My First Kiss

Amelia is finally at a stage in her life where she can say that she already has it all - a steady and lucrative job, a growing business, a healthy state of mind, her dream house, and a happy and contented life. But faith indeed has something else in mind. Running frantically to catch her flight to LA, Amelia's heels caught in one of the holes of the airport's drainage grates. Trying to keep her cool and poise, she bent down and tried to remove the heel that got stuck in between the rusty metal bars. Then a man on the phone suddenly bumps her from her behind. Now in an even more awkward position, Amelia tried hard not to get flushed as he felt the manhood of the guy behind her. The man in a dark blue suit, feeling uneasy from the sudden attention the crowd had suddenly given them helped the stunning lady in a trench coat get back to her feet. Amelia's right foot was bare and the cold airport floor felt even colder as he looked at the guy who bumped her, now on his back, removing her shoe that was still stuck in the grates. When he turned around, now with her shoe on his right hand, she felt frozen all over as the man slowly walked towards her. The man in the blue suit recognized the face and unconsciously dropped down on one of his knees as he gently took her bare feet and slowly slid the shoe back on. There were murmurs from the crowd and Amelia knew that her cheeks were all flushed with color. She managed to say "thanks" after hearing a sincere and gentle "I am very sorry" from the man in blue who was now running away from her. It was Jake, her very first kiss. As she felt the flush of emotions starting to wane down, she remembered that she was already late for her flight. She got back running and luckily managed to arrive at the gate five minutes before closing. Now, focused on the business deal waiting for her in LA, she placed her tote bag on top of her seat, suddenly forgetting about the weird incident earlier. She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat in her seat. She closed her eyes for a minute, now with the image of Jake, on his knee, helping her out with her shoe. She felt someone sit beside her as the flight attendant began her announcements. Now, with eyes opened, she tried to focus on the lovely attendant speaking in the front. When the person beside her suddenly brushed her shoulder, he felt the same chills that she had earlier. The Universe was definitely shifting its attention to her. Sitting beside her was the man in the blue suit - Jake. And he was also looking at her, with an equal amount of blood on his cheeks, flabbergasted with the situation once again. --- Amelia was 18 and enjoying the freedom of being an exchange student in a foreign land. It was really a great opportunity for her considering her family was not well off. She easily felt at ease with her program coordinator Professor Megan Adamson. She even helped Amelia relocate to better but cheaper accommodation. “So how is life in British Columbia going for you so far”, Professor Adamson asked while they were enjoying an early breakfast in the school canteen. “It’s pretty great actually”, Amelia answered while chewing on her favorite muffin. “The view in my new room is great and I enjoy riding the bike to school”, she continued. “I just wish I had extra cash to spare to get to enjoy the sights.” “There’s a library staff vacancy right now, you might want to head there before your classes to see if the slot is still available”, Professor Adamson suggested. “You can tell Mrs. Murphy that I sent you there to inquire.” “That would be lovely. I’m already spending most of my free time there, so I might as well get paid for spending even more with books in the library”, she endearingly replied with a chuckle. The walk to the library was a leisurely one. In between the canteen and the main building where the library is located, there were rows of Red Cedars. Interestingly, behind one of the big old cedars was a red-haired boy and a girl, around Amelia’s age, kissing behind its shadows. Feeling slight hotness on her cheeks, she hurriedly walked but tripped over one of the uneven bricks on the path. “Awww”, she softly cried in pain as she felt a gash on her left elbow. She heard a giggle behind the tree and before she managed to stand upright, the two lovers were already out of her sight. She had to detour to the clinic to get her wound fixed before she could go find Mrs. Murphy. As Amelia was about to turn the knob of the library door open, she heard a loud voice, maybe Mrs. Murphy, talking in a suppressed hush, but with genuine anger and disappointment in her voice. “How many times do I have to tell you to put your life in order?”, Amelia heard through the unopened door. She was standing alone, half an hour ahead of the library’s regular open hours. “Dr. Hoffman saw you earlier kissing another student behind a tree. The other day, your PE teacher saw you making out in the gym washrooms and last month, you were already reprimanded for skipping school”, Mrs. Murphy disappointedly continued. “Please, Jake, could you please behave.” “It is now my fault if everyone’s eye is on me. It’s their choice. I’m just enjoying life just like any average teenager is,” Jake defended. “But we all know that you are not an ordinary teenager Jake,” Mrs. Murphy tirelessly explained. “We all know that your father owns the school and many people are aware of our situation, could you please..” “He is not my father!” Jake interrupted. “Oh, Jake, please try to understand…” “Actually, I do not understand anything at all,” Jake shouted. “ First we were enjoying our lives, just the two of us, far from all the gossip, the stories and those judging eyes…” “Jake, stop it please, your voice,” her mom almost pleaded. “What about? Everyone at school already knows that I am the son of this school’s owner from an affair.” “Jake!,” her mom shouted, now with a threat on her voice. “It’s true, you had an unplanned child, a child from an illicit…”, her mom landed a loud slap on her face before Jake could even continue. Jake rushed outside the library door where Amelia was standing. He had this stern look on his face when she saw her standing there. Amelia didn’t know what to do, or where to go. Mrs. Murphy was about to follow Jake but saw Amelia standing there. “Amelia, you are here,” she said as she led her to the door while throwing a second look at Jake who was already on the opposite end of the building. “I was waiting for you to come. Professor Adamson called me earlier telling me you were coming to meet me.” “Sorry Mrs. Murphy, I was about to go here but had to go to the clinic because I tripped around the big old red cedar tree earlier. I didn't mean to intrude or anything, I was just here a few minutes ago,” Amelia lied to lessen Mrs. Murphy’s obvious embarrassment. “Do not worry about it, if you are ready to begin, I can show you a couple of aisles that need re-arranging. The younger kids did a nasty job in misarranging the books a week ago,” Mrs. Murphy said, trying to ease the awkwardness in the situation. Amelia half-heartedly listened to the other things that Mrs. Murphy was saying as she tried to wash away the judging and mad look that she saw earlier in Jake’s eyes.