The Party, Part VIII (8)

So, she joined a sport.

It was kind of a huge, stop-the-presses moment when people found out. Her? Doing exercise by choice? They all whispered behind hands in a horrid attempt to hide the fact that they were talking. ‘It’s the truth,’ was all she would say, smiling a little half-smile. ‘I’ve wanted to do this for a while, and there was an excellent excuse.’

Her excuse wasn’t what you might expect. It turned out to be many things, including but not limited to: her best friend, her crush-turned-close-friend, the feel of the water underneath you in a boat, and the sense of comfort you get in have a nine-person-strong team.

Yep, rowing was her thing.

Of course, she joined for him. The important part was that she stayed for them and, more importantly, herself. It became her life. Practice every day seemed to be the one thing she looked forward to. Knowing that she was part of something far bigger than herself was a feeling she never wanted to lose.

Let’s talk about this boy, now. Yes, she’s had those two horrid ones in her past, but he’s different. Sure, everyone says that when they’ve fallen hard, but she genuinely believes it. Enough to join a sport and pretend she has a life outside of crew. (So, yes, she did join for him, but she really does love it now). He’s…good in every sense of the word. A gentleman, a best friend, sensitive, funny, not overly smart…everything she ever wished for in a guy.

She thinks he’s the first person she could ever fall in love with.

A big statement, yes, but possibly true. After all, how could you not love this guy? He’s so charismatic and charming and disarming and…she could go on for days. Certainly her best friend (not the one from before, but one who actually cares about what’s going on in our girl’s life) is sick of hearing about this boy. Certainly everyone is sick of it.

But our girl…well, she’s had her heart stomped on quite a few times already, hasn’t she? First, the supposed ‘best friend’ that kicked her out, then the boy she thought cared for her, and then the one from her past that they made her try and reconnect with. A heart is such a fragile thing…why must it be made of glass? Why must we give our hearts to those who might just break them?

She thinks it’s worth the chance.