The first boy I had a crush on
sat next to me in math class in fourth grade.
He was the ideal male at the time,
because my only requirement for a man other than cuteness was that he like my football team.
He was one of its most avid fans.
We would talk endlessly in and out of class
discussing every detail of our footballers' lives on and off the field.
He was my dream come true!
Soon after the math teacher separated us
for disrupting the class.
We sat at different ends of the classroom
and wrote notes to each other.
A month or so later we had our biggest disagreement --
Liverpool lost to Juventus in the Champions Cup competition.
He swore by Liverpool,
Platini (my idol) played for Juventus at the time.
I showed him the cover of one of the sports magazines
depicting Platini and Bonek congratulating each other.
He ripped it out of my hands and tore it to pieces.
We didn't speak to each other for two days.
We eventually reconciled and moved to a new level of sharing.
The new topic was music.
He gave me my first Judas Priest tape -- "Screaming for Vengeance" -- I loved it!
We stayed good friends for the next three years.
Then he failed to attend my birthday party at the end of sixth grade.
I received a letter of apology a few months later --
he had moved to England with his father.
I saw him only once after that, many years later.
I spotted him in the park
If he saw me
he didn't recognized me.
Anna Naydenova
Copyright 2000