Meant to Be by Tiffany King Page B

hands.
    “It’s a good thing I don’t have a sixth
period class,” he said as he settled back in his chair. Looking
down, he used the edge of his thumbnail to scrape an old piece of
tape off the side of the desk.
    I watched him silently for a few moments,
sensing he was embarrassed by his reaction to Matt. I should have
felt angry that Mark had resorted to violence. I had always been
against any kind of violence and had always shied away from it. But
I wasn’t, I felt Matt deserved it and was touched by the intensity
of Mark’s emotions for me.
    “I don’t feel like heading to class, I think
I’m going to tell the school nurse I’m sick. I’ll wait for Sam at
the park. Will you tell her for me?” I asked him.
    “Sure, I’ll send a note to her seventh period
class. Do you want me to walk you over?”
    “No, I think we’ve caused enough trouble
today, we don’t want to push the Dean any further.”
    Mark held out his hand to help me out of my
chair. Once I was on my feet, he pulled me in his arms.
    “I’m sorry you got so sick.”
    “It comes with the territory, I’m just sorry
you had to watch,” I grimaced, thinking that he had definitely seen
me at my worse. Nothing was grosser than watching someone
throw-up.
    “I’ve got to head back to class. Mr. Jackson
wants me to go into more detail about the concentration camps and
the role the Nazis had in them. I’ll meet you at your house after
my meeting,” he said as he leaned down to peck me on the cheek.
    I raised my hand to my cheek after he left
the room. My skin tingled where his lips had touched me. I paused a
moment to catch my breath and tried to gather my thoughts. Maybe my
peck earlier had given him a push in the right direction.
    I got the okay to go home from the school
nurse and walked the half a block to the park, slowly taking in my
surroundings as I walked. I loved seeing so much color; exotic
flowers bloomed everywhere I looked. Back home spring would be on
its way, but up north it was always a little slow to begin. Here,
it already looked like the middle of summer. I watched as two birds
fought over the same tasty treat on one of the lawns and smiled
when the smaller one came out the victor.
    By the time I reached the park, my depleted
energy was obvious and I gratefully settled on a low park bench
that sat directly in the sun. I knew the heat from the sun would
chase away the chills that always followed a bad episode.
    With drowsy eyes I watched the only occupants
at the park. Most were young mothers who were chasing after their
small toddlers. By the squeals of delight they gave out each time
they were caught, this was obviously a favorite game.
    I smiled as I rested my head back and closed
my eyes. The sun felt wonderful beating down on my face. The sounds
of the children faded away, as I slipped into a nice peaceful
slumber.
    I dreamed about him. Not the usual dream
where we stood on our beach, but a more personal one where we were
kissing. The dream was so real; I could feel the heat of his breath
as he fanned kisses across the plains of my face. Each kiss left
just the slightest bit of electricity across my face where his lips
had touched. I felt warmth spreading up through my toes and
expanding through all my limbs.
    I opened my eyes and saw the object of my
fantasy sitting beside me.
    I flushed slightly. Could he tell that I had
been dreaming about him kissing me? It was a surreal feeling to be
dreaming about him one moment, only to awaken with him beside
me.
    I sat up straighter, but grimaced when I felt
a pinch in my neck from being in one position too long. Glancing at
my watch, I was surprised to see that school was over.
    “I thought you had a meeting?”
    “I do. I just walked Sam over. I wanted to
check on you before I headed to the meeting.”
    At his words, I noticed Sam standing to the
side for the first time. Her face was clouded over.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    “It must have been pretty bad if you