The Meeting

^{Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash}

---

Take a deep breath and relax. Take a deep breath and relax, I repeated in my mind consecutively. It will only be a couple of hours, maybe less if I'm lucky.

My fingers began to shake, I became a human earthquake.

It will only be a meeting, nothing more. Will there be a lot of people? Will I have to socialize? No, fuck, I'm sorry for Beatrice but I don't want to go anymore!

"Hey Harold, are you ready?" Shit! It's Colin. "Hurry up friend, it's almost time, Beatrice will be very angry if we leave her alone waiting."

Oh! Why did I have to agree to go to that stupid high school reunion? Beatrice is very pushy, sometimes she should be more considerate. She tried to be well dressed, but I can't stop thinking about this boredom.

I look in the mirror and look at my shirt, is it very wrinkled? Or is it just my imagination? Just like in high school, I was sometimes teased for being badly dressed. My mother did not iron my clothes and my shoes were always dirty. My hair was very dandruff and my ears were always full of excess earwax like an erupting volcano.

I had my face like a pizza and sometimes I forgot to wipe the blemishes out of my eyes. High school was a traumatic stage for me which stimulated the development of my social anxiety. I remember every detail with contempt and fear, and let my body shake to get it off my chest.

“Harold, we're leaving in five minutes, please hurry up,” Colin warned, while I was still in front of the closet mirror.

I couldn't adjust my tie properly; The truth is that I didn't like it, the colors seemed loud and stupid to me. “I won't be wearing a tie,” I said, then reached for my shoes.

I put them on as fast as I could. I hurt my thumb trying to adjust them. I stared at my finger with relentless intensity as I remembered how Owen Hathaway had broken my finger on one of the lockers in the hallway. He was the most popular and bad boy in high school, whenever he could, he was willing to annoy me; making fun of my physical appearance.

I detached myself from my memories and took a deep breath, a little panicked thinking that I would find Owen at the meeting. I continued to finish getting dressed when a bottle of perfume slipped across the bed and fell to the floor, I took it and immediately another memory clouded my mind.

I had a crush on Leena Forbes, one of the most popular girls in school. She had hair dark and straight as night and her eyes were wonderful and perfect; like two resplendent and huge gems. Her face was captivating, like that of a porcelain doll and her smile was like a stunning shine that knocked me over when I saw it.

At a Valentine's Day party organized by the school, I wanted to declare my love to him with a gift. I bought her her favorite perfume and took it with me to the party. I was nervous but full of courage, and at the moment of declaring my love to her, she threw a glass of soda on top of me calling me a 'harasser'.

Everyone made fun of me that night. I ran from that place shot with a broken heart and tears running down my face.

"Harold, get out of there, please!" Colin's call brought me back to reality again. "I'm coming!" I replied, I was ready so I opened the door and met my friend.

I was nervous inside the car. My palms slapped my knees. My back hunched more and more as the minutes passed. I clenched my teeth brushing them hard. I scratched my neck and head constantly until I half ruined my hairstyle.

We arrived at the meeting place and I automatically sighed. “Everything will be fine, everything will be fine,” I whispered as Colin got out of the car; luckily he couldn't hear me. We headed to the entrance where Beatrice was waiting for us impatiently.

"You're late..." She said annoyed.

“Sorry, but Harold took a long time getting ready,” Colin explained. Beatrice immediately sensed that something was not right with me.

“Don't worry, everything will be fine,” Beatrice asserted with a smile and took my arm gently.

Upon entering the place, everyone turned to see us. They smiled. They raised their glasses as if in celebration mode, shouting my name in unison.

"What's going on?" I asked Beatrice and Colin.

“This meeting is for you, Harold. You are a good person and very successful, which is why all of your high school classmates have come together to pay tribute to you,” Harold explained as he led me to the center of the gathering.

I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. My face was covered in astonishment and it was difficult for me to release any gesture of expressiveness. Many of them came up to me and apologized for how badly they treated me in high school, among them was Owen; who approached with his wife expressing his admiration for me.

The nerves dissipated and I began to feel relieved to be the center of attention; getting good feedback. I began to show a smile that would not be erased from my face until I saw Leena; I recognized her immediately.

It seemed that time had stopped on her. I wanted to get closer to talk to her, but a feeling of panic stopped me. She instantly looked at me and smiled at me, walked up to me, and started talking to me. She was very apologetic for what she did to me that night at that Valentine's party, and I had no choice but to forgive her.

She was a different woman, with clarity when speaking and a passion for the arts. We talked for most of the meeting and this time she made me feel comfortable. It was a pleasant night, the best I've ever had in my life.

---

THE END