He's so beautiful, I thought to myself.
He is the most beautiful person I've ever seen.
I was scrolling through the Instagram photos of the newest boy in my class—Henry Knight. He had just started attending Pathos High two weeks ago, and because we were both in the honors program we had five classes together!
We hadn't exactly spoken, but I was pretty sure I was in love with him. When he talked in class, it sounded like poetry. When he smiled, it was like the sun coming through the blinds in the morning. When he looked at me, which had happened at least once a day from across the room or passing in the hall, it was like a door was opening in my heart I never knew was closed.
I knew I was being a bit dramatic about all this. I tended to get this way about most things. But Henry was just so... wonderful. Or he seemed that way to me.
But I also knew that there was no chance he would ever see me the same way. Not when he was surrounded by dozens of girls that were far prettier and more interesting than me. I don't even know what I would have to offer him. But a girl could dream, right? And boy, did I.
***
The next morning, I was sitting at a cafeteria table with my best friend Whitney. She knew about my obsession over Henry and we were discussing how I might be able to get close to him.
"Maybe there will be a group project, and you will get placed together," Whitney said, listing off different ideas. "Or maybe, you should just, you know, try and talk to him?"
"I don't even know what I would say," I sighed. "I don't know how to do this. I've never felt this way about any of the guys we go to school with, I have no experience."
And it was true. All our other classmates of the opposite sex were people I'd practically grown up with. I just couldn't see any of them in a romantic way, even when I tried. So I'd never needed to talk to a guy that made me as nervous as Henry.
"Who knows," Whitney said. "Maybe a miracle will happen."
We laughed, and just then the first bell rang signaling us to head to our first classes of the day.
***
"What are you thinking about, sweetie?" My mom asked as she joined me on our back porch.
I had been sitting out here for a few minutes, just looking at the stars and thinking about—you guessed it—Henry. I was thinking about actually getting up the courage to talk to him tomorrow at school. But I didn't necessarily want to tell my mom that.
"Oh, nothing really," I said with a smile. "I just think the stars are so beautiful tonight."
My mom nodded. "They sure are. Can I join you, then?"
"Of course," I said, making room for her on the porch swing I sat on. In comfortable silence, we watched the night sky twinkle together.
Suddenly, a bright light streaked across the sky.
"Whoa! Was that what I think it was?" I asked in excitement.
"Yes, it was a shooting star!" My mom exclaimed. "Hurry, make a wish on it."
I closed my eyes, feeling somewhat silly but enjoying this moment, and wished that Henry would be mine.
Opening my eyes, I saw my mom smiling at me softly. I leaned into her shoulder and we talked for awhile about mundane things before I headed to my room for bed and thought nothing more of the shooting star.
***
My palms began to get that odd, clammy feeling they got when I was nervous. I was finishing up at my locker at the end of the school day, talking myself up to talk to Henry, whose locker was just around the corner of mine. I knew from paying attention these last two weeks that he stayed at his locker for longer than seemed necessary, playing on his phone or something.
I was planning on just walking up to him, introducing myself, and asking if he had the notes from History because I hadn't been paying attention in class. This was of course untrue, I always paid attention and I took perfect notes. But he didn't know that because he sat in front of me in class. Finally, I closed my locker and was getting ready to round the corner when I saw Henry standing right in front of me.
Stopping abruptly before I ran into him, I saw he was looking directly at me.
"Oh, you scared me," I said, slightly winded from my racing heart.
"I'm so sorry," he said with a beautiful smile. "I was just hoping to introduce myself. I'm Henry, I know we have some classes together and I've wanted to meet you but haven't really gotten the chance."
"Hi Henry, I'm Grace," I said, not believing what was happening. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before, how are you liking the school?"
"Oh, it's really great. Everyone is so friendly," he said. "And intriguing," he added.
"Oh, really? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, for example, you. You are intriguing," he said with a twinkle in his green eyes. "I know we only just met, and forgive me if this is too forward, but would you like to go on a date with me?"
"I thought you'd never ask," I said, unsure how I was even able to form words to respond.
The next things happened in a blur, we exchanged numbers and he walked me to my car in the parking lot. He told me he would text me soon, and I drove away in a daze, thinking about that damned shooting star.
A shooting star. Image from
Author's note: This is a modern retelling of the Pygmalion story. In the original story, Pygmalion can't find a woman to love where he lives so he carves an ivory girl who he clothes, talks to, brings gifts, kisses, lays in bed with, etc. He then asks the gods to give him a bride like his "ivory girl" and then he goes home and the statue turns into a real, human girl that he then marries. I took this concept and turned it to the way teenage girls may obsess over a celebrity or a boy in their class that they've never or hardly spoken to and know virtually nothing about. And I changed the gods to the shooting star, but I left it open-ended. Who knows, maybe Grace and Henry won't work out. But for now, it's a happy ending.
Bibliography: Pygmalion, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline. Link
here.
