"this isn't a story of heartbreak, but an uncomplicated, straightforward story of a boy who loved a girl more than the moon loved the night sky. But love is never that simple is it?"
0.1
The first time the boy saw her, she was in bright yellow dress tugging her mother's hand as she entered the classroom as if it was her kingdom and she was the kind and beautiful queen, at least that's how the boy saw it. As she finally managed to get out of her mother's embrace she rushes towards the table where another girl and boy are sitting and asks if she could sit with them and the rest is history.
And as the girl with the red strawberry blonde (she would correct him a few years later) hair laughed her heart out with her two new friends, the boy's heart ached to join them and complete their trio.
0.2
The year went on and as fun as nap time was the little boy couldn't wait to get to first grade and learn more than just simple alphabets, he wished to learn words and phrases and one day he wished to find a word to describe the strawberry blonde girl who sat in front of him in class.
He eventually did find the word exquisite in high school but till then the little boy settled on beautiful.
He longed for the day when he could approach the trio and ask them for their hand in friendship but unlike his parents, he never did have his way with words. So he stayed hidden, sitting with a couple of other boys at lunch, always glancing at the happy trio.
0.3
The boy was awkward; he stayed at his table during recess afraid the older kids would bully him for the long limbs that often made him lose balance. But first grade was finally here and the boy couldn't wait for recess to come.
'This was the year' he told himself, 'This is the year I make friends.'
He rushed out the minute the teacher opened the door following the trio when he tripped over a shoe into the mud.
"Ha, your shirt now matches your face," The boy remarked as he ran away laughing along with his friends.
With tears in his eyes, his shirt, which he helped his mother pick out in the morning, muddy and his heart broken, the boy started walking back into the room.
'Maybe next year' he told himself.
"Hey, loser" He heard a little girl shout; he turned around to see the strawberry blonde girl pick up a clump of mud and throw it at the older kid.
The two girls and boy approached him as he tried quickly walking back not wanting to get into more trouble.
"Hi! I'm Artemis" The girl says holding her hand out, the boy tentatively shakes it, wondering if this was a dream.
"I'm Carter." He replies in a shaky voice.
"Come join us, I never get to play on the see-saw since there's only three of us," she says sticking out her tongue at her friends.
And so the boy followed the trio towards the see-saw. He realized half-way through that Ashley had a lisp and Connor played the same video games as him and they were kids just like him.
And as the four played till their teacher called them in for class, the little boy looked at his new friends and prayed to all the stars in the universe that they would stay together forever.
0.4
That year was perfect.
0.5
