When Harriet got to English class, she started working on her essay. She finally knew what to write about. She was going to write about love. About her experiences and her views on it. She spent the whole class writing. As class came to an end, Harriet's essay was almost complete. She decided to finish it at home.
James was waiting for her at her locker. When Harriet saw him, she immediately smiled and ran up to him and hugged him. She was so happy to see him.
Harriet packed her bag and closed her locker. As she was walking away, she saw Sebastian watching her. The look on his face expressing jealousy. She suddenly stiffened. James felt the sudden change and wrapped his arm around her to reassure her. Feeling once again in control, Harriet remembered she had nothing to fear. She was safe. James was there and he would protect her.
They walked together to the car, joined by Sarah. When they arrived at James's car, Sarah said goodbye.
"Only a few more days left of school. We're almost finished!" she smiled as she waved Harriet and James goodbye.
"Bye Sarah," Harriet and James said in unison. Then they got into his car and started off toward Harriet's home. They talked the whole way about what had happened during lunch.
Up in Harriet's room, James walked around and looked at the things on her bookshelf. As he was looking at her books, he saw something. Something that he recognized. It was a card he had given her for her birthday when they first became friends. The card was placed in between two books: The Fault In Our Stars and Persuasion.
He pulled out the card and opened it. It read:
Dear Harriet,
Please have a very happy birthday. Thank you for choosing to become my friend. You are the best person I could have ever met.
I'll always love you,
James
Beside the note, there was a drawing. It was of him and of Harriet, both sitting at a table reading. Above it was written 'Friends Forever'.
"You kept this?" James asked, walking over to Harriet.
Harriet turned around and looked at what he was talking about. When she saw James holding the card, she smiled. "Of course. It was my very first card. And the most special."
"I still remember drawing that," James said pointing to the drawing.
"And I remember you giving it to me," Harriet said with that irresistible smile of hers.
It was getting late and James needed to get home and Harriet needed to finish her English essay. James got up and hugged Harriet goodbye. As Harriet was walking away from the door, she felt a hand on her arm. When she turned around, James kissed her. The kiss was much longer than their first, but it was just as passionate. Just as wonderful. After the kiss, James went home.
Once Harriet was left alone in her room, she finished her essay.
Love is like a prism: it traps you, it captures you. You can't get in and you can't get out. When you're inside, all you feel is loneliness, sadness and even anger. Then you look out at all the wonderful things love has. You wonder why everyone around you is happy. You wonder how you can obtain that kind of love when all you are is trapped in this prism with no way out. All the time you see the positives of love, but all you feel are the negatives of it. You stretch your hand out as if reaching for something. Something you are yet to have.
When Harriet finished, she got ready for bed. Before getting into bed, she grabbed James's card and placed it back where it belonged. On her bookshelf between the two books. Then she got into bed. As she fell asleep, she felt her neck for her necklace. When her figures found the cool stone heart, she finally understood the meaning of it. The stone heart, and how when it caught the lift of the sun, would reflect light everywhere. The heart symbolized her heart, and the reflecting light represented its escape from darkness and finally reaching the light.
"Thank you James," she whispered to herself, "I'll always love you too."