Spring

 

The green grass displayed a bright green color, full of life, of spring. The sun beat down on our bodies lying on the grass, near some dark green junipers, imparting their scent into the air. A little further away, behind us, there was a wall of stones and mud, covered in ivy. Spring had just begun and we were filled with contained vitality before everything burst into bloom.

From there, we spied on the boys who were in gym class, at the other end of the soccer field; the soccer field was bordered by a running track with red dirt flooring.

We watched the boys jump and swing their arms in their blue shorts and sweaty shirts. The other girls from the class were sitting on the cement benches of a tennis court; the court floor was made with the same red dirt as the running track. It seemed to be leftovers from defective bricks, crushed, turned into sand, coming from the kiln of an old local ceramic factory.

While we watched from where we were, Thelma spoke.

Thelma: - Well, I have a friend who has several boyfriends.

 Marise: - That doesn't sound like a friend.

 Thelma: - The thing is, her two best friends confessed to her separately in secret, and since it caught her by surprise, she secretly said yes to each one. 

Marise: - They're looking at us. 

Thelma (continues telling): - And that's not all because another friend who goes to the same private lessons as her also asked her out, and by some twist of fate, she also said yes to him.

Marise: How could that happen?

Thelma: - It was unintentional. 

Marise (pointing to the boys at the other end of the field): - Look, look, it seems like the captain of the soccer team is looking at us. 

Thelma: - He can't see us from there.

Marise: - He definitely knows you're here. He's checking out your butt. 

Thelma: - That's disgusting, considering how bad butts smell. He better not come near me. 

Marise: - He is. Look. See how he's looking at us? 

Thelma: - Impossible, he can't see us from there. 

Marise: - But he's running towards us along the soccer field track.

Thelma: - He's probably just training since they have a soccer match this weekend. You'll see, he'll turn and keep running along the track.

But instead of continuing along the track around the soccer field and turning, the captain of the soccer team kept running straight towards them.

Marise: - Seeing is believing. Look, look... he is coming towards us. 

Thelma: - What do you think he wants from us?

Marise: - Probably wants to ask us out for the afternoon. We can do like your friend and be each his girlfriend. 

Thelma: - With both of us? That's quite audacious. Marise (smiling): - Well, let's see what he says.

Thelma: - But I still don't even know if I want to be a woman.

Marise: - Then what do you want to be? Thelma (hesitating): - I want to be a boy. Marise: - Whatever you are, I promise I'll always be your best friend.

When we arrived next to where we were, the captain of the soccer team stood in front of us with his hands on his hips, and looking at us intently he said:

The captain of the team: - Thelma and Marise! The gym teacher says to stop hiding in the grass, spying on the boys, and if you don't have class, start running on the track around the soccer field until you've done twenty laps.

Thelma and Marise got up from the grass and after giving each other a kiss and sticking their tongues out at the captain of the team, holding hands, they went to run to complete the twenty laps on the racetrack, in their own way.

"one, two, eight, thirteen, sixteen, nineteen, and twenty"

That spring day, our bodies displayed their splendor before bursting into bloom and bearing flowers. Back then, I didn't know it was frowned upon for girls to like reading books or wearing pants like boys. If I had known, I would have enjoyed doing it even more.

 

 

mvf