The Forgotten Love - Kaila Watts (ebook reader browser TXT) 📗

When I was little, my best friend was Taylin. We spent every waking moment together. Oftentimes, we would go out to the barn, and sleep out there with Miranda, our cow, and our fifteen cats. We would talk late into the night about how unfair it was that we had chores, and plan our adventures for tomorrow.
When the next day came around, our ideas were often forgotten or changed. But, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were having fun. We raced, and rode bikes, and chased the crows in the cornfield.

Then, one day, Taylin didn’t come over like he had promised he would. I went over to his house to see if he was still sleeping, but when I got there, all my ten-year-old eyes could see were boxes. There was a moving van, and their car was packed.
The door opened, and Taylin came rushing out.
He ran right into me and we tumbled across the front lawn. He lifted his head and saw it was me. Tears sprang into my eyes, and Taylin was already crying. He helped me up, and we hugged. As I cried into his shoulder, I could hear him whisper in my ear, “I love you, Cam.” And then, they left.

They’ve been gone for five years. That first summer was so lonely. I cried for days. I hadn’t even had time to get Taylin’s new number. But, as time went on, I got better, and met new friends. Now I was hanging out with girls. My BFFs now are Jewl and Ange. We spend every moment together, too, and we have some of the best times. And still, I love them lots don’t get me wrong, but… A lot of things still seem hollow.
Even though they love sports, like me, Jewl and Ange won’t race me, or sleep in the barn with me like Taylin used to. They won’t wrestle with me or help me with my chores like he did. So, I guess I still miss him.

School begins again today, and I’ll be in tenth grade this year. I’m not sure why, but it feels like this year’s going to be different. There isn’t anything particularly special. No awards, no new people, no big changes. But, it feels like the tide’s about to turn.

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I walked into history class, smelling the old textbooks surrounding me. I looked at the seating chart being passed around, and took my seat at the back of the classroom. Sometimes, having a last name like Walton can have advantages. Back here nobody would distract me, although it also meant that Jewl would be on the total opposite side of the room, her last name being Bates.
“Hey, Cammy,” Jewl said, walking up to my desk. “So, you think there’ll be any hot guys this year?” Jewl ran a hand through her dark, dark brown hair, and her silvery eyes shone.
Jewl is skinny, tan, and, I guess there’s just no other word for it, hot. She has this amazing body and perfect teeth and hair. She could be a model if she wanted, but she wants to be a doctor, which is close enough.

“No,” I said. “It’ll probably be the same guys. And even the occasional new-comer just doesn’t have what it takes.”
Jewl pouted a little, then smiled and said, “Well, maybe one of them will finally get set straight.” I knew exactly who she was talking about, Billy Curr. He was the hottest guy in the school. But he was, supposedly, smoking and “bed-hopping” as my parents say.

“Yea, maybe,” I say. Then the bell rings and Jewl goes to her seat. The teacher, Mr. Trenton, began taking role, and the class went silent. “Bates! Burlow! Cramer! Cull!” Mr. Trenton shouted. He had always been very loud.

Just as Mr. Trenton called “Cull,” the door opened and a tall, dark-brown haired boy burst in. Mr. Trenton looked up and said, “Please, come here a minute.” The boy walked up to Mr. Trenton and he said, “ Please, face the class.”
The boy turned towards us, and I could see that he had on a black t-shirt and gray skinny jeans. He was wearing and black-and-white striped bandana around his neck, and his hair was swept to one side. He was skinny and tan, a lot like Jewl.
“Class,” said Mr. Trenton, “This is Taylin Devorak.” My jaw dropped. I think Jewl’s did too because her hands slammed down on her desk. I had told both my BFFs about Taylin, of course.
“Hey,” went Taylin, his voice a lot deeper than I remembered it. I wanted to scream. Scream and tell him that it was Cam, and how much I’d missed him. But, I couldn’t. I would get in huge trouble for interrupting.

“Taylin, you… Oh, I didn’t have a seat for you. Well, I guess you can go to the back of the class and find a seat somewhere, and I’ll just add in your name,” said Mr. Trenton. Taylin grabbed his bag and walked towards the back of the class, and sat down right next to me!
He looked over at me to see me staring at him. He looked a little surprised at first, then flashed me a smile and jerked his head to say “hi.” I nodded back, but it felt like my heart had split somewhere.

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Later, at lunch, both Jewl and Ange consulted me on Taylin.
“What’s he like?!” asked Ange.
“What’s his height?!” asked Jewl.
“What sports does he play?!”
“How soft is his hair?!”
Why is he wearing that bandana?!”
“GUYS!” I shouted. “Look, I haven’t talked to him in five years! He’s probably changed a lot! I don’t know how soft his hair is, or what his height or personality is anymore!” They both looked dumbstruck. Normally, I’d be quiet and let them rampage on and on until they waited for the answers. But, I just couldn’t take all the questions about him.
“Well… Can’t you tell us what he was like?” asked Jewl. I considered that.
“I guess so,” I conceded. They both squealed with delight. “Well,” I began. “He was funny, and really sporty. He loved soccer, and baseball, and basketball, and tennis, and football. But, mostly soccer. We’d play soccer almost everyday. He also liked to bring my mom flowers whenever he came over, so I guess you could say he was sweet and considerate. And he always made sure I won at everything, which always got boring, and I ended up punching him for it once.” The duo gasped. “But, he just laughed it off. We never really fought. That was the only time I ever hit him.”

“Wow,” said Jewl. “Who knew you two had such a great relationship. And… are you sure he didn’t recognize you?” I could hear pain and pity in her words.
“Yea. I-I’m pretty sure he didn’t recognize me at all,” I replied.
“Well, maybe you looked different then!” suggested Ange. “Did you wear your hair different?”
“No, I’ve always had it cut like this,” I said. My hair is short, but longer in the front than in the back. My mom said it kinda looked like a boomerang, once.
“Well, maybe you were chubbier when you were a kid!” suggested Jewl. “Do you have a picture we could compare with?”
“Not here,” I said. “But, I could bring one in I guess. My mom keeps every picture we’ve ever taken. Even the mistake ones.” We laughed. But, I knew that I had only looked slightly different, with chubbier cheeks and freckles. That couldn’t be that much of a difference right?

But, the next day I brought them a picture. And even though they tried to convince me that there was a big difference, looking in the mirror told me the truth.
“That boy’s gonna get it!” declared Jewl. “I don’t care how hot he is! That guy made my Cammy sad, and he’s gonna pay!!” Jewl is a softball and powder-puff player. That combination equals a bloody nose and a black eye, at the least.
“Jewl, wait!” I said, grabbing her by the sleeve. “You can’t just go and beat him up because you’re angry!”
“Sure I can!” she retorted. “Watch me!” Her silver eyes were glistening. She tore away from my grasp and marched away. I prayed that Taylin’s face would be okay.

In second block that day, Jewl marched up to me and said, “I’ve taken care of it!” I was completely terrified.
“What did you do?!” I asked in a squeaky, scared voice. I was terrified of the thought that Jewl had possibly torn Taylin’s face to shreds and bruised his stomach black.
“I asked him to go out with me!” she replied happily. I was thunderstruck.
“What?!!” I screamed! She just smiled. “What did he say!?”
“Well he said yes of course,” she responded. She looked very pleased with herself.
“I thought… you were going to beat him up…?” I said cautiously.
“Oh, I will,” she said darkly. “I, will, break, him…”
“Jewl!!” I pleaded. “What are you going to do?!”
“Oh, something or another.”
“JEWL! Tell me!!!”
Jewl laughed and went to her desk as the bell rang. I couldn’t concentrate at all during Science that day, and I begged Jewl to stop all through lunch, but she was unbreakable. She was going to get what she wanted.
“Jewl, please,” I begged her at the end of the day, “just stop! Just break up or something already please! You’re hurting me more now than he is!”
“Am I?” Jewl said. “Can’t you just ask him about all this? Maybe I’ve been lying all day.”
I hadn’t even considered this because Jewl, Ange, and I had agreed to never lie to one another. “Jewl. You wouldn’t break our promise,” I said defiantly.
“Would I?”
I took off back into the school. I rushed through the halls, looking for Taylin. I was so confused, I just needed everything straightened out.

I finally found him at his locker on the second floor. “Taylin!” I called.
His head turned to face me. I stopped a few feet away. “Hey, you’re that girl from History class right?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Taylin, I… I’m Cam.”
Taylin looked confused. “Cam?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied. Please, please remember me! How could he not remember me!
Taylin just stared at me for a while, then he said, “I, uh, I don’t know a Cam.”
I was on the brink of tears. “Are… are you sure?” I asked hopefully, looking up at him.
“No, I don’t,” he replied. His eyes looked sure and confident, and I could tell he either didn’t want me around, or wasn’t lying.
“Oh…” I said. “Ok, sorry for… for wasting your time,” I hiccupped. “Oh,” I said, turning back to him. “Is it true you’re dating Jewl?”
“Uh, yea it is,” he replied. He smiled slightly.
“Oh, well… congratulations,” I said. I turned and left the school, crying my eyes out all the way home.

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When I came to school the next day, my mom hugged me goodbye from her car. I met up with Jewl and Ange as soon as possible