(September—Columbia University, New York City)
By the first week of classes, they were already predicting the first snow of the season. The trees on campus were bare of leaves and the students already were wearing long overcoats and scarves.
I had only been there a few weeks and I already had mixed feelings about college life. The campus was so big that I quickly felt lost and forgotten in the crowd. It was a far cry from the tiny town of Devon, and the world around me was once again a sea of strangers. Partly, though, it was a relief as well. It was a clean slate of sorts and a much-needed change of scenery for me.
Between classes, I found solace (and heat!) in the universally familiar setting of the campus library. At first, the sheer size of the place was staggering. After the initial shock, though, I settled into a sort of wondering awe. The size of the place far surpassed any library I’d seen in my life. When I looked upon row after row of books, then tried to imagine all of the worlds and people and ideas within those millions of pages... it was an amazing thought. I began to spend a lot of time there, reading, thinking, studying... just soaking up the intellectual atmosphere of the place.
There was a small table on the top floor of the building, in a secluded, quiet alcove with a window that overlooked the campus and beyond. It was always perfectly silent there, and I could look out the thick window and watch the world below from a Gods-eye angle. This soon became My Place, especially near twilight when the cold sky put on its evening show of colors.
It was there that I met Diana McIntyre... and to be honest, I suspect that she had followed me there.
I was lost in thought when it happened, staring out at the twilight sky through the window. I heard footsteps behind me and saw the reflection of a girl approaching. In the reflection, I saw short blonde hair and a long blue overcoat. A winter scarf covered the bottom of her face.
“Mind if I join you?” the girl asked. I was surprised by this. It was the first time someone at the university had actually gone out of their way to speak to me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really in the mood for company at the time, especially female company. Still, though, I knew I couldn’t be a recluse forever.
I turned around to look at her. “Um... sure.” I moved to clear my mess from part of the table. “Here, let me make some room for you.”
“Thank you.” she said, sliding into the chair across from me. She set her backpack of books on the floor beside her. I noticed for the fist time that she had beautiful eyes. Even though the warm scarf still concealed part of her face, I could see that she was very attractive.
Without removing her coat or scarf, she pulled of a glove and extended her hand across the table cordially. “I’m Diana McIntyre from Jacob’s Rest, New York.”
I extended my hand towards hers. “I’m Casey Mc---“ I stopped short when I saw the ring on her finger. I knew that ring. It was...
I looked up at the girl’s eyes again and saw a smile there suddenly. She took her hand back and unwound the scarf from her face.
I leapt to my feet, almost knocking my chair onto the floor behind me. “Wendy?”
She was around the table and had her hand on my mouth before I could say anything else. “Diana McIntyre...” she said. “I guess I need to work on my New York accent, huh?” she smiled impishly.
I was too shocked to speak. I stared at her incredulously, taking in the details of her beautiful face, trying to convince myself that this was really happening and not some insane daydream.
I reached out and touched her face lightly. She smiled warmly and hugged me tightly. This was all it took to convince me, and I returned her strong embrace.
“I never thought...” I began.
“I know.” she whispered.
“I can’t believe it.” I said, almost to myself.
She laughed, then hugged me tighter.
After a moment, I pulled back and looked at her eyes, her face, her hair... taking in the unbelievable reality of her presence. “You’re blonde!” I said.
She smiled. “What do you think?”
“It’s definitely you.” I said.
She gave me a sly look. “It should be. It’s my natural color.”
Her smile made me warm and excited inside. I looked at her for a long moment and didn’t say anything, searching for he words to express what I was feeling at the moment. Finally, I said to her seriously. “Miss Diana MacIntyre?”
Wendy (Diana) smiled back to me “Yes, Mr. Casey McKenna?”
“I know we just met,” I said. “But… do you believe in love at first sight?”
She kissed me then, and whispered lightly in my ear.
“I do.”
The End
Joe Tompkins
First Draft Completed 5/15/94
Second Draft Completed 5/16/98
Third Draft Completed 11/1/2013
BINABASA MO ANG
You'll Just Know
Teen FictionSeventeen-year-old Casey McKenna has just been uprooted from his life in New Jersey to move to the tiny nowhere town of Devon, Indiana. In the summer before his senior year of high school, he meets Wendy Cameron, the girl of his dreams. There's some...
