Ashley Stanley 10h
That Friday was my last day in school. It was a day of mixed emotions, mainly upset even though the much awaited disco was that night. It was so sad realising that it could be the last time I’d ever see my friends again, my teachers and maybe even my school. No more homework, detentions or uniform and certainly no more ‘easy riding’. I was about to enter the real world and to be honest I think that made me more scared than I’ve ever been in my whole life. By the end of the day we’d had our leaver’s assembly and everyone cheered up as they realised the disco was less than three hours away. When I got home I ripped off my uniform and began to run a bath. While I waited for the bath to fill, John phoned me to check everything was still okay for that night. He told me he was really excited and that he had something really important to tell me which, he was unable to say on the phone. This worried me and made me feel really nervous. I was ready to go with about fifteen minutes to spare, so I just sat still and tried to calm myself down. If there is one thing I remember vividly about those fifteen minutes, it would be my nails. This may sound vain but I had done them really nice with a French manicure kit, but before John had even arrived, I had chewed them down to nothing but skin due to nerves. The next thing I knew the door bell rung. I stood up, took a deep breath and slowly edged towards the door. I checked myself one last time in the mirror and I turned the handle. John looked amazing. He had tight black jeans on and a shirt which, brought out the colour of his lovely big blue eyes. I said ‘hi’, but there was no response, just a sort of awkward silence then he just simply said ‘wow’! Not being too forward I said ‘thanks’, and we left. On the way we never stopped talking, we had so much in common, we were really surprised we hadn’t spoken before. To my delight as we entered the school hall he gently kissed me on the cheek and placed his arm around my waist. Everyone stared; I think it was due to jealousy not the fact I had lipstick on my teeth which, I discovered later. We were together all night; you might say we were joint at the hip. The thing is it was really strange. I felt like I’d known him my whole life, something between us just clicked. The night was brilliant although, dancing in six inch heels all night is not very good for your feet. Afterwards, John walked me home, it was really romantic because he put his jacket around me and didn’t let go of me the whole way. As we got to the corner of my road I remembered he had said he needed to tell me something, so I asked him what it was he needed to say. He then told me, ‘before tonight this would have been really hard to say but now I know it’s true and I really mean it. I love you!’ My mouth hit the floor, but it felt so
Ashley Stanley 10h
good to hear him say that and I replied, ‘I Love you too!’ We kissed and it felt like one of those moments words just can’t explain, to this day I still believe I saw fireworks. From that night onwards, for the next five years, I’d say we saw each other nearly everyday and any day we couldn’t be together we’d speak on the phone. After the first six months I definitely knew I could trust him. I could tell him anything and everything, so naturally I lost my virginity to him. It was the first time for both of us so it was really special and it made us even closer than I thought was possible. We were able to talk and neither of us was ever pressured into doing something we didn’t want to. We had highs and lows like any normal couple and you could say everything was perfect. We did all sorts of things together, including going on holiday to Spain. We were really happy and things were going great, well that’s what I thought anyway.
May 15th 2008 is a date I’ll never forget. John had phoned me and said we needed to talk. We met in the local pub because John said we needed privacy. He sounded really serious so I arrived as quickly as I could. I sat down and John once again got straight to the point. He told me that he needed a break. He felt too tied down and that he was too young and wanted some sort of time alone before committing for life. My heart shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. I felt like my life was over, I would of preferred to be dead than live without John; he was my world and I’d given him my life. I ran out of the pub but didn’t know which way to turn. I was lost in a pool of my own tears, I didn’t know who to turn to or where to go for answers. John eventually caught up with me but the only thing he could say to me was sorry. Sorry wasn’t enough, not even close so as hard as it was we said our goodbyes. Since that day we have never spoken or even come across one another. It’s as if we had never met, neither one of us existed. I slowly slipped into a deep depression and due to this I turned to alcohol and drugs, which I later found was not a good move for me. It ruined my life. My family gradually lost touch and I lost my place in university. Things couldn’t have got any worse for me. On the verge of a complete breakdown I decided that I had to get myself straightened out. I got in touch with my old friend Lisa who helped me a lot. She worked with me so I was able to enter a rehabilitation clinic and after a long, horrible, tedious eighteen months I had myself back on track. I even began speaking with my parents on the phone and was able to buy a small apartment for myself with the job I had got. Although everything was going alright again for me, deep down inside I was still hurting and urging for my one true love. There had been other men but
Ashley Stanley 10h
none special enough that they actually meant something to me. Plus, they never lasted long anyway; six months had been the longest and there were no signs of love either. I gave up in the end, on other men I mean, there was no point wasting my time. Being alone had its advantages but it’s not something I’d recommend. The love of a good partner is what everyone needs and I would have done anything to have John back by my side. People said I was pathetic for holding on for so long; it was time I forgot about John, moved on and found a new man since it had been nearly twenty years. The thing was no one matched John he was definitely the only one for me. I believed and still do, that there is only one special person out there for everyone and your mission in life is to find them, so obviously I was not giving up on John.
A few months ago I received an invitation to my twenty five years on, high school reunion, but my dilemma was whether or not to go. Just reading the invitation brought back so many memories. I began feeling nervous, just as I did the night of the leavers disco. It was really strange. Lisa persuaded me to go with her on a strict basis that I was only there to keep her company, so once again, I found myself heading to town to buy an outfit for the party. Ever since the leavers disco I have bought most of my clothes from B.U. so that was the first place I looked. Once again I chose the perfect outfit and handed the money over. This time the dress was a black, flowing sort of evening gown, classy but not too over the top. As I left the shop there was a man standing in front of the window, I took no notice at first until I heard a voice say ‘I thought you’d be here’. I spun around and stared confusingly. ‘Ashley don’t you recognise me, it’s me John!’ I thought I was dreaming at first, I was in complete shock. Once we had been reacquainted we went for a walk to catch up. It appeared John was single and he’d told me he also had trouble finding another partner. After I had told him what happened to me he couldn’t stop apologising which was sort of my fault for making him feel so guilty. We arranged to go out for a meal together later that night and I began to get that fuzzy feeling inside, the one you get when you know all your dreams are about to come true. I was so indulged with the fact that there was still definitely something there between us. That night was amazing, it was as if we’d never broke up at all. He drove me home and I invited him in for a drink. We were sitting on the sofa just talking when suddenly John said, ‘I never meant to hurt you, I’ve never stopped thinking about you, you’re my one and only and I love you more than the world itself.’ I was stunned, I thought he would have just forgotten about me, but all those years went by
Ashley Stanley 10h
when we wanted each other but neither one of us was big enough or had the courage to get in touch. I was scared to say I loved him as well because I didn’t want to go through my hurtful past again so I kissed him on the cheek and politely changed the subject until I was ready to express my true feelings.
On the night of the reunion, while I was getting ready I kept getting flashbacks of the happy memories shared between me and John. I kept thinking how perfect my life would be if John was back in it but I was afraid of being hurt again so I tried to just keep my mind blank. At the party it was really good to see all those old, familiar faces, even though everyone persisted on asking me about what happened between me and John. There was no getting the past off my mind. All of a sudden the music stopped and everyone peered at the stage. John was knelt on one knee in the centre holding a small box and a microphone. His exact words were, ‘Ashley I love you, will you marry me?’ Everyone went silent and turned to face me. I couldn’t hold in my exhilaration, as I screamed out, ‘John I love you too, of course I’ll marry you!’ Thinking about it now, it was probably the happiest and most embarrassing moment of my life. The night turned from good to amazing and from a reunion to more of a sort of engagement party. The congratulations were none stop. I felt like a princess peering down from her balcony, being cheered by all of her most loyal subjects. After the reunion we went back to John’s house where I then stayed the night but ended up living.
Once we had broken the news to our families we set a date. We wanted a real white wedding but also wanted to have it as soon as possible so we allowed ourselves two months planning time. We had lots of help organizing the occasion and it turned out to be the best day of my life. We were married on 14th February 2028; Valentines Day. The following year I gave birth to identical twins, a girl named Louise and a boy named Lewis. We are all now one big happy family and I couldn’t be any more fortunate. I feel so lucky and blessed for how my life has turned around and I am now just wishing it stays this way.
The moral to my story is not just don’t give up hope or be true to your beliefs, its to know that whenever things go bad, keep your head up high, work hard, and you’ll eventually get what you want no matter how bad the situation may be. Also, to know that there is always somebody worse off than yourself so don’t pity yourself or indulge in things which will most likely make the circumstances much worse than they actually are.