaction, Marty would've thought he'd just shown her a fantastic theme park.

"What a cute little park! Let's go on the swings."

They each took a seat on a swing, lifting themselves higher into the air with increasing momentum. Even while doing so, they had to have a chat, talking about school and friendships and all those other thousand things that feel so important when one is young and in love. And the skies were clear for these two lovers, not even a cloud in sight, an endless canvas on which they could write their love story.