A couple of months later, I was copied on one of those silly, teenage, "things you didn't know about me" emails from a friend. I noticed in the cc: that ghettosled@somethingorother was indeed Thomas Park. I hesitated for only a minute before writing him a quick "hello".
Within a few days I had a reply. Over the next couple of weeks, we, in a round about way, discussed the previous spring and what had happened. I told him that I felt like he hated me...even though he had every right to. He wasn't mad. Like me, he was just having a hard time moving on. Every time I thought I liked a boy, I would think of him and get all sorts of confused...I guess he was in the same boat.
Within a few days I had a reply. Over the next couple of weeks, we, in a round about way, discussed the previous spring and what had happened. I told him that I felt like he hated me...even though he had every right to. He wasn't mad. Like me, he was just having a hard time moving on. Every time I thought I liked a boy, I would think of him and get all sorts of confused...I guess he was in the same boat.
>>>>>
We continued to email each other every week and in November, we randomly both joined the stake youth choir. On the day of stake conference, I was so nervous. Not only because he was sitting just a few seats down from me, but because I was also one of the youth speakers for the morning. He had no idea. Like a gentleman told me that I did a great job after it was over. He also mentioned that my little sister Ashley was pulling faces at him from the audience the whole time...haha!
December came and the trimesters changed. My first hour was choir, one of my favorites! One Friday, about a week or so before Christmas break, Thomas announced that, as an entire student body, we were going to have a penny drive to purchase toys for children in the community who might not get presents for Christmas.
Monday morning there was a knock on the choir room door during our warm-ups. Thomas came in with a jar of change asking for our donations. I had completely spaced it and made a mental note to bring it the next day. Tuesday, I also forgot. Wednesday, I was ready, eager, and honestly, kind of nervous to walk up to Thomas and put my change in his jar. Anxiously...I waited and waited and waited...
But he didn't come.
Class was almost over so I turned to one of my friends, Tiffanie, and asked if she had seen him that morning. She hadn't.
She hadn't because he was not at school, he was not at home, he was not on vacation...he was in the hospital. When I found out, something inside of me started to panic. I had to get there. I had to go and see him and make sure everything was okay.
I had never skipped school and the girl I had come to school with couldn't take me. By lunch time I was frustrated and determined to get there. My friend Mindie offered to take me, so I went to the choir room and asked to use my teacher's phone. I called my dad at work, told him the situation, and he kindly called to school to excuse me.
That whole morning, I was so focused on finding a way there that I hadn't even thought about what I might say or do when I actually did get there. As we were riding up the elevator to the ICU my heart was racing and I was scared. What happened to him?
The doors opened and we told the nurses who we were there to see and the first thing they said was, "wow, this kid has had a lot of friends come in this morning." They pointed to his door and I noticed his mom sitting just inside. We made eye contact as I awkwardly smiled and pushed open the door. "Thomas," she said as she walked over to his bed, "Caley is here." He turned and looked over towards me. He looked so exhausted with his oxygen mask and his tired eyes. He weakly smiled back at me and then his mom exclaimed, "Thomas, your heart rate rate just went up!" I looked at her, then at him, and then I looked away and started to blush...
His mom explained that the night before he had been playing basketball at the stake center and as he headed out in the cold to get in his car to go home, his throat started to close. By the time he got home he could hardly breathe, so they took him directly to the emergency room. He had somehow gotten a virus similar to croupe.
I was so sad to see him that way, but I was useless. There was nothing I could do there and he was so tired. I smiled at him in hopes that he might see how much I cared and then excused us so we could get back to school.
That Friday I woke up sick and stayed home from school to rest. I had gotten word that Thomas had been released from the hospital so I decided to call him at home to see how he was doing. Honestly...it was just like old times...and we ended up talking for nearly two hours. I was so relieved to hear that he was doing better and that the remaining ice between us had finally broken.
<<<<<
December came and the trimesters changed. My first hour was choir, one of my favorites! One Friday, about a week or so before Christmas break, Thomas announced that, as an entire student body, we were going to have a penny drive to purchase toys for children in the community who might not get presents for Christmas.
Monday morning there was a knock on the choir room door during our warm-ups. Thomas came in with a jar of change asking for our donations. I had completely spaced it and made a mental note to bring it the next day. Tuesday, I also forgot. Wednesday, I was ready, eager, and honestly, kind of nervous to walk up to Thomas and put my change in his jar. Anxiously...I waited and waited and waited...
But he didn't come.
Class was almost over so I turned to one of my friends, Tiffanie, and asked if she had seen him that morning. She hadn't.
She hadn't because he was not at school, he was not at home, he was not on vacation...he was in the hospital. When I found out, something inside of me started to panic. I had to get there. I had to go and see him and make sure everything was okay.
I had never skipped school and the girl I had come to school with couldn't take me. By lunch time I was frustrated and determined to get there. My friend Mindie offered to take me, so I went to the choir room and asked to use my teacher's phone. I called my dad at work, told him the situation, and he kindly called to school to excuse me.
That whole morning, I was so focused on finding a way there that I hadn't even thought about what I might say or do when I actually did get there. As we were riding up the elevator to the ICU my heart was racing and I was scared. What happened to him?
The doors opened and we told the nurses who we were there to see and the first thing they said was, "wow, this kid has had a lot of friends come in this morning." They pointed to his door and I noticed his mom sitting just inside. We made eye contact as I awkwardly smiled and pushed open the door. "Thomas," she said as she walked over to his bed, "Caley is here." He turned and looked over towards me. He looked so exhausted with his oxygen mask and his tired eyes. He weakly smiled back at me and then his mom exclaimed, "Thomas, your heart rate rate just went up!" I looked at her, then at him, and then I looked away and started to blush...
His mom explained that the night before he had been playing basketball at the stake center and as he headed out in the cold to get in his car to go home, his throat started to close. By the time he got home he could hardly breathe, so they took him directly to the emergency room. He had somehow gotten a virus similar to croupe.
I was so sad to see him that way, but I was useless. There was nothing I could do there and he was so tired. I smiled at him in hopes that he might see how much I cared and then excused us so we could get back to school.
That Friday I woke up sick and stayed home from school to rest. I had gotten word that Thomas had been released from the hospital so I decided to call him at home to see how he was doing. Honestly...it was just like old times...and we ended up talking for nearly two hours. I was so relieved to hear that he was doing better and that the remaining ice between us had finally broken.
I LOVE THIS!!!!!!! And I remember this part :) Plus I'm in the post, awesome.
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