The Story of How We Met

Chapter 6

Once a week Julien would come home after school to teach me. He was actually a good teacher. More than that, Julien was an amazing listener.

"Who is the girl?" He pointed at the picture hanging on the wall. We were studying in the living room because my bedroom was too tiny and not comfortable at all, not that our living room was any bigger, but my mom was cooking in the kitchen so we used extra chairs as a table.

"She is my sister, Sally."

" I thought so. You have the same eyes. They're so blue. I feel that if I had to describe them, I would sound stupid like the descriptions I've read in some books." He stared at me as if I were such an interesting object, and I felt my mouth go dry. "Especially when you cry, but I hope you never have to cry again. Except tears of joy."

"Now, this is definitely something you took from a book."

"Perhaps. I won't admit nor deny." I rolled my eyes. "You should stop rolling your eyes at me; I am your teacher, ma'am."

"Turns out I am a teenager and that's what we do. We roll our eyes, shrug, and slam doors in anger." I rolled my eyes again in a more exaggerated way. "We already changed the subject, but I love that I share the same eye color as my mom. We are very close."

"I can tell that. After all you two went through, I have a lot of respect for you both. It makes me happy to see that you remained together and strong." I smiled proudly. Yes, we went through a lot. "Where is your sister? I have never seen her around."

I stared at the picture of my sister with whom I also shared the same eye color and nothing else.

"She left."

That was all I had to say, and for Julien, it was enough explanation. He nodded, and we went back to studying.

"Aren't you curious about her?" I asked after a while, when I was trying to solve a problem. "Everybody always is."

"I am. But I consider myself a good listener. Sometimes not asking is the best way to listen to somebody."

"You take these cheap quotes from the books you read to try to impress girls, don't you?"

"Hey! They are not cheap quotes." Julien took a pillow from the couch behind him and threw it at me. I grabbed it in the air.

"No, no. I am your teacher, you are supposed to show..." I pointed and threw it directly at his head. "Some respect."

The pillow messed his hair and his glasses fell.

I have come to feel so comfortable around him that making mistakes didn't make me feel dumb or useless for the first time.

"Sally is a lot older than me. I was an accident. Not supposed to happen." I stared at her picture again. "She is just so beautiful. Smart. She is special, always has been."

"You are special too." I kept my eyes glued on the picture.

"No, I am not. Sally never makes mistakes, yell, or eructate. She doesn't give sarcastic, mean answers. She knows how to give the most perfect and classy ones."

"It must be boring."

"I don't think people find Sally boring. This city was boring for her, so she left and found a rich man who married her, and she never came back. I don't think she ever will." I shrugged. "I wouldn't."

"You wouldn't? Really?"

"What for? There is nothing here." I looked at him with his big glasses and big smile. However, this time he was not smiling.

"You have your family here. People who love and care about you. A house and a bed to keep you warm. You have me," he slowly added. "Friends who love you..."

We stared at each other.

Then just like that, I swallowed and choked on my own saliva. He went to the kitchen and brought me a cup of water accompanied by my mom, who was worried about me coughing.

"Are you feeling better?" Julien asked, looking concerned.

"I am. Thanks for the water." I gave it another small sip. "I am just so stupid that I choke on my own saliva. How dumb is that?"

"Hey, you gotta stop saying those things about yourself." He sat close to me, right by my side. "I'll tell you a story about red giant stars. Have you ever heard about it?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Stars that are as big as the sun, or sometimes even bigger, turn into red giant stars. Inside of the stars, in their core, there is a nuclear fusion that happens when two atoms of hydrogen fuse together to form one atom of helium. I am talking about billions of years of explosions. When it happens, this fusion releases a lot of energy and the carbon... Did I mention the carbon?"

I shook my head again, listening intently.

"Long story short, as it gets hotter and hotter inside of the star, the helium will fuse into carbon atoms. The carbon tries to escape. Imagine the pressure. It's crazy, but then that's when the star begins to grow and becomes a red giant star. What I am trying to say is..." Julien pursed his lips in concentration. "You have to let all these explosions happen inside of you, Sarah. Let you be you, that way you can learn and grow. You are not stupid; you are a huge star."

"That's ...so beautiful." He smiled proudly. "What happens after they turn into red giant stars?"

"Oh, they die." Julien made a face. "But don't worry, it's a cool death. As I said, it's a long complex process. Some stars become compact small dwarfs, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. Or if its mass is large enough, it will remain as a supernova, which is amazing."

"So...you are telling me I am going to die?"

He scratched his head. "Well." Julien shrugged. "It sounded better in my head."

"It was perfect." I reached him for a hug, and he enveloped me in his arms. I felt that for the first time all the stars aligned.

When my mom came in, he was still by my side, playing with one of the curls of my hair while explaining a formula to me.

"Dinner is almost ready. This means that I need those." She pointed at the chairs where our books were at. "You are staying for dinner, right?"

"No, I promised Gary I would cook something for him tonight. He won't let me forget I allow him to starve if I don't go home."

He helped me to put the chairs back in the kitchen and left.

"Are you guys dating?" my mom asked while I was putting the dishes on our small table. Surprised, my eyes widened.

"No, we are not! Where did you get that idea?"

"I don't know...from the way you look at each other." She brought the food to the table while I stood there with the plate in the air, trying to breathe again.

"He is dating Alana, actually."

The look my mom gave me was enough to know I was welcome to a hug. She opened her arms and embraced me.