As everyone counts down the days,

Let's go through everything

One Last TIme

Do you remember the first time we set eyes on each other?

Neither can I.

But only this year did we become comrades.

"We have two juniors in this class, and only one girl."

Or two girls, if they joked that you were the other girl.

Did we fit in?

Were we even similar to each other?

Only a few months ago did I look at you in despair.

"He wants to ask Xia out to prom."

...and why can't I say no?

Everyone was upset when I wanted to stop everything before things could become messy,

Embarrassing, or even worse

Forced.

Perhaps you were the one most disappointed when I stopped everything in its tracks.

But now you know. 

When your own prom date decided to put up her picture of her with some other guy-

I listened patiently and tried to answer your questions, resisting the urge to ask:

See the bullet I was trying to dodge?

Betrayal,

Misunderstanding,

Pride.

Perhaps because you have a Y chromosome, your heart is less vulnerable

But here you are, reaching out for me

Is that shock I hear in your voice?

Neither of us artists, yet here we are painting

A picture you held in your head

One that I perfected

With only some interruptions.

"Hey, can I put the gold spray paint in a plastic cup?"

"As long as it isn't styrofoam."

But you were so wrong

And there you were, shaking with laughter as you tried to yell out instructions to me

As I frantically scrambled around the growing pool of golden paint

A tile to leave that legacy of two weeks with a facade

Or will you chuckle as you find that table and touch those golden scratches knowingly?

Today contained the last hour and thirty minutes we would ever sit next to each other.

Hour and thirty minutes of 60's television shows

All I cringe in disgust of protrayal of femininity

One I laugh based on the Asian stereotypes displayed

And yet you seem to understand

"This is our last class together?"

And so a friendly embrace occurs

I finally realize that it's the end

Could I feel more for you?

Perhaps if we had more time

If you would stop being so impulsive

If I became less oversensitive

But let's leave this painting unscathed

Walk away with smiles before it turns into anything else

One Last Time