UNDER THE TABLE

On hearing Jean’s instruction, Marie felt butterflies in her stomach. She realized that both of them were on the same page as they wanted the same thing. Once she got comfortable in her seat after removing her book and pen from the bag, she put her legs under her seat and moved a little forward for her legs to be able to go at the back even more.

Now, she wasn’t concentrating on resting herself on the backrest of the chair; instead, she wanted her legs to be able to go at the back as much as possible. More so because Jean asked her to do that, and she wanted to have any of Jean’s body parts to touch any of hers as that was enough for her to feel secure. That was something which she was missing in her life big time.

She started to worry after it had been a couple of minutes that her legs were under her seat, but she did not feel Jean’s legs getting any closer to hers. Was Jean trying to make fun of her or was she just tricking her into something? It was difficult for Marie to be able to decide anything until it was lunch break as the teacher had already come into the classroom.

Nevertheless, she kept moving her feet from one side to the other, and she was trying to cover the maximum distance at one point with the broad shoes that she was wearing as she was hoping to touch Jean’s feet at some point because she only asked her to do that.

In not less than ninety seconds, Marie hit Jean’s foot. She felt somewhat relieved not to be made to look stupid by someone she had started calling her friend as she had asked her to put her feet at the back. But then the wait for Jean to put her legs in the front seemed like forever to Marie.

It gets difficult to wait for something that you are expecting to happen. Just a few seconds feel like hours and only a couple of hours feel like the whole day. But that shouldn’t stop you from hoping for something good to happen.

Something that you desire may just be a minute away from happening, and that way of thinking should keep you positive. It should impart that feeling for the entire time that you are alive because nobody can take away your power to wish for something or stop you from doing that. That is the beauty of life!

Marie believed in that and even though life had let her down quite a lot of times, she would still hope for the best to happen. Being positive was an inbuilt trait for her. Even after all that she had been to at home with her step-mother and step-sister, she would still talk to them very politely and help them in all they did at home.

But she was always taken for granted and seeing her do so much at home, both of them would sit back and relax while Marie took over and did everything for them only to get a little appreciation from them. That was something which never happened. In fact, acceptance was also another thing that she had to fight for a very long time, and it was still nowhere to be seen.

All the little fights that happened at home between her and them as and when she retaliated because she couldn’t take any more of the discrimination and/or insult to her face, things would even turn bitter. And sometimes even food was not prepared for her at home when her dad used to be on an official tour or be out for some other reason.

Her sister, Rebecca, was not bothered about anything as such because she stayed home and got all the love from her mom and step-dad. She was practically the same age as Marie and was only as she was only a couple of months older than her. She would always stay happy no matter what happened at home while Marie would suffer and cry herself to sleep on some nights.

Despite the tough life that she had been through until now, which was not the end but at least something good enough to keep her heart beating with love, she wanted to give everything that she had so that she got to be with Jean for now. All she wanted to do was to keep the current moment lasting until forever because she was loving the way she started feeling about herself with the importance that was being given to her.

The very first instance their feet touched, and in spite of the shoes that they were wearing, a current sparked in them. Their ages were such that it would have been quite evident had it happened with anyone of the opposite gender, but Marie was confused as to why she was feeling the way that she was with another girl.

Not that it was making her feel any less of herself, but she was unable to understand if it was normal for something like that to happen. Until now, Marie had not been around enough boys to experience any kind of thing that was supposed to be because of her hormones which were making her turn into a beautiful and desirable young woman.

When she was about to start mingling with them in the first year of her senior high school, another girl was taking the place that, technically and as per the society, the boy was supposed to be taking. They were in a country such that in no way would they have understood the feelings they were starting to have for each other and definitely wouldn’t accept a couple of the same gender if they were to become a couple.

Both of them had the shoes that they were wearing on their feet touching each other's, and they were not moving it at all. They had it like that for the entire three hours that the teacher was talking to them about the science stream; the subjects which they would study in it, the different career fields, the study options after their senior high school that included bachelor’s and master’s degrees and for some even the Ph.D. that would follow if they wanted to pursue it.

No one from the class noticed what they were doing because they were doing it literally under their seats, that was the center of Marie’s chair and Jean’s table precisely. Both of them were making the most of it to be seated towards the wall on one side and on the other side were the girls who were finding chances to look at the boys and had no intention whatsoever to look at those two girls who were seated on the row to their left.

It was not until the lunch break that the things turned ugly between them. Jean was not the kind who enjoyed sharing her stuff and her friends; not that she had any, but she hated it when somebody else would try to invade her territory. She hadn’t even claimed it herself for now, which was even more difficult for her to show her feelings in the right manner.

As the bell for lunch break rang, and Marie was walking to the canteen with Jean, Jacob, who was Marie’s dance partner for the event which was on Sunday evening, stopped her. Marie did not enjoy dancing with Jacob at all, which is why she had abruptly walked out of the auditorium because he was trying his best to be inappropriate, and she did not want to let him be successful.